Christmas In July With MacKenzie-Childs…
Christmas in July with MacKenzie-Childs…a whimsically wonderful dream come true experience…
Happy November, thanks for stopping by!
I am over joyed to share a very special experience with you…
For over 20 years I have patiently waited for the gorgeous MacKenzie-Childs catalogues to arrive in my mailbox. Each and every page was always filled with beautiful photos of their incredibly dreamy handcrafted products. I would fold over the corners of most every page, circle treasures for my “wish” list that grew and grew with every turn of the page. My mom would often call the day she received hers and say…”Did you get yours?” and I instantly knew exactly what she meant…our very favorite dream catalogue of everything wonderful, whimsical, colorful, unique and dreamy had fallen into our mailbox, into our hands and hearts. We would pour over the pages and she would let me pick something out for my November birthday and for Christmas. This was a treasured time that I shared with my mom, every piece of MacKenzie-Childs that she gave me for special occasions is still a very special keepsake. I now carry on this same tradition with my daughter, Kaitlin. I miss my mom dearly and I know Kaitlin misses her sweet grandma so keeping this MacKenzie-Childs catalogue tradition going that my mom started so many years ago means the world to us!
Then something quite magical happened this past spring, MacKenzie-Childs invited me to actually be in their holiday catalogue! I was beyond humbled and truly almost fell over with joy and excitement. My first thoughts went to my mom, oh goodness would she have LOVED this! I then thought…this is truly a dream…why me? I have a hard time expressing my sincere gratitude to MacKenzie-Childs for this treasured experience, I am still pinching myself thinking it was all a dream…
The theme of the photo shoot was wonderful…a festive day of creating Christmas floral arrangements, my favorite holiday tradition! I invited my daughter, my sister Linda, my sister in law Lynne and my niece Phoebe over to help with the holiday fun. We were all melting day of the photo shoot… July 22 happened to be one hot summer day! We had to laugh as we wore sweaters and listened to holiday tunes while creating Christmas florals… Love these girls so much!
After an early morning a trip to the Los Angeles Flower Market to pick up buckets upon buckets of fresh holiday blooms I was beginning to feel the Christmas spirit! I had such fun setting up all of the beautiful MacKenzie-Childs products in our dining room and our big black and white check table that my husband made was the perfect place to display all the containers of fresh flowers and yummy treats for us to enjoy…
Rolls of dreamy Courtly Check ribbon, beautiful vases, fresh Christmas flowers…all of my favorites!
I happen to have a fondness for ribbon, ok maybe an obsession…ha ha! My favorite has to be the one with the yummy tartan plaid running through the center…after all, I am 1/2 Scottish!
This is the photo that was chosen to be in the catalogue…I had no idea which photo they were going to select, so it was extra special when I learned that they had selected the one with my daughter! She is also a huge fan of everything MacKenzie-Childs…like mother like daughter! And yes…I have her Christmas wish list already…
Filling our dining room with Christmas in July was such fun! December is always filled with so many holiday activities, so decorating in July felt very different, “almost” relaxing! I spent days getting ready for the photo shoot and I am pretty certain our neighbors questioned my out of season holiday spirit if they looked in our big front window…
Finding a fresh garland in July was impossible so I made the garland out of pine branches from my daughter’s garden, our home smelled so wonderful! It was actually quite easy to make, I can’t wait to make another in just a few weeks!
The darling MacKenzie-Childs ornaments couldn’t be any cuter! I especially adore the Tea Pot ones! They fit the theme for this gathering perfectly…
I couldn’t wait to fill the darling apothecary jars with old fashioned favorite Christmas treats…cinnamon balls and peppermint sticks!
Oh the details on these Evergreen glasses…even the packaging of them is beyond gorgeous!
We filled up the gorgeous Beverage server many times that hot July day…It looked so lovely filled with dozens of fresh limes from our garden and sweet summer raspberries. I love the gold accents, perfect against our old mirror that was a gift from my in laws many years ago…
Creating the florals for the mantle was my favorite…I adore the elegant ceramic Courtly Check vases and felt so honored to fill them to the brim with fresh blooms and holiday greens. I had the pleasure of seeing similar ones being hand crafted in Aurora by the MacKenzie-Childs artisans this past summer. These are completely handmade, fired, glazed, fired again, hand painted, embellished with luster then fired a final time to create this signiture look….truly a work of art!
I used Roses, Scottish Thistles, Pine Branches, Figs, Clover, Lotus Pods, Hydrangea, Hanging Amaranths, Sweet William, Pearl Berries, Gypsy Grass, Coxcomb and White Stock…all of my favorites to use in holiday arrangements!
Candle light has never been prettier on our mantle, I adore these Highland Candle Stick Holders…
The tiny details are my favorite…
We all had fun filling vases with all of the beautiful blooms…Christmas in July sure was blooming in our home!
And…I was thrilled to wear my new skirt that I brought back from my trip to Scotland! Even if I was melting in it all day long, ha ha!
I adore these little Courtly Check pots, perfect for tiny bouquets…
This is one of my favorite Courtly Check vases…my husband gave this to me for my birthday a few years ago…
I just had to make a tiny MacKenzie-Childs inspired gingerbread house to add to the holiday spirit…
I filled the darling Highland Hostess Tray with Savory goodies…Daisy Rhubarb had her eye on them all day long!
Wine coolers also happen to be perfect for fresh flowers!
Yes, we had plenty of sweet treats, macarons, petit fours and coconut cake…they taunted us all day long…we could hardly wait to indulge!
This tiered sweet stand was just perfect for displaying these tiny delights…
My coconut cake was quite happy sitting on this Highland cake plate!
I used old fashioned ribbon candy and roses to decorate the cake. Ribbon candy reminds me of my childhood, my great Aunt Emma would send us a box every Christmas…sweet memories!
The darling gingham trimmed napkins are a new favorite of mine…
Sweet summer raspberries and Geranium leaves from my garden trimmed the cake…I adore the fragrance of these two combined together, an unlikely pair that blends beautifully!
Daisy Rhubarb sure wanted to be included in the day!
This was her favorite spot all day long…she was “just” keeping an eye on these for us!
Well, maybe a little sniff here and there…ha ha! And I must admit that she did manage to sneak a cupcake at some point in time…I am also pretty sure she had her paw in the cake…
Even “Beck” had fun being included!
These adorable Courtly Check Rose and Amaryllis stems in this Highland planter will soon be on display again in our dining room, such a simple and elegant way to create a centerpiece! I will be “borrowing” some pine branches from my daughter’s garden to complete this wintery, woodland arrangement…I hope she doesn’t mind!
At the end of the day we were all exhausted and laughing…what a joyful Christmas in July get together this was. We had fun with the fresh flowers, melted through the heat, nibbled on treats, watched Daisy Rhubarb sneak goodies and bites from the cake and honestly felt the joy of the holiday (in July) season!
I left all of the gorgeous MacKenzie-Childs decor up in our home for about a week. After spending so long decorating I thought we should enjoy the moment, even if we had to explain our Christmas in July home over and over again to anyone who happened to visit!
Many thanks to the amazing photographers…Douglas @djmprophoto.com and Anthony @amcprophoto.com! They captured the Christmas in July festivities beautifully and made our day so very memorable through their creative talents…
This entire experience was magical, filled with whimsy and Christmas cheer! I think back so many years ago when I received my very first MacKenzie-Childs catalogue…never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that our home would one day be photographed for the holiday edition. I am quite humbled and sincerely appreciative to everyone at MacKenzie-Childs and Little Voice PR for this adventure!
I can’t wait to have the girls over again in just a few weeks to have even more Christmas fun with flowers and delicious nibbles…without the July heat, lights and cameras…just a simple old fashioned holiday gathering with a gorgeous display of MacKenzie-Childs holiday treasures to truly make our home feel festive!
Many thanks for stopping by, I greatly appreciate your friendship and welcome your thoughtful comments always!
XOXO…
Janice
A very humble thank you to MacKenzie-Childs for sponsoring this Holiday catalogue adventure!
As always, all opinions are my own…