Bright Christmas

I do love Christmas. The origins are somewhat lost in many of my own traditions and delights but there's a such a strong sense of thanksgiving in my approach - all this goodness and love; perhaps it's a bit like Thanksgiving in the U.S. My family's a nice group of people and we've got no real difficulties in our lives (touch wood) and so there's much cause for celebration.

And I love a Christmas tree and the decorations. But all the bits associated in my mind with a white Christmas - the cotton wool snow, the spray-on ice, the reindeers - don't resonate or appeal. I love the glare, the heat, the golds and sharp sky blues of my Australian Christmas. So I've been thinking about decorations that reflect this in a not-too-kitsch way. I'm also a little sensitive to where the baubles and bling are made - it seems a little too Dickensian or Grinch-like to get my sparkle from a free trade zone filled with little kids and peasants breathing in lead based paint. But when fair prices are paid Christmas decorations are awfully pricey and I like a lot; I like the tree to be laden with pretty things which can quickly turn into an expensive proposition when people aren't being exploited.

And so, despite a long history of being Not At All Crafty, I made my own out of gumnuts and glitter. I can't believe I did it, and that they turned out so beautifully - I must have been channeling Amanda Soule. They don't look quite so gorgeous on the photos here but you probably need to view them through the eyes of immense pride, and that particular program can't be downloaded. But I don't care; handmade: what a buzz.