The Bag Lady: The holiday season is here!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas with two-and-half weeks to go! If you haven’t begun your Christmas shopping yet, I’d advise you to start now. The shops are becoming busier and when I popped in at The Glen Shopping Centre last Monday afternoon, I couldn’t believe how busy the centre was! It took me about 10 minutes to find parking and on entering the centre it was mobbed. Great for businesses though.

It was the same the next day when I went to Mall of the South, it very busy and lots of children were already out and about with their parents. The holiday season is here!

While you are buying gifts for your family and friends, please spare a thought for those who don’t have family to be with.

St Mary’s Tree of Love

The gift of giving is never more important than at this magical time of the year, and with Christmas just around the corner, The Glen Shopping Centre has put up their annual Christmas tree for St Mary’s Children’s Home. You’ll find the Tree of Love in the fashion court, lower floor, just near the escalators.

As in previous years, choose a tag from the tree. Each tag will have girl or boy, an age, clothing size and shoe size and there are also tags for toiletries and grocery items. Give the gift and tag to any of the friendly staff at the customer care desk or at the centre management offices. There are also tags for groceries and toiletries, and these can be handed at the customer care desk or at the centre management offices. All the gifts, groceries and toiletries will be taken to the children’s home by December 24.

Rebel Rose Boutique

Newly opened at Bassonia Shopping Centre (upper level) Rebel Rose Boutique offers some gorgeous women’s clothing, well-priced too and what I liked was it’s different other clothing stores. You most likely won’t attend the same party and be wearing the same outfit as your friend!

One thing which will have to change is the clothing sizes. Presently, Rebel Rose Boutique caters more for the petite woman, but when I spoke to the owner, Shané Oosthuizen, she said she’ll definitely be considering bringing in larger sizes too. In the meantime, if you are petite, go and see what she has, I’m sure you’ll find something stunning.

Shané has an eye for detail and her boutique has beautiful décor which lends itself to a lovely shopping vibe.

You’ll find the store in between Spar and Doppio Zero, open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm and Sunday 10am to 1pm.

Not a chopper

I’ve decided I’m not buying whole, fresh veggies anymore, from pumpkin, hubbard squash to gem squash. Yes, I can buy them much cheaper than pre-cut, but the chopping up is nigh on impossible. By the time I’m finished, I’m so irritated, it’s just not worth it. How do the rest of you manage?

Decorating the Christmas dining table

I always think less is more, so don’t go crazy and have so much décor that there’s hardly room for the cutlery and dinner service, never mind your elbows should you wish to take a rest!

A plain wooden dining table with wicker mats or a white tablecloth still looks the best. Table mats can also be in silver or gold but then don’t go mad with lots of other colours. I particularly like colour arrangements of white and silver or white and gold. Choose the same serviettes, but if you like a little more colour buy serviettes with added red, green or blue with the gold or silver. Depending on the size of the table and how many guests you’ll be seating, decide accordingly on a centrepiece or two smaller arrangements. For a centrepiece which can look stunning and won’t cost too much, buy a green Oasis foam and soak in water overnight in a bucket of cold water.

Pick some green foliage from your garden (or from a friend or family member’s). Fir trees make great greenery, make sure you pick quite a lot so the whole of the oasis is more or less covered. Place the soaked oasis on a silver or gold platter with a long candle in the centre. Add a few silver (or gold) baubles or a ribbon made up into a bow. My husband is from Scotland, so I often choose a tartan ribbon in blue and green, this can look fab. Once the candle is lit, the arrangement will be simple but stunning. For a larger table, put together two smaller arrangements (foliage, candles, baubles or ribbons) and place them towards each end of the table.

If you have a beautiful candelabra, this alone can look stunning. Or to give it that extra wow factor, arrange some greenery around the base.

Another idea, take three glass vases, tall, medium and small and fill with foliage of different colours.

A small wooden box with short sides is also perfect to make a centrepiece. Place the soaked oasis on a platter or plate in the middle of the box and use more flowy foliage, ferns and roses.

Festive tea towels

I always like my kitchen to look festive too and while out shopping last week, I bought four ‘Christmassy’ tea towels from MRP Home at Mall of the South. They are gorgeous, in black and white with gold, perfect for giving a Christmas look.

Last Christmas

This time last year, I was getting ready to fly off to the UK to enjoy a very merry Christmas with my family and friends. I just couldn’t get over the stunning Christmas décor over there, everything looked amazing.

While I was there, we visited Beatrix Potter World in the Lake District and as we entered, the Christmas characters and festive décor blew me away. If you ever have the chance, it’s an absolute must visit!

That’s it for this week. Shop till you drop!

Julie