Adding a DIY touch to your Christmas preparations

AS soon as Christmas starts thundering toward me I get that pressured feeling. I realise that approximately 33% of the population feel the same way. That is: the 33% who are not children or married men.

Children, of course, are what the commercial aspects of Christmas are all about, and married men have that special letter don't they? The one that exempts them from doing anything except choosing trees, getting decorations down from the loft and buying something for their wives from a flirtatious sales assistant on Christmas Eve.

Still, before we get bitter about these little imbalances, it is worth considering just how much of the pressure we bring on ourselves.

I am addressing here those of you with jobs to do, dry-cleaning to collect, groceries to buy and kids to wash who plan to make reindeer-shaped cookies and hunt down the latest in purple table accessories before The Day. Tick, tick, tick…

Nevertheless, while I might say, 'forget the purple candle holders, you won't like them next year', or even, 'ditch the list. Let him buy his sister's present himself', I am not going to suggest that you dump the reindeer-shaped cookies… or the hand-stamped wrapping paper, or the personalised stockings, or the papier mâché angels or whatever little DIY element of Christmas appeals to you, because doing these sorts of things, with or without the kids, can actually be enormously pleasurable and quite relaxing.

I know this because I went on a lino-cutting course at Pilton Community College recently. Lino-cutting involves drawing an image on a piece of lino and then cutting around it to make a sort of stamp. I had a bash at making a print for a Christmas card. And, guess what? When I got home from a really enjoyable day out the house was still there, the list hadn't got any longer, and my son was fine (unless eating three fruit jellies in a row and wearing very muddy trousers is cause for long-term concern).

Now then, I do understand that the words Day Out conjure for many women images of shoe stores and cafés, as opposed to inky hands and school loos, but when I asked the gang of 10 or so cheerful learners on my course whether they'd rather be shopping the reply was a resounding 'No'.

Alex Kelly, a teacher from Braunton, put it very nicely when she said that attending these sorts of courses gave her 'unbroken time'. As it happened she also left with a nice little pile of her own Christmas cards. These, along with the work of several other folk, were so nice that I'd have certainly paid over the odds for them if I'd seen them for sale in WH Smiths.

However, if you're thinking now that your own tinkering efforts might not be up to par, don't let that put you off having a go. My attempt was more Blue Peter than Blue Period and it didn't matter at all.

The other students ranged widely in experience as well as age (June Fippard topping the bill at 80), some had come with friends and some without, but everyone chatted amiably throughout the day and shared materials and expertise.

In addition to all this good-natured camaraderie the course tutor, Megan Players, had that glorious knack that marks out all good teachers, of giving just enough praise to keep you enthusiastic and just enough advice to keep you to thinking for yourself.

The point is that, no matter how disciplined or enthusiastic you are about these sorts of things, the washing machine will always be staring at you if you try to do them at home, and so a day's course, or if you can manage a weekend or longer one, does force you to unwind while also producing a result that is better than you could have produced with your own skills alone. And, as Megan points out, learning new skills and then going home with something you have just created is very satisfying.

At Pilton and Petroc, and other colleges and community centres in the area, the variety of classes offered is extremely broad year round (a list covering everything from calligraphy to nature-inspired sculpture classes can be found in the new brochure). Be warned though that some of these sessions are numbers dependent, so it is worth badgering a few chums into coming along if you want to make sure that the class gets full enough to go ahead.

Prices range, but on average a full day's course seems to be about £20 (including a small charge for materials payable on the day), which, as Megan adds, you could easily spend on parking, coffees and cakes in town (not to mention shoes).

It seems, too, that once people do start to get their hands inky they're keen to keep at it. Megan says that a lot of students who attend her workshops come back again; bringing friends and family with them, and the group on my course were certainly in no hurry to leave at the end of the day. In fact the only thing missing from our workshop was …men. I'm not sure why, there is nothing intrinsically feminine about lino-cutting, and in fact tougher hands for the cutting part and a bit more muscle on the printing press would have been a bonus.

Perhaps they are all just too busy tying trees to cars, finding the decorations boxes and sniffing the wrists of girls who work at perfume counters. Oh, and I guess someone has to give the kids the jellies.

People are always surprised by how creative they are. Practical workshops offer so much — an opportunity to explore something new in a friendly and supportive environment, reflective time for oneself as well as interesting conversation with new people. Many people who attend the workshops have such a great day out that they come back again, bringing friends and family with them.

● If you are looking to take up a new hobby in the New Year, Petroc offers evening courses and one-day courses in everything from acting, meditation, dance, languages, fitness, photography and dressmaking to weekend adventures in the Welsh countryside. There are thousands of courses to choose from to inspire and motivate you, in various locations around North Devon. For a brochure, to enrol or find out more visit www.petroc.ac.uk or call 01271 338029 (Petroc Barnstaple Campus) and 01271 346710 (Pilton Community College).