1. No.2 Son had an Inset day, so we took him out for lunch early on in the week.

2. We were given a brace of partridges by a friend and we cooked them with apples in cider – yum!

3. A BIG parcel of fabric arrived from Minerva Crafts – happy mail indeed.

4. I made a crocheted bauble for my yarn Stitching Santa parcel…..

5. ……and stitched a reindeer one for my sewing parcel.

6. I’ve managed quite a bit of sewing for myself this week, starting off with a little purse for my small cross-body bag as my normal one is far too big to fit in.

7. I made this full length sequinned gown for a special day out on Tuesday.

8. I also made a coat to go with it but, as it’s my project for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network this month, I can’t show you just yet.

9. Saturday was workshop day where a group of children made their own Christmas presents for their family. They even wrapped them up before going home, so they were ready to put straight under the tree.

10. The advent calendar I made a few years ago was brought down from the loft and dusted down. It’s an activity calendar where we do something together every night during advent.

11. New pyjamas have become a bit of a tradition in the run up to Christmas.

12. Mr H-L had some great cards for his birthday – this one was my favourite.

13. I managed to track down THAT suit in his size!!!

He hopped out of bed immediately to try it on, hence the lack of shirt.

Trouble was, ‘his size’ still didn’t fit and there isn’t a larger one available:(

14. The Dogs had great fun shredding all the wrapping paper that had been discarded on the bed.

15. One last present was some champagne saucers that we’ve been trying to find ever since we used some in a hotel on Valentines Day. They’re by LSA but have been discontinued, so I was pleased to come across some old stock in ‘Vinegar Hill’ in Bath.

Very Poirot-esque, and has put us in the mood for our day trip on the Orient Express on Tuesday, for which the sequinned dress was made. More photos on that next week, so ‘bye for now!