Everyone arriving for the December meeting was greeted by a festive scene. The buffet table was loaded with Christmas goodies and bar tender Jim Hemphill was ready with a glass of good cheer. People participated in a variety of activities which were set up around the room. Dirk Meyer gave a wonderful hands-on demonstration of hand tool sharpening and members were able to work on their own clippers under his supervision. Wendie Kottmeier helped people who wished to make a Christmas centre piece with evergreens and garden cuttings. Cathy Gibson had lots of ideas about how to make small table decorations with evergreens, flowers and a candle. Nancy Ashton supervised the card making table and members were able to make a variety of special occasion cards. There was a big group involved in wreath making. Cathy Legate had worked hard to collect suitable green material and had done the first stage of preparation of the wreaths so that participants were able to start work on the more creative part of the project. Some members were able to go home with a lovely wreath ready to hang complete with various accent pieces to help bring their project to life. Others had the makings of a wonderful looking Christmas table ready for the big day.

A large number of members had brought baking and other delicious food and many thanks to them. Special thanks to Cathy Legate as without her energy and enthusiasm the evening would not have been possible. Thanks also to all the members who helped clean up afterwards as there was plenty to do.

Lois Woolley