Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things

In the STAR episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley celebrate Twelfth Night and look for other reasons to cheer up what feels like the longest month of January.
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett. 

On the blog
Candle Holder
How To Wassail Well
How to hold a Wassail
Buttered bourbon apple cider
Tangerine and nutmeg hot chocolate
Blood Orange Posset
Slow Orange Poppy Seed Cake

In the January issue (163) on sale now
The appeal of ice skating
A winter of care and repair
 
In our In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology
Gathering: Twelfth Night with the La Fête des Rois
Candle holders 
 
In previous issues, available to buy at picsandink.com
Life lessons from the north: the value of age-old customs and community in enduring the long, dark winters. (Issue 151)
Looking back why we are fascinated by the stars (issue 152)
Snow lanterns (issue 138)
 
Learn more
Candles: A modern guide to making candles by Ebi Sinter and Emmanuel Sinteh
Watch out for the Quadrantid meteor shower between 28 December-12 January, peeking around 3-4 January 2026
Slow Down And Be Here Now by Laura Brand and Freya Hartas
A Winter Dictionary: A Collection of Words for the Festive Season by Paul Anthony Jones

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

If you’ve got some time off, now’s the chance to kick back a bit. Join Wellbeing Editor Rebecca FrankAuthor of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley
In Episode 5 PAUSE, as they share ideas for carving out some time to relax and reset in this in-between bit of Christmas.
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett. 

On the blog
How to do a jigsaw properly
 
In the January issue (163) on sale now
Long views from tall towers
Taking cues from the  people, animals and nature that surround us 
Life lessons from David Attenborough
Fish pie and cheddar mash
 
Learn more
Is a gansey a Guernsey?
Mindwandering: How It Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Your Creativity, by Moshe Bar (Bloomsbury Tonic)
Fish pie hash 
 
In previous issues available to buy at picsandink.com
Wearing well: Mittens (issue 127)
Panettone French toast (Issue 138)
Favourite annuals (issue 138)
 
Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank as we get stuck into festive feasting. We’ll be talking turkey, side dishes, tipples and nibbles, how to explain Christmas Eve to kids with science and just why we love Boxing Day so much. 
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.  

On the blog
 Root veg peel crisps
 Christmas Eve explained 
 Cheese board pairings 
 Brussel sprout bhajias 
 Which Christmas character are you? 

In the December issue (162) on sale now  
Boxing day buffet – roast cranberry and mustard gammon, winter goat’s cheese salad, meringue nests with fruit and boozy cream
Grow your own Christmas Day veg 
Sprout slaw 
Homemade blinis 

In previous issues available at picsandink.com
Kitschmas – snowball, devilled eggs, mozzarella and pineapple sticks (Issue 150)
Why we love Boxing Day (Issue 150)

In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology
Side dishes as celebratory as the roast they surround 

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

Join Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank and Author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley as they help you discover ways to find your own little pockets of calm in the run up to Christmas. In this episode, we appreciate the quiet of the approaching solstice, press pause and take some time for ourselves before curling up with some winter reads. 
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett. 
 
On the blog
How to solve an Agatha Christie novel
Books that Embrace the Cold
Why We Love Cosy Crime


In the December issue (162) on sale now
Pressing pause: Whether it’s a few minutes to yourself or a day away, giving yourself time to do the things you enjoy this month will help prevent overwhelm 
Kitchen therapy 
Reading: awell-chosen book can bring moments of comfort, calm and cheer over the coming weeks.
Modern eccentrics: Solstice revellers 
My place: Festive foliage
 
Learn more
Nature’s Calendar: The British Year In 72 Seasons by Kiera Chapman, Lulah Ellender, Rowan Jaines, Rebecca Warren (Granta) 
 
In previous issues available at picsandink.com
A day in December: images that captured the magic of this month (150)
How to get on with your siblings as grown-ups (and have a more harmonious yuletide). (126)
A winter walk is a breath of fresh air. (150)
Tuning into the month’s micro-seasons (138)

Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk

The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank talk treasure, including the things we decorate our homes with, the people we treasure at Christmas and ways to treasure the season.
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.  
Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish and fish products. Find out more about the best fish to choose at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk
On the blog
Handmade gift ideas from thesimplethings.com
Christmas crackers  template here
Bay and lemon sea salt body scrub  
Homemade tea bags
Edible baubles
Fairy cake baubles
Gingerbread tree decorations  
 
In the December issue (162) on sale now
Make your own advent candle 
Christmas playlist 
Mini rosemary wreath decorations
Eggnog – why everyone should try it
Forest needles chai 
Decorations from fabric scraps
Weekend away – wreath making in the west country
 
In our A Year of Celebrations Anthology
Crafternoon – festive bakes and gifts 
Choosing the tree 
Edible baubles and stained-glass biscuits
Handmade Christmas crackers 
 
In our wellbeing bookazine, Flourish Volume 4
Everlasting wreaths
 
Learn more
How to have an eco-friendly Christmas: advice from The Wildlife Trusts, The National Trust and WWF
Fish pie recipe carrying the MSC blue label by James Strawbridge
 
In previous issues available at picsandink.com
Missing people at Christmas – Issue 150