Glittery bulb memory messes, classic movies, going out to see The Nutcracker and winter solstice choir shows, and crisp freeing scooter rides over wooden bridges and park paths are what make our late November days full of early winter magic.
My winter gift came early this year. This mirror has been on my list for ages and now it completes our bell-ribbon wall in the atelier with the other sweet gilded treasures. It reflects the snow light and adds a charming reminiscence to our library homeschool room.
In the mornings, I sit by the garden window in our kitchen cafe and write all the frore and frosty plants into my new novels. The sun melts the sparkles away, but they’ll be back at dawn.
Snowsuits line the mudroom, including little doll ones that aren’t really waterproof, so they go in a special snow bag and spin around the fresh, soft, fluffy powder making doll angels.
Yoga in the morning, then write new stories, edit them up, and proofread by evening’s lamplight. It’s all in a cosy day’s work.
Up goes our first mistletoe! Kiss, kiss, kiss! All the dolls and teddy bears are going wild!
Playing holiday songs before we go out to hear the children’s choir sing!
We love these quiet snowy mornings full of cocoa and ballet stretches at the barre.
There is always magic dancing in the nursery, but an extra special sprinkling appears this time of year…
Fancy an enchanted stagecoach ride through the snowy lace forest at midnight?
Here are two of our handmade dollhouses (center and right). They are renovated daily. Many stories run free here in the nursery. I’ll post later on when we’re making more for you to buy for your little ones! We also made toy-size trains to match these lavender and cream gingerbread houses.
The winter toys are out and causing sweet mischief.
We’re off to see some holiday shows! Wish us luck out there.
Every week, we choose a few winter words to add into our poetry lessons.
I’ve been catching up on sweet baby memory ideas this month, starting with bringing a few of our favourite characters and scenes into our daily rounds. Here is a vintage plate showing Wilfred and Primrose putting on their winter recitation from the beloved Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem. The Poppy’s Babies dish is below, a favourite baby story that shows crying babies…very realistic and somehow rare in books. By request, my kid and adult characters cry sometimes to show realism. Emotions are good, and so is learning about them. I also found some classic mugs with Winnie the Pooh, Peter Rabbit, and Bunnykins. They’re adorable and lighten hearts every time we sit with one.
We had a usual amount of dinner on Thanksgiving, made up of our favourite cosy foods. In the morning with breakies, we watched Snoopy, Tom, and Santa Claus float on by.
How do you spell his sound? ‘Hoo-hoon?’
There’s Santa…that’s the end of the show! I rememeber avoiding this spot when I lived in NYC. Too loud for me. ‘How does the New Yorker cross the road?’ I often got caught up in random festivals, sometimes having to go down into the subway to get to the other side.
Making a beautiful mess! Glitter really does get everywhere…
Making memory bulbs…
It’s fun to mix paint, clear glass bulb spots, glitter, and glitter glue. Show me! Oh, so pretty!
All the reindeer games came out on Thanksgiving! Candyland and ‘Toss, toss, duck, toss, got it!’
Angels in the sky after a sudden trip to the doctor’s. Oh life…you don’t stop for holidays, do you?
There are ball guests resting after a long night of dancing all over our Rose Cottage. Papa Benjamin’s wooly mustache is feeling a bit askew. Think it is in want of a good, long nap…
Hot cocoa and cosy foods help with the editing process. Sit with the snowy garden and change those stubborn quote marks, again. Oh, computers…not so smart, are you?
Excited elves find their snow suits…and go out to play David the Gnome games. “C’mon Swift!” We love reading our old Rien Poortvliet books.
Getting festive for The Nutcracker and the Choir Show. The favourite doll of the moment gets to come, too.
I ended up wearing boots as it was snowing here and raining there. The evening was a bit of a disaster due to crazy ushers and some very cold loud rain, but we watched the ballet later the next day (see version at end of post), and we opened up a Nutcracker sticker book and Sugar Plum fairy ornament gifts to reset the holiday mood. We also got out our Bear Nutcracker, too. It’s fun to open the holiday decor boxes to rekindle the magic!
Here is our snowy day tree featuring our new handmade glass bulbs and the new sugar plum fairy ornament. A little tomten keeps moving them around…and the fluffy snow balls have become a game!
We know the world has gone casual, but we still love to dress up a bit at least for holiday shows. This helps us to feel like it’s an extra special day. This week we’re going red!
Handmade doll stockings, with their initials stitched on them, are now dotted about the house.
And now it’s December First! We tidy up a bit, add some holly and ivy elves to the mantle, and slowly decorate each week until the house is full of cheer and the New Year! I leave our decorations up for most of the winter, pairing them down to the snowiest ones come mid-January, for that’s just when our winter celebrations truly get going.
On the 6th, we each leave a shoe out for Nic. Soon, the new Sankta Lucia concert in Sweden will be ready to view after the 13th, too!
Happy Holidays! An Amor Milagre SALE is coming up soon. Love, ~Amor Milagre
Music of the Moment:
The Peppermint Twist, Joey Dee and the Starliters
Movies of the Moment:
The Nutcracker 1993 Ballet (Yes, young Mac’s in it)
Simply Irresistible (Hilarious)
