Puttery treats.

Subject: Puttery treats. Fri Oct 12, 2007 8:35 pm

I was just wondering if the news letter for the puttery treats is still open, if so, how do I sign up. Are puttery treats still posted on a daily basis, or is all the puttery treats on Brocante Home, and was the last one to be posted 'Save our tea towels'?

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sat Oct 13, 2007 10:40 am

I just went straight to the planner pages and printed off all the puttery treats from there (it's now on the toolbar). I don't know if this really is all of them, but if there are any others anywhere, I haven't found them!

Can't wait for the coming-soon Christmas ones!!

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:20 pm

Me too, I printed out all of the puttery treats a while back. I am really looking forward to the christmas puttery treats. Yesterday I went to the library and got a load of books on christmas crafts, everyone thinks I am mad planning things for christmas when halloween hasnt even been yet, but I love christmas and cant wait for it to come around.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:29 pm

Oh, I love Christmas too! Always have! Even as a child I was inordinately excited at the whole thing - not the presents.

I went to good old M&S with my husband today and bought my daughter the most wonderfully old fashioned choc advent calendar with an advent candle included. The picture is the loveliest Father Christmas you could wish for, placing presents under a traditional tree, in a real cosy home scene - no Bratz or Barbie nonsense! I also fell in love with a ceramic pot that looks hand painted with birds and butterflies and flowers that has an Iris growing kit in it as well! Adorable - and they came in all different sizes and different plants. I should try and upload photo's to show. It is on my kitchen window sill now - too lovely to wait for Xmas!

I think the anticipation and lead up to Xmas is the best part - we all need something to look forward to! This year we're making cards and crackers - it's never too early to get organised - if you want to remain sane for the big day!

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:53 am

Ive always loved the build up to christmas, I love it when the town festive lights are turned on in Noveember and the late night shopping starts, I love shopping when it is dark and cold, and you have to wrap up all snuggly before you can face the elements. I love December 1st, because that is the day my hubby and I put the tree and decorations up, and I absolutely love doing that! It will be extra special this year because we are in a new house, our first christmas here! (I also plan to decorate before christmas, when we moved in the walls had just been skimmed and painted magnolia, all of them! I cant stand looking at magnolia walls any more, hence the need to decorate). I love christmas tv, all the oldfashioned things they show, this year bbc1 are supposed to be showing cranford( elizabth gaskell) and dame judy dench is in it so I cant wait for that to come on! I love going shopping for everyones presents, coming home and sitting infront of the fire, with the christmas tree lights sparkling, while John and I wrap them all and write lovley little gift tags out. I love it. I think I could just go on and on about christmas, it is so fantastic.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:06 pm

I used to love Christmas - but after the past 5 years of Christmas being the time when family fights happen, and financial difficulties preventing much gift giving for my kids - I have fallen into a trap of being depressed about Christmas. But something in the anticipation of the past few weeks of waiting on Alison's Christmas Planner, has sparked some inner workings. It's time for me to give up those old feelings and tell myself some truths - holidays will never be perfect as long as people/families/humans are interacting. Christmas is not all about what I get or give, it's about being with the people I love most in the world and making it a special time for them.

So this year I'm going to try really hard to get through these negative Christmas feelings and make Christmas more special than I've done in the past few years. It shouldn't be just another day - it should be a day full of memories for my family. It won't be easy for me to overcome this - but I'm sure going to give it my best effort.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:12 pm

Do any of you think you'll make any Christmas gifts this year?

Speaking of puttery treats, knitting or embroidering in the evening is a real puttery treat for me, and hopefully, a way to make some gifts, too.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:34 pm

Karla, I am to some degree like you, that been I dread the expense of christmas. It leaves you penniless and drained, you wonder if the gifts you have bought people, put your time, energy and money into, you wonder if the people you have bought them for will like them and appriciate them. This does worry me to a certain degree, but christmas isnt just about presents, it is about magic, anticipation, spending time with those you love, it is about getting out your decorations which have been stored away for a year, and lovingly cleaning them to make them all sparlky and putting them around your home to bring the festive cheer inside your little palace, it is about braving the winters cold to search high and low for special gifts, then coming home to your wonderful warm home, and relaxing in the fairy light glow, but most importantly, it is about celebrating Christs birthday because without him, there would be no christmas.
I truly hope you have the bestest christmas ever this year, try to relax and think about the good things christmas brings, and if you find yourself getting stressed out, take time out for pampering and relaxing, Im sure everything will go fine.

Sharon, I love knitting in the evening, but Ive only just learnt how to knit so I dont think anything I knit will be good enough to give as gifts this year, I was thinking of perhaps baking afew things and maybe making cranberry juice to give to people, just depends how exhausted I am!

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Tue Oct 16, 2007 3:59 pm

Sharon (Rosie) - I had started a scarf earlier this year, for my daughter. It was my first attempt in a long time at crocheting. Well, I got 3/4 done and then found that my dog had peed on the bag it was in, and the scarf got soaked! Needless to say - he spent several days in the crate while we were gone during the day, rather than having full freedom. UGH! I had to throw it out, I wasn't about to give a formerly pee-soaked scarf for Christmas.

I've wanted to make gifts this year, but can't think of anything to do. The girls are both getting older and harder to buy for - so cash is usually what they want.

We do tend to do homemade gifts for our extended family - we do one gift per family unit, like a gift basket of goodies. But the past few years we've made donations in their name to one of our favorite charities (Heifer International) instead. It's probably not that exciting to them, but it's a way we've taken action in changing the way we live and give. We never expect gifts from anyone - not out of martyrdom, just out of hoping they'll catch onto our idea of giving to those less fortunate - but so far we still get them.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:54 pm

Karla,
How terrible! All that work! I feel for you. I know how it is with making gifts for the older ones. It's kinda hard to make a computer game, for example.

There's a Heifer International educational farm near us (well, about 4 hours away) here in Arkansas. It's my favorite field trip destination. I love it! I really like the idea of giving to a charity in their name. What a great idea.

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:48 am

I´m so happy, to see it´s not only me who can´t wait for Christmas! For the last month I´ve been counting down - now they´ve started to sell Christmassy things at the store - finally! I can´t wait for Advent 1st, so I can begin decorating! Here in Sweden, people usually start decorating very late - they put up new curtains, stars and lights in the windows around Dec 1st, but the rest is done on the day before Christmas Eve, when the tree is up. I get a lot of funny looks, when I put my tree up around Lucia, on Dec 13th... I have actually finished a few presents already, some hand made (I do that quite a lot, both because of my budget, and because my family loves (they say anyway...) getting hand made things from me. Fortunately, you might add, because it´s my favourite thing to give as well. And about Christmas - is there anyone but me, who actually likes the time before the actual Christmas Eve (we celebrate that day here, instead of Christmas Day) a lot more? I don´t care much for the day itself, I don´t mind spending it on my own with something nice to eat and a good book, but I love the weeks before - the puttering and planning and making things happen.

I just bought the Brocante Christmas planner (after loving the HouseKeepers planner to death!), and I love it! Now, the countdown to Christmas will be more scrumptious than ever! I´m so glad, that I discovered the Vintage HouseKeepers way of life - it really has made keeping a tidy home a lot more fun!

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sat Nov 10, 2007 9:53 pm

I love christmas, always have, and I am just so excited about putting the tree up, love it.

Joined : 29 Oct 2007 Posts : 5 Name : Karen

Regarding all the Christmas pressies, in the last few years due to lack of cash, my daughter and I have done home made pot pourri (nuts and seed pods along with wood curls, only had to buy refresher oils), furry wool scarfs (even I can do plain and purl stitches) and this year are intending doing the bath bombs as mentioned her with rose petals from the one rose bush in my garden. I now have a Christmas Basket which I will take to my parents house on Christmas Eve (we go there every year) and am starting to fill it with "pink smarties"!!! tiny presents for the family etc. I haven't quite managed to go totally vintage but this looks like fun so far. (can you tell I'm trying to make cheap presents for the "family friends" whom I "should" be getting presents for?

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:36 am

I'm a great believer that the joy of Christmas, for me and my family at least, is all the planning, excitement and build up to the day itself.

I think I actually like Christmas Eve better almost, with it's anticipation of what's to come! We tend to go 'delivering' gifts etc to the people we know we won't see Christmas day itself, and the excitement builds with each house we visit! I think it's not just the anticipation (especially for the kids) but the fact that everyone is often more relaxed Xmas Eve than on the day itself! My everlasting fondest childhood memories too are of the smells of mince pies and sausage rolls being made by my Mum in the kitchen, while friends/family popped in and out delivering gifts, stopping by for a drink etc. My sister wants to re-create this at my Mum's house this year - baking real sausage rolls and mince pies, with Andy Williams' Xmas album playing, Baileys and mulled wine flowing! Piling gifts under the tree - everything perfectly waiting for the explosion of Christmas morning!

All the excitement really starts for me when the tree and decorations go up (my daughter wants us to do this on 1st December!) and I sit each evening with just the lights of the tree, the smells of Xmas scented oils burning, christmassy programmes on tv, writing the cards or planning meals and yummy treats!

Subject: Re: Puttery treats. Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:25 pm

Karen, your home made pressies sound wonderful.
I too enjoy the build up to christmas, it is just so exciting, Im counting the days to December 1st, when the tree goes up, cant wait!!!!