Christmas Shenanigans

This is a long post. It's mainly for me to keep track of stuff, so I really do not expect you to read it all and comment....It is all a bit of the "First World" problem...but I treasure all my gifts and all the decorations will be kept and hung.  This is how I have been displaying my collection of decorations gifted from sewing friends over the years.....it is time to add a second string of lights.

Loose Threads

We started Christmas early and met on 30th November.  We met at my place and I had the tree up by then, but not all the other decorations.

Lunch was out at the local club and we had decided to swap bon-bons as presents.  Inside we needed to pack a fat quarter, a surprise, a treat, a reel of thread and a decoration.

Seriously lacking photos...ooops

Sunday Stitchers

This is always fun day - this year we had 13 people.  Everyone brought a contribution for the food & drinks table and it all tasted great.

Many people make something or give a small gift and here is my collection:

Alison - soap
Anita - gingerbread house with wooden buttons and a key holder
Cheryl - fold-up card with pictures of previous SS get-togethers & a lolli-pop
De - Christmas tree made from Suffolk puffs (yo-yos)
Helen & Sandi - star decoration and Christmas spoon
Hilda - purple fabric, some Ferrer Rocher & two little cord tidies
Juanita - fabric pillow to use as a weight...or pin cushion
Lynda - a rock painted as a house - the proceeds of the sale of these go to charity
Maria - a decoration with my name & 2024
Michelle - gingerbread man decoration
Sue - rocking horse decoration

We also swapped bon-bons.  

Inside we needed to pack: a fat quarter, a surprise, a treat, a sewing item and a decoration. 

My bon-bon went to De and mine came from De.........funny how that works!

Our Christmas challenge/present was a Mug Cake with mug. We could provide a recipe and the dry ingredients, or buy the mug cake ingredients as a pack.  I used a White Wings packet and added a Mint Pattie to be melted on top of the chocolate brownie cake....I hope it tastes good.  It went to Anita
I received mine from Sue and it will make a vanilla mug cake with Christmas decorations on top.

SHLIMS

Our Christmas present was to make a drawstring bag, approximately 5" x 7" and fill it.   No rules or guidelines on what to fill it with.

I gifted a chocolate letter for everyone and each bag included a Christmas decoration purchased from a recent Fair Trade market;

Hilda - a Tea Towel - Hilda makes a lot of hanging tea towels

Louise - a felted sloth and a card with wildflower seeds impregnated into the paper.

Maureen - An imitation Lego set to make a pot plant with a flower, some flower-shaped buttons, 3 packets of seeds

Sue - a felted wombat

Here are all the drawstring bags waiting to be opened.
 

I received:

Hilda

Louise

Maureen

Sue

This was such a fun idea....we will continue this on in some form.

We all supplied food ...salady stuff

and Sue made a delicious tequila margarita cheesecake for dessert.

Needle Girls

Always a hoot with this group.

For this year's present, we were given four letters from the words Needle Girls and we had to buy a present to match each of those letters and add an additional present that matched another letter.

I was given N E I and L - very easy to remember when I was out shopping.

My presents were:

N - Notebook (the pages have a dotted gri)

E - Eraser pens

I - Inkjoy pens (that took some figuring out)

L - Lego Christmas decoration (gotta love a challenge!!!)

And I added a Decoration - the angel

Because I am usually picked up and taken to the meetings I also gave each person a mug, a Christmas hair clip, 3 cross stitch needles, a roll of mini washi tape, a tiny rubber ducky and a small Lions Club Christmas Cake....

My presents:
From De

From Sandi

From Lynda

From  Helen

We all brought food - salad and De made the dessert - a ginger & lemon curd delight!

We had a project - after the "success" of our Diamond Dot sewing machine at the retreat - we had decided to purchase a wreath to make.

These are fun to make...maybe when they are small...??? 

but I do not propose to adopt it as a new hobby.

That is all my Christmas meetings for my sewing groups...a load of fun, some useful & some silly presents.

Christmas in our house will be noisy and busy in the morning as DD2 and her partner - and our 2 granddaughters (3 1/2 and 1 1/2) are coming for brunch...then it will quieten down and I may just retreat to my Sewing Room...

If you got this far . . .