Cherished Memories

As I have been packing away all of my Christmas decorations

I have been remembering all of the wonderful times

we spent with our family and friends this year.

I wanted to share this little setting before the holidays,

but I had also planned on doing something similar

for two of my closest friends as a Christmas present,

so I had to keep it under wraps.

While looking around on Etsy before the holidays,

I found these adorable spoons

from this seller

They are hand stamped and have the words to

" 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" on them.

They are soooo cute!

I ordered a set for each of my friends with the idea of

making a Hot Chocolate tray for them.

(there is a photo of their actual trays below,

along with a funny little story)

I set my tray up for some Hot Chocolate to warm our toes...

it has been COLD here the last few days.

Highs in the 20's are not for this Southern Belle!

I just love these little spoons.  They are made from Vintage silver plate.

They are just the cutest little set and I am planning on ordering more.

I liked the idea of giving them a gift that was using something

old and giving it a new life.

I used my little Santa napkin ring on my tray today before I

packed him away for next year.

I can't wait to use them next Christmas along with my new

spoon while sipping hot chocolate waiting for Santa.

Here is the detail on the end of the spoon.

These just make me happy.

They are ready to stir in some yummy Hot Chocolate in my

Pfaltzgraff Heritage pedestal mugs.

Sitting on a festive tray for the holiday....

All set and ready to go.

Here is a little more of the detail of the hand stamping

on the spoons.

I can just see us all sitting around a warm fire,

sipping hot chocolate,

reading the story

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

on the night before Christmas,

making memories with my little boys.

A close up detail on the spoons again

and a shot of them all sitting side by side.

So here is my funny little story to go with my

little gift idea.

These are my two wonderful friends

Gena and Leisa.

Our families have celebrated Christmas together since 1996.

For 15 years we have celebrated, watched our children grow,

and exchanged fun gifts with one another.

Most of our gifts involve dishes...

Great minds think alike.

The tray above was our gift from Leisa one year.

Most of the gifts are Christmas related so it is nice

to pull out our things each year and  remember

"Gena or Leisa gave me this two years ago..."

A lot of my Lenox Holiday has come from these two and it makes

setting the table that much more special.

(Gena, Leisa and Myself)

 

The best of friends,
Can change a frown,
Into a smile,
when you feel down.

The best of friends,
Will understand,
Your little trials,
And lend a hand.

The best of friends,
Will always share,
Your secret dreams,
Because they care.

The best of friends,
Worth more than gold,
Give all the love,
A heart can hold.

Here is a little shot of the Hot Chocolate tray I made for the girls.

I made them a jar of Hot Chocolate mix,

along with their vintage spoons and some Irish Coffee Mugs.

I also had another friend of mine make them a cute little tea towel

that has a mug on it and holly berries.

It has been our tradition that Gena and Leisa opened their gift from me

at the same time, since they are usually related...

and then Gena and I will open our gift from Leisa

 for the same reason and so on.

This year was no different. They opened their Hot Chocolate tray together

and then Gena had Leisa and I open our gifts together.

I got a cute Lenox Holiday casserole dish and Leisa got one just like it

in her Butterfly Meadow pattern.

We also were gifted with beautiful Christmas trays...

mine again matched my Holiday china and Leisa's matched her Fitz and Floyd.

So then it was time for Leisa to give us our gifts.

And in her words

"This is where it just gets weird!"

I was a little puzzled wondering what in the world was in that box.

And as we opened them, we both busted out laughing,

as Gena and I unwrapped Christmas measuring "Spoons"

and gourmet Hot chocolate

and a wonderful holiday mug that says 

"Naughty" on one side and "Nice" on the other!!

Great minds think alike...

kinda scary

but hilarious at the same time!

Thanks for stopping by for my little Hot Chocolate treat

and sharing in my special Christmas memory.

Here's to another year of memories with

friends and family.

Stop by Susan's at

Between Naps on the Porch

and check out all of the other tablesscapes and dishes.