Opting for a muted colour scheme for my Christmas wreath

Last year my Christmas wreath was full of gold and silver and cinnamon sticks and dried oranges, and it was gorgeous. This year though I thought I’d try something different, though I wasn’t quite sure what that would be, and there wasn’t much point in having too set an idea as I wasn’t sure what would be available on the night.

This year I made my wreath with a small group of other people in a local pub in the next village to us - and a new to me pub too! The workshop at the Rose & Crown in Farndon was led by Emma from the Farndon Flower Farm, so it was great to support two local businesses at once.

This year instead of decanting the wreath into the garage overnight, I left it in the boot of the car. Retrieving it the next morning brought a pleasant surprise as not only was it the first time I’d seen the wreath in daylight, but the car also smelt of the pine and eucalyptus foliage.

My plan wasn’t to hang it on the door immediately though, as Storm Darragh with high winds was forecast for the weekend, so the wreath only made it as far as the gym for safekeeping. I was so glad I did as the weather was atrocious, our garden table and chairs were upended at one point, the table completely flipped over by the wind (while the chairs were still attached to it), so it was a good call.

With hindsight we probably should have moved the garden furniture ahead of the storm too - though when we spotted that it needed attention, thankfully it wasn’t raining so moving the table and chairs, and the cover which had become like a sail was only cold, rather than wet and cold work! Thankfully too the ceramic glass top of the table has been cushioned by landing on the grass, so it appears to have escaped undamaged. Phew. Needless to say, it’s staying in the garage for the time being much to MOH’s chagrin.

But anyway, the white washed walls so lovingly painted last winter by MOH provided the perfect backdrop for a mini photoshoot!

I was keen to have some longer tendrils of foliage on my wreath, and so that’s what I did choosing to leave the more wispy stems longer. I’ve also used a healthy dose of eucalyptus, which means every time we come in or go out we get a noseful of that - it’s glorious.

Decoration wise I added five sprigs of dried hydrangea - these were all from one flowerhead and separated into smaller more manageable sections. With those in place I added some dried bracken which adds a touch of natural gold, and bundles of berries sprayed gold, fluffy grass heads and dried sea holly flowers.

And I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and it looks great hanging on the dark grey door, as I knew it would. Though as I stepped back to admire it, my eyes were drawn to the door just above the handle, and yes, the door had eaten the wreath.

So much so, that this particular tendril had made it inside - some trimming was definitely needed! Now it’s trimmed and looking fantastic, we’re starting to feel like Christmas is definitely on its way!

Christmas trees in Bridgetown

We got braver for our second trip into Bridgetown, skipping the taxi and taking the local bus instead. If you’ve been to Barbados you’ll no doubt be familiar with the Reggae buses, which seem to have multiplied since our last visit. We used these regularly to head up to St Lawrence Gap and visit one of the many restaurants there, but they go all the way into Bridgetown, and for the same fare too.

That fare was 7 Barbados Dollars for the both of us, which is quite different to the forty US Dollars for a cab back from the port, which was our first trip to the capital - I’ve not shared that here yet, but will share more from our day on the Spirit of Discovery later in the month. The Reggae buses vary in age, decor and friendliness - while none are unfriendly as such, some are more welcoming and used to tourists. The one we flagged down for our Bridgetown trip, was friendly, newer than most and had the most ornate interior we saw.

So we lucked out. In many the windows are wide open and the breeze is welcome in the 30 degree heat, though in one I was convinced if the driver were to brake quickly I’d more than likely be out of the window. Thankfully there isn’t too much braking quickly, unless of course, a new far is spotted!

The buses turnaround in Bridgetown and the advice from our hotel was that we were there when everyone else got off. Not bad advice really, though we weren’t 100% sure as there was that stuttering of people getting off earlier as the traffic slowed. It’s true you can never get lost on Barbados, not just because it’s a small island (it’s just 21 miles long and 14 miles wide) but because the Bajans just won’t let you get lost.

Once off the bus we were heading towards the Mount Gay Rum Distillery, which we knew was on the sea front and further along from the port, and so we followed the crowd mostly and kept the sea to our left.

Simple as that.

And along the way we saw some great buildings (see above), walked through the commercial centre heading into a department store briefly - it was just like a department store at home, and just like the stores at home, MOH coughed and spluttered through the cosmetic and perfume department on the ground floor.

In Independence Square we wandered around several of the Christmas trees on display - there were over a hundred 10ft trees set up by the Barbados Defence Force, with each tree representing a Commonwealth country. Given the heat, not even I was up for wandering around them all, which I know MOH was pleased by - and remember, we were also on our way to a rum tasting at the distillery, so other things might have been on my mind.

We did stop and admire some of them though, and notice their similarities and differences to each other, and to our decorations at home, which this year stayed firmly put away.

THE GAMBIA

CAMEROON

BARBADOS

LESOTHO

Looking more closely at the decorations on the Cameroon tree, the stars looked to be made out of cardboard tubes, squished into shape. The wooden ornament wouldn’t look out of place on our tree, and had we seen any decorations like these to buy, I’m pretty sure we’d have left with some.

I was intrigued by the figures on the Lesotho tree, which were large - though admittedly on a 10ft tree you can manage with large decorations. On closer inspection I realised they were Kings, several more than the three Wise Men in the nativity, but again, how many of our tree decorations are factually correct in numbers?

On even closer inspection I spotted a headless King, which while a shame, showed just how they were made. A two litre fizzy drink bottle painted and clothed in fabric. Who’d have thought such an everyday item would be given such a regal makeover?

Baubles and bells, some new additions to my Christmas decorations

Recently I shared a look at some of the Homesense Christmas range, today I'm sharing some of my gloriously, pretty new baubles - all of which are from Homesense this year. It's a bit too early for me to have our tree up - I really am not that organised, and on a more practical level we still need to decide where it'll go, and clean that bit of the house!

But I am feeling more festive than I normally am - maybe it's the influx of mince pies, maybe it's our Advent calendar... But whatever it is, I dug out a metal card holder, which I rarely use as a card holder, and finally unboxed those new decorations.

Standing back and admiring my decorating ability, I realised it needed something more, so I dived back into my box of decorations and emerged with the bell and gingham bow garland from last year. Homesense have some ideas (10 in fact) on how you can impress your guests for less.

I'm liking how the stars and bells have curled themselves around these new highly decorative baubles, and how well the whole lot looks against the bamboo wallpaper in the background.

They really do have a feel of a Fabergé egg don't they?  Thankfully at nowhere near the price!

The decorations are creeping in - and up - but while it might feel festive here on my blog, I predict it won't be for a week or two before our tree goes up.  But no doubt, that will be here before we know it!

What do you think of my new baubles?