Advent By Candlelight inspiration

Advent by Candlelight is a lovely church service and dessert event arranged by a church during Advent.  The purpose is to offer a quiet evening of reflection and fellowship for the women of the congregation and community.

Our church has "table hostesses," who sign up to decorate a table, provide dessert and invite their church friends (and special guests from their lives) to sit with them at their Advent by Candlelight table.  When there are open spots at the tables of 8, the Advent by Candlelight coordinator fills the spots with church members interested in attending.  

Guests usually arrive around 6 pm, check in and receive a name tag and then congregate over punch and light refreshments as the hundreds of women arrive at the church and connect.  At 6:30, members and their guests are given a candle and program as they file into the sanctuary and take a seat.

A short service typically consists of a choral piece, inspirational readings, biblical text and the singing of hymns.  The candles are lit and the attendees file out in silence and reflection.

The next 30 minutes or so are spent admiring the tables, all lit by candlelight. The creative table decorations are a fun outlet for the hostesses to inspire and delight.  Visual and edible decorations make everyone get into the holiday spirit.  

Every year, mom and I sit at a mother/daughter table with our friends from church.  This year we were the guests and were free to relax and enjoy the decorations of our hosts.  We sat at a darling Scandinavian-theme table of red and white.  There were birch coasters for the delicate metal candle stars; red striped ribbon tied on the napkins and paper stars scattered on the table.

There were tables with family heirlooms on display - look at this beautiful, what I believe to be German Pyramid, powered by candles.  

The Wise Men and Shepherds are on a wooden circle that is powered by the heat of the candles.  The fan on top turns and allows the procession to file past the nativity.  It is a work of art.

I love this next picture, framed so that you can see the candlelight from two tables.  This is the perfect occasion to use a candelabra. 

There is an inherent calm in a room filled with candlelight.  Everyone felt special and appreciated.  The hostesses did a wonderful job designing pretty tables.

A dreamy Winter Wonderland table hosted by a mother-daughter team, Micke and Linda.  I love their collection of churches.

Look at the roses in this elegant red and white table - this feels like a party!

I love the ring of Santas around this majestic gold bottle brush tree. It looks glorious.

What a night! I am proud to say that our table was a last to leave that night. We were talking and laughing far into the evening and we just kept our conversation going as we helped our hostess pack up the table.

Would you like to see some of the tables that my mom and I have decorated?
I hope these images inspire you to host your own Advent by Candlelight table next year.

This is our "Town with a Marshmallow Snowstorm" table.
This is our "Vintage Green & Red" table.
This is our "Gold Pineapple with Red Plaid" table.
And last year's "Vintage Ornament" table.  Such fun! I can't wait until next year!

Notre Dame Stained Glass in Paris

There is something about this photograph that I just love.  I was in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, walking the inside perimeter with the other tourists, when I noticed that this window was open.  Did you ever imagine that a stained glass window could open?  I didn't!  

I stopped to take this photograph.  I can get lost in thought, staring at the colors, the light against dark and imagining the fresh air pouring into this historic and revered cathedral.

If you are intrigued by this photo and curious about Notre Dame, I would encourage you to explore the official website.  You can see a panoramic view, click to listen to Mass and Vespers (click televison and radio broadcast) and read all about the history of the cathedral. I could spend hours on this website.  It is fascinating...and free. Enjoy!

Advent By Candlelight Table

We had such a lovely night.  My mom and I hosted a mother/daughter table at our church's Advent By Candlelight last night and it was a big success.  I know because our table was the last one still seated and talking long after others had started to pack up and go home.  And I swear the coffee was decaffeinated!

Our theme was "A Vintage Christmas" and we used some darling bon bon bedecked paper goods (that said Merry Christmas on them!) to highlight our pink and green table.   Our vision all came together when we gave our table scape some height by filling two glass hurricanes with my collection of vintage ornaments.  Pink and green and gold, oh my.  And when the overhead lights were turned off and all of the tables were lit by candlelight, it looked even more old-fashioned.

When we were planning our table, my mom wanted me to bake my chocolate cake "cottage" with butter cream snowdrifts as our dessert.  Of all the cakes that I make, this is her favorite and she knew that it would be the perfect centerpiece.  She was right.  Everyone wanted to know where I found the cake pan and loved the little touches, like the fact that I made the sidewalk coming from the front door look "shoveled."  Ha!  

The pan is the "Gingerbread House" from Nordic Ware and I just love it.  It bakes perfectly every time (I like Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix in "Chocolate Fudge" and homemade butter cream frosting) and unmolds like a dream as long as you use "spray with flour" (like Baker's Joy) and wait exactly 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven before you try to unmold it.

Come on, you know you want one.  I also use this pan as a Housewarming Cake - people love it!

Cookie Walk Cookies

I thought that you might want to see the finished product!  120 sugar cookies (made with my grandmother's recipe), all frosted, decorated and ready to be delivered to the Cookie Walk.

What an accomplishment!  I couldn't have done it without my niece, Heather, who helped me roll, cut & bake these beauties.  I also owe my sanity to my parents who came and helped me frost and decorate all of them in one morning.

My favorites were the sweaters!  Who wouldn't want Santa's red sweater complete with snowflake buttons and white cuffs?  I am happy to say that our time was well spent.  The cookies were well received at the Cookie Walk and they sold out quick!  Have you ever been to a Cookie Walk?

Advent By Candlelight

I think that a night with "the girls" is a perfect way to find some calm before the holidays.

Every year, our church holds a quiet service and dessert for women called Advent by Candlelight.  After the church service, the members and guests file out of the sanctuary singing "Silent Night."  The next 30 minutes or so are spent strolling the rooms and admiring the decorated tables.

Each hostess is given a table assignment, a table and cloth and invitations to send to her 7 guests.  The hostess provides the dishes, glasses, dessert and decorations to transform her table into something special.

I love everything about this event - the camaraderie, sweet treats, pretty dishes and license to talk the night away. 

I have been part of a Mother/Daughter table for years and I love it.  We take turns hosting the event and this year we are the guests.  Remember our "Marshmallow Snowstorm" from last year?

I wanted to show you another table (above) that my Mom and I decorated a few years ago.  Our theme was "Retro Kitchen" and the tree in the centerpiece was covered in tiny spatulas, whisks and cookie cutters - so cute!  The mint green & red tablecloth, napkins and touches on the petit fours made our table look fresh and bright.

We placed vintage houses around the base of the tree and gave our guests some old-fashioned ribbon candy as a treat to take home.

If you have the chance to participate in an Advent By Candlelight event - do it!  It is a lovely way to start the holiday season. 

Cookie Walk

My church is having its first ever "Cookie Walk" fundraiser on December 4th and I'm a baker!

A cookie walk is a short term sale of cookies made by church members.  Homemade goodies are displayed on a series of tables.  Shoppers stroll the length of the table and have gloved volunteers add the cookies they choose to a box.  At checkout, the box is weighed and the cookies are paid for by the pound.  Fun, eh?  Who wouldn't want a big selection of homemade cookies at the holidays?

I offered to bake and decorate 10 dozen of my grandmother's famous sugar cookies for this fund raiser.  I started this week by making the dough and rolling, cutting and baking 92 cookies (so far) with the help of my 12-year-old niece.  The cookies are in the freezer and I'll frost them the day before the event (I've enlisted my parents to help with that!).  I think they will sell out quick.

From my cookie cutter collection (only the Christmas cookie cutters are shown above!), I chose to make sweaters, mittens, trees, reindeer, stars, candy canes and a string of light bulbs.  I'll show you a picture when they are all decorated. 

It was fun to talk about this event with my niece and explain that, as we were standing in my kitchen covered in flour, we were "volunteering."  That is delight.