Lovelies

My favourite holiday things!

Let's dive right in with the decadent shea butter massage bar from Lush.  It's absolutely luxurious, smells like chocolate and they claim it's edible too! 

Moving on to chestnuts and candy apples, and sugared cranberries too!  Yum.

If you haven't ventured into IKEA yet this holiday season then please do, their things are just to die for (as always! I adore IKEA) So many gorgeous wintery things with a touch of Scandinavian whimsy that you can easily incorporate into almost any décor this season.

... and finally incense and tea, lots and lots of it!  Great stuff from the body shop, and normally I go for the burning oils but who can resist these little spritzer that come in handy when unexpected guests pop in.  Just a little spray here and there and you're all set with scents like pomegranate, cranberry and mandarin.

Instead of clove and orange pomanders how about tealight holders instead?

Here's how to do it.

Using a pen simply dot the spots where you want the cloves to go. Decorate your orange by punching cloves into it or using a kebob skewer with a pointy tip first to make the hole and then insert the cloves (this method works a lot easier!)  The orange can sit a day like this before you decide to use it as a tealight if you want to prep ahead.

If your orange is wobbly (and being spherical it usually tends to be) you can slice a thin sliver off the bottom to make it stand steady.

... now use the tealight as a guide when placed on the top of the orange to draw a circle. Use a sharp paring knife to score the circle by slicing into it, not too deep.  Finally  scoop out enough so that you're little tealight can be nestled into the orange. (use a tealight candle that is in it's little metal holder, not the kind without)  Light the candle, sit back and enjoy!

Finally a little glimpse of how the early stages of the holiday baking planning looks (with pages scattered all through the living room area and small hand drawings of all the cookies, and of course many many lists!)

I love planning! :)