High above the valleys, the Yorkshire Shepherdess is turning real mishaps into fresh stories while keeping the festive script stubbornly homespun. The farm never clocks off. So Christmas stretches to fit the work, not the other way round.
A Christmas shaped by weather, work and nine children
At Ravenseat, ceremony takes a back seat to chores. The Owen household runs on sturdy routines, quick fixes and a kind of generosity that survives mud, wind and broken kit. Dinner lands on the table because people keep moving, not because every fork matches. Nine children share the load. So do the dogs. So do the elements.
Their centrepiece is more feat than centrepiece: a turkey around 40lb, too big for anything but planning, muscle and the odd plan B. If the oven sulks, fire takes over. If the weather flips, layers go on and the job continues. Visitors tend to find themselves useful within minutes. There’s laughter, steam on the windows, and a seat if you can grab one.
Work sets the rhythm. Warmth follows. The farm refuses the script of perfection and still finds room for joy.
This is not the glossy shop-window Christmas. No staged tablescapes or soft-focus ribbons. The decorations are practical: boots by the door, a kettle that never quite cools, and pans that push their luck. The view outside is vast and busy. The view inside is close-knit and loud.
What the day actually looks like
- Pre-dawn animal checks, with torches, grit and a fast route for frozen taps.
- Turkey strategy that moves between oven, hob and hearth without drama.
- Children on jobs they know: feed, fetch, mend, sweep, repeat.
- Short bursts outdoors to beat the clock and the light.
- Food served family-style, with the odd dog under the table and no spare chairs.
From screen fame to a children’s book
The family’s unvarnished approach moved from television to print this winter. Christmas Tales from the Farm, Amanda Owen’s first book for children, lifts stories from the Dales and puts them in muddy boots. The inspiration is real: a runaway reindeer, makeshift cooking, kids skating on frozen tarns, and a home-grown “winter games” that carries on despite hail.
Illustrator Becca Hall brings the hills and the animals into focus. Publisher Puffin Books gives the series a long runway, with more children’s titles planned. Owen already has five books for adults and a firm reader base built off the back of Our Yorkshire Farm. That screen journey splintered into new programmes, from Amanda Owen’s Farming Lives to Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales and Our Farm Next Door, which follows the painstaking rescue of Anty John’s, a crumbling house now edging towards a new life.
No props and no gloss: mishaps become material, and the mess is part of the message.
Dates on the road
Alongside the book, a theatre show—Onwards and Upwards: Farming, Family and Fiascos—shares the graft behind the scenes and those festive flashpoints that stick.
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| 20 November | Scarborough Spa |
| 24 November | Ilkley King’s Hall |
| 5 December | Scunthorpe Plowright Theatre |
| 7 December | Middlesbrough Town Hall |
Local dates suit farm life. Audiences get stories straight from the source, with all the grit left in.
Why this approach speaks to families right now
Most households won’t roast a bird over embers or cross peat in a blizzard before pudding. Yet the mindset resonates. Budgets are tight. Time even tighter. Many people work on 25 December. Carers. Farmers. Crews on call. Kitchen staff. Couriers. Their day bends around shifts and call-outs, not adverts and timetables.
Ravenseat offers a template that travels: keep the ritual small, keep the food honest, keep people involved. The kids don’t melt into screens because short tasks punctuate the day. The grown-ups don’t buckle under pressure because the target is warmth, not symmetry.
Make the day yours. Set your pace. Let good company outrank matching plates.
Ideas you can borrow for your own day
- Pick one simple outdoor task for daylight—feed birds, walk a loop, light a small fire bowl—so energy resets.
- Build a backup cooking plan: pan-roast parts, spatchcock a bird for even heat, or split the load between oven and hob.
- Assign roles on a whiteboard. Small jobs stop drift and keep children engaged.
- Use a thermometer, not guesswork. Aim for 74°C in the thickest part of poultry and rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Invite help, not pressure: bring a dish, stir a pan, read to the kids, stack logs.
Cold-season risks and how farms plan for them
Winter on exposed ground punishes weak links. Pipes freeze. Batteries die. Gates shear. The simple kit matters most. Think head torches, spare gloves, a thermos, a shovel, and a charged phone. Water management is non-negotiable for livestock; insulated troughs and backup hoses keep animals drinking when ice bites. A small generator and a way to boil water turn a crisis into a nuisance.
Big-bird safety demands respect. A 40lb turkey can beat a domestic oven for size. Measure your oven space before you shop. If it won’t fit, joint the bird, roast in two trays, or move to a barbecue with a lid and a reliable temperature gauge. Ember cooking needs patience and airflow; bank coals, keep a steady bed of heat, and rotate the pan. Ventilate any enclosed space. Never burn fuel in a room without a clear draft.
Travel brings its own hazards. Tracks ice first. Keep grit to hand, reduce tyre pressures only if you know how, and carry traction mats. Set check-in times if people are working alone. The rule is boring because it works: slow down, keep warm, tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll be back.
From page to practice: what readers can take forward
Children tend to remember agency, not props. Let them choose a job, carry the lantern, or time the resting of the meat. Turn mishaps into games: who can fix a stuck latch fastest, who can build a draught-busting door snake, who can spot the first star. The day breathes when everyone has something to own.
For families juggling costs, the farm model scales easily. Swap expensive tableware for a longer pot of gravy. Choose one strong flavour—thyme, juniper, pepper—and let it run through sides made from what you have. If power prices bite, cook once and serve twice: roast vegetables at the same time as the main, and reheat gently later with stock. The aim is resilience that tastes good.
