Celebrating Solstice

The night before Solstice Emma had fallen asleep earlier than expected so Grace and I got to do a little bit of elving by ourselves.  Together we made this lovely Solstice Sun Tree Topper.  I had seen this project in the winter edition of Rhythm of the Home and had planned to buy wool felt and make it.  Somehow time managed to slip by and no felt had been bought.  Not wanting to wait until next year I decided we'd make it out of construction paper. I cut the shapes and Grace glued them. Not having shown her the picture before hand I was pleasantly surprised that she added a second row of rays all on her own.  "It looks more like a sun this way, mama."  And indeed it does.  When it was finished we agreed it was beautiful and that yes, we'd be ordering wool felt (two shades of yellow!) to make a more permanent one for next year.

After I tucked Grace in that night, I got to work making some Solstice crowns for them for the next morning.  I wanted there to be some kind of surprised awaiting them (especially Grace who helped with our lovely tree topper).  Emma was super surprised to see the sun on top of our tree on Solstice Day, and both were super surprised to see sun crowns just like the topper!

Our Solstice was rainy and chilly out.  We would have much prefered snow, of course but that is not what Mother Nature had on the agenda for us.  With that in mind we offered to hang with my friend Sarah's boys while she ran some errands in that very yucky weather.  When they arrived we mixed up the batter for some Solstice sun cupcakes like we make each year. 

While the cupcakes were baking, guinea pigs were held, toys were played with and new games created.  And while the cupcakes were cooling I got the gift of having a baby fall asleep in my arms.  It has been a long time since that happened and oh, how lovely it was!  Shortly after he fell asleep, Sarah returned and lunch was made.  Good friends and good food helped to round out a lovely Solstice Day.  Once lunch was done and the cupcakes were perfectly cooled we got to work frosting them. 

And yes, they were as delicious as they look!  Not needing two dozen cupcakes we sent some home with our friends so they could share a bit of Solstice sweetness with the rest of their family. It was an absolutely delightful day! Winter Solstice has become one of my most favorite holidays to celebrate.  For us, Solstice is not about giving gifts to each other, though I do believe that when I get a little better at knitting it will be when each person receives their mittens/gloves and hat for that year.  For us, Solstice is about celebrating the Earth, the arrival of a new season and the animals that inhibit this place we call home. And while we have yet to make our bird feeders (they are on today's agenda) the chance to celebrate with friends and share a simple meal of soup and bread made Solstice Day even more special. In this day and age where life moves by at such a fast pace, and Christmas has become so commercial and harried, the chance to celebrate simply is so necessary and so appreciated.  We hope that each of you had a lovely Solstice Day and that this new season brings with it much peace and love.