The wonderings, ponderings and other 'ings' of me. Lifestyle, review, news and opinion posts. Chic with a hint of sarcasm... hopefully!

Thursday 3 November 2016

Review: Spirit of Christmas Fair


Anyone who knows me knows I'm basically 'Mrs Christmas'.  The second fireworks night is done, my head fills with yuletide and Christmas cheer.  That said the past couple of years have seen my spirits dampen ever so slightly, which made me wondered if I had grown out being all jolly.  So an invite to the Spirit of Christmas fair, with wreath making, cocktail tasting and a blogger breakfast was just the thing I needed to see if the next step was for me to be visited by 3 ghosts.

Official Spiel... sort of
The Spirit of Christmas fair has been going since 2001, in partnership House and Garden magazine it champions independent non high street brands - Hooray for the little man we all cry! One of the said brands sells the world's most expensive rocking horse at £98,000
... Anyway!

It's safe to say there were a few hiccups with getting into the event and with the bloggers breakfast that was promised. The invite clearly said 'champagne breakfast' so forgetting the champagne is a pretty big mistake, they didn't even roll out cava or prosecco - so not cool in a totally first world problems kinda way. The sumptuous breakfast we were promised was also nowt but a few pastries.  

Our cocktail making class didn't exactly go to plan either. While the guys were lovely they had to delay the tasting as they ran out of ice.  But taste them we did and I'd go so far as to call our tipple quite interesting.  


Ingredients included celery, Absinthe and gin, seeing as I barely touched our 'sumptuous breakfast' well, you know!

When it came to the wreath making workshop, Electric Daisy Flower Farm have a few odd ideas.  Like an all male calendar with images of wreathes worn like crowns on all the models.  However, there's no denying they know what they are doing, we all got individual wreath kits with wicker rings and all you would need to make a truly festive decoration.  

The process was simple and enjoyable, until we found out how much they want to charge for the kit.   If you're a spondoolies rich/time poor type, it may be just the ticket but for your average Joe/Joanne paying over half a ton (£55 to be exact!) for a bunch of twigs and leaves you can get for free from your own back garden is a bit of a stretch.


Here endth the moaning
For all these woes, Spirit of Christmas has some wonderful stalls, jam packed with goodies that would bring a festive smile to the most humbuggiest of bah-humbugs. The food section was my first stop and I spent a happy hour sampling approximately 19 types of cheese, sausages and tapenade. 

I even found the nicest vegan chocolate by Octo Chocolate Ltd which kept me on a sugar and fat high all day.  On a practical note the facilities were quite acceptable, you could get your water bottle filled up for free at the coffee shops, the food queues moved quickly and there were ample restrooms.  
Jessica Mary Design
Beautiful candles, unique and interesting gifts and decorations filled the lower floor.  My favourite stalls included weirdly wonderful household furnishings by Antiques by Design, gorgeous hats by Jessica Mary Design, Original 1950's Jukeboxes and popcorn machines by The Games Room and chic yet affordable jewellery by Christin Ranger.


Antiques by Design
Christin Ranger
 After a full day at the fair I still hadn't visited all the stalls but my enthusiasm for Christmas was back to full strength. I think the previous couple of years it was just lying dormant, resting and gathering strength.  And now that I've started celebrating EXTRA early the spirit is stronger than ever! I'm going to be like the Christmas fairy on crack this year, if you're not a fan of the season you'd best avoid me til 2017.

Thank you Spirit of Christmas fair.  Like Arnie says, I'll be back!
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2 comments

Unknown said...

Ooh, I'm starting to feel all festive now too! Glad you found your Christmas mojo :) xx

Emma | 100DaysNoTV.com

TmS said...

Me too! Looking forward to all the Christmas events this year!

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