Two Days To Go To The Big Ho Ho!!

Well, we're nearly there!

I normally post more here about Christmas and the festivities than I have this year but I think I've been putting a bit more on Twitter.... so I'm just having a little round up of how we got to where we are today.

When we first moved into the house I made this rustic star from wood taken from the ceiling of the living room - can you believe it? If you'd seen the state of the ceiling you would!

The front door is now adorned with my heart shaped wreath with added holly and greenery from the garden; my husband's cousin made the angel.

In the kitchen I love to have things to try and make the microwave more interesting....

I normally buy a large poinsettia but I saw these tiny ones in Lidl to go with the white plant and couldn't resist. I love to have an arrangement on the kitchen table for meals but like to be easy to move it easily if needed,

In a previous post I mentioned a pompom wreath I was making well.... ta da!

I'm really pleased how it turned out!

It has to be said my boys are not fussed about my lovely advent calendars but I look forward to slotting the little characters or images in each day.

I brought the greenery up from the cellar yesterday. I love using fresh decorations and  have it in lots of places, too many to show but I really like the dresser in the kitchen this year.

Makes this year include truffles but they're not rum ones, I've gone for Gluhwein flavoured! I first made these with my mum when I was about, not sure how old! I don't think we'll eat all of them on Christmas Day so they'll go on the dessert table for the little 'soiree' we have with our neighbours on Boxing Day.

Also these are a new thing for this year, ice cubes with cranberries in them ready to go in my cocktails and guest drinks - can't wait to use them.

I had a go at icing? biscuits for the first time to give to the teachers at my youngest's school.

They're a bit splodgilicious but I like 'em - made it to school on the bus in one piece,bonus!

This morning we have been both inside and out doing jobs so that tomorrow, Christmas Eve, only has one task on its list which is to fetch the turkey. Gutters have been cleared out after the rain, logs have been chopped and stacked near the Rayburn and the log burner, I've readied the last room for Airbnb guests next weekend, last washing is on, our beds are changed and the cake is decorated; simple but with a little edible glitter which I am LOVING this year!

I think that about covers it.

Ooh... the sloe gin I have in the cellar. I took a look at it the other day and it wasn't ready as I thought it still had the aroma of too much gin and not enough sloe! Maybe we'll have it for New Year.

So this will be my last post for a while so may I wish anybody reading this a very Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year and, in the words of Greg Lake - 

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave New Year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.

Lou.xx

A Snap Shot Of Christmas, And Other Stuff!

Just realised I've not included a photo of this year's tree. I love it - this year as for the last couple of years we've gone for a slightly shorter and more rounded one.

I just love decorating at Christmas and this is how my living room looks. I have a very traditional feeling about this time of the year reminiscent of the 1970's I guess which makes perfect sense as I was born in 1968. I love paper chains, I have crepe paper streamers in the TV room and I think these paper honeycomb globes are just fab. However I always look to my very fav book when it comes to Christmas inspiration, Tim Mouse and Father Christmas - still available.

It always has pride of place somewhere at this time of the year; hope you can see or at least get a feel for the similarity....

Inside the house everything is VERY festive but I popped outside yesterday to take photos.

Somebody on Twitter mentioned snow drops so thought I's take a look and....

a bit blury but you get the idea!

Also making an appearance are other things which are overwintering like the tulip and daff bulbs for Spring I planted outside The Snug.

The shallots,

garlic, just,

and onions have popped up to say hello as well.

Also outside and still showing signs of life are some red 'n' green lettuce,

the Spring cabbages seem to be surviving though not that big,

and the chooks and ducks are ok. A few more eggs in the last couple of days; my husband puts this down to him having given them a slug of grit recently, 

the ducks are still free loading. The one in the foreground, A l'orange, is a bit nasty, nearly pecks the food out of your hand, the Crispy Khaki is soooo loud and Duck-chess seems to just go with the flow.

That is it for just now I think. I'm continuing to make mince pies, but bread making has stopped for the festive period, we begin the last week of work and school next Monday and the not too big list for the festive shop is complete; helps we are going away for a couple of days after Boxing Day - looking forward to some fun times in Llandudno and blowing some cobwebs away with a walk on the beach among other things.

Lou.

And So It Begins!

Yes, the weeks are flying by and with outside jobs dwindling there is lots to do, prepare, get on with indoors and, ultimately, enjoy come the big day. YES, I'm getting ready for the Big Ho HO, already my favourite Christmas CD is on a loop and I love the preparation as much as the result to which it leads. I LOVE Christmas; my aim is to make it as yummy a cosy, family time for me and my men as I can. Bring on the snow as we all love the idea of having to stay home by the fire!

Therefore I'm starting off in red as I'm in really in full festive swing because yesterday the decorations started to go up. I normally wait until today but the weekends fall a bit skew this year, plus we have guests to stay next weekend and I want to be totally tinsel central by the time they arrive. Eeeek! I can't wait to get a pan of Gluhwein, cranberries, orange and cinnamon bubbling away so I have a lovely festive smell in the back ground, too. I'm about done apart from a few table decorations. I like to have some of those around but this year I'm trying to make it easier to dust things by the decorations being easy to move if you understand me.

As you may have seen on an earlier post my preparations began about three weeks ago, I think, when I ordered a few craft items as I normally do at this time of the year. I began, as usual, by making some new tags; these are given as gifts, for decorations for people or to go around the house. I have to say I'm totally addicted to making these; I definitely have my own style when it comes to these and this year I've used some fab vintage paper I found last year. A couple of things have come out beautifully including this fab card and then I'm very pleased with the tags. 

When Jon had gone to work and the boys were away to school I began with the paper chains in the living room as these go corner to corner and need to be in place before the tree is brought into the house; I think the tree will be here on Tuesday. Then with the festive tunes blasting out I was bobbing between the kitchen and the living room putting the other decorations up.These are the perpetual advent calendars, the 1-24 garland on the sideboard above the drinks tray, mmmm. and my mantle piece items which include more paper chains and decorated jars. In the kitchen I have the paper chains Alf and I made from some more of the vintage paper. I LOVE the dresser now as I made the banner, too, and I always have a couple of the cards on there which the boys made when they were tiny.

I really enjoy bringing the greenery into the house and always like to have it sit in a bucket for a few days to give it a good drink. This year I'll be decorating with some for our visitors but doing the main lot a little earlier, too, due to us going away for a couple of days between Christmas and New Year. (We have an Airbnb booking for NYE so will be back in time for that.) It is just a gorgeous thing to have in the house and on Boxing Day when we have a little get together with the neighbours I love draping the table with holly, twisted willow and ivy from the garden plus pin lights, of course, between the tasty goodies. Can never have enough pin lights!

A couple of new additions this year will be a pompom wreath and a rag-and-pin-light garland. (There they are again!) The wreath is for the TV room, which has a purple wall along with Marvel and DC comic pictures, and can take something a little less traditional as you see by the colours I'll be using! I began making the pompoms when we lived at our previous house! They were meant for a rug but.... so I'm giving this project a go using a glue gun so will hopefully last a few years. I'm also interested in making some pompom bookmarks as gifts. 

The garland is something I've wanted to have a go at for ages.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out and for once I have something on the banister.

Christmas cake and mincemeat are made, sloe gin is sitting in the cellar brewing nicely (I'm sure that isn't the right word) and I'll hopefully make the first mince pies this afternoon. I've decided on the teacher presents to make this year - some seasonal biscuits and rum truffles - and the calendar is already filling up with school activities. 

Lists and my planner are helping remind me that we pretty much know what we are having on Christmas Day and Boxing Day...

and we're having our mini Christmas this coming weekend full of tasty treats, including mince pies, of course. The boys have their Christmas jumpers, Jon needs a new one and I have festive leggings!

As I sit at the kitchen table I can see this at the window and I feel very festive. Fav word!

Ok. Time to get the brekky sorted, boys out of bed and then later this morning I'm out at our village Winter Fayre which is always a fun thing - Alf love the bottle stall and I get a cuppa and maybe a mince pie.

Lou.