The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024 Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Welcome all new and old friends.

The journey continues.

I'm in awe of you too @AgathaMystery
Lovely pics @IngenTing looks so festive

@AgathaMystery I love it when previous me did something amazing like that! With ADHD it doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it's fabulous. My "thank you, past me" this year was that I'd packed the tiny screwdriver in the same box as the battery fairy lights so I didnt have to use the point of a knife to open all the battery covers. Which was brilliant, but a WC winter candle would be even better.

@IngenTing stunning pictures.

We are reading this.

All is well with the world. I finally found my nativity (for some reason under DD's bed).

That’s beautiful @piscofrisco, doesn’t it feel good when something turns up that you’ve been searching for - then you wonder why you put it there in the first place!

I love everything about that photo @piscofrisco - the nativity, the candles, the greenery, the sideboard, the paint. Gorgeous.

Loving all the Christmas lights but especially The Twig!

Congratulations on your house move @IngenTing

@LillianGish I also recommend going to Fortnum and Mason in the evenings, I went last week about 7.30 and while it was busy it wasn’t at all unpleasant and next to no queues at the tills. Also the outside looks best at night. I missed Burlington Arcade though and had to just peer through the locked gates.

Well, not much in the way of decorations up yet, but we have advent calendars and an advent candle, the cats have got one with daily treats in. We always get a real tree from a cut your own farm but this weekend was too soon (we keep it up till 12th Night), next week we will be too busy, so we have pencilled in Sun 15th. But I will get the Christmas mugs out now and we are treated as of this weekend to being able to watch a light up steam train go by, we can see it from the house.

My paperwhite narcissi have started to come out, I planted them on the 8th Nov which was obviously a bit too soon, perhaps our room is a bit warm. I mentioned on the last thread that I found a straight, tall glass vase in a charity shop for a fiver which has turned out to be just the thing. Will make a not to leave it till the end of Nov next year.

@LillianGish that sideboard was one of my best ever purchases. It's a made.com one but I got it for £43 from John Pye auctions on line. (I became obsessed with John Pye auctions for a time. The bargains!)

Life has got so busy just lately that I got behind, not just with the thread, but with everything! I've caught up with myself now though and with the thread too. Such lovely posts from you all, full of beautiful photographs, beautiful stories and beautiful thoughts .

Well done on being able to drive again @Bimblesalong . Your plans for a tattoo sound wonderful. I had a similar plan. I didn't have a reconstruction and was going to decorate the flat, scarred side with a tattoo. Then, prior to starting radiotherapy, I had the 3 tiny black dot tattoos the hospital do to help them position the machine. Honestly, they are the size of a pin head, but it hurt and I am a wimp so I chickened out!

Our windowsill village has now been completed and is on display to the world. I photographed it for you. I love listening to the children stopping to look at it on their way home from school. We are getting our tree tomorrow but it will live out in the garden until we are back from our holiday.

Mr Fuzzy Wig the mouse is splendid, I am very impressed.

The tree is up! I will take pictures tomorrow because right now it's a mess and needs a bit of zhushing (how to spell?!). It is also AAFFNAIPTG (About As Far From Nigel As It's Possible To Get), but every decoration on there was bought or gifted with love, so I have no plans to switch to a more tasteful look. And you are right @RainbowZebraWarrior, there is a lot to look forward to in England as well - a very timely reminder, thank you.

Congratulations @IngenTing on the move. It sounds like a wonderful place to live.

And thank you to all for sharing photos and stories on this thread - it's making me feel properly festive.

Ha! @noodlezoodle the Nigel magic works in the small hours. That acronym made me quietly snort so as not to wake dh!

What wonderful photos - I can feel and smell
Christmas spirit through my phone!

Love the idea of cutting in to Christmas Cake early - think I will adopt that as so often it’s overlooked on the day due to all other treats being around. I only made mine yesterday - very late but I fear I may have “fed” it too much anyway as I soaked all the dried fruits in brandy for 2 days beforehand!

Tree day here for us - ours is soooo NVN as it is a miscellaneous chaos of ornaments made by DDs in primary school and random baubles - no colour theme or frankly any theme but I love it.

Wishing I lived near enough to London for some Fortnum and Mason window shopping!!! @Confusedmeanderings your window village is amazing - one of our favourite things at this time of year is an evening walk spotting lights and decorations - the effort some go to is fantastic and spreads so much joy. Had a blissfully quiet much needed relaxing evening yesterday lots of paper snowflakes made with DS which was really fun. Waiting for everyone to wake up now so we can do advent calendars! Hope everyone has a good Monday x

2 December

To Nuremberg and the Christkindlesmarkt

Slowly we dawdle, scarfed and toasty-hatted, into the market square. The lights illuminating the stalls are switched off. Families cluster around the two fir trees standing guard at the church, but others attempt nonchalance, pretending they are not determinedly securing the perfect vantage-point for their clicking Canons. This time, the perfect spot is actually taken by a police surveillance van. I find an excellent viewpoint outside the communal entrance of a block of flats.

Your window is incredible, @Confusedmeanderings!

Your window really is impressive @Confusedmeanderings it looks like a real labour of love ❤️

Your window is absolutely stunning @Confusedmeanderings - thanks so much for sharing.
All those claiming their trees are NVN could not be more wrong. Apart from an insistence on white lights, Nigel's tree is very much freestyle - all about treasured memories and unwrapping the baubles as if if they were old friends. Doubtless there will be some pricey antique balls picked up at German Christmas market in the mix, but the whole is a delightful (if tastefully arranged) mish-mash. A tree of memories - like all the best trees.

Someone shared this on FB this morning - the epitome of Nigelness

Quintessential Nigel @ExpertlyDecorated 🤣

Sharing my cake from last year @AgathaMystery - it just popped up on my memories. A bit basic (based on my granny’s approach!), but easy to cut and to adjust decorations once cut! Also it’s just for us so I don’t need it to be any kind of centre piece (well that’s my excuse 🤣) I seem to remember @Bimblesalong shared a magnificent picture last year.

Can I ask the folk who are good with fabric and sewing for some advice? DD's and DS2's stocking were cheap felt type ones and are now looking rather threadbare. Is there any way to reinforce them so they don't rip by accident? I was thinking of maybe doing a plain cotton stocking and using it to line the original ones. Does that sound like it might work? Would appreciate any advice as I have very little co-ordination or sewing skills!

I did manage to make some cushions out of the children's old Chistmas jumpers a couple of years back and they worked ok, but that was just sewing up the top and bottom, stuffing with kapok and tucking the sleeves inside. Being a hoarder ridiculously sentimental I had every christmas jumper they'd ever had tucked in a box which was just ridiculous. But now I have cheery Christmas cushions made of memories.

Love the idea of making cushions from Christmas jumpers @BobBobBobbing, and tucking the arms inside instead of cutting them off! Could you reinforce your felt stockings by turning them inside out and reinforcing the material by ironing on lightweight iron-on vylene, which you should be able to buy anywhere that sells fabrics or haberdashery. You would just lay the stocking flat, cut out the shape of each side of the stocking and attach the vylene by ironing it on. Much simpler than it sounds, and no sewing involved!

Pompom Christmas wreath just finished and ready to hang in the kitchen.

@Seasidebubbles thank you! No sewing is perfect. I shall give that a go and report back.

I love the pompom wreath.