Festive Frolics

'It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air' - W.T Ellis

I love this quote and couldn't agree more with Ellis who sums up the true Christmas spirit in one simple sentence. December would just be another month and Christmas another day if it wasn't for the way in which it ignites a nostalgic spark in all of us that keeps us toasty and warm throughout the freezing temperatures of the winter season.

We all have one thing that awakens that Christmas spirit inside of us and for me, it's baking. I always remember making chocolate cornflake cakes with my mum and sister on Christmas Eve whilst watching Mary Poppins & fighting over who gets to lick the spoon. Having eaten many chocolate cornflakes cakes in my 27 years, I decided that 2010 would be the year that I would start off my very own Christmas tradition and do something that I will always be known for.

After much deliberation & justification behind my choice (that is being a red head and representing my fellow ginger people) I decided that I will pursue a Christmas craft career into the art of gingerbread men. So, in true festive spirit, I enlisted the help of my sister Emma and new brother-in-law Lee who were here visiting and we set to work to create some little masterpieces for a Christmas party later in the week hosted by Anita from Itsamistry Design Studio.

Ok, so not everything went to plan and I severely miscalculated the flour-syrup ratio, ending up with a sloppy paste-like mixture that couldn't be picked up, let alone rolled out. We were also missing one major cog in the gingerbread production wheel which was that of the gingerbread cutter himself...! Being creatives, we were not defeated and of course just had to improvise and Lee drew up a perfect gingerbread man card template to use instead! Once they were baked we set to work on a 'Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be....' decoration task and after an overdose of glitter icing and jelly tots, we finished up with the likes of Simon Cowell, Elvis and Cher (the original of course) on our baking tray. And the bonus? They were not just edible, but delicious!

And so my brand new Christmas tradition has been born. Of course, to avoid looking like a 5 year old had made them, I baked a fresh batch for the party yesterday (with an actual gingerbread man cutter and the right amount of flour this time!) and decorated them according to who was on the guest list. That would be Anita herself from Itsamistry Design Studio, Shilpa from Mistry Marketing Events, Nia from Gallery 6 Studios and Sarah from TinTrunk. We were also joined by Toni from Lady, Behave! who escaped a personalised gingerperson but unfortunately Alan from Village Vintage Clothing wasn't so lucky and got his delivered by Sarah, which was complete with beard and braces! Now, I apologise for any offence caused but felt the world needed to see my handiwork...go on, post a comment and vote for your favourite one...if I can reach 20 comments, I shall post my secret gingerbread recipe on the blog... :)

Itsamistry's Anita complete with her trademark
matching jewellery set

Shilpa from Mistry Marketing Events in Christmas Party mode 

Gallery 6 Studios Nia and her paintbrush and palette

TinTrunk's Sarah in vintage black and white...

So the moral of this festive tale is to always take some time to think about what puts 'Christmas in the air' for you...and when you have figured it out, capture it, bottle it and bring it out once a year to release your own true Christmas spirit.

Vintage Twee would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year xxx

Left to right: Shilpa, Anita, Nia and me!