Nov 25

Nov 25 The best 2021 Christmas present? One of the best new how-to guides

I love a good book, me. And whilst I’m a big fan of fiction, and love to share the books I’ve enjoyed with other people, when it comes to Christmas presents, I get even more enjoyment out of giving a book I know will have real use or resonance for its recipient.

A couple of years ago I recommended this very special book as the ideal, stay-in-your-heart-forever Christmas gift. This year, my book present suggestions fall firmly in the useful category. Each of them has become a reference manual that I’ve turned to time and time again since they were published within the past year. So I can say with confidence that they’ll prove equally invaluable to anyone you give them to.

(Of course you could choose to gift them to yourself, which I’d heartily recommend too).

First up is

Clean & Green, 101 Hints and Tips for a More Eco-friendly Home

by Nancy Birtwhistle

Any regular followers/readers of These Are The Heydays will know that Nancy is my go-to guru when it comes to advice, information and tips for living a more sustainable life.

I’m a devotee of her Instagram account which combines her wonderfully down-to-earth, planet friendly, self-sufficient tips, with delicious recipes (she’s a former winner of The Great British Bake Off).

Now she’s distilled all that tried and tested wisdom into this invaluable book, packed to the gills with simple, effective, easy-to-follow ways to keep your home, garden, clothes and even yourself, clean and, well, as it says on the tin, green.

For example, did you know you could clean a stained teapot, cup or mug with bicarbonate of soda? Or that a mixture of white vinegar and washing up liquid (with some essential oil added for scenting purposes) is the ideal cleaner for pretty much any floor? Or that ordinary table salt and boiling water will kill off weeds growing through your patio or path?

Whoever you give this endlessly useful book to will. And they, and the planet, will thank you for it.

Clean and Green is £9.47 from Amazon

On a similar, game-changing household theme is

How to Love Your Laundry

by Patric Richardson with Karin. B. Miller

The sub-title of this unusual, and unusually helpful, book is ‘Sort your smalls, save the planet and never dry clean anything ever again’.

I realise laundry is hardly the sexiest of subjects. But, let’s face it, it’s one that we all have to do. Often too often. So any which way we can make the process more efficient, effective and planet friendly has to be worth it. And this book promises - and delivers - all that.

I describe it as being unusual, because as well as being genuinely revelatory when it comes to ways to tackle every stage of the laundry process, from sorting, through washing, to ironing and clothes care, all his advice and information is interspersed with warm, funny and revealing stories of Patric’s life, the women who shaped it and his love of laundry, and his career in the fashion industry.

The recipient of this book might wonder why on earth you’ve given it to them, but once they’ve delved into its informative and surprisingly entertaining pages, they’ll always be grateful.

At the time of writing How to Love Your Laundry is £9.66 from Books Please

Next up on my list of how-to recommendations is a book that’s all about self-care, and specifically

Skin Care, The Ultimate No-Nonense Guide

by Caroline Hirons

Caroline Hirons is a trained advanced aesthetician who has worked in the beauty industry for decades and is seeped in knowledge and long-learned expertise about how it, and pretty much any kind of beauty product, works. She is also refreshingly and unapologetically straight-talking, as anyone who follows her on Instagram or Facebook or has seen her on This Morning, will know.

So when she describes this as a no-nonsense guide, that’s very definitely what she means. And writes. Here’s an example from her introduction to this comprehensive tome: “If you already follow me, you’ll be aware I never kiss or blow smoke up anyone’s arse - I haven’t done it before and I’m not about to start now.”

What that means for readers of her thorough, clear, wide-ranging, informative, accessibly written book is that they’ll will find out everything they need or want to know about skin, skincare routines, what kit works for what skin type - what you should be using, and what you very definitely should not, ways in which your skin changes as life and ageing happens, and a lot of invaluable myth and terminology-busting information.

This book, which won this year’s Non-Fiction Book of the Year, has changed the way I understand and care for my skin. I’m entirely confident it will do the same for anyone else who reads it.

Skin Care is £7.99 from Amazon

And finally, a cookbook that’s already splattered with ingredients, despite the fact I’ve only had it for a few weeks, which is a sure sign it’s a winner

Family Comforts by Rebecca Wilson

I became a fan of Rebecca’s recipes when I was looking around for dishes to make my little grandchildren as they started to eat, increasingly more solid, food.

Her first, best-selling cookbook, What Mummy Makes, was the perfect helping (geddit?) of child-friendly recipes that could be enjoyed by adults too. This new one expands on her mantra that the last thing you want to be doing is spending hours in the kitchen preparing entirely different meals for littlies and grown ups, and that good wholesome, comforting food, is best shared together across the generations.

Every recipe in this lip-smacking book is suitable for babies from six months, and Rebecca provides plenty of information on substitutes that will suit dietary requirements, what to remember when feeding a baby, and tips for food preparation.

The recipes themselves - which cover every meal from breakfast to dinner and snacks inbetween - are easy-to-follow, clearly explained and so far, every one I’ve tried has worked out exactly as it looks in the picture.

This would make a lovely, heart and stomach-warming gift for any foodie or family cook-by-necessity.

If you have any how-to book suggestions to add to this list, I’d love to know about them please