Creative Family Home - Christmas - Paris 2013
Louise Jennings and her family featured in my book Creative Family Home. I first met Louise, and her children one-by-one, when I opened my children’s store Olive Loves Alfie in 2006. I loved Louise’s unique sense of style and imagined that her home was much the same - original, inventive and creative. I began working on my book as they were about to move to Paris to embark on a new family adventure. We had just enough time to shoot their house adding it to my list of favourite creative family homes. Their London home was a family work-of-art, a creative hub that miraculously had a sense of wonder and calm. How did they manage that with 4 boys under 10 and a dog - they have their own philosophy that they live and breath “creativity over chaos”. Result.

Q: What do you do whilst you decorate your Christmas tree?

A: Music, music, music, preferably very loud and probably involving Garth’s top ten of 2014 which he does every year and sends to friends as a download then there’s lots of chasing turns to get up the ladder!

Q: Do you have any other decorations?
A: A wreath on our front door and lights strung along our balcony like the Royal Family would, I’m sure!

Q: Do the children have favourite decorations?
A: Yes! They all love some little old robots bought years ago but dwindling in numbers because they’re breakable and not suited to wrestling boys! Now we’re living in Paris the London bus and Big Ben decorations are pretty prized too.
Q: Do the children make any decorations, cards or presents?
A: Yes! We’ve got a few home-made baubles on the tree and we make our cards every year. This year was a lino cut that was printed by the kids. They made 126 of them. They kept busy during a wet weekend a few weeks back.

Q: What sort of advent calendars do the boys have?
A: We have a Lego calendar. Obligatory in my Lego obsessed home and a good old fashioned nativity scene one - just to remind them why Christmas happens at all.

Q: What have the children hoping to get for Christmas?
A: Books on Stan Winston (special effects hero from the old days of Hollywood. Spider Man still rules for our youngest Asa. A real bow and arrow and a BMX.

Q: Do you have any favourite family Christmas activities?
A: The kids have a Harry Hill joke book that always gets used between Turkey and Chocolate Log time. Due to the amount of drink being sunk they know it’s worth waiting until then to get the most laughs. Also, in France it’s traditional to have a big meal at midnight on Christmas Eve with close friends and family. It means Christmas day starts a little alter and sometimes Santa gets a bit messy with his stocking filling at 3am or so…

Q: Do the kids have anything special they wear on Christmas day?
A: They all have different coloured braces. So does their Dad but I think they’ll rebel soon….