Christmas seems to be the time when ALL my creativity comes out!
I was inspired by Pinterest for the below, but of course I can’t find the reference. Anyhow, with the BF’s help, and countless clear 3M hooks, we made this:
Sadly the clear adhesive with 3M hooks isn’t as strong. Or the pressure on ceiling mounted hooks was too great. So our ceiling is bare again, but it will return to this festiveness, as I plan to have the hall of lights for my birthday party.
For my immediate family celebration of Christmas on Christmas Day, I tried something new:
I had wanted to make a trifle for a year or two, but last year I was in Perth with the BF’s family, so didn’t have a chance. Mum was going to make a sticky date pudding (well, she says she was, I’ve known her to say that, and turn up to see all the ingredients all laid out for ME to make!)
Late on Sunday night before Christmas, this sad picture graced my Facebook page 🙁
The suggested solution was to make it the Dinosaur’s fault. In any case, my colleagues managed to pick the lollies off on day 1, and took the following day and a half (with SUBSTANTIAL help from me) to eat the gingerbread.
And in non-Christmas craft, I also cross stitched a baby blanket for my friend’s 10 week old baby 🙂
I spent Boxing day (the day after Christmas) without clothes on, in our air conditioned bedroom, doing UAT. User Acceptance Testing is the cool way of me saying I binge watched TV programs, for a clients of my boyfriends! I watched two new series I’d never known, and thoroughly enjoyed them. And I swore off sweets, at least til my holiday, save for a square of choc each night after dinner. So far, so good.
How was your Christmas? Do you have a traditional recipe or thing you cook/make?
It's great fun trying new recipes and decorations at Christmas! I love your creations and the Gingerbread House just oozes 'character'!
We don't really have a traditional thing we cook. My husband loves cooking so every event is the chance to experiment with something new. I get the benefit without the work!
Thanks for the 'character' comment – it certainly did! Last year's was much better!
I think I'm like your husband, not good at the day to day stuff, but love a change to cater for an event!
Love the lights! And I am a big fan of trifle. I make a big lasagna every Christmas Eve, otherwise I rely on other people's cooking. I did make gingerbread cookies for a library program though! You must be excited about your birthday preparations. OK, now I need to do some UAT myself! Without swearing off any sweets, of course.
Funny, the BF didn't know trifle, and I can't recall our family ever having trifle. But it was a HUGE success, so it's on the menu for eternity!
I made trifle for Christmas dinner too – we much prefer it to traditional Christmas pudding – but that's all the 'making' I've done this year as we're still without an oven.
Still no oven? That'd be OK in Sydney's heat, but less so where you are!
Guess what? My brother flew to London last night – he'll be teaching Science at a school there for at least a semester!
I LOVE the lights down the hallway! So festive 🙂
We don't have a set Christmas dinner, but my family always makes cookies in December. It's good excuse to get together (and use the oven to warm up!). Really happy to hear the trifle went over well.
I loved them too – til they started falling down 🙁 We've got to put them up again..
Cookies have never really been a big thing for Christmas here in Aust, but I do wish they were!
I don't like any of the traditional christmas stuff from home (cake, mince pies, pudding) but I like trying to make them so the last couple of years I've baked away and brought mince pies to every event that happens in December, given presents of cake etc. It's great. All the fun but none of the calories. Trifle now, that's a different story. My sister did one this year and I had a huge bowl of it. Would have had leftovers the next day, too, but somehow a cat got at it overnight. Oh well.
I love the lights. Fabulous idea and now my mind is churning with ideas for where/whether I could screw in some small hooks to make this work. Hmmm.
3M adhesive hooks are a great solution if you're renting, though I thin screw hooks might have worked better for us, seeing they started falling down 🙁
I love the commerical fruit mince pies – such perfect pastry and sweet. Homemade ones, not so much – at least not my grandmother's recipe :p
I love trifle. But I'm fussy so my sister-in-law who is the trifle maker, makes me my own. No chocolate and no alcohol. She brought a big family one and my separate one for NYD.
Love your lights! Like walking into s Christmas grotto.
Never heard of User Acceptance Testing. Off to google it now.
But you love a drop?! Evidently not in your trifle though. I went for Chambord, which I'd never had, but seemed well suited.
User acceptance testing wasn't a movie, it was the concept of me trying out the BF's new work product. Sorry, confusing writing.