It's almost Christmas

I adore Christmas. Every year I plan a lavish decorating theme and a feast of epic proportion.  And although I never quite live up to this fantasy inside my mind, I don't lose hope that this will be the year I sail calmly through the season,  wafting baubles and home made mince tarts in my perfectly coiffured wake.

The reality is that there is limited time, energy, and money to create the Christmas of my dreams. So this year I have decided to start preparations early.

To address the limited finances, I have been shopping for decorations at the charity shop. These el cheapo decorations, coupled with a little spray paint and a ton of glitter provide loads of decorative options for very little cash.

I also scored three sets of lights and a little bit of Christmas-themed crockery, which never goes amiss.

Here are a few of my refurbished Christmas finds...

 I found three of these pine cone candles. They were an ugly worn matt gold which had rubbed off most of the cone tips. A sad looking trio. The before photo was lost due to a camera glitch, so you'll have to take my word for how un-festival they looked.

Off to Bunnings I went and purchased silver spray paint ($10.95) and silver glitter ($4 for three vials of super sparkly glitter).

Now I have three beautiful sparkling candles. Note they are for decoration only, not to be lit.

I found several bags of pre-loved decorations for $3, and gave them a spray with silver and a good sprinkle of glitter. Then I used my trusty hot glue gun to attach several different shaped ones to a traditional flax woven kite ( Maori for bag).

My best find was three of these faux pine wreaths for $1 each.

A little unfurling of the pine stems...

A quick wrap with last year's tinsel...

and a few more of the sprayed and glittered decorations glued into place...

And voila...

Instant Christmas cheer...

Home again

Well, I've actually been home for a few weeks now. But time did that funny thing, where one day it's October and the next day it's almost Christmas. I just lost a month and don't even know where it went.

Of course being nearly Christmas is no hardship because I am a girl who loves that Merry Season.

But before we plunge headlong into the Christmas spirit, let me tell you a bit about Spain.

It was everything I had dreamed it would be...

October was a great month to go. The bulk of the tourists come in Aug and Sept, so things are a little less busy.

The weather was fine and sunny with an occasional thunder storm to keep it fresh. I missed a heat wave up to 35° C the week before I arrived.

I ate fantastic food and drank smooth as silk red wine.

Swam in the Mediterranean sea

Toured 10th century Arabian baths

Visited a 13th century cathedral and more churches than I can recall

Celebrated with the locals at the Binisalem wine festival.

Climbed mountain tracks and wondered streets that have been walked by other people just like me for hundreds of years.

And of course had long reminiscences with my friend of 30 years.

                                     

                                                  Now lets get stuck into Christmas...