My Christmas & Boxing Day

Gosh, it's been a whirlwind of a Christmas Period so far, we had a super Christmas Eve, attending a Children's Church Service, which was really magical, with the Nativity Story told with puppets to keep the kids interest and then lots of Christmassy Songs, Ding Dong Merrily on High, Little Donkey and a magical Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, which the kids all loved.  Then it was on to the local pub with kids and all for a little drink with friends before heading home to put out the stockings and Mince Pie and Milk for Santa!  The boys were so excited, and on Christmas morning awoke at 5.30am!!!  But Santa did not disappoint, and they had a sack full of goodies beside the fire.

Christmas Day was spent at our home with friends and some family, here our lovely neighbours popped in for a Christmas drink before heading on for their day with family....

The table all set before the guests arrived, I made the little name cards, pretty one's for the ladies and some vintage cheeky one's for the boys...

Here are our guests just sitting down for their starters... my wonderful husband is not in the shot as he and my friend Claire (seated in the centre) prepared the Christmas Dinner.  Our friend Matt (seated on the left) is a Fireman and he was on call, unfortunately just after he ate his starter he had to dash off to a fire, but did return a couple of hours later and was then able to have Christmas Dinner, bless him.

The boys and their friend had a table all to themselves, with lots of Christmas Crackers and party poppers...

Boxing Day we travelled to my Parents home to spend the day with my family; Parents, Brother, Sister, her husband, and my gorgeous little niece...

Here I am with Mum, she always puts on a wonderful spread, the food was fabulous, and there was lots of laughter and fun.... a FABULOUS day!

My regular readers may remember my Sister got married a few weeks ago, and had a magical Wedding, here she is wearing the crown from her wedding day, it was so beautiful, she has vowed to get it out every Christmas and wear it instead of the traditional party hat....

Here I am with my boys, they love being at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and are very smitten with their new baby cousin, as you'll see from the photo's below....

And of course, as on my Sister's Wedding Day, little Isabella stole the show.... I think you'll all agree, she is truly scrumptious, truly, truly scrumptious!

I hope you all too have had a super Christmas, and I wish all my lovely readers a very Happy New Year!

Who's A Lucky Girl Then?.....

I am!!!!!  Look at the gorgeous Tapestry Cushion I received today from my sweet, sweet, girlfriend Lils.  She has spent hours creating this gorgeous design for me, with my initials on the front, just for Christmas.  It looks fabulous in my lounge, the colours are perfect and it is soooo me!!  I adore handmade, and the fact that it is from one of my most special friends means so much, I shall treasure it forever!  Thank you Lils... big hugs xxx   And now on to my lovely blog readers out there... you too are very special to me and I would like to take this opportunity, as we approach Christmas Eve, to thank you all for your support and wonderful comments over the past year, I wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Festive Fun....

I had such a wonderful, festive treat yesterday.... My good friend Sarah (who my regular readers will know, as I refer to her alot), took me to meet her brother at his home village of Winchelsea, approx forty minutes from my own home.  Winchelsea is a beautiful ancient town full of quaint homes, picture postcard streets and a stunning village church.  Our first stop was her brothers amazing home, which was decorated beautifully, above is his front door and below, next to his home is a traditional red phone box, which he had also decorated with a pretty Christmas wreath.

The village Church is breathtaking, particularly inside, the photo's really do not do it justice.  We were invited by Sarah's brother to help with the floral decorations inside the church, and it was our job to create the two displays that will be placed in the entrance lobby as you enter the church.

Quite alot of the displays had already been created inside the main church, they were so gorgeous. It was lovely to be a part of the team creating the Christmas displays inside the Church.

We had a vast array of foliage, flowers and dried fruit to choose from for our display, so we collected what we needed and set about creating.....  It was great fun and very satisfying, especially once we got the finished pieces in the lobby and on display.

Below is my display nestled in a stone windowsill, I used lots of greenery, feathers, pomegranates, small apples and pine cones.

Before lunch we met a friend of Sarah's and her brothers, the talented Children's author and illustrator Ant Parker, and he very kindly showed us around his stunning home (below), which has amazing views from the garden and also an extremely interesting history, as do most of the homes in Winchelsea.

We finished off our day at the Winchelsea Farm Kitchen which is situated at the back of the delicious delicatessen, the food and atmosphere here was second to none, with a tasty Christmas menu, a wonderful end to a truly festive day... Thank you Sarah xx

All Decked Out.....

Finally after an amazingly busy few weeks I have gotten round to decorating the house for Christmas with the help of hubby and the twins... It's always a very exciting time, we purchase the tree from a local Christmas Tree Farm, then pour out the Sherry for me and hubby, pop Christmas Songs on and set the boys up in their playroom where they decorate their tree.  We then set about dressing our real tree, the lounge, kitchen and garden room, it usually takes us a couple of days.

So, I officially welcome you to a little tour of our Christmas Home, the Angels above will greet you at the door, then we make our way into the Lounge, which is a really cosy room, especially in Winter, with the deep red walls and open fire its a lovely room at Christmas...

The decorations on the tree I have collected over the past ten years and there are lots of different types from traditional folk to more unusual handmade fabric and paper ones, here are a few close ups..

The paper decoration below is my latest purchase, I adore it!  Made from an old book and tied with grey muslin, it's so what I'm all about.... handmade and very vintage  (I didn't mean I was vintage!!)

The fabric bird below is a very special decoration for me as it was made for me as a gift last year from my very good friend Sarah, we are both lovers of handmade items and Sarah is such a talented, artsy person, I love her to bits...

You may remember from last years Christmas Post, I love old Jester Dolls at Christmas time (I know they are not everyone's cup of tea), I just think my two have a lovely Christmassy feel about them...

So we come to the end of the tour of the lounge,  we'll move on past my Shabby Skating Mouse (below) and into the Garden Room.....

The Garden Room is a lovely bright, airy room, it's where we'll be having Christmas Dinner this year with friends and family members, so we've surrounded the ceiling area with twinkly Christmas lights which look fabulous at night as they reflect off the glass, and the rest of the room has little festive trinkets dotted around, including the Bastidor Doll (first picture at the top of this post), which I have dressed for Christmas.

Rudolph always has pride of place in our Garden Room, overlooking the Christmas Table, the Twins love him....

The table centre piece awaiting Christmas Day... Hubby and my good friend Claire are cooking for us all this year, so I'm very lucky to be able to enjoy having dinner cooked for me and our guests.

So, that was just a little insight into Christmas at Maygreen House, hope you've enjoyed your tour, and may I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

More Wedding Pics of Venue....

 Hope you're not getting bored of these stories yet!! So sorry, it was such a lovely day and more photos keep coming through each day.... These are some of the professional shots taken of the Ceremony Room (above is for the actual wedding ceremony) and below once it was transformed for the wedding breakfast....

 The professional photos taken of my Sister on the day will not be ready for a couple of months so there will be more to come in the future, but for now hope you've enjoyed these.

A Little Reminder of the Day....

My Sister just sent me a link to the Bespoke Cake Makers Blog who created the fantastic cake for her Wedding last week, here's the link to her wonderful blog she sure is a very talented lady!

My Sisters Fairytale Wedding...

I thought you might like to see photos from my Sisters Wedding this past weekend... A fabulous time was had by all and I'm still recovering from the joys of the day!  Above are the happy couple just after they tied the knot.  My Sister and Parents had created a Fairytale Wedding Day, which was truly magical for all involved, here are a few of the best bits.....

The Ceremony Room all set up awaiting the Guests arrival. A roaring fire greeted you at the end of the isle, Guests could sit comfortably in black silk chairs and the bride and her party travelled along the isle which was framed with glittering silver birch trees, blue lighting and white petals at your feet, just breathtaking.

The grounds of the venue were equally as stunning, with beautiful manicured gardens, with wonderful statues at every turn.

Trying hard not to upstage the Bride, is the Bride's Daughter (my niece), below, a scrumptious vision in pink tulle....

And not forgetting my boys, all three of them, how handsome they all looked.. The twins were so proud to be dressing up like grown ups for the occasion....

And here I am having a little quiet time with my gorgeous Niece watching guests arrive out of the window, just before we made out way down the isle before the Bride....

First to enter the Ceremony Room were my Brother and gorgeous Mum, we were waiting in the wings as it was our turn next....

 And down we came, my Niece making a very grand entrance........

 And then for the beautiful bride and my very handsome Father, a moving moment for us all.....

The Ceremony seemed to take it out of little Isabella and she finally had a nap, once Mum and Dad had tied the knot.....

Next for the Wedding Breakfast, which was equally as stunning as the Reception, full of sparkle and twinkle.....

And I mustn't forget the amazing cake, this really was a statement piece, and tasted just as good as it looked......

 Here, the beautiful Bride relaxing over Dinner, in anticipation of the Party ahead in the evening...

 Moving onto the Party Room, all set out and glitzy before the evening Guests arrived........

 And letting our hair down, me, my younger Brother and Sister... fun, happy times.......

 Here one of my gorgeous boys, his first Wedding Ceremony, which he was loving every moment of........

 Gradually getting tired, trying to hold on and stay awake for the Dancing ahead..... but.....

Oh no.... they just couldn't do it, so fast asleep on the Chairs they were whilst we all danced the night away around them... bless 'em.

 And here they are, my stunning Sister and her Handsome Hubby, love 'em to bits.