Rituals and Meaning Making

First of all, I would like to say a huge thankyou to all of you who left such beautiful comments - your words really lifted me up and inspired me to keep creating...you are all amazing!

With Christmas creeping up upon us (where on earth did the year go?) I begin to think about rituals and traditions. Although, it's not just at Christmas time when we perform such rituals - every day, little things like that first cup of coffee in my special cup, to something as simple as the whole family sitting down to watch our favourite show together - these are the little rituals which make meaning in our lives...

Every year at Christmas time, my mum makes her famous Christmas Pudding - it was a recipe which her grandmother used to make. As a child, I remember the excitement of Christmas morning when I would awake to a stocking full of goodies underneath the tree. Then a wonderful feast with family, and the pure joy of seeing who would find the penny that mum had hidden in the pudding!

Obviously now, we can't stick money in food, or we might all end up in the hospital, but some traditions are so lovely, that we need to pass them down through the generations.

So, on Sunday, Abby joined Nana in her kitchen, and they set about making the pudding together, while I copied down the recipe. I think it's so lovely that Abby has now learned the exact recipe which her great, great grandmother followed, and will be able to make it for her family, and so on...























































































































As inspired as I was last week by my calico, I decided to create another project which really is a no-brainer. I made this advent calendar by embroidering little squares of calico, then simply stitching them to a large piece of calico. I love how naive and simple it is, and the possibilities here are endless also - you could easily use felt, or scraps of fabric that you have leftover. I chose brightly coloured thread, because I love that childlike, whimsical quality.

And as for the little presents, you are only limited by your imagination (and your wallet!) I have chosen candy canes, chocolates and some little toys, but you could fill them with anything your heart desires...little matchbox cars for boys, some colourful crayons, or even some costume jewellery for the older girls...(personally, mine can never have too much chocolate!)























Another tradition which I began quite a few years back was to splurge each year on a new Christmas ornament...so imagine how happy I was yesterday to discover this little Christmas Carousel! Of course I had to snap it up...
















































And just because I promised...remember I told you I was off on a little girls' trip...well, here we are at the beach house - girls behaving badly...sing with me "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"....

What rituals and traditions will you be celebrating? I would love to hear from you x