Little Pukeko

This lovely little Pukeko is made of pau shell and both are very symbolic of New Zealand which is where I got it from, so it is a pretty little reminder of our fantastic holiday there back in February.

I'm not sure why but I really fell for the Pukeko which is a sort of marsh hen. It is blue (but much darker than this) with red legs. They can be seen on pasture land everywhere and you can see them from the road or train but we saw the most easy to photograph on our trip in Rotorua.

So I just had to buy this to bring back for the Christmas tree even though it isn't Christmassy colours.

Either side of it are two of our older wooden decorations. They were chosen by our children on a trip to Walkley's Clogs at Hebden Bridge. As well as making traditional wooden Yorkshire clogs they had a Christmas shop which was quite unusual at the time, about 25 years ago. (Walkley's burnt down some years ago but I think it was rebuilt).

The little heart with an angel in the middle was Grace's choice and the nutcracker soldier was Alex's. The green in the background is a cracker one of them made at school. We have another that is purple but I'm afraid I can't remember now who made which!

Happy Christmas memories.

Out for an early evening festive gathering tonight so should be back in time for the Strictly results!