VISITORS to my Uxbridge home in the next few weeks will be surprised to see a beautiful, fresh Christmas wreath adorning our front door, in place of the usual tired wooden one that we've put up, ohh, for about the last 10 years.
I've looked high and low for a new wreath over the years but never quite found 'the' one. After giving up hope of ever finding a wreath that I liked, and was affordable, I have finally found the solution - I made my own.
Those that know me well will be spluttering over their coffee by now. To say I'm a little bit ham-fisted is an understatement.
I like to have a go at all things crafty but the outcomes never quite look as they do in the picture I've been working to.
Now when I put the key in my front door and admire my wreath handiwork, it's with the full knowledge that the finish is only so good because I had expert help along the way!
My lovely new handmade wreath was made at a Christmas workshop held at Flowerworks, the florist in Windsor Street, Uxbridge.
Owner Jules organised an event at which you could have a go at making an Advent wreath, table centrepiece, door hanger or clove-studded orange.
Under the watchful eye of helpers Lisa and Jessica, I assembled my wreath from scratch.
The shop was crammed with all things Christmassy for the festive creations.
As well as the usual flowers there were cinnamon sticks, dried fruit slices, pine cones, rolls and rolls of stunning ribbon and a gaggle of excited women - and one lone husband, who put us all to shame with his finished wreath.
It was great fun and even the least creative of us managed to produce something that wouldn't have looked out of place being sold in Flowerworks itself.
I hope Jules will continue to run these workshops as I'm sure they'd be very popular. Just how lovely would it be to present your mum with a Mother's Day arrangement you'd made with love for her?
AS THIS is my last column of 2010, I wanted to share with you some of the best Christmas websites out there for you and your family to enjoy.
If you're not in a Christmas mood yet, you soon will be; these sites just get better every year as technology improves, and are well worth a second visit if you've visited them before.
Readers will remember the wonderful www.elfyourself.com I raved about last Christmas, and it is still my top Christmas website.
The other 'must bookmark' site for Christmas Eve I will be revisiting this year is www.noradsanta.org, where you can track Santa in real time, as he visits children all over the world, based on what time it is in that country.
But the winner this festive season is a website that, if your children are getting over-excited and are more naughty than nice at the moment, is a sure-fire way of getting them to behave.
You spend five minutes filling in a very simple online questionnaire at www.portablenorthpole.tv, then when your children tune in, they see Father Christmas saying their name and checking whether they are on the 'naughty' or the 'nice' list.
You can also add a photo, and can include more details about the children and what they want for Christmas.
Whatever list you're on, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all readers a very happy Christmas and I'll be back in the new year.
