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creating Christmas * day 13

The musical interlude

There is nothing to beat watching a children’s Christmas concert or play. They are so delightful and what a range of characters; the shy ones who look shell shocked to be in front of a strange audience and can’t manage to utter a word to the bold ones who shout out with gusto.

I remember my school Nativity play when I was 6 or 7 years old and I had been chosen to be one of the angels. Grandma made an angel costume from a nightdress pattern in silky white lining material and adorned it with gold ric-rac. I thought it was heavenly and could not wait for the day when I could wear it.

I was one of four angels and we were slightly elavated behind the shepherds and kings and had to stand on the rather wobbly long wooden low bench at the back. At the end of the performance we all sang ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ when halfway through I suddenly disappeared and only 3 angels remained standing…..mum wondered where I had gone as did the rest of the audience; I had done a classic faint, ended up on the floor and was having to be revived.

And that was the end of any stage career I might have hoped for!

Today, was my grandson’s star appearance at his musical concert. He was playing the glockenspiel together with another boy of similar age. Just the two of them on stage with the teacher giving help where needed. She had chosen two very simple songs – Jingle bells and Twinkle, twinkle as they have not been at the music school club for very long. They both played well remembering all the notes in the right order and we could sing along to help with the rhythm.

I did manage to take a video on my phone as well as they had obtained permission to put it on Facebook later.

These are always moments to cherish.

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creating Christmas * day 12

The humble mince pie

I don’t know about you but as I get older a mince pie gives me more trouble than I need at Christmas. Call it indigestion, heartburn or whatever I know when I have eaten one these days.

It is a bit miserable that I can’t eat them without suffering anymore as nothing says Christmas quite like a mince pie; I swear they have been in the shops since we returned home from holiday in August. In Sainsbury’s, like most supermarkets, they are piled high but are never as good as a homemade one, at least I don’t think so.

I still make a few but these are mainly to give to people dropping by unexpectedly or take to some event. I like to make those tiny ones that you can eat in a mouthful and they do make a lovely little gift.

Strangely, I can eat a small amount of the wonderful Ecclefechan tarts that we can buy in our local Sainsbury’s now. They are like a cross between a Yorkshire curd tart and a mince pie. At one time we only ever saw these in the shops in Scotland when we went up to our cottage, the little town of Ecclefechan being only a short detour on the way to Stranraer.

So I will stick with these at Christmas time, maybe one day I will try out a recipe for them!

As I missed posting this yesterday, there are two posts today so that I can catch up.

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creating Christmas * day 11

The Christmas Angels

Christmas without angels at our house would be like a picnic without sandwiches.

Since my two daughters were about six and seven, I have always put an angel in the top of their stocking.

Over the years, they have been made of many different materials – paper, wood, ceramic, wire and even a knitted one…. and when I was desperate and couldn’t find any one year, they had chocolate ones.

The photo above was the cute angel from December 2023 and one of my favourites. You can see more of them here on a previous Christmas post.

This year, I have struggled again to find angels in the shops amongst the abundance of mice and dinosaurs; they are definitely in short supply!

On the journey home from Elizabeth Gaskell’s house yesterday, we called at a garden centre for a hot chocolate.  The Christmas display that met us as we walked in through the door was rather overwhelming, but at last, hanging between a polar bear and a frosted bauble, I spied an angel.

They are quite unusual, made of pottery of some kind with a raised gold decoration and quite heavy for their tiny size.  They are snuggly wrapped in tissue paper now, hiding away until it is time to make their appearance on Christmas day.

Earlier today, I did some more work on the Christmas gifts for my four friends. We only give small presents, usually under £10 and mine are often handmade or a mix of something handmade and bought.

This year, by request, I am making the calendars once more with pictures in and around our village.

You can see the previous calendars here

I have been taking photos all year on our walks around the village ready to edit and print them. They are only small desktop ones..not very intrusive or requiring wall space.

Along with the calendar I am planning (though this might not work out) to make some tiny gingerbread stars that will be partially dipped in white or dark chocolate and perhaps a sprinkle of gold decoration as well. These will be put into a cellophane bag and dropped into a lovely Christmas glass that has a raised Christmas tree on the front amidst a flurry of snowflakes that I bought weeks ago in Sainsbury’s.

Well, that is the plan and another post, another day.

We havea few busy days coming up now; we will be out all day tomorrow and then the girls (Little L and Sweetie) are coming to stay and we will no doubt be crafting.

I had an idea as I fell asleep last night to use some glittery gold and silver card and coloured tissue that I have in my craft boxes to make some hanging stars with them.

This is a prototype I made up quickly today. I think once hung in a cluster, the light will shine through the tissue like a stained glass window. Each star that I cut out then makes a smaller star. It will be very much a ‘watch this space’.

Today’s Advent window was a Christmas pudding. I won’t be making one this year as we are going to my sister’s house, but generally I just buy a small one for DH as it is far too sweet for me these days. I love the look of them though.

And now I am ready for putting my feet up and watching the catch up of Shetland on the TV.

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creating Christmas * day 10

The Christmas visit

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

The Christmas season would not be complete without a visit to one of the many places that put on a Christmas event. I prefer the lesser known places, the ones that are not overcrowded and Elizabeth Gaskell’s house fit the bill completely.

I was as excited about this day as a child might be let loose in a toyshop. Mrs Gaskell’s house had been on my ‘go to see list’ for so long and it was definitely worth the wait to go at Christmas….. and it was everything I had hoped for and more.

It is only over the hill from us towards Manchester city centre, not an easy route ploughing through the unknown areas of the suburbs, but we made good time and as our booking was for 11.40 am we missed the worst of the morning rush. To our astonishment we could park on the street right outside the house for 3 hours free and thereby avoiding the usual steep parking charges in Manchester.

The house was beautifully decorated and in addition there were readings from Little Women (Elizabeth Gaskell had close connections with the Louisa May Alcott) and musical entertainment by the Gaskell Singers choir…who were heavenly to listen to.

There is too much for me to write about and too many photos to edit in this post today but I will do a special post about the visit soon….they would welcome the publicity, I am told, and need more visitors to keep them going especially in January….but the sun is shining and my other Christmas tasks are calling me to go and attend to them….. so I will leave you at this point.

I will be posting creating Christmas * day 11 at some time later today.

Meanwhile thank you for all your lovely comments recently, you always have interesting things to say and I love to hear about your Christmas preparations, though I fear mine are well behind most of you.

And welcome new subscribers – I hope you enjoy reading.

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