Christmas Book Nook Retreat — a Gift of Time, Made by Hand

In the bright rush toward year’s end, we sometimes overlook the simplest offering we can give ourselves: unhurried time. This afternoon retreat is an invitation to step out of the scroll, soften your shoulders, and return to the pleasure of making with your hands.

Together, we’ll piece wooden puzzles into a 3D Christmas Shop book nook — a miniature world of windows, lamplight, and quiet festive charm. The process is satisfyingly tactile: aligning pieces, testing angles, tinkering until the structure finds its form. For four screen-free hours, your attention has somewhere kinder to rest. You’ll be guided by a clear manual, and I’ll be right beside you to help nudge things along whenever you need a second pair of eyes.

This is a retreat in the truest sense — not because we do very little, but because we do one thing slowly, with care. Expect the soft companionship of shared tables: the kind where friends settle in easily and strangers become familiar by the time the last piece clicks into place. There will be conversation, laughter, a little communal problem-solving, and the quiet satisfaction that comes when your hands remember they’re capable of beauty.

To keep you nourished, there’ll be pastries from a neighbourhood bakery and free-flow floral tea — small comforts for the hours of making.

If you’ve been craving a pause, or hoping to end the year with something tangible and quietly joyful, come; bring a friend if you like, and gift each other the afternoon.

Details at a glance

• Retreat focus: Hands-on, let's go screen free for 4 hours
• Craft: 3D Wooden Christmas Shop Book Nook
• When: 12 December (Fri)
• Duration: 4 hours (1–5pm)
• Fee: $98 per person
• Pairs rate: $95 each when you bring a friend (discount applies automatically when you cart out 2 quantity)
• Capacity: 8 participants only
• Includes: Materials, guided making, floral tea & pastries