Christmas Gathering

UAs you may know by now I hate table cloths unless it's on a buffet.  I prefer placemats, when you have one with a spill you don't loose the entire table covering.  I will be using my Christmas plates, ( no paper plates here) silverware and placemats.

Christmas placemats for me MUST be in real reds, green-green, snowy white and even silver or gold. When I found this fabric line from _________ I knew it was the one I wanted.  I envisioned fussy cut squares so I picked fabrics to match.  As I made the first one I took the opportunity to quilt them each differently.  Good way to try different patterns on a small scale.

I will be making a full dinner on Tuesday, turkey with all the trimmings.  Wednesday I do breakfast after presents and we are doing an afternoon dinner gathering with my family, this will allow my daughter to visit with everyone without spending her few days home in a car trying to see everyone.


For as long as I've been married we have traveled on Christmas Eve or Christmas, I am so excited to host this years Christmas and relax on Christmas Eve.

Hallmark please stop

Hallmark please stop this series!  

Fireplace Pre-decoration

My husband is a Hallmark collector, he started the series Shop's & House's 30 years ago.  With the addition of specials on top of the annual release there are now 36.  This first became a problem about 10 years ago when the series exceeded my fireplace mantel.  To fix it I started putting the houses on the wreath.  When that wasn't enough I created levels so I could double them up.

  Last year 2 were released and again this year another 2, come on Hallmark enough already.

This year hubby cut some scrap 4" longer and 3" wider than the mantel to give me more room.  The scrap is made of MDF so I can't staple into it or use tape. 

 A simple slip stitch secured the white cotton batting nicely. To create multiple levels I also covered 5 smaller pieces of 2 x 4 and 2 x 6.  Stacking them allowed all of the shops to be seen. 

Each year we put up several trees, yes plenty of ornaments to go around. The mantel is my favorite place for the houses and shops, I'm glad working together we could solve the problem and keep them here.  

I still want Hallmark to stop this series please, that and Frosty Friends ~another that has gone on too long.