my true love sent to me:
12 days down
11 candy canes
10 rolls for pencils
9 bad jokes
8 plates for turkey
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
Is anyone else feeling like Christmas has really snuck up on them this year?
I am totally disorganised. Twelve days down & only twelve to go - yikes! I'd better get a wriggle on...
my true love sent to me:
11 candy canes
10 rolls for pencils
9 bad jokes
8 plates for turkey
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
I know, I know there are supposed to be 12. I had to sample didn't I?
The candy cane doesn't really do it for me. I'm always disappointed in the peppermint. I don't reckon that they look like they should taste minty.
Candy canes are so much a part of Christmas that you have to force yourself to like them as they are always in plentiful supply this time of year.
I remember sticky taping candy canes onto cheap cards when I was a kid in primary school & now my kids do the same. I think just about every kid in the class does the candy cane thing so that means about 25 canes per child!
my true love sent to me:
10 rolls for pencils
9 bad jokes
8 plates for turkey
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
A lot of kids on the nice list are getting these pencil rolls.
The children who have already been given these for birthday gifts absolutely love them. I think that they have been as well or better received than a new tin of Derwents. The kids seem to really like the named pockets for each pencil.
I got my tin of 72 Derwents was for my 10th birthday. Oooh how I loved those pencils. I didn't lose any & I always made sure that they went back in the tin in the right position. One of my girlfriends still has her original Derwents. I'm guessing a couple of you crafty girls might still have yours too.
my true love sent to me:
9 bad jokes
8 plates for turkey
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
You've gotta love a Christmas cracker. Tacky trinkets, dorky hats & bad jokes read out by drunk, dodgy relatives.
We are lucky. We don't have to get together with any undesirables on Christmas day.
I do get a good giggle out of the stories told by my brother & his gorgeous wife about some of the goings on at their Christmas events. I kind of wish I had a few stories of my own...
My true love sent to me:
8 plates for turkey
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
We made these as Christmas gifts a couple of years ago. Each year they get brought out for our Christmas feasting. Somehow, I've become the custodian of a couple of extra plates because certain people (& you know who you are) insist on living thousands of kilometres away in the stickiness that is Darwin.
In other news...the light tour didn't disappoint.
Each house was rated by the tour leader:
c. best viewed at high speed
b. slow down & maybe brake a second or two
a. park car & mill about admiring the months of work by the owner/operator of the show
The kids had their own rating system:
Action scored points
Quantity of lights scored points
Appearance of cartoon character scored points
Bonus points were awarded for the appearance of "baby Jesus"
Mega points awarded if owner of house was handing out lollies
"TOP JOB" was awarded to this house:
This pic shows the small girl jumping for joy in the "snow" which cascaded from the balcony onto the crowd below at 30 seconds intervals.
My true love sent to me:
7 twinkling lights
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
These gorgeous Christmas lights belonged to my Grandma & now belong to me.
Tonight we are going on an Xmas Light Night Tour (& it really is XLNT) with our ACE friends. It's a driving tour & Jo does heaps of research & plans the tour perfectly.
We are starting at Jo's with a couple of drinks & then heading out in convoy. Can't wait!
my true love sent to me:
6 stuffed mushies
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
Stuffed mushies are pretty popular. They look festive & pretty with their red & green filling. I wouldn't know if they taste any good or not because I don't eat mushies but the mushie lovers in my life reckon they are great.
Stuffed Mushies
Bite size mushies (as many as you like)
Jar of good quality pasta sauce (I use spiral foods organic pasta sauce with basil & garlic)
Pesto
Toasted pinenuts
Parmesan cheese
Brush the mushies & remove the stalks. Place on an oven tray upside down.
Fill each mushie with a teaspoon of the sauce, a little pesto, a few pinenuts & then sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes.
Enjoy.
my true love sent to me:
5 glowing gifts
4 waiting sacks
3 Chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa
Yep...that's the kootoyoo tribe. These tealight holders are gifts for someone special this Christmas.
I'm feeling a bit hamstrung by the "brilliance" of the 12 days of Christmas idea. I've got lots of other stuff I want to share & I'm lacking a bit of inspiration for the 12 days at the moment. It's OK at this end of the song but what about when I get to 10, 11 & 12?
Oh well...I'm a finisher that's for sure. If I commit to something I'm going to see it through. So if you nod off over the next few days I'll try to make sure that the wake-up call at the end is nice & loud.
Don't forget to check out the December gift. It really is a beauty. It plugs into the TV & all the games have an educational element. Take a look here.
my true love sent to me:
4 waiting sacks
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp...i...i...i...i...ng santa.
The sacks have been laid out since Saturday. To say the kids are excited would be an understatement! The fourth sack was made under top secret conditions in the bedroom before school today. I've told them that santa won't be coming to the dog but they are MOST insistent that Buddy needs his own sack.
If you have kids make sure you check out my December gift here.
my true love sent to me:
3 chrissy trees
2 drinks with bubbles
& a sp..i...i...i...i...ng Santa
I LOVE a real Christmas Tree but unfortunately R has sneezed his way through the last few Decembers which is no fun at all.
The kids & I made these trees together. We cut them out of MDF, painted them, sprayed them with glitter & added the cup hooks.
Each child has their own tree decorated by themselves with all their special decorations. They get given a new decoration each Christmas & they put their handmade decs up too.
Yay for a sneeze free silly season.
If you have kids make sure you check out my December gift here.