Monday, December 26, 2011

Teawares for Christmas!

I was pondering my habit of always blogging about "What Tea Stuff I Got for Christmas" each year, but then it dawned on me that I sure enjoy seeing everyone else's tea gifts, so I hope you won't mind hearing about mine! First, my mom drew my name in the family gift drawing this year, so she asked me to pick out my gift one day a few weeks ago when we were in a T.J. Maxx. There were quite a few choices, but I settled on a pattern of dishes I've admired for some time now, these Ralph Lauren Skyler salad/dessert plates and mugs. I decided these would be my new "wintertime" dishes, and I can also accessorize them at Christmas if I choose.

My husband is good about asking for "wish list items," and I saw this tea tasting set on sale on the Elmwood Inn Teas website, and he happily ordered it for me. Once I've figured out how to use it, I'll share a review!

My friend Beth and I got to meet up for our annual Christmas visit last week, and she gave me this lovely sugar and creamer from Staffordshire, England. This is a classic pattern to me, and though Beth worried perhaps I get tired of receiving gifts with roses on them, I assured her that is never going to be a problem!

She also gave me what is quite possibly the prettiest teaspoon I've ever owned, this porcelain piece topped by a dainty rosebud.

And while Christmas decorations are still up at my house (are you one of those who takes them down on Dec. 26? Not me!), I'm looking forward to pulling out the calm, soothing, winter whites in a few days. This Royal Doulton White Linen teacup and saucer from my friend Sandra will be perfect for wintertime sipping. I love the clean, simple, unadorned design. The very picture of elegance!

Though my mom got me to pick out the plaid and rose dishes, I was not at all surprised that my pile of Christmas gifts from her included a few other goodies, like some vintage pink glasses and plates. Thanks to this gift *and* a recent surprise gift of a pink Depression glass teacup from a reader of this blog (which I'll be showing soon), I now have enough pink teacups and plates to have a tea party for four!

My mother also gave me this great old silverplate pitcher. Iced tea, anyone? I can't wait to use this.

And last but not least, I wanted to show you a beautiful piece I received as a gift from a friend who wishes to remain anonymous! Neither she nor I knew what this was when I opened it, but with a bit of online searching I was able to figure it out. Do you know what this is? If not, stop by tomorrow and I'll tell you what I learned about this beautiful and intriguing piece of china. And if you got some tea goodies for Christmas this year, I'd love to hear about them!

13 comments:

  1. You received some lovely gifts! Can't wait to find out what that "mystery" item is - I haven't a clue.

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  2. What fun 'under the tree' finds - you did good! I had a pretty darn good tea Christmas myself. I saw these on another blog (which led to the photo on Flickr) and it made me think of you. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34555769@N04/6515914793/in/photostream/

    Have a great day! :)

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  3. Oh Angela, you always post the most fun things. i Love your tea-related Christmas gifts! And I am intrigued by that last china piece. I will look through my "stuff" from Christmas and decide what to post. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. We all know the real reason for Christmas, but it certainly does not hurt to enjoy it as much as possible. Why should we take everything down immediately? Thank you for sharing your goodies for even more fun. When you enjoy the giving as much as we do, we should celebrate the "getting" too!

    Looking forward to future posts about your new treasures.

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  5. I received a bag of "Tea Cocktail" from "Taste of Life" a Crete company. My granddaughter bought it when she was in Greece earlier this year. It says it contains four Cretan herbs (but doesn't identify them) and "offers an excellent beverage with rich flavour and balanced taste". Taste of Life does have a website, but it does not tell what is in the tea, either. Guess I'm going to have to brew some up and see what I think.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your Christmas gifts! I enjoy seeing them because I really do not like to go out shopping. Strange, I know, but true. Now time for new year wishes to you.♥♫

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  7. I don't know what that is, and will look forward to finding out! I enjoyed seeing your lovely gifts, though. I will have to make a run through TJ Maxx and Marshall's when I visit the big city later this week! I did manage to snag a roll of the Hallmark wrapping paper w/the mugs, at 60% off this morning! Merry Christmas!

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  8. It's so fun and interesting to see your teatime Christmas presents. They're all great. I'm smitten with the beautiful roses, as usual.

    Thanks for sharing with us. Your photos are great.
    Love, Carol B.

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  9. You have an antique shaving mug! The brosh goes in the little bulge and the soap on top gets lathered with the water in the bottom. And I LOVE your tartan dinner ware! That's a special Christmas for sure!
    Ruth

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  10. You definitely received some thoughtful gifts for a tea lover and dish lover.

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  11. Hello Anglea,

    I hope you had a Merry Christmas filled with lots of peace and joy!

    As always, I love to see the tea related gifts you recieve. Beautiful! I just photographed my tea gifts and hope to share them on my blog soon.

    Blessings, Darlene

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  12. You received many lovely gifts. I like that RL pattern, I've not see that before.

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  13. Merry Christmas, Angela! The plaid dinner ware is beautiful, you will be able to do so much with it. And I love the rose stirring spoon, so pretty! Is that really a shaving mug? How interesting...I just can't 'picture' a burly man shaving with that. (Certainly not 'My Minnesota Husband!) Happy Holidays, Joanie

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