In-keeping with our 12 Days of Christmas Ideas tradition, here is our Christmas table setting for 2015. Unlike the last two years, this year we have come indoors and moved away from the somewhat rustic look. My inspiration for this table setting stemmed from those swirly peppermint candies and the lovely foil prints we saw on Day 2.
Here’s a quick an easy gift idea. It works great as a small thank you gift or can be teamed up with a few other items to create a gift that is more substantial.
All you need for this individual serve is …
Put it together in this order and you are all done. Ready to give it away.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
I’m really excited to have some of my favourite people join me for our 12 Days of Christmas this year. Today we have Susan Wong joining us – you’re just going to love her idea!
It’s that time of year when schools are wrapping up and we’re all winding down for Christmas. Or are you winding up? In any case, here’s a great gift idea for teachers – or colleagues and friends – when you need a Christmas gift before Christmas.
The Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit from Stampin’ Up! comes with supplies to make 30 gift tags – three of each design. I’ve been making them in lots of ten and boxing them up ready for my daughter’s kindy teachers. Everyone loves a little handmade something right? (Bonus – no extra calories!) And what a cool way to make them think of us when they’re busy wrapping gifts and extending Christmas cheer to their own family and friends.
With the vellum paper on the front, I’ve designed the packaging to become a luminaire so the teachers have something left just for them when they’ve used all the tags. Include a faux tealight candle and it’s a simple affair. What’s more, the 4×4” box is really quick and easy to make using our Stampin’ Up! Gift Box Punch Board.
Check out my blog for more details on how to make these boxes and a full shopping list for making your own set of tags.
Merry Christmas!
Susan Wong
Stampin’ Up! Artisan Design Team & Demonstrator
If you want to see more of Susan’s work check out her blog here ‘Stamping with Susan’ or here on facebook
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
I really do enjoy the build up to Christmas, and for the last few years as part of the build up we have included the decorating of gingerbread houses. It really is a fun activity for the whole family. Over the last few years we have kept it all rather low-key, but this year the plan is to go all out. However you decide to approach it, here’s a few hints we have learned along the way that will hopefully help you with yours.
While you can actually buy complete kits for making a Gingerbread house these days, if you’d rather approach it from scratch here’s a list of things you’ll need:
Most recipes for gingerbread men will work for making gingerbread houses.
You’ll either need to create your on pattern or you can buy actual cutters from most supermarkets. I find that the cutters you can buy make rather large houses. This is fine if 3-4 people are all working on one house, but if you opt to have one house each like we do, well let’s just say, that’s a lot of gingerbread! I decided to design my own pattern and so far it seems that each year the design has got a little smaller. When you are doing one house each, you want to find the right balance between enough space to decorate creatively without having too much space that the kids loose interest before they are done.
Another thing you need to do when baking the house walls, is double check you have all the pieces – one year I came to the assembling of the houses only to find I was one piece short – arrgh!
Can you spot the roof piece that is made of cardboard?
This is something that I have struggled with a little. They say that royal icing is best. This is made with egg whites or an egg white powder that can be purchased at cake decorating stores. It is quite a fast drying icing that sets real hard – two things you are after when you are trying to get the walls to hold together. I have also had some success with just mixing icing sugar and water, but you do have to get the consistency just right – usually quite thick.
I have also taken to using sewing pins (having sterilised them in boiling water first) to hold the pieces in place while they dry.
As you can see this was one of our failed attempts – but it still tasted great!
The most obvious thing here is the need for lollies. Smaller lollies are best but you can also cut larger lollies down to the size you want. A pair of sterilised scissors works best for cutting jellies and marshmallows, but you’ll need a knife and chopping board for harder lollies like candy canes. Our favourite lollies for decorating are M&Ms, mini jellybeans, marshmallows, candy canes and chocolate drops/buttons.
While lollies seem like the most obvious choice you can use lots of other things too. For example you can use cake sprinkles like 100s & 1000s, pretzels, small chocolate biscuits, dried fruit, nuts and even some breakfast cereals work well too.
Love the pretzel fence.
Don’t forget about the plate you’re building it on. It does need to be fairly sturdy as the houses do have a bit of weight to them. We tried paper plates one year – not the best idea. Another option are cake boards – you can find these at most dollar stores these days. Size-wise, it’s a good idea for them to have a reasonable space available around the house so you can create gardens etc. too.
I find when decorating gingerbread houses with kids it’s a good idea to have aprons of some description for them to wear. Also do whatever you can to limit their need to get out of their chairs and walk around – this definitely contains the mess. Lastly I make sure they each have either a drink of water or milk – my theory it that it helps to dilute the amount of sugar they eat during the process.
If you have any further questions about creating your own gingerbread house, I’m happy to try and answer them. Just use the comments section below. Happy creating,
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
Cake-pops, cookie-pops, sweet-pops and savoury-pops. There are just so many pop options out there. You can include them in your party menu or give them as a gift. Tasty and versatile – that’s my kind of thing! So today’s Christmas idea is a collection of our five favourite pops.
You may recognise this photo from one of our recent articles. While looking at this photo I thought how easy would it be to make these simple cake-pops into Christmas themed ones. All you’d have to do is swap the straws/sticks and the little bows for Christmas coloured ones.
Marshmallow Pops
As seen on: The Pioneer Woman
Oreo cookie pops
As seen on: Makoodle
Candy Cane Heart pops
As seen on: One Little Project
And for those who prefer a savoury option – Mini Cheese Ball Bites
As seen on: Five Heart Home
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
Today we are so excited to have guest bloggers, Adam & Kirsten from WonderFerris, sharing some great tips and hints for taking your own festive family photos. I know you will find this super helpful as we enter the festive season.
With the holiday season comes a chance to update those family portraits! Whether it be candid moments caught while the kids unwrap their Christmas gifts or play with their new Nerf guns, or if it be those posed family portraits where you try to scramble everyone together before their Christmas day outfits get worn by the chaos of festivities, we always want to look our best! Often it can feel stressful trying to get that perfect family shot, but never fear, we have some handy tips to help make that experience a little more fun!
Tip Number One: DIY Tripod! This was the first thing I ever learnt when it came to taking family photos! As difficult as it is to shot and be in the shoot at the same time it really isn’t a proper family photo unless the WHOLE family is in the shot! Tripods are perfect to solve this! But if you don’t have a tripod, it’s time to get creative. A flat surface will do the trick, whether a bar stool, outdoor chair, dining room table (or if you’re feeling extra dedicated, a ironing board like I did for many years!) find your DIY tripod, setup the timer for 10 seconds and say cheese! A family portrait with the entire family! A perfect way to start the festivities! Note: always make sure the camera is secure or nicely weighted down before jumping into the shot!
Hints: getting your family in a straight line to ensure all will be within the depth of field/in focus, and once putting the camera in a secure place turning it to manual focus so as not to lose your focus point if taking multiple shots (cause lets face it once is never enough).
Tip Number Two: If you’re outside, in the middle of a hot, summery Kiwi christmas, seek shade! Not just for the sake of Sun safety which is super important during the festive season, but because full sunlight can make things a lot more complicated than it needs to be! (heavy shadows, squinted faces, not ideal!) The best place to find shade at home is in the house or decks shadow or under a big, beautiful tree! One other tip for outdoor photos is, if you can’t find any shade, shoot in the morning, or an hour or two before sunset so the light is less harsh and, if you’re lucky, soft and magical!
Hint: If no shade is conveniently presented you can try using a front on flash as a fill light to minimize shadow. Also placing your subject/s facing away from the sun or side on to reduce squinting.
Tip Number Three: If you’re photographing your family portrait inside, please, PLEASE, avoid using flash! Find somewhere with natural light! Usually next to a window is fine! The best backgrounds at home are the most simplest. Try and avoid all the Christmas chaos, unless that is the look you’re going for! 😉 We often jump in front of one of our big plain walls or gather on the sofa. Another handy tip is to never stand right up against the background you are shooting in front of (this applies for outdoor portraits too!) Stand about a half a metre minimum in front of your background to create a nice depth of field, making your family portrait a little more beautiful!
Tip Number Four: Angles. Oh boy, angles can make or break a photo! Too often we see photos with poor angles which completely distort the subjects and become an amazing photo opportunity lost! Having the camera at a low angle which is looking up at the subject, creating those awful third and fourth chins, is a definate no no. Have the camera at a high angle or eye level to your family is more flattering and keep in mind moving to the side, back and forth to experiment and give your photo that edge!
Hint: If a low angle is unavoidable sport a longer focal length and moving your family further away from the camera to lessen the steepness of the angle. You can always get them to lean forward too!
Tip Number Five: Have fun! Some of my greatest Christmas memories are from our DIY family photobooths. It’s a time to be silly, have fun and have a laugh together. Photos can seem like a chore, but they don’t have to be! Why not mix up your festive family portrait this year? The options are endless! Where santa hats, show us your favourite present, pick up the kids and pull a fun pose! These types of things can really help relax everyone into the idea that you’re taking *gasp* family photos. What we like to do in family sessions is start with a couple of fun and silly photos first, then ask the kids if they can give me their best smile with the promise that we can do another funny picture following the nice portrait; always a great motivation, kids love to have fun! (big kids included!) Oh and never shy away from a fake laugh, trust us, fake laughs as awkward as they seem, almost always end in fits of natural, gorgeous looking laughter and smiles!
Festive family photos are a highlight of our Christmas calendar! We hope these tips help turn those plain family pictures into ones that become a loving memory!
Adam & Kirst
WonderFerris is made up of the collaborative team of Adam Ferris & Kirsten Palmer. They love to give anything creative ago and love working together to achieve whatever creative project the world throws at them! They are freelance photographers based in West Auckland.
If you want to see more of Adam & Kirsten’s work check out their website here or find them here on Facebook.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
Homemade Christmas crackers have come a long way since I made them as a child out of crape paper and toilet rolls. I am super excited to share today’s idea with you as it is my first ever video tutorial! This idea also comes with 2 free downloads – the Christmas Cracker template and our Cracker Jokes.
Tip: When printing out your template, print onto paper that is slightly thicker than your ordinary photocopy paper (120gsm – 160gsm). You can also print directly onto scrapbook paper if you cut it to a size that will fit your printer.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
Pinterest is a great source of inspiration. I recently saw this idea and thought I just had to give it a go. Its so simple, yet so stunning. The technique used is called decoupage. You’ve quite possibly heard of it before – but if not this is the art of decorating objects with paper cut-outs. You can pretty much use any kind of paper and apply it to any type of surface, as long as the surface is smooth.
This is such an easy project. It makes for a nice additional to your Christmas décor or even a nice gift. So why not have a go and don’t forget to send us pictures – we just love seeing the creativity of others.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
A little pre-planning can go a long way towards reducing Christmas stress, which is why today’s idea is a planning one.
My family’s Christmas in the early days.
I’m from a family of five girls. If you’re thinking ‘Oh your poor Dad!’ no need to worry, the son-in-laws and grandsons have finally tipped the numbers in his favour. We are also quite a busy bunch and even when we are on holiday there is always a lot of activity. One day while on holiday together, and having just survived another last minute call to gather as a full family at another location, my sister (mother of 3 boys under 5) and I got to talking about how stressful it was to rally our families of pre-schoolers and get somewhere in 20 minutes – after all it can take that long just to get the kiddies to put on their shoes!
My family’s Christmas now.
Next time the holidays came around I was determined to reduce the stress and enjoy our time together. I figured that a written schedule for the busiest part of our time together (this just happened to be Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day) would be very helpful in achieving this. So I gave my parents and my sisters a call and explained that I wanted to be able to enjoy our time together with as little stress as possible – which was something they all wanted too. I asked them what their hopes, plans and expectations were for this period of time. We also agreed that the schedule was flexible – we could easily change anything on the schedule as long as everyone was consulted. I typed up the schedule and sent out copies to everyone. All my family were happy and it worked well – yay!
Now I get that being this kind of organised is not for everyone, it really does depend on what your family is like. For our busy and super active family it worked well. But let’s just strip this idea back to the basics for a moment – stress comes when relationships are put under strain and let’s face it Christmas comes with straining factors. So why not try these 3 basic principles:
I hope this helps you as we approach this year’s silly season. I have truly found that when we approach life head on and are deliberate in our planning great things happen.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
I recently spoke to a lovely group of ladies in which I used the example of creating a Hot Chocolate station. I love Hot Chocolate stations, they look great, the drinks taste amazing and they help to create a warm and cozy atmosphere. Sadly, for those of us living in the southern hemisphere Hot Chocolate stations at Christmas time are not such a practical idea. So this got me thinking – what could a summer alternative be?
Since I have a number of family members who love smoothies and fresh juices I thought how about creating a make your own Juice station.
Armed with a few books from the local library (prior to this idea I knew very little about juicing) I went shopping for a variety of fresh fruits and veggies. The key here, so I learned, is to buy what is in season. If you grow your own even better. Also try and avoid using over-ripe produce. I decided to keep it very simple, but if you want to, you can get quite fancy. The little bit of fancy that I added were some bottles of sparkling water. I figured some people like to water down their juice a little and others like bubbles in their juice – so sparkling water seemed like a fun and healthy way to provide this option.
Gathering the equipment was the next thing to do. Glasses, knife, chopping board and a rubbish bin were some of the basics. And of course there was the juicer itself. I was fortunate enough to have been given a juicer a few years back. There are a few different types of juicers on the market. They all have their pros and cons, but at the end of the day they all make juice. So whatever you choose is fine. I’ve also seen these on Trade Me and in the second hand stores – so don’t feel you have to spend big bucks.
Finally it was set up time. Really you could set this up anywhere and in a variety of ways, but I opted to go with a bit of a rustic look that had a fresh and citrus twist. I used some wooden gift boxes to create the shelves. I lined these with vibrant wrapping paper that I brought from Warehouse Stationery. And I then added a chalkboard sign which I made out of an old picture frame that I found in a second hand shop.
And there you have it – one ‘Make You Own Juice Station’. There are so many reasons why I love this idea. Yes it’s healthy, looks good and tastes great, but it is also a help-yourself-solution to serving beverages that is fun and interactive. A little bit of pre-planning and setting up beforehand means you can enjoy the time you have with your guests even more.
© 2015 As You Wish Events Ltd. Want to use this article in your E-newsletter, blog, or website? You can as long as you include this complete statement: Auckland, New Zealand – Event Planner & Designer Nadine Crozier publishes the ‘As You Wish Events’ blog filled with secrets, tips and how-tos for planning your fabulous event. Get your exclusive inspiration, tips and tricks at http://www.asyouwish.co.nz. As You Wish Events is an event planning and design company based in Auckland, serving the Auckland region and certain areas of Northland.
