My Christmas - Tess McCabe

I like quiet achievers, you know the type, they just get on with things and don't blow their own trumpets, but are reliable and always come up with beautiful creations that deserve a bit of 'trumpet-blowing'. Well, Tess McCabe is one of those people, she has her own graphic design practice, her own fabric design company (just look at the gorgeous little number to the right!) and she heads up a wonderful group called Creative Women's Circle organising meetings and events for women here in Melbourne who have their own creative arts businesses.

This is Tess McCabe's Christmas;

Early childhood aside, I've never been a huge fan of Christmas. My family is neither large nor religious, and I spent my early 20s working in a suburban mall, which is probably the worst place to foster a healthy regard for general human kindness around Christmas time!

Currently, my siblings and I are hovering in the post-childhood, pre-parenthood ether, so Christmas for us these days is pretty low-key. But my favourite Christmas Day memories are from my tween/teen years, when The Treasure Hunt was a tradition.

Growing up, "Santa" would always bring us small gifts that would keep us amused early Christmas morning while our parents slept in until a respectable hour, after which the real gift-giving would begin. But come 11 or 12 years of age, in our stocking on Christmas morning we would find a short, handwritten piece of paper - our first 'clue'. From there my brothers and I would spend the next hour or so deciphering cryptic messages... which would lead us each to some place around the house or garden and the discovery of small gift, and our next clue. Sorting through desk drawers, upturning couch cushions, poking around potplants - this became our Christmas morning tradition.

One year, I spent a good half hour trying to figure out the location of a gift given the clue 'You would find this at a tiny beach'*. But it was all good fun, and definitely made the rewards so much better. To say my parents were pleased to have figured out a way to make their children really earn their sweets and other trinkets on Christmas morning was probably an understatement. I hope to carry on that tradition some day!

*A microwave, of course!

I love this memory - thanks so much, Tess! Oooohhh, I wonder which creative lovely will be next to share their Christmas with us?!