A tea a day keeps... You happy during Christmas time

I'm a tea drinker - hence the name of this blog - and so are my bestie and my mum. So I decided that they need an advents calendar with teabags. My bestie got a red-green-gold one hanging on a long band while my mum who loves blue obviousely got a blue one with silver one in a box.

I know it is a bit too late now for this year but I post the tutorial nevertheless. If I remember I'll post it again next year in early November. And maybe somebody still needs a last minute idea. 

The bags are quite easy to make though cutting, folding and glueing takes some time. You'll need: gift wrapping paper (70*80 cm), 2 sheets of coloured crafting paper, star shaped stickers, gold or silver pen. For the box version: one small metal or cardboard box or a matching bowl or flower pot or whatever. For the hanging version: ribbon, cellotape
Tools: Scissors, ruler, pen, glue, set square

Cut the wrapping paper in 10*23 cm big pieces. Fold in the middle of the long side. Fold and glue 1 cm on each short side to the back and let the glue dry well. Fold 3.5 cm from the open side down so that the bag is 8*8 cm. Mark the middle of the open side and cut from there down to the folded line on each side. If you use paper that is white on one side make sure that there is no white visible when this triangle is folded down.
When you go for the hanging version cut gift ribbon in pieces, fold them in the middle and glue to the back of the bags with cellotape.
Fill the bags with tea and close them with a star shaped sticker. Cut the tags out of the coloured paper. I used cookie cutter for the motives, though you could also do it freehand or make a cardbord pattern. Write the numbers on the tags with a gold or silver pen.
For the hanging version: Cut holes into the tags, fix them to the gift band and hang all the bags on a long fabric band.
For the box version: Stick the tags to the bags with another sticker and fill them into your box.

 Step by step

 Sorry for the bad quality. Winter, artificial light, darkness and so on...

I don't think many people have 24 different teas at home... So three ways of getting so many tea bags.
1. Look out for sampler boxes. For example Twinings has boxes with 5 different "plain" or flavoured black tea (5 bags for every flavour, so you have something to try too) Health food stores also often have boxes with different herbal teas and if you don't have any tea at all, look out for tea advents calendars.
2. Ask friends to give you a teabag each of three or four different teas. If you ask a group of friends you'll soon have a lot different tea
3. Make teabags out of your loose tea. You can find a tutorial here

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Part 25 of my advents calender is not a Christmas song though somehow it is. I love watching them fly over Brighton!

Day 24

Today is the day; Christmas Eve! Until I'm able to go over to my parents there are quite some things to do, but Christmas preparation is almost as good as Christmas. Though I do not really like to wrap presents. They use to look as if an elephant had set on it. This year I'm going to put the blame on "Nilpfi", my toy-hippo I already got for Christmas as I was always singing the hippopatamus-for-Christmas-song.

Day 23

Another one of my top three songs. There is a story behind this one. It is one of my grannys favorite christmas songs as well. My granddad insisted on singing at least "Silent night" but since he died nobody really wants to sing as my granny and me are the only ones in our family who like singing. So we normally just listen to some christmas music. But whenever this one is played granny and me have to sing. She sings in German, me in English ;-)

Day 22

Christmas is coming closer and so we reach the top three Christmas song. well, beside the hippopatamus-song, which is my this years favorite! And yes, I got a hippopatamus for Christmas!

Day 21

Rocking arround Christmas three. Soon it is time for it! I'll go and buy a tree today! Soooooo looking forward!

Day 20

Another song some of you might not understand. But there is no translation as I don't understand it either... But the tune is lovely!
All I can tell you is, that it is about a family of mice and the mother warns her children of the mouse trap.

Day 19

My favorite Swiss Christmas song is not a traditional one. It is from a Christmas play, called "Zäller Wiehnacht" cause it was first played in a village called Zell. I guess almost everybody who grew up in Switzerland in the last 50 years know the song and in the meantime this one plus the one about the Star of Bethlehem even found their way into the churchs caroll books.

I'm not sure if I have English readers. I hope so of course! So I sat down for some minutes and tried to translate it a bit. I translated the first four verse. Afterwards there comes a part with another tune I don't know.... As last verse, verse one is repeated.

Oh what a night

Brought to us by the  Saviour

made the poor become rich

Have you heard about it?

Priase the lord

our Saviour came to earth

on the fields and the leas

animals wake up as well

feel this enormous wonder as well

This is the holy night

Brough to us by the Saviour

made the poor become rich

Day 19

Snow came back and now everything is white. I wonder how longe it takes for the sun to melt it again... Hope it stays!

Have you noticed how many Christmas songs are sung by Dean Martin, Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra?

Day 17

Snow has melted in the meantime, but every now and then small snowflakes fall from the sky. So I hope for some more snow! And what song is better for this than this one?

Day 16

It is already day 17 but here comes the 16. door of our advents calendar... I have a terrible cold (which is great one week before christmas with the baking-marathon I had planned for this weekend) and was in bed by eight yesterday. Unfortunatelly I do not feel any better...

But at least my sight from the window was lovely when I got up! We have the first snow! Well, not much, it looks like somebody used a bit icing sugar to cover trees and houses, but well, it is snow! I hope for much more and for white christmas!

Day 15

Almost forgot todays song! But here it is!

Day 14

a

Day 13

Just lovely!

Day 12

I had the day off today to do some christmas shopping and now met my best friend for sushi at my place. We're both very much into sushi at the moment or better into soy sauce... While we had dinner we listened to christmas music and she told me about this song.

Love it and had to download it imediatelly. I love the "and give him his massage" What a spoilt hippo!

Day 11

I'm already having my breaky as in an hour the rehearsal for our christmas play starts... Somehow I have the feeling that our choir has never ever been so badly prepared for the whole thingy... And somehow I think that it will be an over-all-desaster anyway....

So I need something nice to cheer me up now. Johnny Cash and Anne Murray singing "Christmasy feeling" Johnny Cash is one of my all-time-favorite singers - how else could it be, as I was brought up with country music - and every time I hear his songs I feel better instantly.

Day 10

I was busy all day and somehow forgot to prepare this post yesterday... But here it is, todays Christmas song. Hope you enjoy this lovely Rudolph-video.

Day nine

I'm still not in a real Christmas mood which is sad! But my problem is that by the time I'm in the mood for Christmas, Silvester is already coming up!
Maybe this song helps!

Day eight

We're already deep in December. So it is time for December child!

Day seven

My best friend would not agree to this as she had to much of Roy Orbison during music lessons at school... But I do like him and I like this song! But I don't like giftwrapping ;-)