Christmas Hampers for Writers, by Georgie Tennant

Have you ever had the joy of being the recipient of a hamper? Especially if received unexpectedly, these tissue-paper-and-shiny-ribbon-encased delights bring such excitement. We received one once; amongst the more ordinary items, there lurked a cheese that was black and a chunk of nougat the size of a postage stamp - delicious none the less.

This year our church has taken part in a wonderful campaign, partnered with Christians Against Poverty, to provide over one hundred hampers to people in our area, suffering the indignity of food poverty. Each of us who put together a hamper are praying for it to bring light and a blessing to its recipient.

It got me thinking about Christmas hampers for writers: what do we most yearn for as writers? What might elicit a squeal of delight as we peel it carefully from under the tissue paper and glitter, lifting it into the light? I had rather too much fun imagining how they might be marketed:

The “Basic Writer Hamper,” a welcome gift for the writer of any standard, includes:

· At least 3 beautiful notepads of different shapes and sizes*;

· A multitude of pens of varying hues and writing style;

· A selection of paperbacks, on topics both familiar and out-of-comfort zone, to broaden writerly horizons and experiences.

*gold-edged for an extra £7.50*


The “Premium Writer Hamper,” for the writer who needs that little extra boost includes (as well as the contents of the Basic Hamper):

· A fancy new piece of technology of your choice – portable for writing anywhere, any time;

· A year’s gift subscription for the Society of Authors (ALCs included);

· Gift vouchers for a weekly cleaner/chef/gardener/ironing assistant (find out first which is their least-desirable and most time-consuming chore and delete as applicable).

The “Deluxe Writer Hamper,” for those writers who are really going places, includes (Basic and Premium packages, plus):

· Access to a personal writing coach who will help you to fill in every pitch form, handle every rejection and market every book;

· Tailored guidance on how to make every social media platform work for you and how to use them to maximise exposure to your work;

· Unlimited access to a counsellor / psychologist to help ride the crashing waves of the writing life.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if such packages were available and inexpensively priced? How wonderful it would be to have the Deluxe Version arrive on our doorstep?

Even if the hampers are the stuff of fantastical dreams, we are so blessed in the ACW to have so much expertise at our fingertips. We can learn so much from each other and I am ceaselessly grateful for the expertise shared on Writers’ days, Facebook, this blog and in local groups and informal chats.

Of course, available to us all, at all times, at no cost at all, is the wonderful encouragement and hope only our God can bring into our writerly hearts when they become discouraged, as they so often do.

I can’t send you a Writer’s Hamper for Christmas, of any sort, but I can pray for you all that “the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.” Romans 12 v 12

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Georgie Tennant is a secondary school English teacher in a Norfolk Comprehensive.  She is married, with two sons, aged 13 and 10 who keep her exceptionally busy. She writes for the ACW ‘Christian Writer’ magazine occasionally, and is a contributor to the ACW-Published ‘New Life: Reflections for Lent,’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone,’ and, more recently, has written 8 books in a phonics series, published by BookLife. She writes the ‘Thought for the Week’ for the local newspaper from time to time and also muses about life and loss on her blog: www.somepoemsbygeorgie.blogspot.co.uk