and a happy new year to you too….

After a wonderful week with the house full of three generations mixed in together, I’m finally sitting down and pulling together my thoughts and ideas for this year’s end and hopefully a happy new year for all of us.

Do you still make New Year’s resolutions? I’m sorry to say that I don’t. Call it laziness, call it lack of willpower or simply me being realistic about what I am capable of sticking too!

There was a time when I would declare resolutions to “walk every morning before breakfast”, or “give up wine” or “renounce desserts” and each vain promise would last a hot minute. At my age it’s more dignified to be pragmatic, don’t you think?

So this may be a resolution-free zone, but I do at least love to use these last days of the year to reflect, to take stock and to plan for the months ahead.

On a personal level, and having just spent a pretty boisterous Christmas with the whole family, including our first grandchild, I am determined to see more of everyone during the year ahead. I am so happy to see the mutual love and encouragement that abounded here. I think we’d all agree that a family isn’t made for judgment or competition, there’s enough of that elsewhere. A family is made for honesty, for support, for helping to thrash through ideas and for cheering each other on when times get less easy. And mostly for having fun together.

As far as my house here goes, I have some exciting projects in the garden for next year, and we’ll soon be planting some new features. I am grateful to Philippe Dubreuil for his generous and timely advice.

And here at MFCH, we are taking stock of the year behind us, and feeling extremely fortunate and grateful for our amazing readers, subscribers, clients and guests. Without your enthusiasm, your custom and your support, our work here would be pointless. Un grand merci!

The MFCH Team has seen some changes this year. We waved farewell and Merci to Alice and Ally who have worked on the magazine since it was launched, and we welcomed two new writers, Nicola and Maddy; as well as Ani and Olivia.

Sarah still manages the Box and Boutique, and Natalie takes care of the magazine customer care, and also liaises with our tour clients.

I am grateful for this small dynamic team, and looking forward to being brave on new adventures together in the year to come.

The MCH Magazine

Our magazine subscribers in the USA will hopefully notice that their copies arrive more quickly this year. We have changed our printer to one with a more centralized shipping hub, and it seems like most of our regular subscribers received their January issue before Christmas. We also have some jaw-dropping content for the 2023 editions, and I can’t wait for you to see the photos.

The MCH Tours

In 2022 we created a new MFCH Tour to Dordogne and also welcomed guests to Provence, Normandy and Paris. For 2023 we return to Provence, we go to Dordogne and we bring in a new tour to the Loire Valley, as well as inviting guests to new destinations in Normandy.

I am particularly excited to have Lucy Hunter with us for two of our tours in 2023, and she will be sharing her floral magic with me and our small group of clients as we stay in a chateau in Provence and in Normandy.

The MFCH Box & Boutique

In February our first MFCH Box of the year will be very special. We have invited photographer, author and artist Jamie Beck to curate the February box and we can’t wait to share her selection with you, along with the theme An American In Provence!

For the coming year, we have some very exciting new brands and products lined up for the Boxes but also for our on-line Boutique. We’ll be running regular giveaways during the year, and introducing our clients to the very best of France.

New for 2023 – MFCH Travel

And our big news at the start of the year will be our new MFCH Travel section. We know that not everyone is looking for a group tour, but that a lot of people would like a hand creating their own trips to France, and we are here to help. I’ll bring you all the details in January, so watch this space.

In February 2023 I’ll celebrate the 13th birthday of My French Country Home. MFCH will be a teenager! It started out as a simple blog, churned out on a steam-driven computer, and I had no idea that the blog would lead to books, a magazine, a box and tours. This is entirely thanks to you!

To you our readers, our followers and our clients, we wish you a very Happy New Year, and peace and laughter in the twelve months ahead. Stay safe, be well and see you next year!