Christmas wreath making

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A couple of years ago a friend and I had gathered some stuff from the garden and were having a go at making a Christmas wreath, while her two girls played with mine. And then another mutual friend happened to call round with her children in tow and everyone joined in. It turned out to be one of those impromptu evenings that’s just really fun, and ever since then the friends have been saying we should do it again. Of course it isn’t easy to reproduce a spontaneous event and when you try to organise things people are always busy, but finally we settled on yesterday evening, and it did work out really well. Both friends came, with all their children (six between them) and one brought her mother as well. I made a big pot of chilli in the slow cooker, and bought several ready-made sticks of frozen garlic bread. Then I only had to put those in the oven and cook some rice, while one of the friends made a big apple and cinnamon cake. We started off working outside, but soon it started raining so we had to move indoors – luckily we have a big kitchen with a tiled floor so we were able to limit the mess! I had to keep dashing out into the rain with a torch and secateurs to gather more bits from the garden as all the girls wanted to make something, but it was all good fun. Then our lodgers (who are actually friends of one of the friends) arrived home, followed soon after by the friend’s husband, and we managed to squeeze all sixteen of us around the table. The food turned out well and there was plenty for everyone, and good conversation, and then after a while, when the children started rampaging around the house, it was time to gather everyone’s handiwork and say goodbye. They all left feeling full and happy and pleased with their creations – and it didn’t take long to clear up – result! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2024.