New Year Sailing Boats and Lanterns

Advent Wreath

Since the coming of this wonderful season much joy has been celebrated in our home.  We have gathered together as a family for every meal at our dining table to share stories, reminisce of the past year and enjoy the season.  We’ve enjoyed each meal, warmed by the soft candlelight which emanates from the beeswax candles on our advent wreath.

Beeswax Lanterns

The gentle golden glow that radiates from these glorious beeswax lanterns are so warming to the soul.  We spent a fun afternoon experimenting making these lanterns by dipping balloons filled with water into hot beeswax, embellished by some dried leaves the children had collected and pressed during the Autumn season.  Rae has a beautifully illustrated beeswax lantern tutorial should you wish to make some of these lovely lanterns.

Kapla Lantern

This lantern was created by Fabien and the boys one evening, by stacking their wooden Kapla pieces one on top of the other to form this magnificent lantern. They inserted a candle to shine within to celebrate the coming of the Solstice.

Kapla Star Lantern

and from above we have an 8 pointed star.

Candle Lake

Every since our children were little we’ve celebrated the coming of the New Year by Sailing little boats.

Our first years we lived in Miami and as Sasha was little we made a simple little candle lake.  We lined a shallow bowl with shimmery gold paper then filled it with water.  We decorated the bowl by submerging small little rocks, pretty coral, shells and plants to make islands.  I was not into candle making at the time and used some thin little beeswax candles that I had stuck snuggly into halved walnuts.  Some sank but most floated for a while, long enough to keep a little boy amused!

Sasha absorbed by the Little Candle Lake

Sailing their boats through the duck weed

When we moved to the farm we were blessed with a beautiful big duck pond.  At the time it was full of duck weed until we bought ducks and put fish in and they soon ate it all up.

These little pods from our splendid Amapola/African Violet trees are collected throughout the year by the children. They are perfectly shaped little boats and are used for endless creative play.  These photos were taken about four years ago, it was our first New Year celebration on the farm and the children collected flowers and  sailed them off - their colors were pretty in contrast with the green duckweed.

African Violet Tree

Our decorative African Violet Trees are ubiquitous on our farm land and provide sweet nectar and home to many varieties of birds.  The red flowers canopy our roads and gardens, glowing like fire amidst the fields.

New Years Bon Fire

A wonderful New Years celebration shared with some of the village children.

Sailing their boats in the Duck pond

Last year the children celebrated New Years with some very special friends of theirs. This is the same pond without the duckweed.  The little boats shone so brilliantly as they sailed through the pond on the cool winter evening.

Small bonfire

Then the children gathered grass clippings, pods and twigs, they borrowed some light from their glowing candle boats and made their own intimate bonfire to snuggle around and warm their little toes.  It was sweet.

Sasha sailing his NY boat in the pool

The past few days we have been making our own little Walnut beeswax candles in preparation for our New Years tradition.  They are so simple to make - my husband helped to separate the walnuts into halves which is not an easy task while the children indulge in the healthy nuts. As beeswax is melted in a double boiler,  we cut small strips of wick about 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch in length depending on the depth of your walnut.  We then pour the wax into the halved walnuts and insert the wick, making sure they are upright and enough wick sticks out in order to light them - they can be held up by using match sticks if the wax is too hot and doesn't set fast. Alternatively you could use cookie cutters instead of Walnuts, place them on aluminum foil.  Pour the wax into the cookie cutters and insert the wick.

The children practiced sailing their little African Violet pods in our pool this evening rehearsing for our New Years Sailing of the Boats celebration as they will embark on their journey symbolizing the coming of the New Year and saying goodbye to the Old Year.  A time for making up wishes and turning them into resolutions.  To dream, to aspire, to vision and to wonder.

Wishing you all a Joyous New Year!