Come out, come out.......

A box full of stories..

So yes, as I said on my previous post, I loved the whole magical feeling of the Christmas season, but I got to admit, I also had a “profound appreciation” for the gift-giving custom(or more likely the gift-receiving part of it)!))

For me it mattered more the way a gift was presented, the circumstances under it was given, the element of surprise n such, but above all, it was all about what story the gift held behind it or what story it would create!

I still have an unreasonable admiration of the actual wrapping and  appearance of a present. --This might explain how I gift-wrap all orders of Hide n Seek too!!--

Anyway, during all my childhood days, a gift that would include any kind of keys, lockets, boxes, old clocks or anything that secretly captured time, seemed as the most reasonable and successful choice to make in order to put a huge smile on my face for days and days to come!

I tried to figure out what was hidden underneath the layers of papers, colours, textures and patterns and the more intricate, challenging and difficult a present was to open, the more my curiosity reached the zenith!!.... Disappointingly, I rarely received one of those items as a gift so I usually failed miserably to guess even the most predictable of gifts to a great extend. I convinced myself that it was better this way since I didn't manage to spoil the surprise...heh

But anyway, growing up I’ve discovered the fulfilment and great joy of the other side, the actual gift-giving side and always tried to exercise this part more than the other. However this Christmas season, I decided to spoil a bit myself with all the amazing goodies Etsy sellers and artists can provide and buy some of my still favourite keys, clocks and boxes!!

So the last day of the year, Santa finally came to my doorstep to bring me the last gift of the year. He was   a little suspiciously and very predictably dressed up as a British postman !! However he didn't manage to disguise those plum rosy cheeks and red nose, probably from secretly gulping lots of strong ale on the way, rather than from the unforgiving cold of the day! I pretended not to realise anything, but I had to offer him some cookies to have for his long journey back....

I opened impatiently the packet to see that I had received the most adorable handmade boxes from Etsy incredible artists, FavorMakers!!! FavorMakers are a talented and lovely couple who create unique and believe me, super well-made amazing boxes!!! ooooh if only I saw them or had them younger!!!!!There were 2 perfect cozy teapots, 2 super cute n magical apples and 2 of the loveliest penguin boxes ever made!! FavorMakers send their boxes full of their own stories and full of care n love, but as soon as I unsuspectingly placed them on my window until I could find the perfect location in the house for them, they started creating their own story!!!!!

At first they all looked so pretty together, but there was something unnatural about the cute penguins...Later I realised they were posing as boxes alone for the camera...

Moments later I caught the little penguin looking so sad:(( ...and after this, they were secretly looking back home through the window with the saddest of the faces..:(

They seemed so sad and miserable:(( but so cute at the same time:D

 

 

A while later,  mummy penguin got used to the place but the little one kept looking back numerous
times throughout the day...Eventually, the little one  went under it's mummy's wing and care for a while and they both started feeling alot better:))   

I know they'll always miss the warm home of Favormakers,  but at least they are happy now:)

Their days start and end full of games!!    

Aren't they super adorable!!?

The perfect gift is the one full of beautiful stories:)

...the cinnamon cuddles:)

…….!!!!!!! Maybe a bit late, but Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!!!!……..

I’ve always enjoyed the Christmas festive season so much!!

As a child, I was deeply entranced by the ornaments, the colours, the reminiscent aromas, the different patterns and different expressions people had during Christmas… I tried to observe all the little things people did subconsciously, which I found more exciting than the “big” things they were conciously preparing or preparing for. It seemed to me as if a whole grand theatre play was about to start, where everyone mysteriously enough would happily play the same self assessed role….but I cared little for the first seat if that meant I could secure a place in the back stage where I could observe and examine the props and preparations.

I remember for instance, how the surfaces of my home shined contently since extra care and time were spent upon them, how all the city lights were slowly increased and now seemed there for another, better reason than to simply lit, how cuddles with my mum smelled of cinnamon and spices and how our Christmas tree ornaments would change each year but every second some old ones would come back to favour:)

I remember finding specifically a great pleasure in following the trail of pine needles on the floor, fallen from the just new-came pine tree, while the rest of my family struggled to place it straight and nice to the exact place every year without realizing it. I would carefully gather each n every needle in a tiny little hand-carved wooden box and keep them there until the big day. Then, when the gift-giving time came, I would present my box as my gift to the pine tree, giving it back what it lost for our own pleasure. It was like a playful ritual that I still love to this day.

During the decorations time, I’d vigilantly observe my mother and my grandma separately, trying to detect what same movements, patterns and ways they had in common. I found out, that they would both carefully hold a Christmas tree ornament -usually a ball- with their left hand and with the long and warm sleeve of the right hand, would gently rub the surface of each ball twice before placing it on the tree. Their aprons filled me with the same promises as they would smell exactly the same cinnamon and vanilla aroma the exact same days of the holiday season and  two days before Christmas you could find them both, in their home till late at night to mend all the socks of the family…strangely enough they’d always leave theirs for last. Who mends socks nowadays ..?? I don’t! If I can’t make any funny sock creature or sock monster out of them, I throw them away… however this memory is somehow very dear and nostalgic to me….Now that I think of it….maybe they had their own rituals after all..