Wee Birdy

Wee Christmas finds: Beautiful fresh wreaths

Back in 2008 I did a countdown to the top 10 wreaths in London, but many of the wreaths I loved then are still around now. This Christmas I just can't go past The Real Flower Company's glorious collection of fresh scented wreaths. With two farms in Hampshire and Kenya, the UK-based company offers the convenience of ordering flowers online, as well as a shop in Selfridges' food hall.

The Real Flower Company's signature scented garden roses dominate this year's Christmas collection of door wreaths, garlands, table wreaths and bouquets, while traditional red and green arrangements feature bountiful sprigs of thyme and rosemary combined with rose hips, ivy leaves and silver grey senecio. I particularly love the addition of a romantic Odile hurricane lamp to the centre of each table wreath.

The last delivery before Christmas is Thursday 23 December, but to ensure delivery orders need to be placed by Friday 17 December.

The Real Flower Company

Wee Christmas finds: Jonathan Adler's tree decorations

I'm yet to own a precious piece of Jonathan Adler's modernist animal ceramics (one day, one day I shall start my collection) but his holiday collection of animal tree ornaments isn't a bad place to start.

Each unglazed white decoration starts at US$24, and is beautifully presented in a blue gift box, making them fantastic presents for those few people on your list who have left you stumped. As well as the squirrel, dachsund and cat (above), there's also a hippo, owl, elephant, poodle and seahorse.

I'm also loving the new pop menagerie ornament collection (see below), featuring a lovely lion with bright splashes of geometric colour, stylised peacock with golden swirls and an elephant adorned with a turquoise paisley design. Each glossy white piece comes in an utterly gorgeous matching gift box and is priced at US$28.

Birdy (and Xmas) pick of the week

Just found some more Christmas stocking (and birdy) joy by way of South-east London design company Roddy & Ginger's range of homewares, bags and prints. Scandi and folksy-inspired birds and owls are hand screen-printed across a collection of the loveliest natural linen homewares, including tea-towels, cushions and Christmas stockings. Beautiful and affordable gift ideas!

From above, large Roddy the Owl Christmas stocking, £16, Bird Christmas stocking, £12, Happy birds cushions in teal and turquoise, £25 each, adult's apron in blue or pink, £20, owl cushion in yellow, £25, and pink bird cushion on white linen, £26, from Roddy & Ginger's online shop. 

You can also purchase from their Etsy shop, and read their blog here.

Wee Christmas finds: Top 3 stockings (and a grizzle at David Jones)

Did I tell you that I visited David Jones' Christmas shop last week? (David Jones' is a major Australian department store, kind of like John Lewis in the UK). I know it's unfair to compare DJs to Liberty's magnificent Christmas shop floor, but I couldn't help but be disappointed by the sad and overpriced stock on offer. Who is doing DJ's buying??? And whose great idea was it to hide the Christmas shop in a dim little room at the back of the fourth floor of the men's store? And where's the magic??? Any chance DJ's can entice Yasmin Sewell back to Sydney? She did a superb job at Liberty. Gawd, even I'd put my hand up for the job.

Anyway, it took me all of three minutes to do my rounds of the DJ's Christmas shop (good Christmas shops usually have me lingering in their magical wonderlands for at least half an hour), and it left me kinda cold and uninspired. So I headed back to the safety of my favourite shops online in search of Christmas stockings and found these three beauties:

UK designer Donna Wilson is white-hot at the moment, isn't she? She's featured quite a few times in my gift guides, and her homewares range is spot-in, with genuine hand-made charm, gorgeous colour palettes, and just the right kind of kookiness. Her hand-knitted Christmas stockings, above, are AU$40 from Third Draw Down.

Ahhh yes, you can trust good old Fortnum & Mason to deliver on the luxe goods, with this sumptuous velvet stocking hand-stitched with silver balls and a soft white cuff. It's pricey but it looks it. And it will last forever. £85 from Fortnum & Mason (ships internationally).

Toast: now that's a UK store that knows what it's doing. This knitted Fair Isle stocking (above and top of the post) is made with organic wool. Best of all, it's £9.50 (ships internationally).

Have you seen any other gorgeous stockings? Tell me about them in the comments.
Australian readers, what do you think of DJ's Christmas stuff this year?

Wee Christmas finds: Fortnum's Advent Calendar

I can't help missing London right now, with all the sparkling Christmas lights, glowing department store windows, mulled wine in little shops, and a sprinkling of snow. I'll especially miss the little traditions I started over three years, like my annual Christmas shop at Fortnum & Mason, where I stocked up on pretty tins of biscuits, Fortnum's potted stilton and special Christmas tea.

So my Advent Calendar pick this year is a very special Fortnum's one, depicting the beautiful facade complete with festive windows and the famous Christmas trees lining the awning. An unfilled calendar is £95, but you can refill it every year with your own treats, like homemade sweets and chocolates. The filled calendar is £125, and is filled with Fortnum's treats including sugar mice, chocolate coins, jelly beans, truffles and Fortnum's chocolates. Pricey for an advent calendar (and I still have a soft spot for the humble cardboard nativity version) but it's a lovely keepsake and souvenir of London.

Fortnum's Advent Calendar, from £95, from Fortnum & Mason.