Handmade Waldorf Christmas Cards

Sweet little Christmas Cards we have finished off this morning to the sound of Christmas Carols, ready to be written on for loved ones near and far. These cards were so easy and such a joy to make I had to share.

What you will need

• Some good quality card, watercolour paper, or pre-packaged plain cards with envelopes (we bought a blank wedding invitation kit as it had envelopes which matched for posting out)

• Watercolour paints

• Evergreen cuttings

• Glue

• Hole Punch

How to make them

I like to collect the evergreens around a week before advent, you can use any evergreens, Christmas tree would be ideal, but i didn't have any, only conifer trees and they worked great. Press them between newspaper and a few books.

When you have time to paint the cards, set the watercolours out, with brushes and water. Light a candle and laying the card flat on a table, sponge them down with water before painting (If you are using watercolour paper you can soak the paper like wet on wet painting)

Once painted, leave the cards to dry flat, if you pick them up when wet the colour may run.

When dry round the corners with scissors and then use a hole punch to make watercolour baubles and stars from the scraps. Generously glue the pressed evergreens to the front of the card, adding the baubles and stars last! Then you are done! A piece of handmade love for family far and wide.

Celebrating St Nicholas Day

Leaving a Carrot in her shoe this evening for the Feast of Saint Nicholas Tomorrow. I wonder what he will come and leave behind?

This is the first year we have celebrated the feast of St Nicholas in our home, but it totally makes sense to me, and its a tradition I want to uphold as the little one grows.

Who was St Nicholas and why do we celebrate him on December 6th?

St Nicholas the fourth century Bishop of Myra - a small Roman town in Modern Turkey, patron saint of Russia and Greece became the inspiration for the modern day Father Christmas. Many stories of his gallant defending of christian faith, during a time when Christians had to denounce their religion have made him the patron saint of many groups.

Historian Gerry Bowler, author of Santa Claus: A Biography, explained he became known as a patron of children and magical gift bringer because of two great stories from his life.

One story sees St Nicholas entering an inn where the in-keeper had just murdered three boys and pickled their dismembered bodies in basement barrels, St Nicholas sensed the crime and resurrected the boys. The most well known tale is how he saved three young girls from a life of prostitution when he secretly delivered three bags of gold to their father, to be used as their dowries.

Legend has it he threw then through the window and they landed in a show or a stocking, hence the tradition.

How do we celebrate St Nicholas Day?

Our children leave a carrot in their slippers or shoes before bedtime for St Nicholas horses and he leaves little handmade trinket or chocolates in them as a thank you gift. This might seem counter productive to some considering Christmas is only a stones throw away, but I do feel that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, and should rightly remain that way.

Christmas seems to have been overtaken by St Nicholas himself, which judging by his love of his faith i don't think he personally would be too pleased about. So a separate nod to him on his own day, allows Christmas to shine for all the right reasons!

I've had a few people ask about how we approach giving gifts at Christmas. The children receive one gift, usually natural materials and handmade, from St Nicholas in the spirit of the season to share in the birth of Christ, this gift is usually very deeply thought about an really personal to the child. Mummy and Daddy purchase other gifts to celebrate, but sometimes St Nicholas brings them if they are too big to store at home. This is a way we celebrate Christmas and are also able to be realistic with our Children about our own circumstances - we cant always afford gifts they request, and about others circumstances, my children have often asked why that child go more than them for Christmas? Or why that child only got one gift.

I am really looking forward to making St Nicholas Day part of our family traditions!

Happy St Nicholas Day!

I

Homemade Christmas Wreaths

Any festival and calibration calls for a lot of crafting here at home, my obsession with using what we have from the garden paid off again today when we collected items to make advent wreaths. Have a go yourself with items from your garden or winter walks - you will never buy decorations from the shops again!

Firstly you need some fresh cut branches to use as a base to hang the foliage from (I cut a few from the cherry tree in the front garden which needed a little haircut) - yes these here may look more of an Easter decoration, but they will be as christmassy as can be in just a few steps I promise!

Slowly work at bending the branch, as the branch slowly gives way and bends wrap it around itself to make a circle. You may wish to weave in another branch to make it stronger, so it resembles something like the above. If you wish to use some florist wire to secure you can - you can even use the florist wire for the base altogether if you have no branches to use, foraging for leaves and cuttings may be one thing, going out with a saw may be another!

Finally collect together all your cuttings and slowly weave them into the branch frame you have made, take your time to do this, enjoy a hot chocolate or mulled wine alongside some christmas carols. My children enjoy this activity so much and they have so much fun collecting all the evergreens in a basket or bag (be mindful of Holly this time of year as it can be razor sharp)

Finally add a ribbon and hang!

I hope you have fun making some handmade decorations this advent!

K x