WHAT does Christmas mean to you?

Is it a time for family and friends, a time to relax and watch guilty television, a time to think about the forthcoming year or a time to reap the hard work of the summer and autumn, producing and preserving food? Or all of these?

For me, it is a welcome break in work which I can spend with my animals, doing a bit more with them than just the basic day to day routine. My partner and I nearly always take the ponies for a Christmas walk and I ride before an earlier dinner than usual and then its feet up which is a huge and much appreciated pleasure.

Our local tractor and heritage club have a ploughing day between Christmas and New Year and we try and fit in a visit to the beach on one of the days with or without the ponies (and donkey).

Daisy my donkey is a bit of a star at Christmas. She is at Ely Cathedral on the December 24 where she takes part in the crib service but prior to that she is carrying Mary in an old style ‘mystery’ play which moves around the village of Tydd St Giles.

This takes place in the dark and involves knocking on the door of the local pub, to be turned away to a nearby ‘stable’.

A smallholder’s sheep are part of the shepherds’ scene en route. We had never undertaken such a thing until last year but Daisy behaved beautifully and the sight of a teenage Mary in her blue dress on a placid donkey being led in a quiet village by an older man brought the Christmas story to life whatever your beliefs.

There was a wonderful community feel to the whole evening and didn’t cost lots of money to do. So many people joined in with imaginative costumes and it was a great chance to socialise before Christmas.

Daisy is the proud recipient of an ‘Active Donkey Award’ from the Donkey Breed Society – I regret to say one of my close friends laughed until she cried when I told her this, having previously remarked on the roundness of Daisy’s figure!

Never mind Daisy, I need to shed a few pounds too so I have plans for the spring to re-introduce you to driving by lots and lots of long reining. That’ll help get us fit!

We are not producing any poultry this Christmas – for several Christmasses plucking and delivering poultry was the main occupation in the lead up to the festive period so we have had a rest from this for the last few years. In the freezer are plenty of pigeon breasts from the hungry pigeons that homed in on our neighbour’s rape fields last year – maybe Christmas lunch will be pigeon pie this year for a change!

I’m trying to grow some winter salad but it hasn’t read the seed packet and is taking rather a long time to grow with the slugs (how did they get in the greenhouse?) getting to it before me. Not sure I am looking forward to my partner’s pickled walnuts of which he is very proud (they look revolting) but apparently they are a real delicacy. I prefer my pickled plums.

I hope I can find time to try and make some recycled decorations as in this month’s Smallholder and follow some of the traditional family recipes that are shared with us. I really do want to make some of my own mincemeat.

My partner and I are very keen on establishing our own foraging patch – planting the trees and shrubs that grow in the hedgerows so they are on our own smallholding. We want to start an orchard as well but are very keen on nut trees and on the more unusual fruits such as the mulberry tree. Reading the article on how you can make your large garden pay is really quite inspirational and makes me want to try harder next year (whoops no need to make new year resolutions just yet).

Turkeys are not just for Christmas according to the secretary of the Turkey Club of Great Britain and she should know as she has campaigned tirelessly so we can see the beauty of the heritage breeds at poultry and agricultural shows in the summer as more and more people keep them for pleasure.

The Federation Poultry Show is always held the weekend before Christmas at Stafford Showground and is Christmassy, good for shopping, full of beautiful birds and has a wonderful buzz.

The very best in turkeys, waterfowl, pigeons and poultry are on show plus people to chat ‘poultry’ with – they also have a very good sale which does have quality birds in it. Another way to spend Christmas – there are just so many alternatives on offer.

It’s also the Winter Solstice, we meet the shortest day on December 21 and however dark it seems after that, deep down we know that the days are getting longer and spring and the whole wonderful cycle of growing is getting started. Surely another reason to celebrate at this dark but optimistic time of year.

So I raise a glass of my 2007 sloe gin to everyone (and their animals and birds) and wish them a very merry Christmas and that it is everything they want it to be. Here’s to another successful Smallholder year.