Preparing for Advent

Advent. I think this is what makes Scandinavians get through the long and dark month of December... To me, the colour of advent is purple, irrespective of what may be in fashion each year. I hoard purple candles for my advent candleholder - in fact, my mother always checks whether I need to buy purple candles when I visit :) This year, Sunday 30th November will be the first sunday of advent, and I am spending my evenings this week preparing for a change of colour in the sitting room. Come Saturday (I don't like to dilute either Advent or Christmas by starting too early) I am swapping our various green botanical printed cushions for a mix of this:

Dark purple velvet covers from H&M Home. Zipped. Great quality and a small price. H&M is offering up to 20% off their wares until closing time on Friday 28th November so if you're prone to clicking everything into your basket, like me, now might be a good time to save some pennies.

 

Liberty of London's 'Growing Fonder' fabric in blue & purple. I have been sewing cushion covers in this while watching TV this week. It's a very light, soft cotton, with a beautiful print - I love the pairs of birds 'beak to beak'. I love it so much I used the green colourway on our cushions during the summer. I think 'Growing Fonder' must have been a limited edition last year, as it doesn't seem to be available at Liberty's this season. But if you like it you'll be able to find it on ebay. Liberty's is offering 20% off all purchases until Sunday 30th November, in store and online.

Cushions in lavender linen by H&M Home. Again, great quality for the price. I have bought quite a few linen covers and napkins from H&M's collection and I've been impressed.

Yesterday I 'rescued' a pot of 3 purple hyacinths languishing on the flower-stand at my local Waitrose (I see myself as a sort of RSPP - Royal Society for the Protection of wilting Plants.. haha) which I will pot up in a brass-coloured tin from H&M Home (I struggle to find nice plant pots, and I've been wondering how to use this tin, came in a bulk online order last month). A good intensely purple hyacinth is the variety 'Peter Stuyvesant', though I suspect my rescue-hyacinths will be a more humdrum Delft blue.

As for the advent candles, I have a vintage linear brass 4-arm candlestick which I could use or I may decide to stick the 4 candles in an arrangement of some sort. I think I'd prefer the candles in a circle, probably embedded in some velvety green moss on a tray.

And last, but not least, my husband's favourite: The advent star. This year I'm hanging a new white paper star in the sitting room window, and our old slightly more rustic star made of golden twigs in the kitchen window. I suspect that my husband will make me move the twig star to the sitting room as he likes that one best. We shall see..

Photo: Åhléns

You may not be able to, or want to, hang a star in a window, in which case one of these standing stars would make a very pretty alternative. It functions as a table lamp and can therefore be moved around as you wish.