Barely a few days into October, stylist Cristina Colli stood in my sitting room with an armful of Christmas decorations. A hair and make-up technician established herself at the table in the playroom, and the photographer set up under the expert eye of Leanne Bracey, Sainsbury’s Magazine’s Picture Editor. Christmas had come early. The resulting images were planned to accompany a piece of mine which will appear in the January issue of the magazine (out late December) about Christmas past and present, and required all five of us to get into the festival spirit almost three months early.
I had briefed the children on the way home from school, warning them that – despite appearances to the contrary – it wasn’t actually Christmas. It made no difference.
‘Father Christmas has been!’ squealed Georgie, eyeing the pile of carefully wrapped presents under the tree.
I explained again. ‘It’s just pretend, darling,’ but my words fell on deaf ears as three excited children span around in front of the twinkling tree. My husband, who had rolled his eyes when he first heard about the shoot, was now launching himself wholeheartedly into the project. Mulled wine simmered on the stove, and the first batch of mince pies was browning in the oven.
‘Merry Christmas!’ he said, sliding a CD of Christmas carols into the player.
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, I thought, and reached for a glass of mulled wine.
The shoot lasted an hour or so, by which point the children were so convincing in their festive wishes that I was almost starting to believe it really was December. I found the process fascinating, and loved sneaking a look at the shots which appeared like magic on the editor’s laptop. A combination of clever styling, good lighting, great make-up and brilliant photography had transformed what I could see with my naked eye into something sleek, glossy and fit for a magazine.
‘Well, that’s the idea!’ the photographer grinned, when I remarked on this. And of course it is, but it’s an amazing process to watch.
By bedtime the decorations had all been packed away, and the children went to sleep exhausted, but full of excitement about their ‘pretend Christmas’. Despite lengthy discussions about how long it was now until the real deal, there was more than a touch of disappointment when they woke up the next morning and found no stockings on their beds…
