Of Christmases past

The Day is almost upon me and once again I'm not as organised as I'd like. Poor Miss B has been sick for two days and is beside herself that she'll be sick for Christmas.

Miss B 's worries got me thinking about some of the Christmas disasters we've had over the years. Looking back is always good for a laugh, but at the time it really did seem overwhelming. Here are just a couple of the standouts.

Waking up Christmas morning to  find two children with chickenpox ( I'm sure that wasn't on my wish list). Did you know that you can use a paste made of baking soda and water to help stop the itching? And soaking in a bath with a cup full of baking soda is soothing too. This is a life saver when every chemist/drug store is closed. Yes we live in a place where EVERYTHING is closed on Christmas.

Travelling to our wonderful friend's house for a much anticipated Christmas luau-themed celebration, only to have one of our Misses, who will remain nameless, throw such a tantrum (loud and prolonged) that we had to leave. I did feel quite sorry for myself as I sat down to my Christmas dinner of toast that night.

But the worst by far... heading off to the family gathering only to realise, due to some communication problem (that would be The Bloke not listening!) no-one had bought his mother present. Eek!

Whenever I remember that awful moment of realisation, I know it won't get worse than that (was that me tempting fate there?)

So onwards and upwards, to Christmas and beyond...

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...

157 days til Christmas

I love Christmas. I love everything about Christmas. The planning, the decorating, the tree, the baking, making gifts, sending cards, wrapping presents, Christmas carols, everything. It's a little different here in the southern hemisphere, where Christmas is at the beginning of summer, but the anticipation and preparation is no less than in the north.
One of the things I love is making decorations. I make simple things that Miss A and Miss B can help with (and because I love the look of homemade decorations).

Last year we had a red and white theme, we bought a bunch of red felt and stripped ribbon from our local haberdashery Ikes emporium,  them Miss B and I cut out felt hearts to hang on the tree, and wound the ribbon around tiny polystyrene rings. See our results below.

Next I bought some fabric scraps from Spotlight ( solid red, red and white gingham, and white with red reindeer). A friend found a ring of fine metal on the road and gave it to me. Miss A took the fabric and ring and created this...

Bring on Christmas 2014.