Poncetastic Christmas 2021

[VivaJen]

Welcome to the 2021 Poncetastic thread. With a nod to Fellatio (wherever she is), at the stroke of midnight, let the poncing commence.

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.

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 jobs worth 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 canapés 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 Bessie’s' on the packet, this is not the thread for you".

@Row1n. Thank you ☺️ No, I didn’t.. I just drew round a plastic bottle top. I thought about getting a stamp but decided against it as I knew I wouldn’t use it again and I wanted to write different things on the postmarks anyway.
I’m not going to explain this very well, but the idea behind it was to address them to alter-egos of the recipients (mostly my nieces and nephews). So i addressed them and ‘posted’ them as if they inhabited the piratey world, or Batman’s world etc.

@Row1n I think so! It’s not really a cookbook as such (although there are recipes in it), it’s more a celebration of winter and a vehicle for huge amounts of cosiness, or ‘hygge’ as I call it, being Danish...

If you love the way Nigel writes, and if you love autumn/winter and Christmas I think you’ll like it a lot.

@WisestIsShe are you sure? I'd love it if you are, thank you so much!

@HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule thanks for the tag.

I left my phone on silent so it didn't distract me from trying to sort out my dinosaur laptop so I can update my Rainbows and Guides accounts...that went so well that I've set it off resetting itself 🙄

I've just been cutting some little houses to go with the deer and trees, from this website. I'll have to get some battery tea lights out for them, if I can remember where they are! ('scuse the back of the kitchen door in the pic, the nice peg bag's on the line & normally covers the horrid green one

@lucysmam the green bag is very Christmassy though!

The red one's nicer though & houses the nice pegs. The green one houses the rejects that only come out if I run short

@Forrestttheout

Very glad I live in a country without a fully functioning postal system or I would be spending a months wages on stamps right now they are so beautiful. Can also relate to unappreciated efforts i've never really recovered from the year I spend had embroidering fabric panels for cards and nobody mentioned them apart from my mum who bless her decided it was so beautiful she carefully extracted the panel and framed it. I comfort myself by pretending they where so great nobody else must've realized they where home made

That’s exactly what I was thinking yesterday...I think (if I do say so myself... ) that my cards actually were so nice that it’s likely nobody realised I’d made them, and I of course wasn’t going to actually tell them and ask directly for my gold star.

@Micawbs Love Love Love that wrapping!!!!

@lucysmam I love those houses and @Micawbs the wrapping really is wonderful.

This thread makes me so happy! Must also say to @Trumpton and the other poster whose name now escapes me, that the candelabras/chandeliers you posted earlier in the thread are absolutely gorgeous. I love them because they remind me so much of home (Denmark) where it’s very traditional to make those. I’ve not been able to have them because we lived in rented homes for years and now that we have our own place it’s very old and we’re loath to put up hooks etc in the ceiling to hang them (no beams, sadly). I’ve got one place in the bay window where i could potentially hang a modest one from the curtain rod but then we’d have to have our curtains open all the time and we prefer to have a bit of privacy in the evenings...hmmm...not sure what to do...

@lucysmam yes, definitely. Just let me know where to send it.

@lucysmam it’s probably not what you are thinking of but there’s a gorgeous children’s book How Winston Delivered Christmas that has a story chapter and an activity for each day of advent (or probably each day of Christmas up to Christmas Eve - it’s in the attic so I can’t check)

@Micawbs that wrapping is lovely but I now have an ear worm of “…brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favourite things”

Sorry everyone!

I know what you mean @Micawbs and I think it's a lovely thing to do. I'm not sure I have the creativity to come up with something that my young nieces would understand but the style of them is beautiful!

Thank you @HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule I'll try and find a copy! I could download it on kindle but I think I'd enjoy the physical book more (and seeing it on the shelf!)

I ordered my paperwhite bulbs today, I hope they arrive soon! I went for the double flowers (Narcissus 'Erlicheer') so I hope they work as well. Do you know @Trumpton?

@thelegohooverer that's the one! I remembered it sounded nice last year. Mine are probably too old these days but maybe one day there'll be grandkids 🤔

@WisestIsShe thank you, I'll pm you now otherwise I'm likely to forget.

[quote SleighQueen]@VivaJen yeah that is a really good idea isn't it. Saved much faffing around with Dabbers.

@DanceWithYourBalloon all the stamps are from noolibird.com. (Also has an Etsy and not on the highstreet shop). I take no responsibility for any subsequent spending [/quote]
Omg! So many stamps I want to buy 🤩

@FreezerBird

*I'm a novice crocheter and I found it ok. I had to watch the video and stop it for each step, but soon picked up speed. smile

This is the one I found on last years thread:*

blog.expressionfiberarts.com/2016/01/02/how-to-crochet-a-snowflake/

Thankyou SO MUCH @DanceWithYourBalloon

Two years ago I made loads of snowflakes with this pattern and then couldn't fot the life of me fine it again. Thank you thank you!

This is a lovely pattern - takes around 10 minutes at most. Once I've blocked my snowflakes ❄ I'll take a photo of the garland.

currently frantically knitting a scarf for DD who has lost every other scarf she's owned

@RubyFakeLips

I saw the Good Food one in Tesco I think. I went at 7am to buy their Morello glacé cherries and large bottles of gin. I looked less poncetastic more alcoholic!

I hope Prima is still about. I bloody loved Prima. I did subscribe to a magazine app for a while. I may liven it up again to look at old Christmas issues.

Prima is definitely still about. The November copy landed on doormat yesterday

Never in my younger years would I have imagined just HOW excited I would be to find a dried up woody willow stick of just the right length and straightness to make that very important poncey christmas branchy thing

I love seeing what everyone is making, it makes me start feeling that bubble of excitement! @Micawbs I love that idea and may well pinch it if you don’t mind. And @lucysmam they’ll look gorgeous with tea lights flickering. Where will you put them?

I’m still waiting for my envelope embosser to arrive so in the meantime, I’ve been personalising fabric sacks and paper gift bags.

This came today!!!

I love how shiny it is and how it creaks. I have read the first page and can't wait to settle down with a glass of red and read properly. Also I like how it starts November 1st till February 2nd so whilst it has Christmas in the title, I can say well actually... to the people in my house who are like Christmas starts 1st December

@Sn0tnose one of the cabinets in my living room doesn't have much on it & I can see it from my chair, so probably there, I think. They'd look pretty in the window too, but the curtains will be shut so I won't see them there, & the other cabinet is likely to have another praying mantis & associated stuff on it by then :).

@Row1n
Your Paperwhites sound perfect (I looked them up)
Oooh this is getting to be fun.
Work in progress but I am knitting gnomes but am having to adapt pattern.

I have grand ideas but never seem to be able to deliver on them... following for some inspiration and encouragement!

@Trumpton whilst you’re here, do you think my paperwhite bulbs will be okay to store until I need them? A couple were sprouting when I bought them so I’ve put them in the shed to keep them cold.

@JoyPeaceHope I always end up doing far less than I’d planned to. Mostly because I can’t help myself and spend what little money I have spare in Nov/Dec on buying in something new and shiny and poncey. Not in the spirit of things at all!! So this year I’m going to try hard to be good and spend that little bit on materials for crafting/making instead.

@HollyandIvyandAllThingsYule
Yes they should be fine. Make them think it’s winter ( cool and dry and dull ). They will be fine

Thank you!