All the trees of the field shall clap their hands
Can you guess what my theme is this year? I made these two nutcrackers from a Tilda pattern just before things started becoming so crazy busy.
I’m excited that Christmas is nearly here! You don’t have to be a child to love the mystery of Emmanuel, God with us.
I’ll be taking a break for the rest of the school holidays and look forward to catching up again in February 2020.
Have a very merry and blessed Christmas!
Much love,
Sarah xox
It’s been quite a bit longer than the promised week (I’ve been caught up with Christmas festivities and end of school events), but I’m back to share the details of the annual bookclub Christmas dinner I hosted recently.
As always, it was a beautiful evening with amazing food which we bring and share, joy, laughter and wonderful conversation. I often pick the theme for the table decorations almost a year in advance, when I have a chance to read the Christmas magazines and become inspired after all the busyness of the season has died down in the new year. This year I chose a green, white and orange theme.
At each place setting was a pomander (clove studded orange), which my Mum had helped to make (in between ferrying girls to dance concerts), the weekend before. These smell amazing and if it is not too humid will last for a long time. I also made some feathers out of old book pages for each setting which I stamped with some ink. I try to tie the book theme in somewhere! The little sprig of berries was from my ficus tree, which happened to be fruiting just at the right time of year and to look very festive.
Down the centre of the table I used some pine branches overlaid with some twinkle lights and the beautiful Australian Christmas tree, which is bright orange and looks very celebratory. I also used some antique jelly moulds containing tea lights down the centre of the table.
Finally, the pièce de résistance, this beautiful cherry and lemon jelly (from the latest edition of Delicious magazine), which was my contribution to our delicious feast. It was all a lot of fun and I can’t wait until next year!
Christmas is a wonderful sparkly, shiny time of the year when we celebrate all that is good with the world. Our annual bookclub Christmas dinner is one of the highlights of the social calendar. On the eve of hosting this year’s dinner, I’m sharing these photos from a past event.
The theme for this dinner was silver and white. It was fun to wrap a present for each place setting (a Christmas mug), using the traditional Japanese technique of wrapping in cloth (furoshiki). This is a great way to wrap using materials that can easily be recycled.
As we celebrate Christmas in all its shiny and sparkling goodness, I’m reminded of the greatest gift giver.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17
Next week I’ll share all the details of this year’s event!
This is the second part of my post about our Christmas tree themed Christmas from last year. Last week I shared all the details about the food and today I’m sharing the table setting details. One of the fun things I like to do each year, is to make a special little present to put on the Christmas table for each person. For each of the female guests, I made the trees pictured above from vintage napkins I found in an op shop and cinnamon sticks.
For the boys I made cars in jars parked in the snow with mini Christmas trees strapped to the roof (pictured above). These were easy to make and a lot of fun to put together. The link to the tutorial I used is here. The men received some “Christmas tree” chocolate from Cadbury wrapped in Christmas tree paper with a sprig of fresh pine and a Christmas bell on top.
We managed to find some Christmas tree serviettes and I made little individual Christmas trees from old corks and rosemary sprigs to place at each table setting. The tutorial for making these is here.
Even the crackers had Christmas trees on them! For the table centrepiece I filled one of Mum’s old wooden boxes with some freshly cut conifer and some white pillar candles. It all looked stunning and my little nephews loved the cars in jars! I’ll leave you with a photo of my cute nephew impatiently waiting for all the festivities to start!
More Christmas decorating ideas coming next week!
The lead up to Christmas is my favourite time of year – I love the sense of anticipation created by this special day. As we begin to feel weary and world worn as another year draws to a close, the hope created by the baby born in the stable so long ago quickens anew. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
I’m sharing these photos from our annual bookclub Christmas party which I host each year. Styling a Christmas table combines a few of my favourite things : Christmas, entertaining and decorating! I like to pick out a theme and decorate with that in mind. This year I was inspired by the seven swans a-swimming from the Christmas carol, The Twelve days of Christmas. The seven swans a-swimming are a reference to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord), which are found in Isaiah 11:1-2.
I am indebted to the very creative people at The House that Lars Built for inspiration. The link contains the tutorial to create the swan centrepiece and the free printable for the swan place cards. I also used some tea light holders as little individual vases at each place setting (these were gifts for each person to take home). Other table setting details included a set of the Twelve Days of Christmas plates from Pottery Barn and some “Wee Willie Winky” candlestick holders for added ambiance. I hung my daughters’ beautiful swan themed ballet costumes around the room (they were too pretty to be only worn once).
Do you love the anticipation of Christmas?