Mostly because I'm either a last minute kind of girl, or an online shopper, but when I saw this gift I was sold, but more of that another day. Today it's another festive post, and yes I know it's still November, but I've a steady supply of Christmas posts to share with you, and let's be honest there'll be no use to you in the week before Christmas will they?
My favourite part of the show this weekend was the decorations section and wandering around spotting the trends - for me, it's reindeers, twigs fashioned into trees, cardholders and more and place holders, you read it here first... I also couldn't help but fall a little bit in love with this army of silver Santas, and each seemed to have its own personality and were full of charm.
I loved these decorations sitting down waiting for Christmas to arrive, and if I had a mantelpiece I'm pretty sure these would be on it, mainly because they just make me smile. I imagine them springing into action, sprinkling their Christmas magic as it draws closer. In fact I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen one of them with a cuppa...
And then there were the juggling - or are they waving? - Santas - this stall was a hit for me and I had to move on quickly. It was popular with everyone else too, and having little patience for queues was a bit of a godsend for my purse, and helped me avoid the usual questions from MOH. He stayed home and spent his time making our Christmas puddings, time well spent and I'm looking forward to tasting those.
WAVING OR JUGGLING - YOU DECIDE
Reindeers were a plenty too, and this cheeky wooden chappie was my favourite. Clearly wooden decorations aren't new, but there was something about this one that gave it a more modern feel.
A WOODEN REINDEER WITH CHARACTER
I've already mentioned wood and that was another theme I saw repeatedly through the show, these small festive message trees were popular.
WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY, TREE?
These garden ornaments reminded me of my agapanthus seed heads and sputniks at the same time, gorgeous aren't they?
THESE REMINDED ME OF MY AGAPANTHUS SEEDHEADS
We've already seen feathered birds in an earlier post and they were evident at Olympia too, this time in twinkly twiggy trees, which I would love to have as part of our decorations. But even I know that without a loft to store them in they're not practical, but maybe one day.
TWINKLY TREES AND MORE FEATHERS
The other thing I saw lots of was placeholders, maybe because we're hosting Christmas dinner this year, I noticed more of them than ever before. I was torn between a traditional wreath and a more modern bauble. I've an idea of how I can bring some of our garden onto our dining table and so I'm holding out for those, and will share how they turn out here nearer to the big day, as I'm hoping they'll be easy to do, as well as effective.
A WREATH OR..
BAUBLES - WHICH WOULD YOU GO FOR?
There were plenty of elves around the show, they're not for me, but I'd happily have this star - and I think it could be a year round thing, not just for Christmas, don't you?
One stall had faux Christmas trees of every size, including Christmas tree bunting, which I was very tempted by - complete with LED lights and a gingham bow the only thing putting me off was having to carry it home, perhaps I should have brought MOH along after all.
These jars complete with candles - LED or otherwise- looked great, and while they're probably not aimed just at carol singers, that's what they reminded me of - pretty aren't they?
So there's my pick of the decorations at the show this year, what do you think? Would your resolve have been weakened?
Next week I've got photos of the Christmas room sets to share, and you know how much I love a room set, don't you?!
* This post is with thanks to the Ideal Home Show who provided me with entry to the show free of charge, but as usual all views are my own.