Creating a Super Simple Christmas Dessert Table

Guest post by Amanda and Carly of The Creative Journal

Christmas time can be so busy!  A million things to do and never enough time to do them all.  And then if you’re the one hosting Christmas  – well it can get even more stressful!  Which is why we put together a little Christmas dessert table that anybody can do and it can all be prepared ahead of time. Afterall – who needs to be up until 11pm on Christmas Eve baking?!

 

It is based completely around mini-desserts and treats to help keep portion sizes down and hopefully waistbands not too tight!!

 

We’ve also included some super easy DIY decorations that not only make the perfect table backdrop they can be used as little keepsakes to give your family and friends! Best of all…. No sewing required!

 

 

 

Food:

 

Now we did cheat a little and included some store purchased item (the pudding and tarts) – and if you do the same we’re sure you will be forgiven!

 

Caramel Slice (for recipe click here)

Mint Slice (for recipe click here)

Vanilla Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Sauce (for recipe click here)

Decorated Lindt Balls

Cranberry & Clementine Christmas Tarts

Christmas Pudding

Custard

 

 

Decorating Lindt Balls:

 

 

Now this is just about the simplest form of decoration we’ve ever done!

1) Paint the Lindt ball in edible gold paint & let dry

2) Paint Lindt ball with some piping gel and dip into edible glitter

That is all there is to it!  You will find edible metallic paint, edible glitter & piping gel at your local cake decorating store.

 

 

Decorations

 

 

1 Vase

1 Bunch of Twisted Willow or similar (we got ours from the local florist for $15)

Battery powered fairy lights

Felt Christmas Decorations (See full tutorial below)

 

Felt Christmas Decorations

 

You will need:

 

 

 

– Felt of various colours (we used four colours – grey, white, fawn and teal)

The amount needed will depend on how many decorations you want to make.  4 pieces ~30cm by ~30cm would be ample to make 7 stars and 7 trees.
Card could be used instead of felt.

– Thread

– Craft glue (suitable for gluing fabric)

– Scissors

– Template (as attached)

– Pins (optional)

 

We made six trees and six stars.

 

How to:

 

Instructions for Tree

1. Cut the three triangles from the Templates

2. Pin templates onto the felt and cut out triangles

3. Cut thread 9inch long (23cm) and knot the ends together

4. Attach the knotted end of thread to the middle sized felt triangle with glue (take picture)

5. Glue the smallest triangle on top of the middle sized felt triangle and press down to affix glue

6. Glue the largest triangle underneath the middle sized triangle and press down to affix glue, leave to dry

 

Instructions for Star

 

1. Cut the two circles and the star from the Templates

2. Pin the circle template onto the felt an cut out the circles

3. Hold the star template onto the felt and carefully cut around (easier to hold than to use pins)

4. Cut thread 9 inch long (23cm) and knot the ends together

5. Attach the knotted end of the thread to the top of the large circle ensuring it is low enough that it will be covered with the smaller circle (take picture)

6. Glue the star to the smaller circle and press down to affix glue

7. Glue the smaller circle to the large circle and press down to affix glue, leave to dry

 

There you have it – all you need to create a super simple Christmas dessert table!:

 

 

Amanda & Carly are two bankers who much prefer playing in the crafty world! They have recently started The Creative Journal, a creative lifestyle blog where they share their inspirations in all things (food, home, parties, well anything!), crafty finds and creative chaos and are looking forward to launching The Creative Labs in 2014 because it is always much more fun to play with others!

 

 

 

All that glitters – Black & Gold NYE Party Ideas and Printables

 

Belinda and Renee from Sugar n Spice Party Printables are guest posting today on the blog with some ideas and FREE PRINTABLES for a black and gold NYE Party! I’ve also included some party finds to match the printables at the bottom of this blog post.

You can also follow my black and gold NYE Pinterest board here.

Enjoy!

 

 

All that Glitters – Black and Gold by Sugar n Spice Party Printables

 

Oh my where has 2013 gone, one minute it is 1 January the next it is almost News Year Eve again and time to start planning the party all over again. We have all bases covered for you, which include activities for the kids and ideas for adults too plus some ‘All that Glitters’ FREE printables which will come in handy for you and your guests.

How do you celebrate New Years Eve, do you take the kids with you and involve them in the celebrations if so here are some excellent ideas to keep them entertained for hours on end;

 

 

 

 

How cool is this and so easy to do, all you need is;

– Lolly bags/Tote Bags – which can be found on eBay, etsy or many businesses online sell them

– Draw a clock on the bag or print one out and stick it on the bag

– Buy some fun toys, lollies, or even set up a treasure hunt with a map or clues inside each bag

– Make sure you have enough activities for the amount of time you will be at the party for e.g. 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, etc

 

 

Another idea is to create a little kids corner table with paper, glitter, crayons, textas, pencils, stickers and paints where they can decorate the night away whilst having so much fun with their little friends and you can relax a little more knowing they are having fun and not destroying the house in question.

 

 

 

Don’t know what to feed the kids?  To be honest keep it simple and balanced with lollies, fruit, popcorn, chips, cupcakes, sandwiches – so a little bit of naughty and nice foods to keep the kids happy.

Perhaps put the fruit in cups or even on kebab sticks and cut the sandwiches into shapes for a bit of fun for the kids.

 

 

 

 

Also we can’t forget the cookies and milk! How cool do these look? So cute and easy to do:

 

 

 

Now something for the adults –  FREE printables in black, gold and white.

Such a unique, elegant and classy theme for your 2013 New Years Eve celebration with friends and family.

To get you on your way Sugar ‘n’ Spice Party Printables has designed the following printables for you for FREE. Just e-mail us at: hello@sugarnspiceprintables.com.au

 

Your set will include:

– 2 inch party circles – Perfect for cupcakes, confetti, put on lollipops’

– Chocolate Wrappers – 100g Lindt Chocolate

– 2013 Bunting

 

Email hello@sugarnspiceprintables.com.au to receive your free set!

 

Party Finds for an All That Glitters NYE party:

Thanks Belinda and Renee for your printables and ideas! Here are a few party finds to accompany these printables to plan your NYE celebration:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the ideas, printables and finds for NYE!

If you’re planning something with your kids in mind there are more kid friendly and game ideas in this blog post for a NYE party on the Celebrations at home blog.

 

 

 

Christmas gift ideas

Do you brave the shopping centres at Christmas?

As much as I love the Christmas music and atmosphere at the shops during Christmas time – I have better things to do than spend an hour finding a car park – so I do most of my christmas shopping online, and I know I’m not alone!

If you’re an online Christmas shopper, some of my vendors on the children’s party directory sell a range of items – not just party decor! So I thought I would put together a collection of gifts you can find online from these vendors and to make the shipping costs more worthwhile you can pick up some partyware items for 2014 from these stores while picking up some chrissy shopping.

Remember to click on the images below to be taken directly to the store where you can browse even more gift ideas.

I also want to remind you to view the Christmas Showcase on my Facebook page if you want to browse a range of Christmas printables, decorations, props, gift ideas and more all in one place!

 

Stocking Fillers:

These customised items make cute and useful stocking fillers for your kids:

 

 

 

 

 

Toys:

 

Nesting dolls are always a great classic toy and I love this modern version:

 

 

 

Little Red Chick has a HUGE range of gorgeous kids toys, gifts and decor as well as party items . These are just a few of my favourite items for girls!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How cute are these little christmas dolls?

 

 

If you have girls who love to dress up, a pair of wings is a simple gift that would bring a lot of fun on Christmas day:

 

 

 

 

 

A few selections for the boys. Much more to browse online in these stores:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These magnetic play books are fantastic! They come in a range of themes. My daughter loves the ballerina theme but there are lots of themes for the boys:

 

 

 

For your friends:

These chatter box cards are perfect for your friends who have everything. A fun conversation starter game

 

 

 

 

These cookie mixes in a bottle are great for friends who love to bake or who love to bake with their kids. Also perfect for gifts to neighbours and workmates:

 

 

 

If you have friends who are party lovers like you, they would definitely appreciate a lovely party styling item like these which are all priced at under $50 (and most are MUCH less!):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A party styling pack such as this is perfect for a friend who loves to throw kids parties. It will definitely come into good use and you can choose one in a range of colours:

 

 

 

 

Have a friend who loves to make cakes? Why not get them a lovely cake topper?:

 

 

This macaron making kit is also perfect for the friend who loves to entertain. It contains all they need to try creating these delicious treats:

 

 

Hope you found something perfect for someone in your life this Christmas (or perhaps for yourself?!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m dreaming of a {RUSTIC} Christmas

A Rustic christmas theme seems to be very popular right now. Taking Christmas back to basics with a natural feel and fresh look.

I really enjoyed putting together these finds for you. Hope you enjoy them!

Don’t forget I have a Christmas giveaway running at the moment with lots of fantastic prizes up for grabs. You can enter via Rafflecopter on the blog here!

 

 

If you want to have a truly rustic Christmas, a wooden Christmas tree could be where to start:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For printables, these Kraft look printables from 2 Love Birds are great for a natural look:

 

 

Some of my finds for rustic christmas hanging decorations around your home and on your tree:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To help create a rustic Christmas feel around your home, here are a few items for various decorating spaces around the house:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love this cute reindeer which would make a lovely gift as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For your gifts, you can’t go past the feel of beautiful linen Santa sacks and stockings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of gifts, these christmas cookie mixes in a bottle are a fantastic gift for teachers, neighbours and friends with a rustic look and feel as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For other smaller items, I love this star jar for Christmas filled with a few sweets:

 

 

These rustic gift packaging options are also perfect for smaller items:

 

 

 

 

 

For larger items, this gorgeous woodland giftwrap will have your gifts under the tree fitting in with your rustic Christmas theme:

 

 

 

To finish it off, here are a few gift tag options:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this selection and found something you loved! If you did, please share the blog post with others & let me know what you loved!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m dreaming of a {pink and silver} christmas

Are you wanting to bring a bit of pink into your christmas this year? Silver is mixed beautifully with pink for the Christmas season so here is a collection of items to help bring some pink & silver into your home!

If you’re still not convinced about pink & silver together for Christmas – here is some inspiration to start you off…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convinced?

You may not have a pink or a white christmas tree but you can still use lots of pink and silver items to decorate in these colours.

Enjoy the browsing, starting with some hanging decorations for around your home and the tree:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few items for the table top:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for your gift wrapping:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a little something for under the tree:

 

 

 

Is pink featuring in your Christmas this year?