Naturally Festive

Christmas is a festive time and full of joy!  A time of reflection, worship and praise to our Newborn King, Savior from sin.
It’s also commercially overdone and overwhelming!  AH! Everyone knows this – for me I think the worst are those inflatables in the yard that lie there looking dead when the air pump isn’t running? I don’t want to offend anyone who loves them but I just think they are kinda silly.  And I’ve got an old fashioned soul….

It has been refreshing in some ways to be back in Africa for Christmas because the Christmas hype is ever so minimal here.  You’d be hard pressed to remember  it even was Christmas unless you go to the grocery store where there is music playing and décor around.  AND beautiful imported chocolates from South Africa and Europe.  Triple the price too – look at these beautiful chocolates infused with amarula cream my husband bought.  I can’t wait to sink my teeth into these chocolates….JOY!  Amarula is a liquor made from the fruits of  an African tree called ” the elephant tree” so named because the elephants LOVE their fruits and even get a little tipsy from eating them excessively.  Check out this video of African elephants eating marula.

However,  there are no lights in the neighborhoods, all the homes are behind large brick or stone walls for security so you wouldn’t see them even if there were. But no one decorates the outside of their homes or yards.   I’m good with that altho I will admit I miss the presence of beautiful lights and newly fallen snow and feel a little envy when I see posts of snowy path lit by luminaries and visions of sugar plums begin dancing in my head. HA

Last  year was even MORE minimal than ever in our home as we had only just moved into our house a and our shipment where all our family Christmas décor sat in a box not yet arrived.  SO..enter in my creative kids and nature inspired ideas which makes my heart sing!  Honestly, it’s just what I love anyway so we may be onto something here.

There are some gorgeous tree seeds here and one of our favorites are the jacaranda tree seeds.  Jacarandas are those gorgeous purple flower blooming trees and we have 3 in our yard.  They aren’t blooming just now but the seeds have dropped and we collected a bunch and the girls got busy painting!

                                               

I had found a forgotten rosemary plant in the guesthouse yard and have been using it’s fragrant leaves for roast chicken but then an idea I had once seen came to mind.  So with a few simple ingredients we created more festive décor with fresh rosemary, orange slices , lime slices , water and a votive!  Gorgeous – I looked for something red to pop in  ( cranberries would be perfect but not to be found here).  Maybe next year….

 

Pinecones and greens!  LOVE….and we happened to have both in the yard.  It was beginning to smell quite deliciously Christmas like and the JOY of the season began to grow.

                                                                                                               

I’ve always loved those Himalayan salt lamps but I have yet to have one of my own.  You can order salt lamps and I hope to someday. . It’s on my wish list for certain ~ until I get one I found this idea and it was just the thing for a final touch to our Christmas mantle.  I added Himalayan salt  to a glass jar and used drops of my essential oils to scent them  – because it’s Christmas I wanted a spicy scent and added Clove,  Wild Orange and Eucalyptus  You can order all of those by clicking the highlighted words.  Add a tea light or votive and Christmas décor is DONE!  Feeling joyful and festive indeed.  During the Christmas season there are also some lovely aromatic blends like Holiday Peace and Christmas Joy!

Want to know more about Essential Oils – read my EO info page <<

Thanks to all my readers of African Garden Homestead – Merry Christmas ~ Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”

For more homestead favorites ~ check out our Must Have Market !

What are your favorite nature inspired Christmas decor? I’d love to get even more ideas – leave a comment below!