Hanging Out with The Girls

A funny thing happened to me in the week leading up to Christmas. I had two lists of things to do to prepare for the big day and I was enjoying working my way through them..when I realised that if I did everything on those lists, I would be spending very little time with my girls. Would they love Christmas so much if it meant Mum was too busy for them? So I dropped everything and just enjoyed hanging out with my girls and soaking up the feeling of Christmas that seemed to be everywhere.. Here's some of what we got up to..

Walking along the Yarra River,
plus some Christmas treats from the Warrandyte Bakery.

Christmas Baking

Morris the Teddy's Birthday Party.

Swimming in the pool.

Lunch with Daddy, big sister and cousins in the city.
We visited the new Myer store and bought Christmas decorations. 

Our annual berry picking adventure in Gippsland.

Hot Chocolate on Christmas Eve.

So, I have no spectacular table setting to show you (a few flowers from the garden and the dinnerware were about it..maybe I'll do better next year!), but we had a wonderful day and a wonderful Christmas week. Hope you did too..Lovexx

The Christmas Magic is Near..

..and the joy and excitement has set in here. I can't tell you the happiness I feel sharing my little girls' enthusiasm for Christmas. They are now both at an age where they can understand and anticipate all the wonder of this time of year. I'll share some photos with you in the New Year, when I get back to blogging..

And to all of you - I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, full of fun and happiness. I've loved getting to know so many of you this year and I've had more than a few emotional, joyous moments because of your friendship, encouragement and generosity. I don't have a huge amount of time for blogging, but it is a very special little part of my life.

Lots of love from me to you and bring on the big day! MERRY CHRISTMAS xxx

 

White Christmas

I've decided to have an all white table setting this Christmas, what about you? Here's my inspiration..

Christmas Cosy

There's something very cosy about Christmas..even in the Summer heat of Australia. Perhaps it's the twinkling lights, the baking, the abundance of food.. One of our family's cosy traditions is to have hot chocolate on Christmas Eve. I've never quite got it right before but this year I've bought a bag of Koko Black chocolate to mix in. My stepdaughter made me one, following the instructions, and it was a serious hot chocolate! Think milk, cream and 50g of chocolate! Koko Black is without doubt my favourite chocolate. Their cafe/shops are also wonderful (and child-friendly..my girls often have something called the 'Junior Belgian Spoil'..) I usually just get all the ingredients out on Christmas Eve but I recently spotted a 'Hot Chocolate Making Station' at My Sweet Savannah..

It looked so lovely I had to have one here for the rest of the season..this is my (amateur) version..

The little Eat Me and Drink Me labels are found here.

And a litte more Christmas cosiness..xx

Handmade Christmas Gifts

Every year I like to give some handmade gifts, along with the shop bought ones..Christmas biscuits and other treats wrapped up prettily are always appreciated and of course they're made with love..

Image from Cox & Cox

I've been having a look around the net for other handmade ideas and found these at Country Living..

A candle made in a vintage teacup

Totes made out of old sweaters

Button jewellery

Pressed flowers in an antique frame

Monogrammed apron & personalised recipe journal

Vintage brooches turned into fridge magnets

Do you give anything you've made yourself? I'd love to hear your ideas xx

Christmas Decor

How do you decorate your home for Christmas? Do you do a lot or just a little? We do just a little here, but I hope to add more each year..

More gorgeous Christmas inspiration..

 

Happy Wednesday xx