A Traditional Cottage Christmas

We have been busy preparing for the Christmas season here at our cottage.

The garden is very quiet this time of year & I have been out collecting Holly & Ivy for decorating the cottage. As I look out of the window it seems I was just in time as now the berries are mostly gone, we will have some very full little robins with big bellies.

The squirrels are still busy burying their nuts & giving great amusement to George who watches them from the window.

All the gifts are now wrapped & cards & presents delivered so all we have to do is to stay at home & enjoy the season together.

The children have some Christmas crafts to do & I have much to bake. It is nice to be at home & not be out in the modern rush of Christmas.

Times gone by are so much more appealing to us especially at Christmas time.

~

The front of our cottage, under the tiles we have a lovely thatched roof.

The tall black box next to the middle window is a Georgian water pump.

~

Making Gingerbread for Christmas Eve tea.

~

We always make this recipe for Christmas, it is a family favourite & it freezes so well.

The recipe comes from an old 1930's Bero flour booklet.

The twins practising their handwriting while I bake.

~

Once it defrosts I drizzle icing on top & cut it in to Squares.

We will have this for Christmas Eve tea with all the family.

~

The girls made some Christmas hats for Christmas Day lunch.

I couldn't find hats to go inside the crackers this year so they decided to make their own.

~

Cawthorpe Christmas Tree Farm.

We love to go to the farm & get a fresh tree, the smell is wonderful.

~

On Tuesday evening we had a carol service at our little church.

The girls made holly baskets to decorate the font, it was so nice to see all the childrens decorations.

~

The girls decorating the church tree ready for the carol service.

~

Brownies for the carol service.

We had a beautiful service, it is wonderful to get together to celebrate Christmas with the other villagers.

Everyone brings a plate of treats to enjoy after the service.

The children did a little play, it was so lovely to see them all telling the Christmas story.

~

I got a beautiful surprise in the post last week.

My dear friend Maggie who lives in Ireland sent me a lovely Father Christmas she made for me for Christmas.

She is so very talented, I will treasure him.

Doesn't he look wonderful standing there on the little green stool.

~

Simple Christmas decorations.

Holly & Ivy from the garden.

~

The parlour.

This year I put some Holly & Ivy in some of my Georgian tea cups using oasis, they turned out just the right size for the mantle.

~

Antique pewter on the kitchen dresser.

~

Andy's Great Grandfather's piano has a special place.

Above the piano are portraits of my Great Great Grandparent's on my Grandmother's side.

~

Our Christmas tree from the farm.

The parlour just smells of Christmas now the tree is up.

~

Our Antique glass baubles & Victorian tree candle holders.

Each year I find another bauble for our collection.

The children find such joy in taking the tissue paper off each bauble & remembering them, the father Christmas & little bird are among their favourites.

I mix these with orange slices, popcorn & cranberry garlands.

~

Cranberry muffins for Christmas Day breakfast.

The cranberries always look so pretty this time of year.

~

All ready for the freezer.

They will be a nice & easy treat for Christmas morning.

~

I made a Holly & Ivy ball this year & hung it from the main beam in the hall.

I saw it on the BBC Cranford production & thought I would try to make one especially as we have an abundance of evergreens.

~

Grandad's dresser.

We are so lucky to have the original brick floors throughout most of the cottage.

~

The Christmas cake all done just waiting for it's red ribbon to go around it.

I always use royal icing to go over the marzipan.

We like to eat ours with a slice of strong chedder cheese, this is a Yorkshire tradition. My Dad & his family were all from Yorkshire.

~

To my dear readers I wish you a Merry Christmas & a happy & healthy New Year.

May you all have a special time with friends & family celebrating the birth of Jesus.

~

Seasons Greetings.

Fondly Michelle

Christmas at Gunby Hall

After lunch last Sunday we ventured out in the cold to visit Gunby Hall a beautiful Georgian National Trust house & Estate.

The weather was bitterly cold & very seasonal with frost covered trees glistening in the sun.

The house is shut up this time of year apart from a couple of weekends when it is open all decorated for Christmas.

~

They welcome you with carols around the grand piano. We choose Once in Royal David City first as the children are to sing that at our Carol Service on the 16th of December at our village church.

~

I love the colours & warmth in this room.

They have some beautiful old pieces of furniture dating to around 1600.

~

Some of the family portraits.

~

One of the two beautiful oak court cupboards in this room.

This one has the date on it.

I do love these cupboards telling of a couple's courtship, the future husband made these for his future wife.

~

The hearth with warm oak panelling.

~

The lovely entrance hall with a beautiful gate leg table.

~

Crackers being made & present's wrapped in the library.

~

This is a lovely little parlour at the end of the grand dining room.

~

Sidney making a wish while he is stirring the Christmas pudding the in kitchen.

I love the below stairs rooms.

~

Kitty's turn.

~

The kitchen with beautiful copper pans & pewter.

~

The scullery.

~

A lovely range in the back kitchen.

~

Old ice chests in the pantry.

~

The children making paper chains in the butlers room.

~

Outside in the grounds but not for long!

~

Mary in the arbour which is in the formal rose garden.

~

Best friends.

~

Under the mistletoe.

~

The chapel on the Estate.

It still holds services & weddings.

~

Looking over the graves to the fields.

The grounds are very peaceful & have been untouched for many years.

~

I hope you all enjoy the photo's of our visit to Gunby Hall.

We go there many times in the year watching the garden in the changing seasons.

Peace be with you all this Christmas time.

Fondly Michelle

~

Preparing for an Olde Fashioned Christmas

The weather has now turned & Autumn has turned in to Winter.

We have had a beautiful last few days with the Winter sun shinning & clear blue skies. This makes for cold days, days spent inside in front of the fire preparing for an Olde Fashioned English Christmas.
Baking, orange slices & cloves fill the air in the cottage.

~

Christmas Crackers.

I love to make crackers, it means each one is specially made for a certain person.

I can not show you the gifts as my eldest Son reads my blog & he will know his little gift!

Even though he is all grown up now I still like everyone to have surprises at Christmas.

~

The finished crackers all ready for Christmas Day lunch.

~

Chocolate & Cherry Cookies waiting to go in to the freezer for Christmas Eve tea.

We have a party tea with all the children.

They enjoy pass the parcel & Christmas games.

~

The twins painting a Christmas tree each, we read a beautiful Peggy Burton book & then they chose a page to paint.

Painting is one of their favourite things to do.

~

The girls handmade Christmas cottage cards.

We all had very gluey fingers when the cards were finished.

~

Letters to Father Christmas.

~

Making Braised Red Cabbage for Christmas Day.

This is another Delia Smith recipe & one I can prepare early.

~

All the ingredients are layered in a heavy pan.

Red cabbage, apples, onions, spices & sugar.

~

All ready to be put in a low oven for 2 1/2 hours.

~

All cooked & ready for the freezer.

The smell was wonderful, it filled the whole cottage.

We will have this with our Christmas lunch.

I found the recipe on Delia Online.

~

How sweet George looks like the cat on the cover of The Christmas Cat.

This little fella is such a special friend & very much a Mummy's boy.

~

A special advent book, each night the girls have a little book read to them.

~

A selection of the twins Christmas books that we will read this December.

The Little House books used to be Daisy's, some of the books bring back special memories of older children at Christmas time.

I am still reading Cranford & sadly nearing the end. 

I am disappearing each night in to the village of Cranford, sitting there with Miss Matty & Miss Pole & thoroughly enjoying it.

Although I do have many Elizabeth Gaskell novels next to my bed ready to be read. In the Cranford Companion book about the making of the BBC drama it says that many of Elizabeth Gaskell's other stories were added to the BBC production.

 I can't wait to read the other books.

~

Getting some dried things ready for Christmas decorating.

I do love to use simple natural decorations & then antique baubles on the parlour tree.

~

I just need to add some beautiful holly & yew branches to the kitchen dresser.

This I will do a week before Christmas as they dry out very quickly in this room with the Esse cooker.

~

My one exception.

I can not use fresh branches over the inglenook with the strong heat so I have a lovely fake greenery garland with pine cones in it.

~

I hope everyone is keeping warm at this beautiful magical time of year.

It is always a busy time for us, such a blessed time of year.

Thank you dear readers for your beautiful comments, each one is read & enjoyed.

Fondly Michelle

~