Better late than never...

This is really for my own benefit - I've got a photo from each Christmas morning since I started the blog and thought it would be a shame to miss it just because I'm running a month late!

And so this is Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Okay, so I'm a week late but the thought counts, not the time frame.

Our Christmas tree. It was only a small gathering this year, but look at all the presents. And there were even more under there on Christmas morning. The tree may just last another year if we don't water it too much!

There is a little table to the side holding our nativity scene. It gave hours of playtime fun, and it is unusual to see all the people in a straight line. Most of the time they have been 'dancing' in pairs. Jack managed to break both the camel and Joseph in a very short time (ceramic figures and tiled floors do not get on very well). He now thinks Dad can fix anything but is a little young to fully appreciate the magical powers of superglue.

'Santa Claus is coming to town' has been sung from dawn to dusk in our house for several weeks. Finally he came to town and look at the sack full of goodies he left behind.

I made the sack for his first Christmas and the ducky pj pants last year. After I let down the cuffs this summer we've managed another year out of the pjs.

The prize gift this year was a Thomas the Tank Engine umbrella. Rain every day for the last week has made one little boy very happy. Again, last years monster pjs are peaking out at the bottom of the coat - cuffs let down and still fit perfectly.

Another hit present was a kit containing poster paints. We finally gave in and let him loose. Here he is creating some thankyou letters that will be going out in the mail over the next month.

I hope your Christmas was as wondeful as ours, and wish you all the best for a happy 2010!

Jack and his sack

Jack had a great Christmas this year.

Here is a picture of him opening his Santa sack on Christmas morning.

I made the sack for him for his first Christmas last year and it seems that this year he has the hang of it. It is still floating around the lounge room at the moment because I want to make some alterations to the lining. When Jack spots it he goes and looks inside to see if there is anything else in there!

The panel on the front is from a pattern in Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine last year. It was my first attempt at button-hole applique by hand and I was hooked by the time I finished it. The rest of the bag is scrappy patchwork of Christmas fabrics around a few small Christmas panels. It took forever and I hated it from about half-way through until I had it finished. Now I love it but next time I'll use bigger strips. It took hours!

Here is Jack inside his sack last year.