nurturing hope, creativity, family
My cards this year are simple, but they’re done.
They’re late, but they’re in the mail. Honestly, it’s a small miracle that I made them at all. I know they really don’t matter in the long run, but they matter to me and I’m grateful for that answered prayer. I’m also grateful for my sister, brother-in-law and my sister-in-law who helped insert pictures, stuff envelopes and stamp them.
Merry Christmas to you.
With love, Jennifer
Last weekend I had the opportunity to help design the food table for a wedding reception. It was a lot of fun to put together, and ended up a huge success. The friend I was helping is the best planner and idea person I’ve ever known and I knew that the night would be incredible.
In the planning stages I told my friend that you can serve simple, everyday foods and have them be fabulous if you just put a fun spin on their presentation. Her idea: serve the favorite desserts of the bride and groom and their parents in bite sized portions. What a great idea!
She tracked down adorable little containers for serving things in and we labeled each dessert so guests would know who had chosen it. In the center of the table was a simple sign reading “Favorites.”
Disclaimer: I hope to replace these pictures with much better ones soon. The lighting was so low I was forced to use my flash, which of course ruined the photos. I’m excited to get better ones from the photographer.
All of the platters came from my collection of dishes. It was fun to arrange them in a cohesive way so we could serve six desserts in a small space. I feel good about the final result.
To mix things up a bit she wanted the father’s favorites together and the mother’s favorites together. As the evening progressed I enjoyed listening to people walk the length of the table, reading aloud the favorite desserts of those they’d come to greet. It added a personal touch to the night that was classy and memorable.
As usual, I enjoyed playing with height, scale, shape and size as my daughter and I worked out the arrangement. She worked with me for 5 1/2 hours that night, serving food like an experienced adult. I was so proud of her!
Rice Krispy Treats on a stick. A fun idea.
I intended to wander the reception and take pictures of the many other details that were so creative. I loved listening to my friend plan it. If ever there was a living, breathing Super Woman who was also kind and down-to-earth, it’s her. They had so many guests, however, that keeping the desserts stocked was all I could do.
Helping with this reception filled my heart with happiness. The mother of the bride is, perhaps, my dearest friend in the world. Ahead of me by a few years in her mothering, she’s the one I’ve watched for a ten years as I’ve tried to find my own way. Watching the bride and groom warmed my heart. I was grateful for my supportive husband who didn’t complain about the 11 hours I spent away from home that day due to this wedding. I felt honored to be trusted with my assignment and also felt like the experience was invaluable for me. I know it’s down the road and around the bend, but my turn to plan these events will come sooner than I think and I’ll need all the experience I can get. Plus, it’s fun to create things, even if it’s just a table set with pretty dishes.
Thanks, Jana, for letting me be a part of something so special!
Jennifer
Many of my favorite Christmas memories are related to Christmas trees. I suppose every family has something special they do for Christmas; our parents gave us the gift of unparalleled Christmas trees.
At some point in time I “adopted” a special ornament. I don’t remember what it was about this particular ornament that attracted me so much. Perhaps it was the color; perhaps its fragility made me want to preserve it. Whatever the reason, I vividly remember searching anxiously through the Christmas decorations each year to find one particular ornament. I then hung it on the tree in a special place, usually high up so none of my younger brothers and sisters would be able to touch it. As time passed I came up with protective wrapping for this ornament, and placed it in a certain place in the box when it was time to pack things away after the holiday.
Somehow I still have this ornament. As I was unpacking decorations this year I saw the container I put it in all those years ago and decided to show it to my children. I gathered them around me and told them the story of how I cared for this ornament year after year after year.
I must have told the story well, for their eyes were wide with anticipation when I finally reached into the can to pull the ornament out.
There it sat in the palm of my hand, a hollowed out egg that must be over 25 years old at this point. It’s blue color is unfaded after many years, but the egg is slowly crumbling.
I’m guessing what appealed to me about this egg was the obvious time required to produce it. From the hollowing of an egg to the dye to the little bell hanging inside, I must have been attracted by it’s miniature proportions. Holding it in my hand a few weeks ago I couldn’t help but think that the little girl sitting inside wasn’t all that cute.
I looked up at the faces of my children. They were terribly disappointed, as if I’d finally gone crazy. My eight year old said, in an unimpressed voice, “You took care of that ?”
Well, that was the end of show and tell for the day, but it was certainly the beginning of some laughter. I had to agree with her. In fact, her words reminded me of a comment my Mom made years ago along the same lines. What was once such a treasure to me is clearly now rather ugly, but it represents a special memory for me. It’s a part of my childhood, and now it’s also a part of my motherhood thanks to the brutal honesty of my children and the laughter that followed.
Perspective. Funny how it changes things as we grow up!
Do you have quirky Christmas memories too?
Hopeful Homemaker