A (belated) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

There is nothing like Christmas. After so much stress from everyone rushing round present hunting, winding down from work, trying to get the all-important Christmas Dinner sorted, it is so nice to actually have Christmas Day. Where no shops are open, there is no need to leave the house and you can just spend time with family and eat until the button pops on your jeans (or if you are smart, you wear leggings or a dress for maximum comfort levels).

From left- Me, Dave, Dave's Mum & Dad, Dave's Sis and her new hubby

               

This year I was in Timaru with my hubbys family. We had a new addition this year, Dave's sister got married! So this year there was 6 of us and it was great. My favourite part about the Chiles family Christmas is after we have finished opening presents we go off down the garden to pick peas. Then we all sit on the floor with a scrap bucket and a bowl and collect fresh peas for Christmas lunch. Every year! What a great tradition to have. We don't have kids yet but a few of my friends have had wee ones this year so I spent Christmas thinking about what sort of traditions I want to have when our family grows.

This year we also played petanque and quiotts (sp?) on the front lawn and boy was that fun! I think we all learned why we aren't sporty people!

This year we went hunting for boxing day bargains (probably another tradition to add)
The best part is when Christmas decorations get marked down to clear. We spotted a black Christmas tree at 70% off and decided on red and silver decorations to match. Dave and I have a weird obsession with the colours red, black and white, they were our wedding colours and are a winning combo in our books.  So this was perfect. Next on the list was an angel to go on top. A proper angel, not just a star. This proved harder to find but we got one. She will be proudly on top of our tree for years to come.
Since the only flaw to our plan was that Christmas was already over and there was no need for a tree, we travelled home and put it up. It stood proud in our flat until New Years Day.

So Pretty!

                          

So I'm claiming this tree as my crafty adventure this time around. I hope you enjoy Christmas as much as I do!