FAREWELL 2012

I barely picked up my camera over the Christmas and end-of-year period, choosing to enjoy the moments instead of worrying about capturing them. I will always remember Everly's excitement on Christmas morning when she saw there were presents under the tree, and I will always remember the look on her face when she opened up the last wrapped gift from Mummy and Daddy, her Waldorf doll (a look of absolute delight, a memory I will cherish forever).

So, above are a few random bits and pieces from the last two weeks of 2012.

1) Flowers, handpicked by Everly from the garden - the best kind
2) Prepping strawberry and rhubarb breakfast crumble for Christmas Day brunch
3) Straight from the oven, ready to be topped with oat and almond crumble
4) Handmade pure beeswax candles, packaged and ready for gifting
5), 6), 7) On Boxing Day Everly received her gift from her Nanna and Papa - a beautiful wooden play kitchen, handmade by Papa and Daddy. She turned to look at everyone as if to say "Is this really mine? To play with?"
8) Helping Daddy
9) Testing out the new 'barrow
10) She loves to play with her Nanna and Papa
11) Often a furrowed brow, our deep thinker
12) My beautiful, cheeky girl

Farewell 2012 - it's been challenging and amazing all rolled into one.

*I intended to post this last week but got distracted by heat waves and sunburn!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thank you for visiting this humble space of mine this past year and for sharing your lovely thoughts with me.

I wish you and your families a very happy Christmas blessed with love, light and laughter. xxx

A little handmade Christmas gift for family - pure beeswax candles in old jam jars using local beeswax (I made a few for myself, too!)

FOR EVERLY: A WALDORF DOLL

Here she is. Finally, I can show you what I have been making - on and off - for the past six months.

A best friend, a companion, a Waldorf doll - with red hair and brown eyes, just like Everly. Handmade by her Mama with so much love (and the occasional swear word), under the expert guidance of local dollmaker Heidi Thickins, who also made the doll's clothes for me. Gifts for Everly are always simplified (we follow the popular 'Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read' guide), but this year I also wanted the main 'big' present from her Mummy and Daddy to be handmade with love. I sure hope Everly loves her!

'Something she needs' - Stockmar beeswax crayons. I already snuck a couple out for her to play with a few weeks ago as she was constantly trying to steal my notepad and pen. Now she sits and draws at the table next to me while I write shopping lists and meal plans.

A dress I picked up on sale at Target a couple of months ago, then a size too big, will be her 'something to wear'. And 'something to read' - this and this. Plus a little something special in her stocking from Father Christmas - a small wooden car, and a tiny felt ladybird.

I like to think our simple gift giving will begin to instill gratitude and thoughtfulness in our little one, and not of excess and want and greed which is so often found at this time of year. I've been including Everly in our handmade Christmas wherever I can, and I look forward to the many years ahead of Christmas crafting together. Gifts for others have been bought locally or online to shelter her from the manic rush rush rush in the major shopping centres (and for my sake, too!)

This Christmas feels very special as it's the first time Everly seems to really sense that something is happening. Tonight, when we return home from our Christmas Eve feast and Everly is sleeping peacefully, we will carefully place her gifts under the tree and head to bed ourselves for a much-needed rest, dreaming of the joy that tomorrow will bring.

A HANDMADE CHRISTMAS

Our attempts at a handmade Christmas:

1) Making our own wrapping paper
2) Beeswax tea cup candle for my dear friend, Tess, who is a proud tea cup collector. I'm really proud of this and so hope she loves it! (And doesn't disown me for 'ruining' a tea cup!)
3) A tiny knitted cat (not made by me, but handmade nonetheless) for Tess's daughter and Everly's best friend, Dahlia, who is a mad cat lover. I know she will adore it!

I had grand plans to make salt dough ornaments (inspired by Steph), make my own Christmas cards, and do lots of Christmas baking, but all of that has been scrapped for a lazy and oven-free weekend (the very last one before Christmas! Where did December go?!)

I've really enjoyed visiting my favourite blogs each week and seeing what you've all been making for Christmas this year. You are so inspiring! (Hello, tea cup succulents and hand illustrated mugs! Amazing!)

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. (I can't stop singing that tune at the moment, either!)

The tree is up. Our first real tree (both Mark and I grew up with the fake plastic variety) and the first time Everly is beginning to understand what Christmas is all about. We decorated the tree together on Saturday afternoon - she in charge of the non-breakable baubles at the bottom, while Mark and I hung the ceramic and glass keepsakes on the top half. Then we danced around the living room to Christmas carols playing on the record player.

Our new handmade Waldorf angel is sitting proud at the top, Everly's special star from paper boat press is there too, and her stocking is hanging from the mantel (a tradition from Mark's side of the family). I have been busy finishing her handmade Christmas gift (more on that soon!) and She & Him Christmas tunes are on every day. Best of all, the whole house smells deliciously like pine.

Over the next week or so, we will make our own wrapping paper, finish off a few little handmade gifts for close family and friends, visit the Brewery Lights (a tradition on my side of the family), and visit the Christmas fair at the Willunga Waldorf School. On Christmas Eve, we will sit down for a full German feast, watch the carols on TV and eat way too much food. We will leave out milk and cookies for Father Christmas, and some carrots for the reindeer (I always looked forward to this as a child!). On Christmas Day, we will visit both mine and Mark's families and, again, eat way too much food!

The heavy weight I felt last year leading up to Christmas is nowhere to be seen. This year I am just enjoying being with my little family, creating traditions and making memories.

What will you be doing in the lead up to Christmas? Do you have any special Christmas traditions that are unique to your family?

expectations

Everly's first Christmas. I was filled with excitement when it began to near. But I had no idea it would suddenly bring with it huge expectations on what Christmas should be like now that Everly is here.

I had big plans. Plans to make wrapping paper with Everly using butchers paper and paint, or maybe even wrap all our gifts in kraft brown paper adorned with a red pom pom. Plans to sit down and make my own illustrated christmas cards. I had plans to mix up some homemade playdough using this no-cook recipe to make little gifts for Everly's two besties. I had plans to sew an advent calendar, a family heirloom to be displayed every Christmas, with pockets that can be filled with treats and small toys - or even just cupcake cases with twine handles strung up on the wall. Plans to buy a real tree like this family and garnish it with handmade decorations.

Did I get any of this accomplished?
Nope.
And, I can proudly say, I don't care one bit!

This year has been all about HUGE expectations - namely 1) the birth of Everly and 2) the birth of myself as a Mum. Two amazing life-changing events that went very differently to how I saw them unfold in my mind. And it's taken me six-and-a-half months to figure out (with a whole lot of depressed days, tears, anger, frustration, soul searching and therapy sessions) that it doesn't matter. What matters most is those special moments - labouring at home, in my own space, surrounded by love and excitement... arriving home after those two endless days in hospital, sitting on my own lounge and stroking Everly's hair as she cuddled up to my chest... Mark and I gazing in wonder at the little life we created, just sleeping there so peacefully between us... her first smile... her first laugh. All those things, and so much more. They are what really matters.

So, this year, Christmas is our usual, stumpy, plastic tree, decorated with IKEA balls and tinsel. The gifts are messily wrapped in cheap wrapping paper. On the mantel are two Cadbury advent calendars. But I'm smiling. And I have Everly and Mark and my amazing family and friends. There's always next year for handmade and crafty (and I might even be nice to myself by drastically reducing that crazy Christmas To Do list.)

I did accomplish one thing I had planned - I managed to restrain myself from buying too much for Everly. We tried to focus on only four gifts (as suggested by Simplicity Parenting via Claudia) - something they want (Everly is too young to 'want', so this was the perfect opportunity to buy the rainbow puzzle blocks I love), something they need (a wooden activity walker [thanks Em for the tip-off], plus a small pull-along deer on wooden wheels, for when she starts crawling/walking), something to wear (a cute Bebe romper to wear on Christmas Day) and something to read (okay, so I did buy her five books...) But I'm quite proud to say all of her gifts are practical or sustainable. (Oh, except for the cheap-yet-so-amazing fluro pink pool I just had to throw in the mix - idea totally stolen from Claire!).

Anyway, the main point of this post was to thank you for visiting, for reading, for caring, and for your lovely comments this year. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas filled with love, laughter and happiness!

Here's to 2012 - the year of no expectations! x

my christmas

Some photos I managed to snap over the last few days.... (The rest of the time I was too busy laughing, enjoying the company of others and stuffing my face with food!)

The Mama making Spätzle for our German feast on Christmas Eve. (Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the Rinderroulade or blaukraut with speck.)

Little wooden people from Germany.

Watching the blur of dogs playing through the kitchen window on Christmas Eve.

Billy having a rest after all the playing.

Christmas Day - chopstick rests we gave my sister and brother-in-law. Made by Adelaide furniture designer Takeshi Iue, found at Bowerbird Bazaar design market earlier this year.

Gifts for us - lovely patterned napkins and placemats from Country Road.

My family knows I love Kikki-K stationery. Weekly A6 diary in mustard.

Beautiful wooden heart Christmas tree decoration, from the sister and brother-in-law.
(From Sedonia, a gorgeous shop in Seddon Victoria).

I hope you all had a memorable Christmas filled with love and laughter.

xx

oh christmas tree

We still haven't put up the Christmas tree.

I was contemplating not doing it at all this year, but agreed after the husband said he'd construct the tree so long as I'd decorate it. True, it appears I am stuck with the most time-consuming part, but at least I don't have to venture out to the shed to find the box, nor enjoy all the spiders and creepy crawlies that I'm sure will come out with it.

I much prefer this beautiful tree of lights than the plastic green variety we have. Maybe next year?
(from the very talented Jenn of A Merry Mishap)