8 days til......................

This is my 8th  and penultimate Countdown to Christmas post. I have so enjoyed writing these posts and again would like to thank everyone for their kind comments; I really do  love reading  them. I also enjoy hearing how others celebrate this magical time of year and what your traditions are. My very last ** days til post for 2010 will be posted next Friday, on Christmas Eve, so please remember to come back for my final instalment.

We were finally able to decorate our Christmas tree last weekend. We have a real treasury of ornaments, some owned by my grand parents. As a said in my last countdown to Christmas post we chose our tree from the local nursery, with the reindeer close at hand!

We firstly attached the lights which immediately brightened the room......

Next was our fairy who has sat on top of our tree for many years. It's an interesting question to ask...do you have a fairy or a star at the top of yours?? ;0)

We also love to open our boxes of treasured ornaments and I wanted to share with you some of our special ones, both old and new. I know the history of every single ornament we own which makes them so unique and reminds us of our Christmas past.
The very 1st ornament my Hb and I bought was this dated Betsey Clarke ornament for our 1st married Christmas in 1981, the box is a bit bashed...

But this remains one of my favourites. Betsey Clarke was huge in the UK from the early 70s-80s, I still love these images and I really think she would sell well again now.

My Hb used to buy me birthday, Christmas and anniversary cards with these wonderful illustrations....I rather miss them.







Some of the oldest ornaments we own were my grandfather's who was born in 1898! He had these just after the 2nd world war, they are made of early plastic and although not hugely pretty they are special to me.

I also still have a very "kitch" elf which I can remember my Nan (born in the early 1900s) hanging on her artificial tree in the 1960s when I was a little girl. I know it is really quite brash but I do love hanging it on my tree. Here it is below. Very 1960s!!!

I also have some other rather old glass baubles....

My Hb and I have also  been lucky enough to visit the  German Christmas markets in Cologne and Nuremberg and have bought home some really beautiful  ornaments. Some are even limited editions. Here is a small selection....yes we have lots!!

As you already know from this post I am a great fan of the man in the moon and one of my oldest memories of buying an Christmas tree ornament was with my Mum, possible in 1968  (yes that long ago!)when I was quite small. We used to have a shop nearby which sold cards and gifts and one year I remember seeing wonderful man in the moons twinkling in the window. As children always do, I managed to pester her into buying a pair, a blue one for my brother and a pink one for me.



                                                                       


They are really showing signs of age now, this is my pink one.....don't tell my brother but I also have his!! You will spot his blue one on the tree at the end of this post.

Over our years of marriage we have also bought some other dated
ornaments. The one on the right was made for us at Covent Garden in London in 1990, my children were only 4 and 1 at the time and I can still remember walking around the craft market held there and us choosing this festive heart. Such fond memories.











I also have these other dated ornaments, not for every year but some.....

These are ones my Mum bought for me over the years on our Christmas visits to Harrods, I also have a really rare unusual Harrods man....

He is at least 25years old and survived so far intact. My Mum has one too but hers has a broken arm sustained during a fun New Year's party when our dancing got a little out of hand and the tree was toppled!!








This year I commissioned the talented Vita to paint me 2 wooden ornaments, 1 for mine and 1 for my daughter's tree and I was totally delighted with the results shown below. These are signed and dated and will be treasured by us.

And of course I could not possibly have a Christmas tree without pigs could I......

Now it took nearly 3 hours for us to put all our decorations on so this is just a small selection of our treasures that I have shared with you. Here is our finished tree, fully decorated. Please excuse the stark walls....we are in the middle of decorating.

Every bauble has a special memory of Christmases past and has been hang with love....a special tree every year for us. Each morning when I come downstairs to turn the tree lights on I get that wonderful smell of fresh pine .......mmmmmmmmm! The smell of the Christmas and it can transport me back so many years..

To finish this post I have found a little poem to share ...I hope you have also "decorated with optimism" your homes, as it suggests, and can hold the spirit of Christmas close throughout the year.


Recipe for Christmas All Year Long

Take a heap of child-like wonder
That opens up our eyes
To the unexpected gifts in life—
Each day a sweet surprise.


Mix in fond appreciation
For the people whom we know;
Like festive Christmas candles,
Each one has a special glow.


Add some giggles and some laughter,
A dash of Christmas food,
(Amazing how a piece of pie
Improves our attitude!)


Stir it all with human kindness;
Wrap it up in love and peace,
Decorate with optimism, and
Our joy will never cease.


If we use this healthy recipe,
We know we will remember
To be in the Christmas spirit,
Even when it's not December.

By Joanna Fuchs

Bye for now, see you on Christmas Eve ;0)

Jane x
PS I am not sure why the day shows as Thursday today... that's computers for you!