Posts

Posted on

creating Christmas* day 2…the family newsletter

Day 2 and the Christmas preparations are in full swing even if I am not.

The weather is cold and nippy outside and DH is bravely going outdoors to fix up Christmas lights and finish painting the bench, so what could be better than to retreat to the peace of the study with a warming brew of ginger and honey tea to write our Christmas Newsletter.  We always send one each year to friends and relatives who we see very little of (like our Australian relatives and friends who live far away) but want to keep in touch with and we find this is a good way of doing that.

Years ago, for those overseas, I would buy those specially printed airmail sheets with a different Christmas scene each year, do you remember them? – I wonder if they still do them, Post Offices have changed so much over the years I daresay they might be something no one wants anymore.

I would buy 5 airmail letters each year and painstakingly hand write, in my best handwriting of course, the same news over and over on each letter and as you can imagine it was quite time consuming.   Once these were out of the way I would concentrate on writing the Christmas cards and scribble a few notes on the blank side of some of them fitting in whatever bits of news I could in such a small space.

This was often limited to the same kind of ‘quick‘ news that friends would scribble in theirs;

 â€˜Hope you are all well, we have X amount of new grandchildren, been to XYZ on holiday and so and so or the dog has been quite unwell all year’…….having similarities with the postcards you received during the summer months that always began ‘Having a wonderful time, wish you were here – food good, weather awful’…  or sometimes reversed to say ‘food awful, weather good.’

And then computers came along and digital cameras and eventually we got an old second hand printer from my brother so the whole process speeded up and our Christmas family newsletter was born. 

I tend to type a general letter embellished with a few photos – a bit like a blog post really – and the whole document has to fit onto two sides of an A4 sheet so it can easily be included with a card and not go overweight.  Even better these days, many are just sent by email (for those friends and relatives that have email) but I do still send them a proper card as well by post, though alarmingly, the two books of 2nd class Christmas stamps I need cost me a whopping £15 84 (we probably paid less than that a month on our first mortgage!). I do still enjoy a trip to the Post Office for the new Christmas stamps and, just like buying the decorated airmail letters, admire the latest design – it always feels like a fundamental part of the enjoyment of Christmas.

I usually have to look back at both my blog and photos to help me remember what we have done over the past year and often tweak the main letter a bit for some of the recipients, adding news that is more relevant to them.  – I do tend to stay away from the ‘bragging’ letter that we sometimes receive…you probably know what I mean here if you have ever received one, mine really are just updates on our general life so far – an expansion of the ‘scribbled’ note.

I know some bloggers probably love these round robin letters whilst others will hate them.  I think if the person I am sending it to doesn’t like them then they can just ignore it, but I haven’t had any complaints so far and I personally do like to receive theirs.

So with my newsletter in hand I now need to get on with producing the cards.  I nearly always make my Christmas cards – sometimes a lino cut, sometimes watercolour whatever idea springs to mind at the time when I sit down to do one.

I have a busy day today after lunch I have an appointment with my Cranio-sacral therapist who is doing wonders for my tight muscles in my back and then on to M&S to pick up a parcel going via Sainsbury’s on the way home to see if they have any milk today (shelves stripped bare yesterday, like many foods…is there more panic buying again?).

Oh and just a little mention that to look at my past Christmas crafts on yesterday’s blog post you have to click on the wording on the photo to link through to the blog post, clicking just on the photo will just link through to a bigger version of the photo! I can see that has happened from the log I see on my blog admin page.

Back soon with more Christmas activities.

Have a great day everyone. x

Posted on

creating Christmas * day 1…the Advent calendar

Well December 1st is finally here. In some ways I am glad to welcome December and in others I am feeling a mild panic; can I get everything done in time for Christmas, even a simpler Christmas?

For some reason this year my mind is a complete muddle, too many outside things going on and now the new variant news adds to the feeling of disruption and unrest.

Today is the day we reveal the first advent window. According to Google the first printed Advent calendar originated in Germany in the early 20th century with Gerhard Lang. The story goes that when Gerhard was a little boy his mother made him a calendar with 24 small candies attached to cardboard, one for each day before Christmas.

Throughout November I have kept thinking about an Advent calendar and had a look back at previous ones.

In 2012 I made these simple A5 sized calendars for myself and friends using some tiny stamps and different coloured ink pads.

Advent Calendars

***********************

In 2018 I made a series of little cards – one for each day – with a different Christmas activity written on the back…great fun but a bit of a marathon and so very time consuming to stick with the daily cards and fit everything in.

You can read more about each daily activity and all the things I made by clicking on the wording at the bottom of each picture below to link back to the post. Alternatively click on the picture Creating Christmas in the side bar to read previous posts on everything Christmassy.

************************

In 2019 I decided to try and create a much simpler Christmas and found it was still as much fun. I was given a Pukka Advent calendar with a different tea bag to sample each day. I still made Christmas cards and presents but kept everything quite simple. You can read more about this by clicking on the wording at the bottom of each picture below.

This year I had no plans and no time to make an Advent calendar so imagine my delight when we arrived home from Scotland last night to find this cute little surprise on our doormat from my sister in law.

I could have hugged her. Such a lovely surprise and a great start to the festive period.

Our Christmas will once again be a much simpler affair and although I cannot promise to blog every day I will certainly share all my makes and bakes as the Advent unfolds.

Let the countdown begin……..

Posted on

dear diary :: the end of November

The last day in November and then December is upon us and the urgency to get Christmas organised begins.  I had intended having much more ‘done’ towards Christmas this year but somehow life has managed to get in the way.

No matter it will be low key this year and it is often the time running up to Christmas that gives as much pleasure as the day itself – it really has become a season over the years.  I love the evocative smells throughout this time – the fragrant spices of cinnamon and citrus fruits wafting through the air, the smell of the Christmas cake baking in the oven and the scent of the real fir tree when it is brought indoors.

When I was little the Christmas tree was brought home by dad on Christmas Eve and we decorated it before we went to bed, whilst mum was in the kitchen preparing trifles and vegetables for the next day.  As I got older the tree was bought earlier and earlier (never earlier than the week before though) then it became an artificial one, but my memory will always be of the anticipation of dad arriving home from work on Christmas Eve and throwing open the back door complete with tree in hand. Magical.

I am wondering already what to put on my Not so Secret Santa wish list.   I am thinking perhaps books – I have on my ‘books I would like to read list’ a number of titles by Persephone books and they are not altogether cheap. A few weeks ago I looked at the lovely ADVENT book in Waterstones, also on my list; hardback and full of stunning photography but there was actually little I would make from it so I decided to cross it off the list as it would be for the gorgeousness more than the content and I am going to be ruthless next year about not buying things that I really don’t need more of. As I have been decluttering more of our stuff recently and intend to do even more in the coming new year I am loving all the extra space I have gained and don’t wish to lose this again by introducing more things I don’t really need.

Looking over last year’s list I found I had asked for various goodies from Neal’s Yard, a mini solar fountain, the box set of Cranford DVDs and some king sized Victorian cloches for the garden.

I have a fancy for putting down the mini solar fountain again for my little blue ceramic dish that I fill with water, as that is something I didn’t receive.  My one concern is a) it is plastic and b) I don’t really need it – I just think they look quite nice.

Or perhaps I will go with a treat – a craft workshop session or a token for a relaxing massage or facial although booking for things in advance at the moment with the appearance of the new variant, does put that into question again.

To be honest there is not a lot I actually need or want but one of the things I would love most to add to my list is TIME – we seem to give plenty away but sadly it is not something you can buy!

We will be leaving Scotland and the beach behind today and probably won’t be back now until January so our temporary caravan will have to be drained down and made winter proof for the meantime. I was disappointed that the Christmas decorations in Stranraer are not switched on yet (and some not actually put up yet) it will happen sometime this week when we are not here. Castle Douglas, the little town we drive through on the way back, is looking very Christmassy and I hope when we stop there for our tea I can capture a few snapshots of the shop windows and maybe, if we are in time, browse a few of the little independent shops.

Posted on

dear diary :: blowin’ a ‘hoolie’….

It’s been a while I know, and one of the reasons I am writing this post is because we are in our safe haven, our little sanctuary in Scotland…far from the pressures of normal daily life at home.

It has been, as usual, a busy few weeks coming and going to see mum and helping out our daughter with childcare in North Yorkshire and our elder daughter at home.  On the last visit to mum and younger daughter we stayed at my sister’s glam home near my mum’s; it is spacious and beautifully decorated and situated in a lovely little village, I could easily live there myself – apart from the fact that we wouldn’t have the money to even buy a one bedroomed cottage there.  The house price difference between West and North Yorkshire is huge.  Still one can dream.

We celebrated little Sweetie’s third birthday – a small family party at her home – she has spent a third of her tiny life so far in lockdown, at home with mum, the local toddler groups being closed, so has few friends. Her cousin little Freddie and his mum and dad joined us for the day and after playing games and opening presents we all went to the local fish and chip restaurant in Thirsk and had the extended side room to ourselves which was nice.  Being vegetarians we had chips, beans and battered mushrooms – veggie burgers are on the menu but we are not keen of them.

I made the cake – it was the usual disaster.  Sprinkles had been requested so it should have been simple enough but the buttercream had far too much air in it so didn’t go on quite as smoothly as I would have liked and the white chocolate dribbles didn’t dribble quite where intended.  Of course I did it in a rush too, but little Sweetie loved it.

As I predicted the dress did not get finished in time so it will be a Christmas present. Since this picture I have finished the knitting and tacked the skirt to the bodice and all is looking good. The sleeves which if you remember I had to try and alter myself did work out perfectly in the end by only decreasing on the knit rows and not every row as the pattern said.

Mum has been taken to Leeds for the weekend by my sister and her husband (he is able to lift her in and out of the car as she doesn’t have the muscle strength herself to get out).  They are staying at a new hotel just outside Leeds ( she will have one of the disabled rooms to help her get about easily) and from there they will go to John Lewis in the centre so she can see all the Christmassy things.  She cannot come down to stay with us any longer because of the stairs so there is a big hole now for her at this time of year that needs to be filled, as we would take her Christmas shopping and have a trip into Derbyshire to Tissington and Ashbourne.

So whilst mum was being attended to we made our escape to Scotland.  We were met with the bad weather – blowin’ a raging ‘hoolie’ all night; our caravan rocking in the frequent strong gusts but luckily no trees down like the gales of 2010 that took ten large pine trees down in our cottage garden.

It is cosy warm in our temporary caravan as we are lucky enough to have double glazing and central heating but yesterday it was a scramble to get Calor Gas – there is a shortage and our usual stockist in Stranraer sold us one that had the wrong connection so we had to drive the 17 miles back to town to return it.  She was apologetic as they didn’t have the one we needed and we had to take back the empty bottle so that we could try elsewhere, as at the moment you can only buy a new Calor gas bottle by returning an empty one.

We were lucky and found the local shop in a village on the way to town had one left.  It was cheaper by a £1 and much more convenient so we will continue to buy the gas there in future.  So at least some good came out of a tricky situation.

It was the same with the major power cut we had on our last visit to the cottage and we were rejoicing that, although unfortunate at the time, it happened back then and the fault repaired because it would surely have gone in this last storm and it would have taken longer for the power team to get to us with so many people being affected with the wind.  The local garden centre had no power because of a fallen tree and they had been plunged into darkness, could only take cash and the café had to be closed.  We had trees down across the main road and for a time would have been captive on the peninsula as there is only one road back to town down here on the Mull, however it was cleared very quickly, probably by local farmers.

We only have a few days here and I have a little pile of ‘bits’ to look at, financial papers, a bit of knitting, making Christmas plans and catching up with some reading.  I finished The Winter Children – not really my kind of read but I persevered not wanting to abandon it. I have just read Christmas at Thrush Green by Miss Read again – always a favourite at this time of year – there is something so calming about her books where the lives of the villagers seemingly have order and sequence to them like the natural world and busyness is not a word that takes over.

I did the live family Not so Secret Santa draw from the caravan – so we all know who is buying for who now.  I am buying for my eldest daughter, whist DH is buying for my mum, my BIL is buying a gift for me and my brother is buying a gift for DH and so it goes on all around the family each person only buying one gift for another. 

We switched to the Secret Santa a few years ago now as the mammoth buying sessions had got out of hand as our family expanded.  No-one knew what to buy for each other and we ended up with a house full of gifts we didn’t really want and opening all those presents from one another meant there was little time to play games and have fun.

Our version is not so secret…hence the title.  Each person can provide a list of up to ten wishes of things they would like as a gift to the person who is to buy for them (which is different each year – hence the draw).  You can be as specific as you like or opt for a surprise gift or a gift token, (tokens are very popular with my brother and mum).  The gift or combination of gifts must only amount to £25 per person – it used to be £50, but has been reduced to £25 now (reflecting the fact more of us are on pensions or lower incomes). 

Because you list ten items the actual gift or gifts you get is still a surprise as you don’t know which one the buyer might choose to get.  If they are lucky and get your gift(s) discounted then to keep it fair they still have to use the whole £25, the difference cannot be pocketed by the buyer.  Everyone buys for the children as normal; they are not included in the Secret Santa.  It has been a great success and we would not go back.  It has cut down on all the tramping around shops looking for ideas and the expense of parking that goes with it.  And it leaves more time to enjoy the Christmas events that are put on everywhere.  This year we are going to the light show at Temple Newsam.

I still buy little things for my friends or make them as they very much like the homemade craft items.

In normal times and because not all of us could be together on Christmas Day we would have a big family gathering just before Christmas to swap our Secret Santa presents (but not open them).  You try disguising the fact you have bought an ironing board or wheelbarrow in wrapping paper!  We would often use the pub/restaurant where my daughter worked to meet and have sandwiches and home-made chips laid on with mince pies for afters and wear our best santa hats and jumpers of course.

We would play games (this is some of us below playing the guess who I am game)…

and have our musical interlude (whistle blowing and handbell ringing) …..and generally have a fun time. 

Because of Covid we had to have a Zoom party last year and pass presents on as best we could.  This year most of us are going to my sisters for Christmas Day, Covid allowing, so we won’t be meeting beforehand.

I am just starting now on crafting our Christmas – a simpler Christmas like last year, maybe even more so. I will try and keep you all updated as, throughout the run up to Christmas, I make cards and goodies, decorate the house and attend events.

Hope all is well with everyone – time allowing I keep dibbing in and out of the blogs I read to keep up with your news and occasionally I might even get to leave a comment.

Back soon x