Poncetastic Christmas 2014

[HopeAndStories]

(Posting FellatioNelson's OP from previous years )
_

OK, first of all, I know it's still September by we need to start this thread now because as you all know, having a truly Poncetastic Christmas involves precision planning, strategy, bravery, heroics, and frequently martyrdom. A bit like the war in Afghanistan, only with nicer food and sparkly shoes.

So, if you, like me, actually want to make the next twelve weeks of your life a misery by hand-crafting your cards, finding a huge bucket for Nigella's turkey in brine, pickling pears, shrivelling oranges in a low oven for those rustic au naturel decorations, dragging half a holly bush back from the woods, and just generally being a smug annoying jobsworth ponce, join me on this thread.

Feel free to post photos of previous tree-trimming, cake icing or table centrepiece triumphs, discuss this year's bauble colour themes, debate the merits of Delia versus Gordon, road-test a selection of canapes and cocktails, (all in the line of duty) and link to lovely inspirational photos/craft ideas for a truly Poncetastic Christmas.

Warning: If your idea of a good Christmas involves Pizza, ITV, gravy granules or anything with 'Aunt Bessies' on the packet, this is not the thread for you.

Chilly I was thinking more of the decorations on this mantlepiece. I bought a couple in tk maxx tonight, but need more. I'm going to attempt the stockings pictured too!

Trixy have you seen these? Again, they're not cheap but fit with your theme.

So here are some of my felt bits and bobs, handmade by me before I had kids... Can I ponce with you now please?
Also I just bought myself a beginner's crochet kit from B&M Bargains excited to learn some stitches and get snowflake making!

Really really need to learn how to crochet, the wreath is beautiful umlauf. I know I have a beginners crochet set somewhere in the junk room...
So I have started the ponceing in my house.. Delias mincemeat is cooling I the kitchen and the Christmas cake is going in shortly... It's my first attempt at a poncetastic Christmas ( apart from homemade chutney from a glut of apples in previous years) and I'm enjoying all these small build up tasks! I'm thinking of giving homemade food gifts of mince pies and maybe biccies to the family we see on Christmas Eve. I need to source some lovely but cost effective box . Which I will tie with bakers twine ( I love this stuff) and label with those old fashioned parcel tags.

Also I'm thinking about how to make DD a lovely big stocking for under the tree. The personalised ones on NOHS and Selfridges are a bit too expensive for me I'm thinking of a jute sack and using red velvet for a massive initial to be stitched on the sack and tied with a big ribbon.

Thanks woolybacks wife. Those are the crackers that inspired my whole nutcracker theme. I thought i'd linked to them in my post earlier, but obviously messed up the link!

You probably didn't mess up your link - I've clicked on that many links in this thread that I probably didn't connect it to your post. I got all excited thinking I'd found something for you

I'm almost certain that John Lewis have got nutcracker style decorations in too but I have browsed a lot of websites for decorations recently

Oh marjal they are so sweet, I love the gingerbread man in particular and his lovely ribbon!

I've made my mincemeat (Delia) and want to start making mince pies soon. I don't eat them so no idea which recipes are best for the pastry. Can anybody point me in the direction of a scrumptious one?

toots those sacks are lovely, what a lovely idea. I must confess to buying PFB DS one of the NOTHS ones for his first Christmas, but he also has a stocking made by his Granny and now I'm worried he will be spoiled with a sack AND stockingful of presents. I had decided on a 10 gift maximum rule for the stocking, otherwise the twitch takes hold, so the sack could be redundant. I can't wait until he starts to understand it!

Trumpton I think one of my bulbs may have snuffed it on its journey over here. the others are starting to shoot a little though - exciting!!

Just wrote a long post, then the signal disappeared and it all got lost.

I like the pastry in the Mary Berry Christmas book. And I like her tart armandine too, it's like a mincemeat bakewell tart and went down very well last year.

I made the Christmas cards last week (with help from DD) so we have 25 red cards with green glittery Christmas trees and 25 green cards with gold stars. Simple but effective- done with potato printing but using glue not paint, then sprinkling with glitter.

I have felt decorations I made last year in the roof, and this year I'm making use of the baubles in a bauble wreath. Just need to top up with a few more baubles. And I need to decide what to do with the pine cones I glittered.

Mince meat is made, but nobody here eats Christmas cake so not making one.

The finished wreath is stunning!

Trixy I was in Matalan this morning and found these

There are also a few in Asda - small statues and tree baubles - I'll try to find a link for them.

Asda nutcracker decorations.

I was also in Tesco and can confirm they don't have nutcracker decorations. I'm not on a mission - honestly - I was looking at decorations for me.

I'm loving the nutcracker theme decs. Good hunting out!
Dd has little knitted stocking too, but it's so tiny it can barely hold a thing. But now we've had it for 3 years I can't bear to throw it out. It feels like it's part of our Christmas now.
I'll check the Mary Berry pastry out barbeasty thanks for the tip. I have also been thinking about potato printing cards. Yours sound lovely. Then I was eyeing up these ready made stamps stamps
I can't decide .

Marks and Spencer have nutcracker decorations and beautiful nutcracker wrapping paper!

Thanks!! I'll visit matalan tomorrow lunchtime.

I've also found some cheap ones in the Range, but don't really want to pay postage as I'm a tightwad.

these cute nutcracker charms have just arrived. I'm going to make napkin rings with them. They have loads of other Christmassy ones like candy canes and snowflakes. They're very cheap, 10 for a couple of quid.

Do any of my fellow poncers want some crochet snowflakes? PM me if you want some. I have 16 to give away.

Oh yes please. May I have 3 and I can pretend to my dd ( grown-up) that I made them ! ( smirk)

All snowflakes taken now and PMs replied to.

Ikea have nutcracker wrapping paper, red with a white printed figure on it

I haven't ponced since my last post, but the thread has fallen off the "threads I'm on" list so just popping it back...

I'm going to Ikea tomorrow. Very excited! We shall not row, we shall not row....

Following on from when I posted a couple of weeks back about how to make our living room Christmasssy with one year old twins, I've decided I'm going to make a felt Christmas tree and decorations to go on the wall for DTD's to play with. Please can someone advise on whether I should buy polyester felt or acrylic felt for this? Didn't realise until this evening that there were different types of felt

A brave decision has been made in the Fantastic household and I am here to break it to you.......

We are not having a Christmas tree

Instead DH and I have decided to shamelessly steal and adapt this idea:
www.notonthehighstreet.com/thelittlepicturecompany/product/nordic-rope-ladder-hanging-christmas-tree

We are going to make two smaller ones but out of old pallets and paint them a tasteful sprucey colour. Then we will hand one either side of the fire place. This gets round the double-edged sword of having not much room and a puppy, both of which were seriously scuppering my traditional tree plans

I am insanely excited about the idea and if it goes awfully wrong I can still get a real tree!!

No tree fantastic goodness! Your idea sounds really lovely though. Will you post a pic when they are up?

IKEA was manic yesterday, of course it was, it was a Saturday. The Christmassy stuff was wonderful though. We didn't manage to get the things we had actually gone for unfortunately, but did end up spending a fortune on god knows what.

Their faux trees are awful, so the faux vs real argument rages on in Casa Umlauf...

We bought a lovely wooden candle stair thing (?) pictured, simple but nice. Lots of wrapping and endless amount of twine. trixymalixy they had a few nutcracker related bits - wrap in red and gold, nutcracker tree decorations and some pretty gift tags.

We bought a couple of big picture frames with card mounts inside, and this morning 13mo DS has been making handprints in 'antique gold' paint on the mount. This afternoon when they are dry I'll print some photographs of him, and that is the gift to his great grandparents sorted. I'll post a pic when they're done!

Here are the frames, without ds' picture. It was quite a nice cheap idea in the end and a good easy craft to do with tiny people. Older ones could decorate the mount properly. I MIT make the picture inside black and white...