An Angelic Tea for 'Celebrate the Season' ~ Christmas Tea

"Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas
Star and Angels gave the sign." ~ Christina Rossettie

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to my last Christmas Tea before Christmas! I want to thank you all for your visits and lovely comments last week on my Sugarplum Fairy Tea.

I had such fun putting it together for you and I'm so glad you enjoyed it! If some of you happened to miss it, you may click here to visit the party.

We are going to have a White Christmas this year. We have had snowfall after snowfall here and the Island is covered in a soft fluffy white blanket.
We have so much snow that we couldn't get to the birdfeeder. So, we reached through the front window and brought it in that way. We filled it up and hung it back outside.

Shortly after, we were rewarded with more than a  dozen or more of our little feathered friends; chickadees, juncos, and believe it or not, goldfinches! They are wearing their winter plummage but my goldfinches did stick around this year and now I will get to enjoy them all winter long. I consider this an early Christmas present for you all know how much I love my goldfinches!  

Now, on to our tea.  Today's tea is all about Angels. Angels played such an important part in the Christmas story.

The angel announced to Mary that she would bear a Son, the Messiah.

"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favour with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.'" ~ Luke 1:30-31

An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and assured him that Mary was with Child which had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.

"Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." ~ Matthew 1:20-21

They announced to the shepherds that their Saviour was born.

"And the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" ~ Luke 210-11

And when the life of Jesus was endangered by the hand of Herod, an angel appeared again to warn Joseph that he should take Jesus and Mary to Egypt where they would be safe.

"Now when they {the wise men} had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.'" ~ Matthew 2:13

Although in the Bible it seems all the angels are masculine, the angels I have at my tea today are both male and female.

These are my little kissing angels that I've had for many years. They are cozied up under the cloche on a soft cloud with a bleached bottle brush tree. A pair of sweet angel wings decorate the outside of the cloche.

Please make yourself at home and keep me company, won't you?

My two teacups are in shades of a delightful soft pink adorned with lots of lovely gold.

The top one is made by Colclough and the bottom one is made by Windsor, both of England.

We are going to enjoy some Earl Grey today with some shortbread cookies and gingerbread balls with sprinkles. Since I'm nursing my back again, the shortbread is from the bakery and the gingerbread balls were made by a sweet friend.

This angel was a gift several years ago. Her gown and wings are lovely, aren't they?

My pink Ganz teapot holds the tea.

Although I am not serving tea in Christmas china, I hope you enjoy it. I was planning to gather some fresh greenery from our cedar but the snow is too deep to get to it. 

The beautiful poinsettia and decorations help lend a Christmasy feel to my tea.

This is one of my real little angels, my youngest grandson, Zachary. He loves Christmas too.

Thank you for visiting today. I am simply delighted when you come for tea. This time next week, Christmas will have come and gone for another year but I pray the spirit of Christmas will live on in your heart always.

I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year long.~ Charles Dickens

From my home to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." ~ Luke 2:14



"Hark! the herald angels sing: Glory to the new-born King!

Peace on earth, and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled."
Joyful, all ye nations rise; Join the triumph of the skies;
With th'angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem."
Hark! the herald angels sing, "Glory to the new-born King." ~ Charles Wesley{1707-1788} Felix Mendelssohn {1809-1847}

It is the season of the greatest story and the greatest Gift ever given!


I am joining the following parties as well~

Tea Cup Tuesday~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Pink Saturday~ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

HOME for the Holidays

"At Christmas, all roads lead home." ~ Marjorie Holmes

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to my last HOME for the Holidays before Christmas!

I imagine you are all as busy as bees these days. I know I am. We have so much to be thankful for during this most enchanting of seasons and we all need to take time out of our busy schedules to relax. Take some time to enjoy the lights and music. A cup of tea or coffee always helps me to relax. How about you?

"Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day." ~ Helen Steiner Rice

Some of us have had a difficult year while others have sailed through it enjoying good health and making lots of lovely memories. I pray this coming year will bring you all peace, love, joy, and glowing good health.

This week I hosted a special tea party called a Sugar Plum Fairy Tea. You may click on the link here to visit it if you wish. I had fun putting it together. At Christmas-time especially, the little girl in me just has to come out and play.

I served a variety of sweets including my fruit cake which I make every year.

I promised to share my recipe for my fruit cake today.

This is my maternal grandmother's recipe and I have been making it for over thirty years. It has never failed me.

It is a buttery cake filled with lots of eggs and fruit. Even those who don't care for fruit cake, like this one. I hope you will give it a try.

Sultana Fruit Cake

1 small package sultana raisins {about 3 cups}
1 cup red cherries, cut in two
1 cup green cherries, cut in two
3/4 cup chopped candied pineapple
3/4 cup mixed fruit
Mix with 1/4 cup flour and set aside while you prepare the batter. The extra flour keeps the fruit separated.

Cream together:
1-1/2 cups soft butter
1-1/2 cups white sugar
6 large eggs - beat in one at a time
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon extract

Mix:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Add to the creamed mixture alternately with
1/2 cup evaported milk or blend

When batter is all creamed together, mix in the prepared fruit. Pour into a prepared pan. I always use a 12 cup tube pan which is sprayed with PAM and lined with waxed paper.

Bake in preheated oven at 320 - 325 degrees for 1-1/2  to 2 hours. I generally bake the cake for about two hours. Now the secret to a moist fruit cake is to put a pan of hot water on the bottom rack in the oven and remove during the last hour.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Wrap in heavy paper and tin foil. I always put it into a large freezer bag too. Store in a cool dark place. This cake will keep for some time.

Here are some features from last week's party~

Sherry at The Charm of Home set a beautiful snowy Christmas cottage themed dining table. She also had the most views on her post.

Penny @ Penny's Vintage Home shared her festival of Christmas trees. Love the candy tree!She had the second highest number of views on her post.



The next two posts were tied for the third highest views...

Poppy @ Poppy View shared her Tea with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and herself.  She also shared some lovely Christmas memories.



And Debbie @ A Debbie-Dabble Christmas shared her Christmas home tour. Here's a lady who goes all out to decorate for the season.



Cecilia @ Casa Cecilia shared her tutorial on how to make her darling gingerbread Christmas boxes. So cute!

Congratulations, ladies! And thank you friends for welcoming us into your HOMES every week. You are the ones who make this party so much fun.

Since this is my last HOME party before the Holidays, I want to wish you all a bounty of blessings and I hope you will come back and join me again next year. Till then take care and have a fabulous Christmas season.

Jesus is the Gift that perfectly fits the size of every heart.

From my HOME to yours, Merry Christmas!

"And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." ~ Luke 2:7

Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

I am joining the following parties as well~

What's It Wednesday~ http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/
Christmas Cookie Exchange Link Party ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi