A highlight of the holiday season for the girls and me was having our sweet friends Stacey, Emma and Lizzy Brown come up for a candy-themed Christmas tea party. I will share our tablescape and easy menu in my next post, but before we sit down for afternoon tea, we have some crafting to do.
My daughters and Stacy's share a love of creative projects, so making glittered ornaments and bracelets was a great way to make some sweet memories together.
I decorated the sitting room for tea, but our kitchen table was set for play.
I provided two clear ornaments for each girl to paint with acrylic craft paints -- one to keep and one to give to her friend. The girls painted ornaments when the Browns arrived so the paint could dry during our visit.
Then at the close of the afternoon, the girls painted over their ornaments with ModPodge and covered them in fine glitter. They turned out so pretty! The younger girls coated their whole ornaments with sparkles, but Emma Brown and Mary Ashley were quite creative in glittering their baubles. The four ornaments we kept will look so sweet on our pastel playroom Christmas tree!
After we sat down to tea, the girls peeked into this candy dish to choose pretty beads for making bracelets.
These shimmering beads from Michaels looked like candies to me. We strung beads on ribbon for a simple token of friendship. Most of the girls made bracelets, but my Emma chose to make a necklace.
We bonded with the Browns when the girls were in preschool, and we are so thankful that our friendship has grown stronger through the years.
It's no secret; best girlfriends are among our most precious gifts!
"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
