Thank you, thank you for your lovely comments about my felt gingerbread house*. They made me SO happy. I love to be able to share these crafty moments with you, and I love even more that you get it. I have not had much time for blog visiting these last few days but will rectify that this weekend - I want to see how you all welcome December into your houses and lives.
Today marks the start of my favourite time of year. We have not bought a tree or put any decorations up yet. I have not written any Christmas cards or wrapped any presents and the cake remains un-iced. But Christmas is beginning in our house and I am celebrating that with some small rituals.
The advent calendar came out of the loft. The children were so excited when I hung it yesterday, and even more excited when they found two chocolate bears in the pocket labelled "1" this morning. Small things. It reminded me how excited I would get as a child when the boxes of Christmas things were taken down from the loft and I would see the stockings in there amongst the tinsel (it was the eighties) and fairy lights. Just seeing the stockings and knowing that Christmas was coming was exciting enough.
I bought poinsettias and clementines yesterday. I am experimenting with drying out sliced oranges for decorations - more on that later. We watched The Snowman this morning and Angus is watching it again now while Bella is at a birthday party. I am making cranberry chutney. The school newsletter is full of news of tomorrow's Christmas fair and forthcoming nativity plays. The weather is perfect; very,very cold and still and sunny, my favourite kind of weather. Frosty mornings, blue skies and pink sunsets.
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* The nice people at Mumsnet Bloggers have put my little house on their Advent Calendar!!!! It is here if you are inclined.
Gorgeous photos Gillian ... the orange reminds me of light coming through stained glass ... we are all prepared for Advent too and set to really enjoy the run-up to Christmas ... wishing you a really lovely Advent ... Bee xx
ReplyDeletePS I am an eighties child too ... so remember the tinsel ... the shops are full of it again this year ... seems everything goes in circles ... x
Lovely photo's! And I adore your felt house. I can relete to your Christmas feeling, though here in Holland it is more the Sinterklaas feeling, the 5th of december. Those days I still wish I had little children. Groetjes, Gerda
ReplyDeleteDear Gillian
ReplyDeleteLovely Christmassy photos. It is a lovely time of year when there are little children there to enjoy the excitement. I won't be putting any trimmings up until I finish work for Christmas - that will give me something to look forward to. (Chris wouldn't bother at all if I didn't do it.) Enjoy all the Christmas activities you have on the way.
Best wishes
Ellie
I am catching up on my blog reading - oh that gingerbread house is so gorgeous! You are so clever. The nicest thing I have seen in a long while. We are loving December here too - the Christmas CDs are on! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
ReplyDeleteThe sliced orange looks so pretty! It doesn't feel Christmassy at all here in Cape Town - I think it's too warm. Really need to get my act together and start shopping! x
ReplyDeleteI seriously had to resist the urge to go and buy our Christmas tree this afternoon. We normally leave it until mid-December but this year, we're all really excited for some reason. The advent calendar is out, Louis has helped make a little advent candle thing for our table and the chocolate coins are purchased. My Christmas cupboard is gradually filling with treats and presents and the boys are busy making Christmas cards. Now all we need is more crisp blue-sky days and snow on Christmas Eve I reckon!
ReplyDeleteI love all the little Christmas rituals which begin at the start of December, makes me sad that my children are nearly grown now. I so miss the nativity plays which i used to watch them in.
ReplyDeleteI love your gingerbread house from your last post Gillian - It's brilliant. Looks great on your blog header pic too. Your row of poinsettias look very pretty. x
ReplyDeleteIt certainly sounds like Christmas is arriving in your house. Love these photos! X
ReplyDeleteHello Gillian,
ReplyDeleteIt all looks so festive and beautiful, I also have to have the poinsettias and clementines for it to feel Christmassy.
Ivan
I love the photo of the orange though I'm not so keen on eating them: I wish I did because a big pile does look so Christmassy. We don't put up our decorations until 1 or 2 weeks before so the house is a Christmas-free zone at the moment. Well apart from the chocolate Advent calendars, and they have to be Cadbury. x
ReplyDeleteA lovely gentle start to Christmas. My children are a bit older (12 and 10) and we have introduced a Family Advent Calender where we each put in two treats for the other three, in the form of vouchers ... it may be breakfast in bed, a picnic, painting toenails etc. etc. Lots of lovely thought goes into it. Such a wonderful time of year. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a divine time of year?
ReplyDeleteAnd I must say... Your Gingerbread house is gorgeous!
Oh Gillian I have been so busy, but even so I am peeved with myself for missing the post about the Gingerbread house - it is AMAZING!! You must have had so much fun making it. I love your gorgeous photos and I also love Raymond Briggs...my kids have my old Father Christmas books and I'm looking forward to reading them lots over the coming weeks. I hope you've had a lovely weekend! Rachel x
ReplyDeleteyay - nature's stained glass!! I so enjoy you ;-)
ReplyDeleteSuch a bright and cheerful post! I love the poinsettias on the window seal and the clementines really make it feel like Christmas.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh! You got an Advent Calendar! It's my first ear without one. I miss it already. Happy Christmas time.
ReplyDeleteI too have missed so much but am so glad to have a cuppa and a catch up to look forward to! Love the gingerbread house... well done you! One crafty Mummy x
ReplyDeleteThe orange slice photo is wonderful! I can almost smell it. Curious to hear how you're drying them.
ReplyDeleteYour house looks so light! Or did you have a window behind as well as in front when you photographed the oranges? And the poinsettias are gorgeous. I have hardly any windowsills here (we have a lot of windows in the slope of the roof and a couple that are full height) and I long to be able to display things like that.
ReplyDelete