Happy New Year! Did you have a lovely break? I hope so. We’re slowly emerging out of our cocoon and back into the real world again, after a wonderful – if chilly – Christmas. A few highlights to share; firstly, of course, that the Big Man himself came…..
We had carefully counted out nine carrots and measured a mug of milk and some mince pies, so anticipation had been high, not least after Harry found Santa’s telegram in the hearth on Christmas Eve morning;
There was much debate about where to hang stockings, before Harry decided that the end of the bed was the surest approach. On Christmas morning, he discovered a letter from Santa in the top of his stocking, talking about how busy life has been at the North Pole; describing the winter colds which have been affecting the elves and which Mrs Claus has been treating with her special medicine, and the sprint-start training which Rudolph has been leading the reindeer in to ensure the whole world is reached over the course of a single night. Harry was transfixed – momentarily – before being thoroughly distracted by the tissue-wrapped packages in the stocking itself.
Our boiler resolutely failed to start, despite the efforts of several engineers, so we spent Christmas wrapped in scarves, hats, jumpers, thick socks and blankets, huddled around the open fires in the kitchen and snug. Bathing was limited to kettles of water, which Harry saw as another Christmas present in itself (no hair washing!), and which the rest of us shivered through. Fortunately our visiting relatives are a hardy lot, so we pretended we were camping in the wild and consigned all planned festive outfits to the back of the wardrobe in favour of warm layers; there was no glamour here this year. Harry, incidentally, seems to have a unique thermostat that never registers the cold; he spent Christmas day mostly in his vest, accessorised with a new Batman cape and mask;
When it came to feasting, I focused on creating a feeling of warmth with minimal effort, so used the antlers which usually adorn the log basket to form a centrepiece, sprinkled with glitter and with neutral baubles tucked at intervals. Glitter-dipped pinecones acted as place-name holders, and a length of black paper underneath complete with chalk sticks made for much fun between courses. The most popular game with our rotating collection of family and friends over the break was to see who could scribble down the names of all of the reindeer first. Have a go, it’s harder than you think; though it’s perhaps a sign of the potency of my homemade Christmas Martinis that someone had noted ‘Nixon’ in their list.
Our main Christmas present to each other was a New Year escape to a beautiful little hotel in the Cotswolds, for a couple of nights of warmth, fun and relaxation; it looked so welcoming even as we pulled into the drive;
…and Harry was immediately won over on discovering his bed (as were Digby and Marvin, who accompany him everywhere)..
Back home we’ve been busy packing up Christmas decorations (how is it that the number of them seems to grow every year?)
…And making thank-you cards for the many wonderful gifts we all received. For Harry’s, I designed a simple note and then added a picture of him in cowboy costume on the front. I recently picked up some old and rather battered childrens’ books in a church sale and have been cutting out pictures to use as envelope liners, so this Christmas thank-you notes will come with gorgeous images from Elmer;
And now the festivities are truly over, and we’re left with a house that looks deliciously calm and uncluttered – and warm at last, with a happily chuffing boiler once again firing away. Spring seems a long way off still, so my thoughts are turning to all things green and to how I can ward off the January gloom with a bit of colour and new life dotted around the place; that’s the challenge for this weekend, before work beckons once again.
Have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing!
Kate
Anonymous
Thank you for sharing your lovely family life. It makes me fill so happy reading your blog. Happy New Year.
Sarah Morris
Despite the cold you sound like you had a lovely Christmas and you make it so magical for Harry too. What amazing memories he’ll have of his childhood. How do you find the time though to do all these beautiful projects? and do you have a ‘Craft Cupboard’ to keep all your bits n finds in?
Kate
Hi Sarah, Happy New Year! Hmmm, time – evenings are my secret; much of my crafting is done in front of the TV when the house is quiet, meaning I can be vaguely social at the same time. Photographing it is the hard bit, especially in these gloomy, wintery days… I also carry a small notebook in a pocket almost all the time, so that if I think of a project or an idea, I can scribble it down and come back to it later – with my memory being like a sieve, that helps enormously! I have a long commute into work, so that time in the car is also good thinking time, once I manage to switch off from the office. And yes, I’m lucky enough to have a giant craft cupboard and sort of office-come-craft-room where I can store stuff, and also keep work-in-progress undisturbed which saves clearing it up whenever time runs out. Perhaps I should do a post on that; though it would take an embarrassing amount of clearing up even to get it to the ‘artistically cluttered’ stage of aesthetics; at the moment it looks like more of a minefield of glitter, glue and hazardously balanced craft knives..
Anonymous
Sounds like a great place to get away from it all and unwind!!
Nina von Butterzart
I like it so much!
Bex
Lovely lovely lovely….. As usual. Thank you for sharing.
jet
aaaw this lovely and really pretty eye candy, thank you:-D
nrhatch
Glad you had a warm up mid-week. Loved the photos. Happy New Year.
Victoria
You always have such lovely and creative ideas…so fun!
thehouseofjones
Happy New Year, Kate! Looks like a simply lovely Christmas, such thoughtful touches for Harry too. Can’t believe you were in my neck of the woods for New Year! Hope you enjoyed your Cotwolds break away
Jones x
PS. You may want to head over to mine… I have news
Raven Corwin, aka Meggie
There should be a LOVE button as well as a LIKE one, as I always LOVE everything you do. What a wonderful life you create, Kate! (No Christmas movie pun intended, honest!)
nickirocky
How wonderful to find a UK blog that covers lots of different crafty type things and looks so gorgeous! Keep up the wonderful work x
Julie Snyder
Kate, I love your blog! What font did you use for the Santa letter. It is darling. Kuddos to you for not going the advertising route. I am signing off on another blog because the advertising.
Happy New Year to you and your whole family.
lumar1298
So creative.. Where do you find the time…