top of page
Search

Planning The Gentleman Architect’s 2025 Christmas

  • Writer: Mick Haley
    Mick Haley
  • Nov 5
  • 2 min read

ree

The John Lewis Christmas advert premiered this week, and like many Gen Xers, I was wowed by the choice of music, Alison Limerick’s “Where Love Lives.” As anyone who knows me will tell you that it was a bit of an anthem for me back in the day.



Naturally, the advert has set the emotional tone for the season, just in time for me to start planning The Gentleman Architect’s Annual Christmas Party and Advent Calendar.





The Guest List

Exclusive, intimate, and fully booked.

Attendance: 100 percent confirmed.

RSVP: immediate.


There’ll be no HR incidents, no dance-floor politics, and no risk assessments (unless the cork pops badly). Just one architect, a laptop, and a bottle of red that will later be categorised under “Staff Entertainment.”


The Dress Code

This year’s official attire: studio chic.

Black suite with crisp white Grandad shirt, thick-rimmed glasses, sleeves rolled, expression somewhere between “creative intensity” and “mild fatigue.”

The look says: I’ve detailed a hidden box gutter and I deserve this glass of wine.

 

The Venue

Still under evaluation:

The kitchen (great catering links, mixed acoustics)

The study (austere but atmospheric)

Or, for something truly decadent, the garden office, provided the fan heater survives another winter.

Each option will be assessed for daylight factor, biscuit accessibility, and proximity to the router.

 

Catering

A refined selection is planned: crisps, cheese, and whatever’s in the freezer marked “maybe risotto.” The cellar (est. 2020) offers an ambitious range of reds from last years contractor hampers.

All receipts will, of course, be filed neatly for HMRC ; wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the pursuit of festive morale.

 

Secret Santa

The £10 limit remains firm.

Gift ideas include:

A new scale rule

A non-dry 0.3 fineliner

Or a miniature bottle of Diplomatico, for “creative reflection.”

It’s a pleasure shopping for someone who always appreciates the thought.

 

The Playlist

At the top sits “Where Love Lives,” naturally; the new seasonal anthem of middle-aged architects everywhere. It’ll be followed by the comforting hum of the laptop cooling fan and perhaps a few remixes of Fairytale of New York for balance.

John Lewis may have its heart-warming ad; I have mine , complete with grandad shirt and tax receipts.


The Calendar

Alongside the party prep comes my annual Architectural Advent Calendar on Instagram; 24 days of lintels, light, and quiet moments of design joy. A small festive ritual that aims to show architectural marketing can still sparkle under a bit of tinsel.


The Morning After

Receipts tallied, party written off (financially and emotionally), and a note added to the CPD log under “Seasonal Wellbeing.”

Because even in a one-person practice, it’s important to celebrate — to find that tiny space where love, design, and deductible wine still live.


Merry (almost) Christmas from

The Gentleman Architect – Dulwich Architect (RIBA, ARB) | Local Architect for Dulwich, Herne Hill & East Dulwich (and occasionally Crystal Palace) | ARB 062246J · RIBA 9124790




 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page