Christmas Crafts with Friends

I've got a couple of best friends and I'm always trying to make time for them. It can be a bit of a pain at times when all our schedules clash but thankfully, we're all determined to make it work. These past couple of weeks, I had two different craft evenings with friends and I found them so enjoyable that I needed to write down exactly why I think they worked out so well.

One obvious perk of sitting down to do craft together is that you end up with some nice crafts at the end of it but to be honest that just felt like a wonderful bi-product of hanging out. The first session was with two of my oldest best friends at their flat and we ended up filling the whole table with craft material and lovely lights and Christmas music playing over the speakers. I was the one who initiated our meeting and I couldn't be more chuffed with how the evening went. 

It had been nearly a month since we'd gotten together and even longer since we had had the time to properly catch up. This evening was perfect like that. We don't really have awkward moments or silences as we're so in tune with each other but it was still nice to have your hands busy while your mind could focus solely on the conversation and we got into quite some deep chats.

By the end of the crafting session, the lights had burned out completely and we headed to the kitchen to make "risengrød" (there's no direct translation for this but trust me it's good), which we ate while we caught up on the newest episode of DR's Advent calendar. It was such a cozy evening in that just radiated hygge. 

The following week, I went to a similar arrangement with other friends. My best friend from uni's friend had invited us over to hers to make Christmas craft. It had originally been for a bigger party and it should have taken place while I was in England but suddenly everyone had backed out and understandably annoyed the hostess, who's also a friend of mine. But I'm sort of glad it was just the three of us and her live-in boyfriend. It was nice and familiar and I didn't have to hang out with someone I wasn't friends with.

I'm not sure it wouldn't be healthy to count how many stars I've made this December. I've got a whole bag of them. I seriously need to get some needle and thread, so I'll be able to hang them on our tree. I've always had a fondness for crafting stars, I don't know what it is about them but something about their finished structure speaks to me and I'm still baffled that my hands can turn from four slices of paper into a cute 16 point star decoration.

The hostess also managed to make an actual gingerbread house and though the "plates" of gingerbread came out of a box and the icing was pre-made, I still thought she did a good job. It was nice to catch up with both of the girls, they're so lovely and the hours seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. An added bonus was when the boyfriend prepared us a delicious risotto.

I really want to turn this into a tradition. It's so nice to gather around an activity, even one as simple as folding paper, and just talk to each other. We don't need to be all fancy, go to brunch or cafés or on nights out. It's a very chilled vibe to just hang out in someone's home without any specific purpose other than to have fun and catch up.