"My Favorite Things" Christmas Tea Gift exchange party memories

 "My Favorite Things" Christmas party was for sure one of my favorite parties of all time. The theme inspired by my daughters friend Sarah. She hosted a party last year which Amy was a guest. Early October I wrote my own lyrics to the wonderful song "My Favorite Things" sang by Julie Andrews. Considered somewhat of a exercise recounting some of my favorite blessings, reminiscing once again. Counting my blessings is something I do pretty often however when I began writing lyrics reflecting on my life..it was very, very moving to my heart and soul. Memories are truly a gift from God and I believe that He wants us to remember all the marvelous experiences  which  He (only God) could give. God the Giver of all good things!

My husband was a sweetie to cut me a live Christmas Tree for our dinning room table. Honestly he wasn't very excited about the tree & even asked the day I put it up "when are taking it down?" LOL. It came down a day later...we have to keep our husbands happy!

This is a sweet little  'swinging angel' was purchased at a resale store for $2.98. Thrilled as she was exactly what I was looking for...and I only left with my little sack...I'm trying so hard NOT to buy everything I like...a big challenge...because I like so much stuff.

This is the tree fairy. (Even though I don't believe in fairies..she was a gift & is cute).

"The Giving Plate" idea is now one of my favorite things! I received one (pictured above) as a hostess gift for the party from our daughter who is so thoughtful. There were two 'oh so wonderful cinnamon rolls there...and shorty...there were none.' Amy found the theme...we're creating giving plates right & left. Our son reminded me that it's not "The Keeping Plate"..."Son, I'm keeping it for only a little while!" Looks lovely in the China Hutch giving me a smile. Both Amy and Jason are the two most generous people. Truly not saying that because I'm their mom. Truly.

The chocolate spoons for hot coco or coffee were a hit. Two discoveries I've learned to watch out for in a recipe... melt chocolate and crush peppermint candy. The first batch of chocolate burned in the microwave & the rolling pin didn't do diddly (except made me feel important finally using my rolling pin). At my husband's suggestion..you were right honey...I used a double broiler to melt the chocolate and pounded the peppermint (in a zip lock bag) with one of our  big hammers. Yep, it would have been hilarious following me around the morning of the party. My husband left the house early that morning...wise man. Sad..after the party...I remembered decorations & dusting that I intended to do. Time management...hmm....... Really it is what it is and was a delightful party.

Our 8' snowman/snow ball Christmas tree (pictured above) was another favorite thing memory. The hot pink (color  of my party theme) winter scarves added just the right touch. Hot pink has been one of my favorite colors this past year. (Yikes...forgot to put the Christmas Tree skirt down!  Noticed  only after everyone had left...)

The snow balls were made of white tissue paper dotted liberally with silver glitter glue. If you do this...it can be a very sticky situation... Martha Stewart gave me the idea, except her snow balls where made of strips of quit batting which I didn't have time to shop for. After our family Christmas party...I'm pretty sure the grand children had a snow ball fight because the tree had been redecorated.

One of snow men bulb covers. So pretty especially at night on the tree.

Some of my favorite 'Christmas Tea pots'

The snow man tea pot above was really a gift to my my daughter Amy who loves 'snow men'. I didn't resist & opened the box. Shh..... Mr. Snowman tea pot may be a re-gift next Christmas.

Because messages in bottles are one of my favorite things, I brought my favorite message in a bottle from the N2God Store. Dee, read Bishop Michael Jackel's beautiful message at the party. Oh, such an inspiration! 
Believe it or not....which I can't hardly believe myself...I created 13 personalized messages in bottles for family/friends who gave an rsvp for the party. Inspiring messages were written in the weeks prior and the bottles 'blinged out' for messages in the bottles. The biggest eye candy...and there was a lot...was when I put the glitter glue halos on the photo of Lori & the other St. Jude volunteers who cleaned the Church for Christmas. (Photos on were applied to glass bottles with decoupage from Hobby Lobby).  More fun...sprinkling white sand & some little sea shells into each. It'll be a while before I create any more...crafting messages both fun & a bit time consuming.

Friends made smores in the fireplace! Oh my goodness...they were so good. This has become a new 'Powell' tradition for any cold winter day. The idea...because it was oh sooooo cold the day of the party. Wanted to warm up everyone & there was a lovely fire to enjoy.

Happily I received 'special delivery' mail....just not in a bottle....

Each friend was invited to bring 3 (of the same favorite things). During the party, each friend shared about the favorite thing brought and (3) friends drew for the gift. In the end, we shared (3) favorite things & received (3) of others favorite things. Above are the three gifts which I received...A special bottle of Amy's favorite wine (she discovered the brand in Seattle), Tina's 'Mom survival cup' contents granola, candy, coffee & candle...one of her favorite things. The third gift I received is a very lovely quilted shoulder bag sewn by Sheila...as one of her favorite things is sewing.

What a blessing to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world and learning about some of their favorite things. As an exercise...you may want to create your own 'My Favorite Things' song lyrics. Because?  Because...when the dog bites...when the bee stings...when you're feeling bad...you can simply remember your favorite things and then you won't feel so bad!

God is with us even in the very hard times!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to invite all of my favorite friends which I would have love to do so. I was told that 10 - 12 friends is a favorite party number of guests for this party theme. Blessed to have Amy close by...she is so well organized. Thank you & bless you Amy!

Camp Grandma ~ July 26 to July 27, 2013

~ Angel/fairy garden cottages decorated with Mother Nature & a little bit of sparkle ~

First things first....dinner! Found the recipe for 'Stone Soup' online. Some alterations for the recipe were made as Anna scrubbed the stone thoroughly with 'anti-bacterial' soup (certainly a must do.). We also made tasty croutons for the soup. Our recipe for 'Stone Soup' turned out pretty tasty & the array of different veggies & pasta the girls brought were appreciated.  A lot of  washing and chopping went into our creation. Stone soup? In a nut shell the meaning of the story as I explained (in the very limited time on hand) everyone has something to give, to contribute. Read the story if you have a chance...it's very meaningful.

After dinner our grand daughters  shared the camp names they chose; which we called one another for fun during our camp time together. The campers then decorated their caps...very creative! Camp names...

Bubbles      Little Sis     Cookie     Big Sis   Blue Angel    Nintendo

Early evening with our butterfly net & clean jar w/punched holes in hand, everyone headed out into the lovely sun set evening to catch fire flies. Fun especially for the little ones. Some of the little dreamy fire flies were caught by hands. We didn't stay out very long...we didn't want to catch chiggers.  No thank you.

The surprise movie was 'Santa Puppies' a new/old flick for our six grand daughters  (they have probably seen every Disney movie under the sun more at least twice however not his one). A little Christmas in July 'so to speak' as our large window air conditioner blew at the highest setting in the front living room. A 'made up' bedtime story and soft relaxing music set the pace for a peaceful sleep for all the little ladies tucked in their sleeping bags in the fireplace room. 

Saturday Activities packed!  The weather was just perfect...mid 80's with lots of sunshine. For breakfast the menu was to have a 'Cowboy breakfast' of scrambled eggs with chopped up bacon, plenty of oven cinnamon toast & milk. Hum! There were plenty of fresh country eggs on hand that we purchased from our neighbor friend Sherry.

After breakfast some of the girls and I jumped into creating the Angel/fairy garden cottages. Their Grandpa Michael build the houses from wood and the girls brought them over painted green and ready to go. As you can see in the photos...we used all sorts of natural items such as sticks...seashells...different dried plants...rocks and other fun items available such as ribbon and gem stones. One really special item was the fairy dress the girls made... so realistic for one pf the imaginary friends.

Creating pray flags came next...to send a message into the wind! Oh they turned out so pretty! One painted with different colored flowers...read....Bloom Where You're Planted. Another with a big beautiful heart!

After a quick lunch...off to meet Sherry and learn about her many animals. The plan was to make it a hike however...with our full schedule I decided it best to drive the van. It was a wonderful visit with Sherry at her farm. So many different animals...they have a beautiful horse, two calves, rabbits, dogs, chickens, a rooster, cats, kittens and birds!

 

Next a long hike off  to the beach near our farmhouse...talking about the beauty of nature on the way. The sand castles turned out very pretty and we especially liked the sand angel created. A rest after returning...Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

The fried chicken dinner turned out wonderful. Our special guests...Mama, Papa and Grandpa pa. One of my  favorite moments was going around the table listening to each one of the girls share what they discovered at Camp Grandma. While I was preparing dinner, I asked the girls to take a piece of paper from their 'A Charmed Life' art folder that I gave to each one of them and make a note of 'what they discovered'. You can imagine that I discovered quite a few new things myself. 

After dinner I gifted each of our grand daughters a special 'Camp Grandma' charm for a memory of our time together summer 2013. On the veranda all the girls held a talent show as I invited them to share some of the gifts God has given to each one of them. There was dancing, singing and silliness. We did...rock it with fun at Camp Grandma! My lovely daughter in law even performed a song called.....'Camp Grandma'.

"On the invitation...what to pack?....comfortable clothes, shoes and flip flops (we'll build sand castles at the beach near our Arkansas River) sleeping bag, can of veggies for our stone soup...we're going to "rock it" with fun all day long, a camera, you creative ideas and an open mind & heart."



Our beagle Benedict was in for all the fun!