Oodles and oodles

'twas the day before Christmas

The baking is done (finished last night), the shopping is done (finished this morning), and the wrapping is done (finished this afternoon.) In between, one of my favorite traditions, a Christmas Eve lunch with a friend.

The view into the kitchen, where for the first time in days there are no mixing bowls and baking pans to wash.

And a peek at the kitchen shelves.

A nice treat for a holiday lunch - a splash of Campari, two splashes of orange juice, lots (or not) of sparkling water.

A holiday placesetting,

and a beautifully wrapped gift (for me!).

A peek at Oodles & Oodles world headquarters (the big desk that's actually an oak Hoosier, complete with pull-out cutting boards, a spice rack and a flour bin).

And a glance around at the living room, where the tree is glowing, the fire is roaring,

and Carson is settled in for a long winter's nap. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.

Welcome to the 2013 AOVCOA&S Awards!

Welcome to the fifth annual Academy of Vintage Christmas Ornament Art and Science Awards! To mark this milestone, the founder of the awards ceremony is offering a special feature this year: an up-close look at the guests arriving at the awards ceremony! The guests arrive, of course, by sleigh.

The traffic is bumper to bumper, or runner to runner, as the case may be. You'll recognize Big Pink Hand-painted Santa, winner of the 2009 Best Santa award, in his Big Pink Party Sleigh. Big Pink Santa has been a little obnoxious since winning the award in the inaugural year of the ceremony, but everybody puts up with him because he's so handsome.

Other attendees choose sturdy, unassuming sleighs, like this cardboard sleigh covered with glass glitter. It combines reliability with classic style and that hard-to-beat German engineering. As for the ornament? Let's tune in to the ceremony and see what happens!

Best indent

This ornament scares the dickens out of the founder. It is paper thin, and the indent is so deep it nearly touches the back of the ornament. (From the judge's notes: "Best indent, certainly, but a worthy nominee for Best Use of Glitter to Represent Snow and Best Flower!") The founder just hopes it survives the after-parties.

Best figural ornament 

The mushroom ornament set off a flurry of excitement among the judges. ("Is it new this year?" "Why have we not seen this before?") When the judges learned it had never been in the running because it goes near the top of the tree and has a hard time making it down to the stage to accept the award, they were stunned and vowed to never let the founder plead inconvenience again. 

Best organic, locally sourced, sustainable ornament

A tiny silver ornament with raised cherries, and a runner-up, no doubt, for the Best Figural Ornament and the Best New Ornament of the year.

Best organic, locally sourced, sustainable ornament in a supporting role

 
 A tiny gold ornament with hand-painted cherries, and a runner-up, no doubt, for the Best Hand-painted Ornament and the Best New Ornament of the year.

Best Santa

Some may see an old, chippy ornament. The judges see lovely patina and hand-painted charm.

Best bird

 In a real break from tradition, the judges chose a hand-painted bird over a bird-shaped ornament this year! Guess we know what tomorrow's Twinkle headline will be! (Twinkle is the trade publication for the AOVCOA&S. Kind of like Variety is for the film industry.)

Best flower

Wow! Maybe tomorrow's Twinkle headline will be "Hand-Painted Ornaments from Poland Sweep Awards!"

Best Shiny Brite

Squiggles, glitter, bells. Pink, Shiny, Brite. Good no matter what three-word combination you choose.

Oldest ornament

If this cotton batting Santa isn't the oldest ornament on the tree, then he's had a very, very hard life. But the judges think he's pretty old.

Best new ornament

The founder found several of these clip-on candle ornaments this year and wants a lot more of them. The founder is like that.

Lifetime achievement award

The winner of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award is worthy just on good looks alone: a sparkling white ball with bits of colored confetti glitter, like a charming snowball. In the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the ceremony, the founder actually stepped on this ornament. She managed to avoid putting her full weight on it, however, and in something of a Christmas miracle, the ornament was spared. If that does not merit a Lifetime Achievement Award, the judges do not know what does.  

That about does it for this year's edition of the awards. The Academy would like to take this opportunity to thank you for coming, and to remind you to be careful driving home, especially if you are sharing the road with the Big Pink Party Sleigh. And as always, friends, Merry Christmas!

 

 

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Decorations, advice and announcements

Our stockings are hung, not by the chimney but up the banister of the stairs, with a snowy camping scene and a Christmas sampler stitched by my mom nearby.

 

The Santa collection, a little less crowded this year, lives on the living room shelves. Elsewhere in the living room is the Putz village and the tree, and if it weren't as dark as dusk outside I'd probably attempt an overall shot.

After years of wrestling with pinecone elves (they're tiny, but they always win), I decided not to hang them on a tree but create a boxwood forest for them on the kitchen window sills. We are all so much happier with this plan.

The dining room is my favorite spot this year, with a mix of old and new finds. The silver foil wreath with dangling bells came from an October flea market visit. I was so happy with it that when I found the cherry-covered cake carrier, I walked away from it, thinking I had had enough good luck for one day. Fortunately I regained my senses and ran back to the booth before someone else snapped it up.

The little Hoosier is decorated, too. I wanted the dining room to look extra nice this year because I was hosting not one, not two but three holiday events in the space of a week. This was not as challenging as I thought it would be because I remembered the advice of my friend Lillian. She says it is not much harder to have two parties than one because you've already done all that cleaning and planning and shopping. And she was absolutely right.

The dining room tree (previously occupied by uncooperative elves) was a last minute addition, and about my favorite thing. 

The candy cane on top has four long mercury glass chains with bells on the end.

I made the wreaths with dangling balls a few seasons ago.

So that's some of the decorating, and I passed along the party advice, and so here are the announcements: One, my Etsy shop is closed until after Christmas, and I wanted to thank all of you for making this holiday season my best by far. And two, tomorrow is the last Monday before Christmas, and if you are a long-time reader, you know the significance of that date! 
 

Annual report, village of Putz, December 2013

To: Village residents and concerned citizens

Re: Annual report

We are pleased to report that improvements in the housing market brought a healthy expansion in the village of Putz in 2013. The number of building permits issued increased substantially.

A streetscape project resulted in the planting of trees and the purchase of new Christmas decorations, consisting of red glass bead garlands with tiny bells.

More bottle-brush trees were planted in the lower village, and mass transit service (via reindeer-drawn sleighs) was expanded to that neighborhood.

The long-debated Mountaintop Region development was approved and completed, and much to its critics' surprise, the expansion only enhanced this previously undeveloped area. Wise planning and strict regulations prohibited the removal of much of the forest, and the new structures were tucked among the towering evergreens.

In short, the year could not have been better for the village of Putz.

Respectfully submitted,

Village board
December 2013. 

A verse for the season

I was returning from an out-of-town meeting, when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh ...

an unexplored thrift store,

and one tiny reindeer.

The End.

A little gift for all of you

Did you grow up with Advent calendars?

With a perforated cardboard door to open, one for every day until Christmas, each with a little picture behind it? (The calendars with toys or chocolates had not been invented yet. At least that is what my parents claim.)

And if you grew up with Advent calendars, did you trick your little brother and generously offer to let him open the first door, because you knew if you went second, you got the even numbers on the calendar and thus the really big door for Christmas Eve? Nope, me either.

Anyway, I've made an Advent calendar for all of you. A picture every day in December until Christmas. Instead of a paper calendar, it's a virtual calendar, on my Facebook page. Nothing for sale, no shop announcements - just pictures of vintage Christmas treasures. They'll just appear like magic, every morning. You will not even need to trick your little brother. Not that you ever would.