Even though we won't be enjoying Christmas at home this year I had to have just a few decorations to make our home look festive (we actually have some dear friends coming to stay whilst we are away and I am sure they will appreciate them!!)
Amazing what a few cheap baubles and some organza ribbon does to transform the dining room chandelier...
Okay there you have it a little Christmas cheer to brighten your day....x
Sorry think I may have promised to post about this a few days ago...how time flies...
Any one that knows me well, will know that I am pretty keen on having ALL our presents wrapped and matching under our tree (okay so some might say I am almost obsessed by it, LOL) I like to 'theme' the present wrapping and try to vary it from year to year.
2010
Fast forward to this year and with a holiday looming and Christmas away there is no need to put up our beautiful Christmas tree and adorn it with matching presents. So, I have taken the opportunity to use up all the odds of collected wrappings and 'end of rolls' in the hope that next year I can start fresh and once again my wrappings will be themed (ahhh happy days)
This year I am content with...
And this...
It hasn't stopped me drooling at possibilities, and lots of clever ideas, check these out...
Images: www.marthastewart.com (where else?)
Images: via Pinterest
Funny there seems to be a common theme amongst my favourites, what do you think?
How do you wrap your presents?
Well at our house anyway!
We are well on the way to finish our Christmas preparations before we head off on holidays (not too many sleeps to go its sooo exciting!). I feel like this year I have even beaten the mad retail infiltration (or is it that Halloween is now such a big thing that the shops WAIT until after October 31 to put up their Christmas displays???)
Last school holidays Lilly and I had a production line making our Christmas cards...
They are now ready to post complete with 'annual newsy update' and 'cute Chrsitmas pic' !
The girls have organised their presents for their friends, this year we opted for simple lolly bags, I found these great slim cello bags on ebay and had some fun....
Red and green M&M's for some.....and
Red Jaffa's for the others...pretty cool huh!
These cute little Snowman chocolates from Aldi also look great presented in a little organza bag....
So there you have it, it IS starting to look a lot like Christmas and to make it feel even more like the start of the 'silly season' tonight we attended our first Christmas carol singing evening at the school!!!!
Now amongst close friends I am known as "Martha" so craftiness and organisation go hand in hand BUT for those of you reading who are a little scared or repulsed by the mere thought of having your Christmas cards written and ready to send in mid November enjoy this next picture.....
Yes chaos reigns....I know our dining table is under there somewhere!
Back tomorrow with more 'pretty pics' and some great gift wrapping ideas!
Byefor now x
Wow is it really only 92 days until Christmas????
Hmm that got you didn't it! Actually we leave on a long awaited holiday the month before so it is even closer for us (breathe...remember to breathe) I haven't started to panic just yet but there is lots to do so I have begun making lists and more lists. Now, I could do as dear hubby suggested and forget all but the major players for Christmas, forget the decorations altogether (after all we will be away), not send Christmas cards or better still just send all commerically bought ones, nothing had made....hmmmm....not me,not possible, never going to happen.
So, instead I write lists, lots of them and start making Christmas cards and presents in September....sorry to scare you all. On a positive note I have made, wrapped and written the remainder of the years Birthday gifts and presents, here's a peek at a few of the cards....first up some thank you cards
And the Birthday cards.....
A couple of quick and easy Birthday gifts for the girls school friends....
An Engagement card...
And last but not least a Farewell card for a friend of Lilly's who is off to live in Italy for a year, or maybe more....lucky girl!
Thanks for hanging in there (told you I had been busy)! Pop back tomorrow I have been busy creating a "robot" or two for a special someone about to turn "2" xx
Yes, I know its already August (pinch and a punch and all that), but we celebrated "Christmas in July" with dear friends last Saturday night. I offered to bring all the Christmas chocolate treats that I make every year.....
We had a lovely night, great food, great company, even Christmas decorations and Gluwien made an appearance...my chocolate treats were also a hit!
Happy Christmas in July (posted in August!) xx
Okay, I failed! As organised as I was, time got away from me at the very end and 'blogging' took a back seat for a little while...sorry!
Christmas was wonderful.... a lovely lunch on the Central Coast with my brother and his family..... lots of great presents to give and receive...a stunning day weather wise...then a few days to relax and unwind before we headed up to Hawkes Nest for a few days to catch up with some 'old' friends. Lots of eating and drinking but we did find time for 'surfing' the sand dunes.....
We enjoyed a great day on the water and saw some dolphins up close....
...an eagle searching for food...
...lots of these glorious birds....
Then it was time to 'hit the road' and continue up to Coffs Harbour where we caught up with family and celebrated the new year.
Happy New Year to one and all, may 2011 bring you every good health and happiness and some spare time to craft and create!
Christmas is only a few sleeps away and I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite things around the house...
Our beautiful Christmas tree with some of the decorations collected from our travels, lots of memories here...
My grandmother gave this special angel to me a very long time ago...she always takes centre stage....
We have a decoration for every year, this one from Disneyland when we visited in 2005. This year we are off to the city to look at the shop windows and have a special morning tea, we will probably buy a bauble and have the year engraved on it.
A fairly new addition to our collection but this chandeleir is certainly a favourite.
Hmmm, anyone that knows me knows that I am pretty fanatical about my wrapping...every year I choose a theme (this year black and white with a red belli-band) and ALL the pressies get wrapped the same...I think they look pretty good don't you?
This little cutie was made a number of years ago and still gets dragged out every year for an appearance...
Last of all (are you still with me?) Lilly has been busy making her 'famous' recylced magazine Christmas trees again (some of you may remember a post a few years back, Lilly was 'swamped' with comments about her trees...we still get emails!)...
Ok, enough of my favourite things....I finished work today until the new year, yippee..so the next few days I can play, we are catching up with friends and heading in to twon on Christmas Eve to see the windows and listen to the Australian Girls Choir who are performing during the day in the Queen Victoria Building...BFN xxx
Every year I am going to have these ready to post on December 1st but somehow it never happens....the cards are always made, the photo is taken, sometimes even the newsy letter I send to relos and friends we don't see very often is written...so how come actually buying the stamps and putting them in the letterbox is so hard?????
Some of the cards I made this year looked like this...
Or this.....
But mostly this was the favourite this year... I got quite a production line happening in the end....
P.S I have just made a trip to the postbox - they are on their way - yippee!!
The local school held a very successful Chrsitmas Market last Friday evening beginning straight after school, it was a beautiful afternoon (after all the rain earlier in the week) and the local community came out to support the school fundraiser. I made and sold Christmas treats and in fact 'sold out' and went home early...some Christmas cakes....
Lots of chocolate boxes and Rocky Road treats...
Some very cute little 'puddings'...
And finally some Chrsitmas lolly sticks that were easy and fun to make and were VERY popular amongst the kids (thanks to Kim and her Christmas workshop)...
Lots more Chrsitmas goodies to share but had better organise dinner we are off to a school Presentation evening tonight!!
Welcome to December and the start of the "silly season", take a deep breath and try and enjoy before you know it we will be packing up those Chrissy decorations for another year!
Lets start today with my avent calendar..a new tradition in our house. In past years we have managed those store bought mass produced ones with yukky chocolates, half the time the girls would forget each day and play catch up when reminded....not any more ....introducing my avent calendar (made with a little help from Kim Archer and her Christmas workshop www.kimarcher.com.au)
We have alternated little German chocolates and candy canes and the girls are taking it in turns for their 'treat', in its place they have to leave a note...I can't wait to read all the little notes.
The best thing about this advent is that it will be so easy to pack up at the end of Christmas! Thanks to Kim and her team for yet another wonderful idea!
My next little share is very exciting....one of my favourite people to follow is Tamar over at www.tarisota.typepad.com. Last year she produced a wonderful recipe book full of great Chrsitmas treats...this years is going to be even better and she invited people to submit their favourite Chrsitmas recipes...guess who is the Day 2 girl????
