It's no secret that Christmas is all about get-togethers, parties, celebrations, soirees... call them what you will; there's plenty of food, drink, and laughter involved, and if you're a little crafty, then there's also a fair amount of home made goodies to be had.Last year, our family had two parties, one the day before Christmas, and another on the day after. Both had lots of fun ideas to tinker with, and since this is a party-crafty blog, I had best let you know what I got up to before Christmas is just a distant memory and we all move on to alternate holiday projects;
Decorations - the girls stuck the cupcake-snowflakes I recently made onto the louvred windows so they could flutter in the breeze. I believe that fresh flowers are a must for any party, so we had both Christmas-bush and poinsettias, and I placed some fake-flames before a real life candelabra and clay angels (which I gilded many years ago) to illuminate a side table.
Activities - the girls helped me make chocolate cupcakes on the morning of one of the parties and we later turned them into edible reindeer. There was the help-set-the table 'game' which involved a lot more prancing and dancing than help, but made them feel especially grown-up and involved. We made necklaces together by stringing small baubles ("ball-balls" as Mimi calls them) onto dollar-store necklaces. Lastly, there was a concert where the girls sang Jingle-Bells together and then with their cousins.
Tableware - We pulled everything red, white or green out of the cupboard as well as unloading our 'Christmas stash' of crockery, and loaded the table with the whole lot, where they served as dinner plates, cake-plates, or merely as decorations while they hovered as spares. We pushed poppers inside crackers so that everyone got double-the-bang. On the (coincidentally) red and green plastic kids' tables we placed (not coincidentally) red and green plastic plates, cups and serviettes, and popped treasures such as bubble-bottles inside for the kids to find. For the adults I popped Christmas decorations into the cups for a festive touch.
Food - there were big slices of watermelon which were perfectly coloured, and the edible reindeer the girls helped make were a big hit. Inspired by the melting snowman craze on the net, I had to have a go; the idea is a perfect one for an Australian Summer where we're still fixated by the idea of snowmen at Christmas! Lastly, I used an icing pen to turn licorice allsorts into a plate of edible presents which the adults enjoyed.
So that's my post-Christmas wrap-up... although I'm sure to find something else to blog about... now I'm off to a 4 year old's party... bye for now.
PS - I'll be sending the monthly newsletters out over the next 24 hours, so if you haven't already done so, subscribe on my website for your copy, which includes a Silly Season Craft Game with 9 out-there ideas to try, and a template to help you keep track of all the craft ideas you want to try next Christmas.
