The Christmas Season is Approaching

I am definitely not trying to rush the season, but I've got two upcoming Christmas teas in December and the clock is ticking.

Our Ladies' Christmas Tea at church is Saturday, December 6th and the theme is "A Cup of Christmas Tea".   The ladies are setting tables and hostessing them this year and the sign-up to attend has begun.

I'm hoping I only have to set one table which will be a Nutcracker theme, but I'm mulling around a second theme just in case.  I was able to get Gracie China dinner and luncheon plates with matching mugs at HomeGoods, but had to order the matching teapot directly from Gracie China at almost 3 x's what I would've paid had I been lucky enough to find one at a HomeGoods near me.  It makes me wonder, are the dishes at HomeGoods seconds [slightly imperfect]?

I prefer cups and saucers to mugs, but Gracie only made mugs in this pattern.  I only needed 8 plates, but I got enough to use for my family on Christmas Eve.  I ordered Nutcracker glasses from Kirkland and will pick them up tomorrow.

December 13th is the Christmas Tea at The Whitney.  I'm responsible for ordering the gifts/favors for each guest.  We've given Christmas teacups for a couple of years so I wanted something different this year.

I found Christmas ornament picture frames at Michael's and will put a picture of The Whitney inside it.  The General Manager liked the ornament and picture, and I'll also assemble a 1/2 oz. package of our signature Mistletoe black tea to go with the ornament [the package makes 7-8 cups of tea].  They told me to plan for 160, so I'm going to be busy for awhile!

It's a cold, wintry day in Southeastern Michigan - 34 degrees [feels like 25] with a snow/rain mixture.  My hubby put our first fire of the season in the fireplace when we got home from church today for a warm cozy feeling.

We're expecting our youngest son around 6:00 o'clock this evening as he'll be on our side of town for a meeting tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to his visit and will sign-off now to start preparing dinner so it'll be ready when he arrives.