25 Days of Christmas...again!

In 2013 a friend came up with the idea of posting a Christmas themed photo every day on Facebook from December 1 till Christmas Day. She invited a few of us to do the same thing and I found it lots of fun...so much so, that I'm still posting photos. The others who started with me haven't kept up for various reasons. So what photos have I found to post so far this December? Here are a few...
The Christmas window display at the city Myer store 2 years ago. I fondly remember the store window displays not only of my childhood, but also those in the 1980s when my girls were little.

Talking of Myer...the next photo is a favourite. Taken in the Myer city store  also, but way back in 1989. It's DD1 and DD2 visiting Santa there. 😊

And still on the subject of Myer...( overseas readers, Myer is a department store in Australia)
The next photo was taken in 2013 when DH and I braved the crowds to have a look at the Christmas Parade held each night for the few weeks before December 25. And it is sponsored by Myer! I took lots of photos from my vantage point standing on the ledge of a planter box in the Mall. My favourite parts of the parade were those animals...deer, camels and a donkey. 😍

The next photo is from Christmas Eve in 2011. I'd snapped some pics of DsD2's boyfriend ( now husband) checking out all the gifts under the tree...😉

Some handmade decorations I've made. The larger photo is the one I made for Anthea last year and the other two are a couple of prototypes for this year.

I do try to resist buying more Christmas decorations, but this year a new one 'came home with me' one Sunday. I had joined friends for a coffee in a shop that not only served coffee and tea but was within a local homewares store. I've named him Ronnie Reindeer.

The next one is a photo of a card I've kept for a few years. The lady who gave me the card was a knitting friend. For her 80th birthday I had made a small photo album with any photos taken at Knit and Natters, which featured Angela. She loved the gift and wrote some lovely comments on the card. Sadly Angela died this year after a cancer that had been treated successfully a number of years ago, returned. I will continue to treasure this card.

The last photo in this post is from 2013 and it was the Christmas party for the Sunday Stitchers. The beautiful tablerunner that I'm holding up, is what my Secret Santa Marilyn had made for me. I'm also holding up the needle keep that SS also made me.

So that's a few of the 16 photos I've posted so far this December. 

The last of the 25 days of Christmas...

The last of the Christmas gatherings has been held and we are fast approaching New Year.
On Christmas Eve when we had family here, I was congratulating myself in remembering to put all the food out; nothing left in the fridge, no bread left in the oven or cupboard... all remembered and put out.
Next morning DH was chuckling and pointing at something in the dining room. This point of interest was the box of bonbons that he had made a special trip to buy early on Christmas Eve, and the box was unopened! All good though as DsD1 commented via Facebook that we could use some of them on Wednesday night when we were celebrating Christmas with her and Dan and 2 other family guests...and we did! So 6 bonbons were used.

So those Days of Christmas photos that took us up to Christmas Day...
Day 22

A collage of some of my Christmas angels; all gifts over the years.
The angel top left is my most recent; from Susan at this year's Sunday Stitchers Christmas Lunch.
The angel top right was a gift from a student teacher whose teaching prac I supervised in late November in his final year . That young man did an excellent prac and I knew he would do well in his chosen career. He is married now with 2 children...so a little while ago now!
The two bead angels on the right in the lower photo, were made as gifts for me by two brothers whom I taught a few years apart.
All treasured items for my tree each year. ( next year I might feature some of the other angels in my collection :-) )

Day 23

The tree and the hutch. Once upon a time, these two would be 'dressed' in their Christmas finery by December 1. This year I got this all done on the evening of December 21. My previous 'lateness record' was the afternoon of December 24 and it was only done then because the family were coming that night for Christmas dinner.

Day 24
On this day I posted a photo of a decorated tree that I took at Coffee Works in Mareeba FNQ on November 11...so that was early! The decorations were packets of the company's coffee, and a few packets of the tea they blend and sell.

Day 25
As usual I found I had lots more than 25 photos that I could have used for this project in 2016. I always expect to run out but it doesn't happen. This year were all 'first time used' photos, so none from the previous 3 years, although I did put an old favourite in the comments of one day's photo.
For Day 25 I made a collage of photos of Christmas 2016 catch ups that I attended in November and December. 

So now, ever onward until the New Year. Happy New Year Everyone!!

Old photos, old dresses...

Or should that be 'vintage dresses'?

During December I post a photo each day on Facebook; these photos are Christmas themed. The other day, after a bit of hesitation, I posted a photo collage...2 photos taken 23 years apart. 

Photo 1, taken December 1992...

DD1 dressed in our Christmas dresses ready to go out to a Christmas function...I had been able to make a dress for DD1 out of the leftover fabric from my dress.

So last week when I was organising photos for my Facebook posts, I remembered that my old dress was still hanging in a wardrobe having survived many wardrobe purges...somehow??? Lol. I thought I would take a photo of the dress on its hanger...but then I threw caution to the wind and I tried the dress on...

It doesn't really fit...but it was fun to try it on...

Well a collage of these 2 photos brought quite a lot of feedback from the FB post, and also via FB comments, my dress is going to a new home...

My niece who loves all things 'retro/vintage' offered to give my old dress a new home and lots of wearings/outings too I suspect. 

And in my Christmas fabrics stash, I still have scraps of that fabric...lots of squares, hexagons and circles (for yoyos) have been cut out of that fabric over the years

Great little motifs for fussy cutting...

And while I was looking through my Xmas fabric stash, I found a ziplock bag filled with long hexies, all cut out and some were even stitched over the papers. I had just been thinking a while back, that I'd like to make one of my long hexie table runners...for me...not to give away like I normally do! And now the first few steps in making a runner are already done!!