Hello Friends!
It's the last day of November, all the big Autumn festivities are at a close and now we herald Advent tomorrow, December 1st, and before we know it, it will be Christmas Day, and the next thing it will be 2020. How did this happen so quickly?
Sixteen years have flown by since I first introduced the concept of a Festival of Christmas Trees to my village. Oh, boy! You should have seen everyone's faces, their expressions, when I first presented this concept to the Christmas Tree Association. You could see what each person was thinking, "
What is she going on about?" or "
What mad scheme is she concocting now?" But, I must have done something good because they let me run with it; that first year we only had nine trees centred in the City Hall, but on the first day you could hear pennies suddenly dropping across the village as requests to "put me down for a space next year!" came pouring in! The following year we had twenty trees, and the event is now an established part of our Christmas social calendar in the village.
I no longer have a part in the organising, as many of you know I was a care giver for several years and reluctantly I turned over the reins to others. Everyone is doing a first rate job and the event continues to gather momentum.
This year, a very creatively minded lady suggested introducing a new category,
A Decorated Christmas Wreath, to the event and it's a huge success! The response has been superb, and the wreaths are all beautiful. More on those in a second blog, as I do not want to overload this one, and the wreaths are all worthy of their own entry, so check back in a few days for that one.
I am always amazed at the imagination and creativity of everyone across the village. Each year every tree is different, and while sometimes a theme may be repeated, the interpretations are all so different. We see real trees, fake trees, trees made out of trees, and trees that are not trees at all but highly imaginative installations. It's all good, and it's all good fun! I love to listen to the comments and see the smiles on people's faces.
So, here are the photos I took of this year's entries, or is that
ent trees?
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A local hostelry promoting their wares
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| Hand felted Robins by Menevia WI Craft Group |
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| Tiny hand wrapped wreaths from Coffee and Chat |
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| I wonder what the Ladies' Netball Team has under their goalpost tree? |
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| An ocean theme tree |
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| The Holly and the Ivy |
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| Hand made gifts and surprises in a handmade Advent calendar |
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| Remembering the past through reading in the Welsh language |
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| Stitchy Witches Red and White handstitched tree |
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| Eisteddfod Handmade Tree with Welsh themes |
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| A seaweed tree |
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| National Trust interpretation of the Cross Square with recycled and natural materials |
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| Remembering the Moon Landing 50th Anniversary |
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| Reading at School |
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| Local Playgroup recycled tree from clean used milk bottles |
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| Recycling theme |
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| All Wrapped Up! |
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| A tree made using the new local doorstep recycling collection scheme boxes |
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I would love you to tell me which is your favourite, and why, in the comments.
I do hope you have enjoyed seeing all the hard work and creativity on show from my small village, and don't forget to pop back in a few days to see the dedicated decorated wreath post, will you?
Until next time
Deborah xo
