Christmas

I love a Christmas wreath and for a number of years I have bought them from a couple of friends who make them.  Caroline Hulland Flowers being one.  They normally make them and sell at the children’s school Christmas Fair so in essence, I have been adding to the PTA funds.

A couple of years ago, after moving the children to a different school I was about to contact my friend to make a wreath for me when I decided to have a go myself. In the loft I found the old battered artificial wreath we had used at our previous house, so I set about re-inventing it. I was surprised that I was very pleased with the outcome, which started the inclination to want to revamp other Christmas decorations.

My mom and sister had spent months years ago making Christmas decs and I just wasn’t interested at the time but mom had given me bits and pieces over the years and I spent a happy few days taking apart and revamping the decorations. Over the past couple of Christmases, I’ve added to my decorations. Each year I think of a different way of doing something.

One of my particular favourite transformations is the garland that runs up the stair banister. Originally a thin bit of fake greenery with a few red bows has been replaced with a much thinker fake fir to which I've added ribbons, cones, flowers and other Christmassy delights. The original bit of garland has also been added to and runs up the higher part of the banister. I can now wrap it round more often to give a fuller affect.

We acquired a piano from my Miss KMT’s godfather a couple of years ago and for a while this stood unadorned in the dining room, so at Christmas out comes the fake fir tree branches and the piano is festooned with it and lights and a rather regal Father Christmas.

I’m very traditional in my colour scheme for Christmas, red and gold with a hint on silver here and there. When I moved in with Mr KMT his Christmas decs were blue and silver with a Wolves bear to festoon the top of the tree - that didn’t last very long I can tell you.

We are lucky enough to have room to have 2 trees. My tree is in the lounge, this is the one that I decorate and no one else is allowed to touch as it’s known I suffer with OCDPD (Obsessive Christmas Decoration Placement Disorder !!). The other tree either stands in the hall or the breakfast room and this one the children decorate. All their decorations go on this tree and I try to sit on my hands and not touch it while they hang all their decs on one branch or in a clump somewhere leaving lots of space somewhere else, or big decs go on weak branches and tiny ones festoon the lower sturdier ones. Then, when they’ve gone to bed - I move them !! Shhhhhh don’t tell them. Each year they take it in turns to put the star on the top. Master KMT is now too big for Mr KMT to pick up so he has to stand on a chair and gingerly lean over while being held my Mr KMT while I take a photo and quake until the star is firmly in place and he is back on the ground.

This year Miss KMT has delighted in hanging the baubles on their tree. She got in from school this week and delved into the pile I had left on the table for them and sang Little Donkey while she decorated.

We're actually putting the decs up earlier than we normally do. I'm a week before Christmas girl as I like to leave them up for 12th night and I'm normally fed up with them by then. But this year has been such an awful year for all, and with no Father Christmas visits or Christmas parties, I decided to get the decs down and get them up a bit earlier than normal.

I'm taking my time though, as I have had a few orders for Christmas bunting and some other orders of crochet items to finish off, so I'm fitting in the decs between that and work. However, slowly the house is becoming more and more festooned with my fake fir tree bits and I've even had to go to the local garden centre to buy more fairy lights as I've put some of my fir twigs in different places and needed lights with timers so I don't have to keep getting a chair to turn them on and off ! They're now above the sink and ovens, which I'm really liking and think I'll put them there from now on as there's usually very little in the kitchen.

The lounge is now finally finished too and the boxes and bags have gone back up the loft until the new year. I like a move around every now and then and trying the decs in new places.

So to end, on what will probably be my last blog of the year, I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas, with best wishes for the New Year. Thank you for following me these last 6 months and reading my blogs. Merry Christmas