Merry Christmas

It’s Christmas Eve and I think that I have everything done that I can in readiness for the big day tomorrow.  We will be having my Mum and my brother and his family here for lunch, before we then travel to Mick’s nephew’s to see his family and then on to some good friends’ place for a relaxed evening.

All our Christmas parties are now over. We had our usual neighbourhood get together at our house last Sunday, which was a good opportunity to welcome a new family to the street.  Both my stitching groups have had a nice lunch and there was a Christmas lunch at Mum’s aged care facility, complete with a visit from Santa. Add to this dinners with friends and we have been very social.

Mum’s Christmas tree in her room showcases her collection of hand made decorations.  She has been making decorations for many years.

Here are some of our decorations, which are very similar to last year.

The mantle piece is always a nice place to decorate.

I always think of Joey as a tiny kitten climbing this tree.  That was sixteen years ago and he is slowing down now.

The teddies are looking fine in the sunshine.

We have our usual lights outside, but they are looking rather washed out in this photo.

Our street is still well lit up.  While a couple of houses that used to really go all out have toned it down, some more are adding a few lights and one is making a great display.

I have a few new ornaments on our stick tree, in addition to the ones I showed previously.  

The hexy one is a gift from Lou.

These clever crochet baubles were made by one of my old work colleagues.  She does the most amazing crochet pieces and these were a lovely surprise.

This final bauble was bought in Alice Springs when we visited and I forgot to hang it last year.  It is hard to see, but the designs on the inside of the folds is aboriginal artwork.

While I’m on the subject of ornaments, this is the one I made and sent to Lou this year.  It was fun to revisit some blackwork.  I haven’t done any since I was in high school.

Today, I finished off the Crossroads Quilt, while watching a couple of corny Christmas movies. Happy dance!  A lovely way to spend the afternoon.  I will have a separate post for the big Ta Da.

So, on that note, I wish everyone all the very best for this season and a Happy New Year.