SEASON'S GREETINGS!

I'm too late to wish you all a very Merry Christmas but I have returned from my unexpected and unplanned blog break to send Season's Greetings to all my lovely friends and readers in blogland ♥

The New Zealand Christmas tree, the Pohutakawa, has been a lovely sight to behold around the region this Christmas season —

Our Christmas red

And where we live, with so much bush around us, I liken the swathes of flowering Manuka to Christmas 'snow' —

Hunting for a Christmas tree. The pines that have regrown after
  the fire in 2014 have got to a good height for Christmas :-)

We had a lovely Christmas day, with all of our family with us. Rather special as it's our son's first NZ Christmas in 12 years and the first one for the three new babies born this year. Mum is here staying with us and my in-laws were here too. It was a full house! So nice for everyone to be together.

The main food for our kiwi Christmas always consists of cold meats and salads. The only hot thing being a freshly glazed ham. For us, the traditional pavlova and lots of fresh fruits, is our main dessert. Then of course there are Christmas mince pies, Christmas cake and a never ending supply of chocolate in various forms. So we've eaten well and today, Boxing Day, is all about a bit of tidying and sorting, eating leftovers, a bit of quiet socialising, and some even quieter recovery time. None of our children/families are working over the Christmas/New Year period so I imagine we'll enjoy a few more family moments over the week or so :-)

We all nearly fitted 'around' the Christmas tree for gift giving.

As I promised myself (in front of all of blogland), I didn't do a huge amount of Christmas quilting or sewing this year, focusing instead on a few 'must-do' projects. But my halo did slip a little and I couldn't resist a few last minute home-mades.

I decided the 3 year old twins needed pillow cases to use for the lead up to Santa's arrival —

I made these using the Burrito method and they were a quick but effective make.

Inspired by Carole, of frommycarolinahome, I made these Doggy treats for all our canine family members.

I'm not sure what the dogs think of them, but they were fun (and easy) to make and gift!

Also from the kitchen, I put together a BBQ spice rub, and Cookie in a Jar mixes. I used recipes from Laura of The Kiwi Country Girl.

Earlier in December, I took the twin girls shopping at a nursery. We bought seedlings so that they could grow some presents for Mummy and Daddy and their aunties. (Trying to be a responsible Ganma and teaching them about the joy of giving!)

Selecting plants...!!!

(I cant resist adding this photo - lunch at a cafe on the way home).

They planted and tended three planter boxes (plus their own little garden at our place) and gifted them on Christmas day.

Hehe haphazard planting :-)

Well, it's time for me to rest again and then think about diving into the fridge for some more leftovers.
Season's Greetings again. I hope you are all well and happy, and have been able to spend some lovely time with those dear to you.

Till next time,

♥ Best Wishes ♥