Tuesday 11 December 2012

Visiting Father Christmas

We popped along the road to Ham House on Sunday, where we followed a trail to Father Christmas's Grotto.

It was great fun, running around the garden looking for clues, making  a magic word which we could  tell Father Christmas when we met him.

I don't know who enjoyed it the most, our six year old daughter or my husband and me!


Ham House

Lots of Fun

Christmas decorations

The first clue was here, under this exotic fruit

We read the clues and filled in the wordsearch

Riding lessons at a nearby stables

More clues, and directions to the next one!

The clues were in the most unlikely of places

Wintery light dappling this wall

Another clue

They were all attached to bowler hats

Every where looked cold... Brrrr!

Some vegetables were still growing in the garden

But most were gone

the Holly looked spectacular

At last the final clue

We're nearly there!

Hot drinks for those feeling the cold

And here is Father Christmas!

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Decorating for Christmas

When I looked out of the window this morning I thought I might be able to photograph some lovely wintery scenes, but sadly, by the time I returned from dropping my daughter at school, the sprinkling of snow had disappeared.

On Monday, when I had picked her up from school she had let our a plaintive cry, "I am the only person in my class who has not got her tree up at home!"  Poor lamb.

So yesterday, to remedy this dreadful disaster I set about decorating the house.  I put the tree up with the lights, but left the decorating for her to do, while I focused on shelves and windows.

I always feel quite thrifty when I decorate, as I reuse many things from year to year, in particular my crib figures, I just move them around to different places in the house, but one is always on the dining room windowsill and one on the living room bookcase.

As the song says; "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!"

My beautiful Mexican crib figures
I bought them when the boys were small
they were made by a fairtrade cooperative in Mexico






These Italian figures are more recent
I love their simple elegance




I am rather partial to deer
and the turkey candlestick holders came from the States
(I think they are for Thanksgiving, but I always use them
at Christmas)


These are waiting to be 'homed'
The penguins and polar bears are for cake decorations

My new decorations this year, seem to all have some tartan
(it must be my Scottish roots!)