15 Dec Friday…with a Christmas at Home

My memories as a child of decorating for Christmas were basically doing the tree with my brother. I can’t remember any ritual surrounding the choosing of a tree, one just always appeared. I was obsessed with tinsel and always wanted to wear it and I remember how upsetting it was that my brother always felt the need to comment on the fact that the beautiful fairy doll my mum had made, had no knickers on!

Christmas always seemed excitingly chaotic; I loved seeing a white table cloth appear, shiny cutlery coming out of boxes and a general sense of sparkly specialness happening…

As an adult I can’t say that I don’t complain about having to go into the loft and find the Christmas boxes, but I can say that it’s so worth it once they’re out…
Every year I forget what’s in them, and every year I fell a sense of excitement and melancholy about the passing of time..

I remember years ago that my son was so happy to have made a christmas lantern out of a yellow Post-It note that I’ve never been able to throw it away!
We choose a new bauble or decoration each year for our collection…
…and I also like to add bit’s of family history as decorations like these glass droplets from a broken chandelier which belonged to my great grandmother, some of my granfather’s horse brasses and some vintage christmas cards which belonged to an old friend… These are 3 of my favorite decorations: The turquoise bauble and purple pair were bought for my son’s first Christmas when he was 4 weeks old and the trumpet was the first decoration he chose himself… This is the ‘Infant Phenomenon’ which we use as a fairy ( it’s where the ‘INF’ bit of my name comes from ) …and this is a new 2017 decoration
So you probably know by now that I have a bit of a thing for collections, which is partly why I was so happy that Georg Jensen wanted me to work with their Christmas Collectables

Georg Jensen designs always have such simple and clear lines but also the shine on their work is to die for!

Their Christmas Collectibles started in 1984 with the intention of bringing a new one out each year for 10 years, but they proved so popular that they’ve now become a Georg Jensen tradition and this year they’re designed by Alfredo Häberli, who focuses largely on the angel to represent Christmas….

I wanted to use them to decorate the tree but also in other areas including my table as, really, decorating the table at Christmas gives me the most joy; it is my adult version of how exciting tinsel was…
but first the tree… I have a small house and this is the biggest tree we’ve ever brought home but the shape was so perfect! I always secure the base in an old galvanised bucket with a load of bricks and large stones wedging it in…I like using a worn bucket as it feels a sort of outside friend for the tree somehow…

I also like creating little Christmas areas… Part of the Georg Jensen Christmas range this year are these amazing tree candle holders which are the best things ever! I have a Swiss friend who always lights candles on her tree and I’ve been so envious over the years but never managed to find any that are beautiful and practical and these are both, apart from anything else, they are weighted perfectly… I know that the candles should be lit on Christmas Eve, but I can never resit fairy lights, so have to have both…And so now, onto the table…taking a brief moment to take in this incredible Georg Jensen pitcher designed by Ilse Crawford…I mean, I have no words for how much I love this perfect design…and SHINE!!
It’s impossible for me to embody a Christmas of muted tones; I relish playing with colour combinations and also really enjoy absorbing the usual home decor into the Christmas one, so the table is simple but with colouful punctuation, and this year, combined with Danish shine from Georg Jensen… The Christmas collectables can add  a lovely sparkle to a wreath too……or a hidden heart amongst the mistletoeI can’t wait for Christmas Day…I love cooking, I love getting the table sorted, I love having a proper day off and I just love being at home!

I hope you all manage to take time off and have a wonderfully festive and sesonal celebration.
( Thank you so much to Georg Jensen who have kindly sponsored this post )

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