The Christmas Eve Crown

There is one night of the year when the whole house holds its breath. The stockings are hung, a mince pie waits on the hearth for someone with a very long way to travel, and the children are far too awake to ever fall asleep. This is the crown for that night.

Across the front, in gold, is Christmas Eve, written in a hand that looks as though it was set down with a dip pen by candlelight; around it we have scattered six-pointed stars, the kind you might see from a nursery window if you pressed your nose to the cold glass and waited long enough. Wear it to the carol service, for the last story before bed, and all the way up the stairs while somebody listens for sleigh bells.

It comes in Winterberry, the deep red of the berries that stay on the branches when the garden is bare, or in Fauna, a soft ivory velvet as pale as the first snow on the lawn.

The details

• Soft velvet, stiffened with felt so every point stands tall
• Christmas Eve and six-pointed stars in gold
• Ties at the back, so it fits small heads and grown-up ones
• Handmade in England and wrapped in Fable Heart tissue, ready for giving
• Made and waiting; dispatched within a week
• For ages 3 and up; not suitable for children under 3, because of the ties