Sunday 9 December 2018

Christmas Trends 2018

Hello, thank you for calling in.  Exactly twelve months ago Shropshire was hit by a "snow bomb", an unprecedented event which delivered 25cm of snow over three days and left us all feeling extremely festive.  The Best Beloved and I ventured out to Ironbridge on 9th December and he took some photographs, one of which is my new header.  I thought I'd go a bit seasonal.

Speaking of seasonal, I have read that this year's Christmas decorating trends include pink, llamas, pom poms and "handmade".  Now, it is decades since being on trend bothered me in the slightest and I like Christmas to be about traditions, so the facts that I don't live very well with pink and don't own any decorative llamas are not causing me any anxiety at all.  However, last year I bought a set of pom pom makers and making a festive garland was on my list of things to do this month - yes, I know that I don't need a fancy contraption and that I could have cut a couple of circles out of an old cereal box as we did when I was a child but the fancy contraption speeds up the process and makes it SO much fun.  I delved into my yarn stash and found not pink but dark red, cream and a muted green to give a sort of vintage feel which is much more to my liking.  Pom pom production happened very gently over several evenings and once I had thirty-four I threaded them together, with a little crochet chain and loop at each end for easy hanging.  

These colours are not true, the green is greener and the white is cream.

My garland is now hanging across the window in the front room, announcing to the world that this Christmas, I am trendy.  My Advent calendar and candle are on the mantlepiece and that is the sum total of my festive decorating so far.  Preparations for Christmas are on schedule and over the last three days I have unhurriedly wrapped thirty-two gifts, twenty-five of which were delivered yesterday.  The space I made last week has indeed allowed room for Christmas spirit to start creeping in.

See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x

19 comments:

  1. Oh well done, you are so on trend and organised. I'm sure if you felt the need, you could make a pom pom llama perhaps with a couple of pipe cleaners judiciously placed. I've been doing a bit of wrapping too, it's good for the soul. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, you know, I have some pipe cleaners so I might just give that a go! I like wrapping, I find it quite soothing and now that my daughter has fledged, I have a "spare" room with a desk and shelf which make a perfect wrapping station. x

      Delete
  2. Love your pom pom garland it's so pretty. Saw a llama in a field today so I guess that is my llama for this Christmas. Only thing festive in the house at the moment are the cards we've received so far on the mantlepiece. I love your header of Ironbridge. I'd love to go around Christmas now the covering is off the bridge:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you seen any photos of the bridge, Rosie? It's been painted red and lots of people are moaning about it but I think it looks fab in the pictures, although I haven't been to see it yet. x

      Delete
    2. Yes, I have seen a photo of it on facebook as I follow Ironbridge Museums on there. I think it looks good and of course it will weather overtime and look like it did when first built:)

      Delete
  3. Love the header. Your pompoms look great. I think I'm done decorating now I need to clean, our daughter will be here in a week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! You must be so excited. My daughter is coming home on Friday but only for one night, passing through on her way to Scotland. I can't wait to see her. x

      Delete
  4. Haha! Congrats on being trendy! It's that wonderful time of year. We are expecting snow this coming week. Hope your week is merry and bright.
    https://happywonderer.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love snow! I have just seen a weather forecast which said that we might have some by the weekend, but I'm not very hopeful. x

      Delete
  5. I love your pompom garland. I haven't made a pompom in years. Maybe now would be a good time. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do it, Jules, it's such fun and I think Lily might enjoy it, too. x

      Delete
  6. Wait, I just remembered...I had a pom pom maker that came free with a crochet magazine. Now...if I can find it, I am going to be trendy too!:-) Guess what...I added the song you told me about on my post about the lions at Trafalgar Square! :-) You are the BEST! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went back to have a look, Kay - I didn't realise there were so many verses! Once you start pompomming you might not be able to stop, it's addictive. You'll have to show us the results if you do. x

      Delete
  7. Love the header, such a beautiful picture. Love the garland. I don't think I will ever make a trendy list as most of my decor is about memories and Christmas's past a bit of an eclectic mix.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with you on this one, my Christmas décor is about family traditions and memories. I did think about having a theme this year but I just can't do it, it wouldn't feel like Christmas. x

      Delete
  8. Glad you’re feeling festive. Love your new snowy header. I had quite forgotten your snow event last year. Hopefully it will get colder for Christmas this year. Love the Pom poms :) B x

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks Barbara. Tonight's forecast said that we might have snow by the weekend but it feels far too warm at the moment so I don't hold out much hope. x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your header is gorgeous - like a Christmas card scene. So glad you are on trend with your pompoms! We're unlikely to have snow for Christmas and I'm a bit sad about that. However, I had my students (high school) make a flurry of snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling for a bit of a festive air.
    I may have to go looking for a pompom maker!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I may have to make a flurry of snowflakes! We so rarely have snow at Christmas here, it's so disappointing, but last year we had so much of it earlier in December that we didn't mind so much, it was as if the snow had filled us up with festivity which lasted beyond the thaw. x

      Delete