A Very Tardy Christmas

Hello lovely people. 

I'm a bit tardy with all things Christmassy this year but I hope I've still managed to catch a few of you to wish you a big Merry Christmas and to thank you for your friendship, kind words and inspiration this year - this little space of mine has brought me so much joy as a result.

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So the Kids are all tucked into Bed and all that's left to do is for Mr and Mrs Claus to enjoy a second bottle of cheeky Coal Valley Pinot Grigio, fill a 'few' stockings, eat the stack of chocolate biscuits, bite chunks into the carrots left out for the Reindeers and watch Love, Actually. It's tradition. Baby Flynn will then wake for a feed and then Mr & Mrs Claus can finally retire for the evening of broken sleep that awaits them! to be woken up at the crack of dawn by excited smiling faces.

For the first time in 13 years we will be celebrating Christmas on our own. We have already had visits from interstate family to see the baby and more visits are expected in the New Year but tomorrow it will be just us. But there are now 7 of us which surely creates a party atmosphere in and of itself. It will be grand.

All preparations have been done at the last minute over the last 2 days and I have to say it has been relatively stress-free. There is no assembly of presents required this year pleasing The Pianoman no end. We are going ultra simple this year. A branch off one of our pine trees was chopped off and plonked into a galvanised steel bucket. With 4 kids on the scene, the decorating was done in 5 seconds flat, quite obviously. 

This year I participated in Christina's handmade Ornament Swap and I was fortunate to receive the loveliest ornaments from 2 lovely ladies. Thank you to Kat for these gorgeous crochet baubles - a huge hit with the Kids and they look stunning on the tree.

And thank you to Zara for the sweetest, most delightful handmade Birdy. The colours and cross stitch are gorgeous. It is currently perched on the tree but will be destined for the Mantle for the rest of the year.

We had The Pianoman's work Christmas Party on Saturday night at The Point Revolving Restaurant. It was a fabulous night and due to daylight savings we enjoyed three revolutions before nightfall ensuring hours of glorious views over the Harbour and Mount Wellington. Baby Flynn slept through the entire evening which was very generous of the little chap but it meant everyone missed out on cuddles.

I started and finished my Christmas shopping on Saturday and Sunday and even the trip to the Mall was bearable thanks to some volunteer Elves who were dishing out Free Hugs.

To continue the theme of tardiness we managed to sneak in a Santa photo this afternoon. The benefit of Christmas Eve Santa Photos is that there are no line-ups for Santa and they will let you take lots of photos on your iPhone. It's probably got something to do with the fact that you won't get your actual photo until after Christmas.

And in a final act of tardiness, we originally only had 4 stockings hanging on the Mantle. I tracked down the Etsy Store that I purchased them from 4 years ago and ordered another 3, one for baby Flynn and one for us Adults. They were to fly over the Pacific and get here before Christmas and sure as their word, they landed in my mailbox at 4pm this afternoon. Perfect!

And on that note, I better get on with filling them.

So Dear friends near and far, I hope you have the most wonderful Christmas surrounded by those you love. 

Love Mel xxx