Naughty Or Nice Holiday Party - Day 4

It has been fun reading all of your answers. Keep them coming because we have a few more fun days left. Don't forget to go to the following posts to enter: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. Good luck!

Here are the general guidelines for this party. Each day we will feature the answers of the questions that we posed to the designers. You will find out about their holiday habits and each day you will have the opportunity to share your thoughts. You will be eligible to win a fabulous bundle of fabric. All you have to do is answer the question on the blog [and/or on Facebook] for a chance to win the bundle of fabric of the day. No substitutions. You can enter on the blog and/or Facebook for two chances to win per day. You have until midnight December 9th to enter and all winners must claim their prizes until midnight December 13th or the prize is forfeited and we will announce a new winner.

Thank you for visiting our website, blog and Facebook page. It has been a great year for the Henry Glass designers. They've been busy working on a big project with the folks at Martingale & Co. The book will be released next fall and we know that you are going to love it. Stay tuned to our blog and Facebook or sign up for our newsletter to receive news about some exciting announcements in the new year.

For this blog party we asked the designers the following questions:

1. What was your favorite gift? Worst?

2. Early or late shopper? Earliest or latest that you've shopped?

3. Favorite holiday drink? Alcohol or none? Recipe?

4. Are you likely one to return a present or to suck it up and keep it?

5. As a child were you likely to make the naughty or nice list?

[Buggy Barn pincushion, 2013]

The Buggy Barn ladies have had a very busy year. You can read all about their antics by signing up for their newsletter and by reading their  blog. You can read about the treats that they are offering to their "good" customers right here.

We wanted to show you a peek at their upcoming line, Bountiful Harvest, which will be out next May. You can view the entire line on our website here.

1.  Our Aunt Mable always brought a new game to play on Christmas Day, and my favorite year, was the year of "Grand Slam".  I loved to play games, I loved to have someone to play games with, and I was tireless in my pursuit to get you to play with  me!  My cousin Dave finally named me "Grand Slam Champ" and he  even made me the t-shirt which I wore with pride: my favorite gift from my favorite cousin…..

2.  I find my best gifts when I'm not looking for them, like when I'm walking past the jewelry counter on the way to the bathroom and see the perfect pair of frog prince earrings for Pam's grand-daughter to go with her "Prince Charming" quilt.  

4.   I don't usually return presents because I know my kids put a lot of thought into whatever it is that's under the tree, so I keep what they give.

5.  I certainly don't remember being naughty!  But I have two boys that have always been terrible about peeking at their Christmas presents!  Just as soon as they  were too old for the "hide them in the trunk of the car" to work, it was a battle every year.  We'd hide them at my mom's, we'd hide them at the classroom at the  Buggy Barn, but every year, the hunt was always on!  Finally, once they were old enough and had Santa figured out, and there were (thankfully!) no more           Christmas Eve wrapping marathons, I still had to color code the ribbon or the wrapping paper and never put names on the packages so they wouldn't know until  Christmas morning which packages were theirs!  It is a tradition that persists, because they still come home to shake the presents and hear me holler at them to get out from underneath the tree!

Let's cross the ocean and ask our next designer the party questions. Delphine Cubitt is an English designer from the Peak District. She is a busy mom of three boys but manages to design in many different industries including the quilting and greeting card industry.

[Her cute boys, twins Alfie and Theo, with their big brother Max. Alfie is the one asleep.]

Rhyme Time is her next line with Henry Glass and it will be available in April. Details of the line can be viewed on our website.

1.  Well now I would love to say something that somebody had lovingly made for me, or something from one of my boys but actually....It's not.. Ha ha it's my lovely cream, Nespresso coffee machine that my big Brother (he's very big he's 6ft 6") John bought me 2 Christmas's ago! I love it, (it even goes on holiday with me) My daily routine would be completely ruined without my lovely latte at 10.00 every morning!

2.  I try so hard to be an early Christmas shopper. I love Christmas, and the build up to it. So every year the first weekend in November (Our Wedding Anniversary) My Husband and I get a heavenly weekend away on our own (Parcel the kids up and send to Granny's for the weekend!) Then we actually spend all weekend talking about the little tikes and finding lots of great Presents that Santa might like to bring them on the big day!!  Every year my intention is to have all gifts bought and wrapped by the 1st December, then I can enjoy the build up to Christmas Stress Free!... I have a lovely image in my head of  being sat in front of the fire, Christmas tree twinkling, mince pie and Mulled wine in hand.........However I have never actually managed this and always still seem to be found rushing around ridiculously busy shopping centres, hot and bothered the day before Christmas!!

[Delphine setting the table ready for Christmas Dinner.]

3.  My Favourite Holiday drink has to be Sloe Gin, maybe because a friend and I make our own and we even get the children involved helping to pick the Sloe's. My friend lives on a farm so we have a lovely day up there, baskets in hand we set off, children usually ahead of us, trampling through the muddy field in search of our Sloe's. When we have mud up to our ears and frozen fingers and toes, we head back to make our Gin. (There is usually home made cake and hot chocolate waiting to warm us up, which also makes the day a great one!) The Children then all disappear somewhere in my friends beautiful old 7 bedroom Farm house, while we get on with the chemistry of brewing!! Actually it's incredibly easy and fun, so here goes!

Recipe:

Sugar

Gin

Sloe Berries or Damsons, plums, actually you could try any soft fruit most would work!

Bottles

Basically in a clean, empty wine bottle, (with screw lid, or you could buy swing top presentation bottles if they are for gifts!) fill a third of your bottle with rinsed, dried, fruit. Now fill the next third of your bottle with sugar, and finally top your bottle up with Gin. now put your lid on and carefully turn the bottle upside down to mix all your ingredients, don't shake the bottle, you don't want jam!! now repeat this process every day for a week, then just once a week up until Christmas. Before the big day, strain your gin through a piece of muslin placed over a sieve.  Now pour the filtered gin back in to your bottle and replace the lid, your Sloe Gin is now ready to drink or give as a gift (Once you try it you might not want to give it away!!)  You are now left with a pile of deliciously gin laden fruit.....We can never throw this away, it's far to tasty, so we chop it all, remove any seeds and stir it in to melted chocolate, we use dark chocolate but I suppose you could uses any! leave it to set in the fridge and then break up in to pieces. Again this makes a lovely gift, (Not for children, it will be very alcoholic) or just keep it for yourself!

To make your Gin in time for Christmas, you need to make it before Halloween, this gives the Gin just the right amount of time to ferment! Enjoy!

[Her adorable eldest son Max opening his presents.] 

4.  Ha ha I love this question and the answer is definitely NO!! I would be so embarrassed ! I am very lucky and get fab presents given to me, but occasionally a dodgy one turns up, I smile as genuinely as I can, grit my teeth then stick it in the attic until the next School Fete, where I can pass it on to a good cause!!! (to all my family and Friends reading this, your presents have always been gorgeous and used!!!) ;-)

[Delphine and her big brother John visiting Santa.]

5.  I would love to say that I have always been on Santa's Nice List, but my long suffering Mum may disagree with this comment! I think that I have always been good at the first signs of the Holiday Season and up until the bid day! I would never risk upsetting Santa and risking being present-less on Christmas Morning! I am sure that I made up for it the rest of the year though!  I actually see this in my 3 boys now, it's amazing how many chores you can get them to do by saying "Santas watching! Are you being good?" Ha ha !!

Today's featured fabric is "Bears & Buddies" by Fresh Designs. This is a flannel line and the prints are adorned with sweet bears and friends. There is a pretty pink version with coordinating prints. Of course, we can't forget the boys so there is a blue version of the line. So sweet. Do you want to win some of this fabric? Tell us what your favorite "buddy" was as a child. Did you have a stuffed teddy bear? A doll? A car?  Good luck.

Remember that you can enter on Facebook as well!

-hg