Happy December! Are you ready for a month of making Merry?
Here’s a little merry from the archives to make the season bright . . .
A fun gift wrap embellishment, a poinsettia in lieu of a bow, blooming from a cocktail napkin!
You can find the beautiful and complete tutorial for growing a poinsettia from a napkin from Lia Grittith, here.
And here’s a celebratory Poinsettia Cocktail to kick off the Christmas season!
Easy to mix and serve for a party, December brunch, or Christmas Eve! No shaking, stirring, or straining required, mixing right in your glass. The are numerous variations of a Poinsettia Cocktail, but they essentially start with the same ingredients: Champagne or sparkling wine, cranberry juice and a splash of orange liqueur.
This is the type of cocktail we don’t measure, but the basic measurements are 1/2 ounce orange liqueur, 3 ounces cranberry juice, and Champagne. Make sure your sparkling wine/Champagne and cranberry juice are chilled, and adjust the ratio of ingredients to your preference.
I used Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine which is drier than its Italian cousin, Prosecco, and has more bubbles. More Bubbles = More Merry :) Both Cava and Prosecco are more affordable than champagne, use the sparkling wine of your choice.
Add some frozen cranberries to keep it chilled and festive and toss in some orange peel if you like for a decorative garnish!
I’m happy to be part of a Holiday Tablescape Blog Hop this week.
Don’t miss the 20+ Christmas tables and holiday inspiration to be found!
You can find my table here: Plaid Tidings: A Christmas Table with St. Nick and A Natural Evergreen Table Runner
Cheers to December!
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Metamorphosis Monday
First of all, love the snow effect :) And those napkin poinsettia are too cute. Can;t wait to see what else you have cooked up for the holidays this year!
Cozy for sure!! Again, must be the year for plaid!!! ❤️🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
Those napkins – brilliant! Love all your posts…Enjoy the season!
“Mary”, always love your holiday ideas!
I’m going to try making flowers today!!
Very Merry cheers to u! 🎄
Everything looks amazing…love the napkins…
could you pls tell me what snow effect you used ? I tried one last year and it made my blog load sooo slow…
my email: bjconklin2@gmail.com
thanks, Mary…
bj
Oh, I can feel the cold with your snow falling on your blog post…oh, wait, that is my air conditioning! Come on Florida, give us a break from the mid 80’s! Your celebration of the welcome to December is great! I love all of the poinsettias and all of the wonderful images of how you are welcoming this month of celebrating!
Gorgeous. Now it is the 1st December it is finally time to start getting festive in France, the lights will be turned on in towns and villages and we will start decorating, cannot wait to get started!
Happy Merry Month of December, Mary! I’ve made your poinsettia cocktail and I’ll do a “cheers” to you!
I am Mad 4 Plaid and this post is just wonderful! You always stage everything so beautifully! What a lot of great ideas.
I love your pretty garden bench with the plaid blankets. So inviting!
It is only 10 AM and I want a poinsettia cocktail!!:) But I will hold off and have one tomorrow night at our Christmas tree decorating party at the clubhouse! LOVE the decor on the bench too!!!!
Mary, I love your poinsettia bow idea, and the cocktails look yummy! I’m going to try both. Thanks for the beautiful Christmas inspiration, and the wonderful ideas! I hope you have a happy Thursday!!!
Beauty and bubbles! Merry December, Mary, and cheers!
That package is gorgeous and the drink looks so festive and easy too.
Your pinecone M is too cute! The bench looks awfully cozy too! Your cocktail napkin poinsettia is such a good copycat, so fun on the package-
Jenna
I certainly feel Merry after viewing your photos— you have certainly made your home a ‘Christmas Welcome’.
Lovely and festive. i enjoyed your post filled with Merry! I’d love to invite you to come and link at The Count Down
to Christmas party. Link this and all your posts old and new!
Merry Merry Christmas
Love the poinsettia bow, Mary. The bench is so inviting and of course, we love plaid!!
Love the frozen cranberry idea! I like my apertif very cold.
Me too Bonnie ;)
I love that plaid.
Marilyn
Those pointsettia are lovely.
Joan
Everything is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Marion
Hi Mary, love visiting your pages, everything is so festive and with great style and taste. It has become just a part of my holiday tradition, like coming home for the holidays-thanks for all you do-
Kathy xoxo
Thanks so much for your sweet comments and visits Kathy! Merry Christmas Season to you!
So good to view all of your beautiful, creative ideas – love it! Thanksgiving evening my husband suffered a major stroke, but I’m SO thankful he is alive and can think, walk, move his arms, feed himself, chew and swallow. It truly is a miracle he is alive. Praying for his speech to be restored. This all seems doubly hard with the recent passing of my mother, but believing for a Christmas miracle and trusting God daily. Your blog is always a delight and will help on the hard days. Thank you Mary for bringing so much joy with the delightful garden shed and your creative tablescapes!
Oh Cyndi, I’m so sorry to hear that! Keeping you and your hubby in my thoughts and prayers and believing in Christmas miracles. ♥
Thank you Mary! So appreciate your kind, supportive words!
Mary, I love your bench with the merry pinecone filled M and the poinsettia clippings in green jars! And I’m always looking for new wrapping ideas. Your package is rustic but still so pretty with the plaid and glitter added! I’m drooling over the cocktail. I might try making it in a pitcher and then pouring for ease on Christmas Eve. It would be such a beautiful presentation to greet my guests with at the door! And the frozen cranberries is genius and no worry about diluting (can’t have that!! :) ) Your photos are making the start to my December quite Merry! Linda
Mary that napkin turned into a poinsettia is stunning! Great idea! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Its snowing on your blog !!! NOW its Christmas.. thanks..
Love the poinsettia napkin idea. A bunch would be darling on a small tree. And I’m wondering if you can make that cranberry cocktail into a mocktail by using cranberry flavored sparking cider with cranberries floating on top? Hmm, maybe orange extract instead of orange liqueur? And adding a little more cranberry juice to make it a little more tart and colorful? It would be fun to experiment. I’d have to make the regular cocktail as a test sample…
Hi Patricia, Ginger Ale and cranberry juice or fruit juice blend make a great mocktail and nonalcoholic alternative 🥂🎄😀
I made your poinsettia cocktails tonight for a small dinner party and they were a HUGE success! Thanks for the recipe. They will definitely make reappearances at our house. Guests decided more orange liqueur and less cranberry juice just knocked it out of the ballpark!
Thanks for letting me know Becky, I’m glad they were a hit! Merry Christmas!🎄🥂