Poncetastic Christmas 2025

[welikebeingcosy]

Added by MNHQ upon request:
OK, first of all, I know it's still September but 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.The days are getting shorter, the leaves are starting to brown, that can only mean one thing- it's time to ignore the waves of Halloween decor all over your local The Range and head to the woods to start picking your own holly for that perfect Kirsty inspired wreath.

We want homemade stuffing recipes perfected by November, the handmade crackers draped in the most delicate of embroidered ribbon, mantle pieces draped in the most Scandinavian of wooden carvings, specialised stamps for the personalised wrapping paper ordered by next week and the word craft to be your official middle name by new year.

Happy ponceing and may Nigel and Nigella's fairy lights guide you on your way to getting the last box of rosemary and sea salt crackers in your own personal Bethlehem.

I’ve just made my first batch of Chutney. I used the Cole and Mason recipe. Tried some for lunch with cheese and fresh bread. Yummy. It does look very yellow!
(And to change the subject, I’m off to get my Pink Stuff and tin foil out)

I have a glut of Pink Stuff at the moment looks for foil

I made green tomato chutney last week but can't remember if I posted about it or not. Haven't done it for years. My family are not big chutney eaters except DH but he will only eat Branston. I used Jamie Oliver's recipe.

I poncey cleaned my cloakroom toilet seat. Just so you know 😆

Cleaning products side quest:
I have Marius fabre savon liquide de Marseille thyme and dill, which is lovely and I enjoy the madmoselle on the packet.
Eau escalate Le detacher universal has a more standard graphic but the product absolutely does detach all sticky label glue. Miracle stuff. Holiday souvenir, lasted years.
Marius fabre can no longer ship to the UK so have been forced to go to frenchsoaps.co.uk for a new cube of Marseille soap, a spray thing, a poncy reed diffuser and going to try some laundry soap flakes

I'm 50 and rather bored of cleaning. We've had the old school era - the pink Windolene and powdered vim. The demise of Wilko stopped that.
I've done Method when I bought my first house and they'd just started.
A sucked in by Instagram dabble with Kinn, the aluminium spray cans were pants and the concentrated mixes just rubbish.
It's currently a mush mash of supermarket stuff with a green wash of eco lettering at the moment. Bored of it

Fairy original washing up.liquid is the main go to. A dishwasher tablet for the big guns.

https://delphiseco.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20349527691&gbraid=0AAAAAotAQxI2VoeMlIUcmi7k9d8QG_bWU&gclid=CjwKCAjw3tzHBhBREiwAlMJoUjp_46eH2iDdHdIcCq_Ac52rj9odOhv04NZZiDzj-00Pkf7AOhPNlhoCSaUQAvD_BwE you want this stuff.

Love the clean typeface labels. Can anyone vouch for the spray trigger, suitably robust?

@poncetestical you need to look at Nancy Birtwhistle. She is to cleaning products what the poncetastic thread is to christmas. Not pretty premade bottles, but all home made cleaning.

Christmas poncing is miles behind here- Ive not even made christmas cakes yet 😑

@Poncetestical A lot of people don't realise that WILKO are still available online.

I second the Nancy Birtwhistle books, the theory is poncey enough.
My natural cleaning method answers to MrWizened so I have little to contribute practically

@Sleeposaurus I am also miles behind, just booked my last day of annual leave to make cakes and plant some fruit trees that are loitering round the back door like cats waiting to be let in

I could go Nancy with presumably kilner jars and a bit of white coat lab home chemistry. That might be my next look after the French stuff gets too much proves ineffectual

Good shout of Wilko online. They have the pink stuff but sadly none of the 70s retro that I used to go for - fairy white bottle, vim in a cardboard tube and Windolene in a disturbing pink calamine lotion coloured bottle.

This is on thread I believe. You can't have a poncetastic Christmas without an element of over the top panic cleans in order to put greenery where the duster doesn't reach. Homemade cleaning products are en brand

I have oiled the dining table today, I’ll give it another coat tomorrow. All ready for my poncy table setting

Just reading my 1949 Ideal Home Exhibition book and here's an advert for 'The Pink Stuff' under it's earlier name.

Obviously, I'm wearing a similar outfit.

Also way behind. I was spurred into action by this thread and when I got home from work last night collected the remaining tomatoes which haven't ripened for my green tomato chutney. I've got about a kilo so phew, should make enough jars for the cheese hampers.

Table looks good for its oiling. We are away for a week from Saturday so plenty of time for it to absorb fully.

Well I forgot to take pottery photos yesterday but that's ok as I have to return this afternoon after having been sidetracked by other hobby potters needing help with a million things (during the holidays the actual pottery teacher isn't there and I seem to have become The Chosen One - disclaimer my entire pottery knowledge comes from YouTube videos, Facebook and Chemistry for Dummies 😂).
I've just laid out my pieces for Mrs Claus, I may have gone overboard with the bling (it does say in the instructions that it's preferable to use clear beads and sequins otherwise it can look a little OTT), but I'm going to roll with it and trust the process despite not actually adhering to said process 🤫

Love the bling version of Mrs Claus! I like to think of her as rather glamorous rather than the white haired old lady she is portrayed as.

Lovely table @FurForksSake Nowt better than a freshly oiled table. Mine gets waxed, but you have reminded me that I need to oil my front door.

I've just finished a project that I had promised for someone else, so I can now focus on other stuff. I've been making my gingerbread house candles and also experimenting with some beeswax melts. Frankincense, Clementine and Clove essential oils were used so the house smells lovely.

I may need a brief pause in Christmas poncing to do some Halloween related stuff. I feel a list is in order. I did buy a new Christmas planner earlier in the year, so I just need to find it now!

So here are a few of the pieces I'm making, the round biscuit-like things are flower frogs, they'll be a much darker mottled green once they're finished. The snowflakes and stars were just to test out some new cookie cutters I bought recently, they're great as they have an integrated pusher with them which is brilliant for clay as it vastly reduces warping.
The mugs will get some kind of decoration but I haven't decided what yet (I tend to have fun when I'm making things for the Christmas 'Market' as I know that I'm not making for me/as a gift for someone close and so don't really care if it's a bit unusual 😂

@AlicePottery I’m getting a kiln for my birthday and have been collecting tools and bits for ages. You are making me very jealous!

I have finished my gift tags and made a miniature advent calendar for a friend’s children

@Tombobombo how have you done the gift tags?

I used air drying clay and letter stamps. Then just orange slices and ribbon. I’ve hurt my leg so not out and about as much as usual and a bit more time on my hands!!

That advent calendar is the cutest thing I've ever seen 😍 I'd also love to know how you did the gift tags as they are gorgeous (and v Poncetastic!)

Beautiful gift tags 😍
@FurForksSakewhich kiln are you getting? I have an Ecotop 50l it's brilliant.
Today's poncing is probably just going to be more embroidery, awful weather here, I'm sitting in the veranda watching leaves and twigs fly by, one of my chili trees plants has gone over 😭 I'm hoping I'll be able to save it once it's calmed down. I really should have brought everything in when they put out the Amber weather alert yesterday 🤦🏼‍♀️

@AlicePottery an ecotop 60s. DH has spoken to the electrician and says it’s doable in our garage with only a little work. They seems like great home kilns! I’ve then got to choose glazes! I’ll propbably buy 10 amaco and mayco colours. I’m not brave enough to make a bucket of white and clear for filling, but I want to move towards it!