Blog
Updated 28 May 2021
School holidays - eek!
With kids on holiday, and maybe still working up to the last week this is a potentially stressful week. Check back in to your original list. Have you ordered flowers? Have the new sheets arrived? Do you have a pitcher for the kids' drink at the Christmas dinner? I know they are little things but are guaranteed to drive you mad on the day. What tasks can you give to others to be responsible for?
We're adding to our Christmas Pinterest boards every day, so visit for new ideas for decorating your home this holiday season. Below is Karen's advice over the last 8 weeks.
3 weeks to go - Posting (as in the old-fashioned sense)
My daughter and I take care of the decorating and she is allowed to choose two new items a year to add to the collection. This year's newbies are crochet covered baubles from The Society Inc. It is worth taking a look at what you have in terms of decorations and doing an edit. Decide if you want to take the decorating in a different direction by leaving some out and adding new ones. Also check lights for faults and wreaths for damage. This is also the week for sending the letters off to Australia Post's Santa mail. I love these letters. Ask the kids to do drawings on the letter and Xerox before sending off. They are good to look back on in Christmases to come.
5 weeks to go - Food all wrapped up
This is the nice bit. What will be your wrapping theme? I love deciding this but tend towards good quality brown paper with string and silk leaves. It is simple, economical and looks good. There are so many amazing options on offer from ready-made bags for awkward shapes to luxury papers for those special gifts.
Plan your menu and as a result order the ham, turkey or seafood. Is anyone sharing the food preparation load such as making salads or desserts? Now is the time to let them know exactly what you want them to bring. Let them know the menu and the food context so that they know not to trade a mozzerella and fig salad for a tray of Yorkshire Puddings at the last minute. Stock up on quality dry goods – for nibbles with drinks, quince paste and smoked salmon are useful to have in the fridge.
6 weeks to go - Planning & logistics
Think about just how far you have come. And I haven't even suggested a Excel spread sheet. It will seem as though you have plenty of time but school holidays will kick in, sometimes as early as the 9th December, and suddenly you are trying to do things with children around. Push ahead now.
Think about the day itself and what style of event you want it to be. Is it a formal sit down affair, or a casual grazing table? It is important to know because how many people equals how many chairs, glasses, serving plates, knives and forks - the list goes on. Those who entertain on a big scale regularly will know the score but the rest of us get caught out and ask guests to come with a stool and a set of cutlery – not good. So sort out your table top, how it will look and what you will need. Always get one extra of everything for the last minute invitee.
7 weeks to go - House Proud (You Will Be)
Do you know that feeling when you suddenly see your home through someone else's eyes? What you thought was creative clutter suddenly looks like a plain mess or, as I experienced, as the sun hit the glass it looked like a host of sticky fingered children had smeared every inch of it. Evaluate your home with a degree of ruthlessness. How do you want your home to appear when guests arrive? Airy, crispy clean and light with fresh flowers and an aura of calm?
Hopefully this home by Sydney interior designers Arent & Pyke will inspire you. Undertake a late spring clean and pack away (give away) what you can, give the bathroom a lick of paint, get the veranda repaired, the spare room revitalized and for goodness sake get those windows cleaned.
8 weeks to go - Present week.
While the organized amongst you will have squirreled away presents throughout the year, this is the week to take it really seriously.
The perennial question is what to buy for whom? Thoughtfulness often goes out the window when time is tight so now is the opportunity to consider options carefully. Explore online (I would say that wouldn't I) for ideas that can be delivered at the push of a button. Think about allocating a budget and remember there are often small gifts needed for ballet teachers, coaches and colleagues.
9 weeks to go - The Light Touch Week
Make a start. The smugness you will feel at doing three things on your Christmas Countdown list could make you slightly insufferable.
Tackle things that are often the prerogative of organized people – a booking at the hairdresser at a convenient time, the well-chosen case of champagne, the mail put on hold for when you are away. That person can be you.
10 weeks to go - Just Thinking
I reckon if all you do this week is think about what you need to do and write a proper list that is enough. Make sure you ask yourself all the right questions.
Where is your mother-in law going to sleep? Are your sheets up to scrutiny? Do you have enough chairs to seat 14? Does the dog need to be booked into a kennel when you go on holiday post Christmas.? Run through the entire holiday in your mind (stop short of back to school as that is too depressing) and make lists of all the things you need to do. It will add up and should, at this stage, be slightly daunting – but you are 10 weeks out.
Karen McCartney's Christmas Countdown - 2 weeks to go
Source: afternoonttime.tumblr.com via Temple&Webster on Pinterest
School holidays - eek!
With kids on holiday, and maybe still working up to the last week this is a potentially stressful week. Check back in to your original list. Have you ordered flowers? Have the new sheets arrived? Do you have a pitcher for the kids' drink at the Christmas dinner? I know they are little things but are guaranteed to drive you mad on the day. What tasks can you give to others to be responsible for?
We're adding to our Christmas Pinterest boards every day, so visit for new ideas for decorating your home this holiday season. Below is Karen's advice over the last 8 weeks.
3 weeks to go - Posting (as in the old-fashioned sense)
You are now in pretty good shape which is just as well as the school holidays start soon. Anything that needs to be posted locally should go this week. That means all your Christmas cards. I do feel that in the increasingly digital age there is still something great about receiving a beautiful card in the mail. It can be handmade and thoughtful or from one of the increasingly good-looking charity cards. At Oxfam you can customize your card. My personal favourite is Me and Amber where the cards are hand printed on 100% recycled paper.
4 weeks to go - The Tree & Santa (in that order)
It seems that Christmas trees go up at all sorts of times from mid-November onwards. I, personally, go for first week in December driven by the demands of the children. They want a proper tree, the bigger and bushier the better. While I love the real thing I am also very drawn to the designer ply and cooler fake numbers on the market.
4 weeks to go - The Tree & Santa (in that order)
It seems that Christmas trees go up at all sorts of times from mid-November onwards. I, personally, go for first week in December driven by the demands of the children. They want a proper tree, the bigger and bushier the better. While I love the real thing I am also very drawn to the designer ply and cooler fake numbers on the market.
My daughter and I take care of the decorating and she is allowed to choose two new items a year to add to the collection. This year's newbies are crochet covered baubles from The Society Inc. It is worth taking a look at what you have in terms of decorations and doing an edit. Decide if you want to take the decorating in a different direction by leaving some out and adding new ones. Also check lights for faults and wreaths for damage. This is also the week for sending the letters off to Australia Post's Santa mail. I love these letters. Ask the kids to do drawings on the letter and Xerox before sending off. They are good to look back on in Christmases to come.
5 weeks to go - Food all wrapped up
This is the nice bit. What will be your wrapping theme? I love deciding this but tend towards good quality brown paper with string and silk leaves. It is simple, economical and looks good. There are so many amazing options on offer from ready-made bags for awkward shapes to luxury papers for those special gifts.
Plan your menu and as a result order the ham, turkey or seafood. Is anyone sharing the food preparation load such as making salads or desserts? Now is the time to let them know exactly what you want them to bring. Let them know the menu and the food context so that they know not to trade a mozzerella and fig salad for a tray of Yorkshire Puddings at the last minute. Stock up on quality dry goods – for nibbles with drinks, quince paste and smoked salmon are useful to have in the fridge.
Source: suite101.com via Temple&Webster on Pinterest
6 weeks to go - Planning & logistics
Think about just how far you have come. And I haven't even suggested a Excel spread sheet. It will seem as though you have plenty of time but school holidays will kick in, sometimes as early as the 9th December, and suddenly you are trying to do things with children around. Push ahead now.
Think about the day itself and what style of event you want it to be. Is it a formal sit down affair, or a casual grazing table? It is important to know because how many people equals how many chairs, glasses, serving plates, knives and forks - the list goes on. Those who entertain on a big scale regularly will know the score but the rest of us get caught out and ask guests to come with a stool and a set of cutlery – not good. So sort out your table top, how it will look and what you will need. Always get one extra of everything for the last minute invitee.
7 weeks to go - House Proud (You Will Be)
Do you know that feeling when you suddenly see your home through someone else's eyes? What you thought was creative clutter suddenly looks like a plain mess or, as I experienced, as the sun hit the glass it looked like a host of sticky fingered children had smeared every inch of it. Evaluate your home with a degree of ruthlessness. How do you want your home to appear when guests arrive? Airy, crispy clean and light with fresh flowers and an aura of calm?
Hopefully this home by Sydney interior designers Arent & Pyke will inspire you. Undertake a late spring clean and pack away (give away) what you can, give the bathroom a lick of paint, get the veranda repaired, the spare room revitalized and for goodness sake get those windows cleaned.
8 weeks to go - Present week.
While the organized amongst you will have squirreled away presents throughout the year, this is the week to take it really seriously.
The perennial question is what to buy for whom? Thoughtfulness often goes out the window when time is tight so now is the opportunity to consider options carefully. Explore online (I would say that wouldn't I) for ideas that can be delivered at the push of a button. Think about allocating a budget and remember there are often small gifts needed for ballet teachers, coaches and colleagues.
9 weeks to go - The Light Touch Week
Make a start. The smugness you will feel at doing three things on your Christmas Countdown list could make you slightly insufferable.
Tackle things that are often the prerogative of organized people – a booking at the hairdresser at a convenient time, the well-chosen case of champagne, the mail put on hold for when you are away. That person can be you.
10 weeks to go - Just Thinking
I reckon if all you do this week is think about what you need to do and write a proper list that is enough. Make sure you ask yourself all the right questions.
Where is your mother-in law going to sleep? Are your sheets up to scrutiny? Do you have enough chairs to seat 14? Does the dog need to be booked into a kennel when you go on holiday post Christmas.? Run through the entire holiday in your mind (stop short of back to school as that is too depressing) and make lists of all the things you need to do. It will add up and should, at this stage, be slightly daunting – but you are 10 weeks out.
Explore More
Payment options
Head Office (No Showroom)
2/1-7 Unwins Bridge Rd, St Peters,
NSW 2044, Australia
Your customer reference #:
01-X-CSN
