Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 5 December 2011

Embrace the Season Christmas Tea


"It is Christmas in the heart
      that puts Christmas in the air." ~ W.T. Ellis


Welcome my lovely friends to Tea Time Tuesday and my Embrace The Season Christmas Tea!

I am also linking my post up with Kathy and her Christmas With Victoria Party.



I am so happy you have joined me today as I have much to share with you. Please come in and make yourself at home as we celebrate this wondrous Season of Love together.

The scent of cinnamon wafts its way through the room, the lights are twinkling, the fire is lit, and the tea is steeping. 


I am sharing my 'new to me' china teacup which I found at the 70 Mile Yard Sale for five dollars. As you can see, it has holly berries on it and it is perfect for the Christmas season. I wonder how many Christmas tea parties it once attended. I would love to hear the stories it could tell!

It is pure white china with holly green trim on the cup and the saucer. It is made by Royal Stafford in England Est. 1845 with a green mark on the bottom.


The other side of the cup has another smaller holly berry motif on it. Hollyberries grace the saucer as well.


Tea is at the ready in the white teapot which Hubby gifted me with last Christmas.





"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." ~ Harlan Miller


Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder 



I have a favourite Christmas memory from my childhood which I would like to share with you today...

Tykes on sleds and shouts of glee, icy-window filigree, sugarplums and candle glow, part of Christmas long ago. ~ Jo Geis 

A Christmas Memory ~
In the wee hours on Christmas morning, my brother and I took turns going into our parents' room, and asked if it was time to get up yet. It was probably around 5:00 AM when they finally left the warm covers of their bed to indulge two excited little kids. Honestly, I don't know how my parents managed that day having little or no sleep.
Christmas morning was the only time we were ever allowed to get away with that!

I was about five years old that special Christmas, when my brother and I got up to see our stockings bulging with goodies. Wonderful hard candy and Barley toys, nuts, and a huge Christmas orange and shiny red apple stuffed the toe of each stocking.
We were as excited as two little tykes could possibly be when we looked over at the big shimmering tree in all its splendor that morning, and saw something that simply took our breath away! 

With eyes as big as saucers, we saw a dog house, built by my Daddy, with a sweet ball of fluff inside.
That warm ball of fluff was the cutest thing you ever did see! He had the gentlest brown eyes, wavy ears, and freckles sprinkled on his nose. The puppy was a pure bread cocker spaniel, white and blond in colour, and we adored him! We called him Jingles, because you see, he was our Christmas present that year. I think my Daddy was as excited over the puppy as we were!

Christmas always had a way of turning my Daddy into a big kid.
After Christmas dinner, Daddy would get down on the floor with my brother and me and we would all watch the Disney cartoons together. What fun we used to have watching Chip n' Dale, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse celebrate their Christmases!  
Such good times and lovely memories all tucked away in my heart forever!

Memories are wonderful things, aren't they? One can tuck them away in a secret place and bring them out whenever you want to savour them once more.
Do you have a favourite Christmas memory? I would love to hear about it!


Can you smell the cinnamon? The teapot holds a lovely cinnamon orange tea.


I have some Boston Cream Pie Cake to enjoy with your tea.


Crafting Time~ 
Sweet little wreath
This sweet little wreath I fashioned for the front of the aqua chest which sits beside the sofa in our living room. I took apart an old wreath, glued on the holly and florals, and tied on a beautiful bow. Voila!



Festive Pine cones
I love using pine cones at Christmastime. These were scented with lots of spice and I added some white paint and glitter. Messy, but the outcome is worth it!


Aren't they cute sitting in their little pots? I am using egg cups for the pots.



My little Christmas Cottage
Most of you have seen my little snowy cottage but for those of you who haven't....I took a little paper mache cottage and painted it white and pink, added some snow and glass glitter to create this snug little cottage nestled in the snow under glass.



I imagine wee fairies sipping tea in there. Wouldn't you love to join them?



Would you like a slice of cake?


T'is the season to be jolly.... and for gifting others; Good will toward men.
Let us remember it is the season of the greatest Story ever told, and the greatest Gift ever given.

Mary wrapped the first Christmas present.



"And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." ~ Luke 2:7 

I pray that we will all make room for Him in our hearts and our homes not just during this Christmas season but for always.


Merry Christmas from my home to yours!



I am delighted you have stopped by today! Next week, I will be joining my tea post with Wanda Lee and Pam for their whimsical Gingerbread Tea.

 




I would love for you to join me for Tea Time Tuesday!
All you have to do is share a favourite tea cup or teapot, a coffee mug, or something tea related. If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: apple cider, iced tea or iced coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, or punch. Please share a craft, recipe, or Christmas memory too. The TTT button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome!
Please link back to me so your visitors may find their way here and visit with all my lovely participants. 
I am joining these lovely parties too ~

Sherry~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Christmas With Victoria


Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Table Top Tuesday


Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Teacup Tuesday


Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday & Deck the Halls Sunday


Wanda Lee~
http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Pam~
http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Wanda Lee~ 
http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

Trish~
http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
L.A.C.E.

Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup Thursday

Bernideen~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/
Friends Sharing Tea