Sunday Favourite: New Year's Special #308

Happy New Year's Eve, everybody!

I can't believe we've reached the very last day of the year already! Where has the year gone?! I'd swear it was June just two minutes ago, but here we are about to ring in the New Year. 

After a busy Christmas, I'll just be having a quiet New Year at home with my family. I'll probably spend tonight watching a couple of movies with some munchies, and tomorrow I plan to do nothing but sit down for a New Year's meal with the family, and start taking down the Christmas decorations. I'm not particularly bothered about celebrating the New Year, so a quiet one is fine by me. How about you? What are you getting up to?

Anyway, I'm here with my last Sunday Favourites post of 2017, and this week I've packed it full with New Year's inspiration to give you guys some last minute ideas for celebrating the New Year. Enjoy!

I love Brit + Co's New Year's Resolution Tree idea. Such a cute way to motivate yourself to achieve those resolutions!

This DIY hand-stamped wood calendar from Damask Love.

This DIY holographic manicure by Studio DIY is perfect for NYE.

Sarah Hearts' DIY New Year's Eve headband looks like the ideal accessory for embracing the New Year's celebrations.

These New Year's balloons from Studio DIY.

These DIY colour blocked glitter gift bags from Paper & Stitch would be a cute way to package some New Year's Eve treats.

Aww Sam's disco ball doughnut holes look like the cutest New Year's treats ever!

I love these pretty DIY confetti trays, also from Aww Sam.

These snazzy New Year's Eve resolution cookies from Salty Canary.

Everybody needs a New Year's Eve star crown to ring in the new year, like this DIY one from The House That Lars built.

This adorable 'kiss me at midnight' lip confetti DIY from A Kailo Chic Life.

These DIY pipe cleaner party crowns from Brit + Co.

7 awesome DIY party ideas for New Year's Eve from Paper & Stitch.

These DIY confetti dipped balloons from Studio DIY look so pretty.

How amazing does this cotton candy edible glitter sparkling wine cocktail from A Bubbly Life look?!

Studio DIY have a great DIY for clock balloons for New Year's Eve.

This sequin letter garland DIY from A Beautiful Mess looks so pretty.

Paper & Stitch can show you how to make this beautiful hand-painted party prop parasol.

These printable New Year's Paper Crowns from The House That Lars Built.

Every New Year's party needs a DIY disco ball pinata, like this one from Studio DIY.

Oh Happy Day shared their favourite confetti recipes.

And these festive holiday drinks stirrers, also from Oh Happy Day, would be fun to add to all those New Year's cocktails.

Their paper gemstone crowns are super fun, too.

Can I throw a New Year's Eve fondue party that looks as good as this one, created by Oh Happy Day?!

These New Year's sunset champagne cocktails by Sarah Hearts sound delicious.

Wishing you peace, love, and laughter in the New Year! (Pretty typography from June Letter Studio).

For more New Year's inspiration, check out my New Year's Celebrations board on Pinterest. You can also find all previous Sunday Favourites New Year's specials here.

Wishing you all a happy New Year, and an even happier 2018! I hope it's the year your dreams come true! Thanks for all your support in 2017. I'll see you next year!

How will you be celebrating the New Year?

My Handmade Christmas Crackers and Table Favours 2017

Hi guys!

How was your Christmas? I hope you all had a lovely one, and that Santa was kind to you. 

I had a great, albeit quiet Christmas at home with my family and the dogs, exchanging presents, watching festive TV, and falling in to food comas from eating waaaay too much delicious food. I'm going to tell you all about my Christmas properly in a couple of days, once I finally have a chance to sit down and go through my photos, but in the meantime, I wanted to quickly show you the Christmas crackers and table favours I made this year while I have five minutes to myself. I had hoped to blog about them before Christmas, but life was so hectic I ran out of time.

Every year, I like to make my own Christmas crackers instead of buying a box of over-priced, ready-made crackers full of cheap tat. There's nothing wrong with ready made crackers, of course, but I personally really enjoy making my own, and have fun personalising them each year. I always buy a Christmas cracker kit from Hobbycraft to construct myself, and then fill them with whatever gifts I fancy- which usually ends up being chocolates, scratch cards, or mini beauty products. They always go down really well with my family.

I wasn't impressed with the designs on offer at Hobbycraft this Christmas, and settled for the Santa and Reindeer cracker kit, which was a lot more cutesy and childish than I'd usually go for. I wasn't sure I even liked them until I took them out of the packaging, and started making them the night before Christmas Eve, and realised they actually looked pretty damn cute. 

To make them, all I had to do was to place a paper hat and a joke in to the centre of the back of the card, roll each cracker in to a cylinder-shape, slide the three tabs in to the pre-cut slots, tie a piece of curling ribbon in to the middle of the diamond cut-outs to cinch in one end, drop in the surprises, and cinch in the other end to seal them. It was super easy to do, and I had all six made in under fifteen minutes.

This year, I filled our crackers with an assortment of festive Lindt chocolates, which included mini chocolate Santas, reindeer, teddy bears, and truffles. We had quite a few chocolates left over as each cracker only held four, so I popped the rest in to the little festive fabric pouches my Mum made from some Christmas fabric, and added them to the Christmas dinner table as table favours. Both the crackers and the favours were a winner with my family on Christmas Day; everybody loved them! They were the perfect finishing touch to Christmas dinner, and the chocolate was a real treat at the end of the meal. I particularly enjoyed the milk and white chocolate truffles- they were so good!

The crackers went down so well this year that I'll definitely be making my own Christmas crackers again next Christmas. Who knows, I might even try to make them from scratch next year, although the kits from Hobbycraft make cracker making so quick and easy, I don't know I'll bother. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Have you ever made your own Christmas crackers or do you prefer to buy yours pre-made?

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Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas, lovelies!

It's Christmassssssssss! (Sorry, I couldn't resist)!

After all those weeks of Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and decking the halls, Christmas Day is finally here, and you'd better believe I'm loving every moment of it! 

I'll be spending the day at home with just my immediate family, including my sister and brother-in-law who are visiting from Germany for a few days. I'm fully intending to eat lots of delicious festive treats, watch a couple of Christmas movies, blast out some festive tunes, and dress Rosie up in a Christmas jumper, before falling in to a food coma after our Christmas meal sometime around mid-afternoon. I can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas how ever you're spending it (or have a lovely day if you don't celebrate it), and get spoiled rotten with presents from your loved ones. Be sure to stuff your faces with delicious Christmas foods, and have a few drinks for me! You deserve it.

I'll be back in a day or two to fill you in on what I get up to, and what I got for Christmas, but for now I'm just going to log off and enjoy Christmas with my family.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sunday Favourites: Christmas Special #307

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!

I can't believe there's only one more sleep 'til Christmas. The festive season has just flown by. 

I'll be spending today getting the last few things organised for tomorrow, baking delicious things in the kitchen, making my trifle, and no doubt getting comfortable in front of the TV with a couple of Christmas movies, my family, the dog, and some tasty treats by the end of the day. Just a quiet one for me this year because I'm not well enough to go crazy, but it's still going to be lovely! How could it not be? It's Christmas Eve!

I'm sure you're probably going to be super busy today, preparing for Christmas and spending time with your families, but if you're looking for a few minutes escape, you've come to the right place. I'm here with another festive Sunday Favourites, so put your feet up, and get comfortable. This week, I've compiled a bunch of mid-century style Christmas images for you, and I hope they give you some last minute inspiration, and get you in the mood for Christmas!

I love this fifties deer knot wrap scarf from Lush.

Melodrama's mid-century modern gingerbread cookies are so darn cute.

These pretty DIY dip-dyed bottle brush trees from Vitamini Handmade.

How adorable are these DIY mid-century Christmas village houses from Melodrama?!

These colourful DIY dyed bottle brush trees from A Beautiful Mess.

I love all of these colourful bottle brush trees from The Hambledon. You can find the glitter ombre tree sets here in small and large, and the rainbow tree sets here in small and large.

This gorgeous table decor from Tell Love And Party.

This vintage car and Christmas tree marquee by A Beautiful Mess is amazing!

Awesome mid-century cross stitch patterns from Mid Century Maude. I'm going to have to make the deer design for next Christmas.

These pretty vintage deer decorations from Swirling Orange 11.

This jolie noel paper bunting from Dot Com Gift Shop is really cute.

I love Dot Com Gift Shop's wooden vintage-style Christmas decorations, especially the baubles.

These bauble print jolie noel Christmas tins would be perfect for keeping all of those Christmas cakes and cookies fresh.

The Christmas wonderland tin is rather lovely, too.

This Christmas tree cake from A Kailo Chic Life ticks all the right boxes.

The Crafted Life had the loveliest Christmas decorations last year.



Pretty vintage pastel Christmas cookies from Glorious Treats.

Gorgeous gift wrap from Cath Kidston a few Christmases ago.

How to sew this beautiful Christmas stocking with Lu Loves Handmade.

Cricut can show how to make this lovely Christmas village scene.

Sweet colourful vintage-style deer from The Hambledon, which are sadly no longer available.

This printable 'holiday houses in the woods' set from Smallful is so cute.

And last but not least, a beautiful mid-century inspired wreath DIY from Craft + Tell.

If you're looking for more Christmas inspiration, don't forget to check out my Christmas boards on Pinterest; I have twenty different Christmas boards on there packed full of festive images! You can also find all previous Christmas Sunday Favourites posts here.

Pop back on New Year's Eve for my fifth and final festive Sunday Favourites of the month, which will be a New Year's special.

I hope you all have an absolutely amazing Christmas however you're spending it, and that Santa spoils you rotten! Merry Christmas, everyone!

How will you be spending the next few days?