December is officially here & I couldn’t be happier.
Christmas is by far my favourite time of year, the hustle & bustle, copious amounts of hot chocolate & apple cider…what’s not to love!
My first Christmas away from home was on a yacht in the Bahamas. It was my first guest trip & I started off with a bang as we had 12 guests, some of the roughest seas I’ve ever seen & no wifi for 14 days. Needless to say I struggled HARD with the lead up to Christmas feeling so anti-climatic. So on Christmas Eve, after I finished my late shift, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to decorate our micro crew mess. Granted, I didn’t wake up on Christmas Morning to my dad baking Croissants & The Snowman soundtrack playing, I did however love seeing the crew waking up to see Christmas had arrived in the Crew Area.
As usual, I was chatting with the ladies at Centerpiece about what is important to purchase when setting up a crew area & how to make it feel like home. We all agreed that mini battery powered lights are a lovely way to make our bunks feel more like a sanctuary. To mix it up a little with it being Christmas, I created a mini decorative tray for my cabin! I used a mason jar, showcased some amazing samples and decorated with two Christmas baubles. A super easy set up that instantly turned my porthole shelf into a mini Christmas Decoration.
After this little Christmas Tray, I was totally on the DIY train (I tend to go through arts & crafts phases), so I put together a list of easy projects that you can do onboard!
DIY Wreath – All you need is a wire coat hanger (I always keep a few that come back with dry-cleaning items), a hot glue gun & ornaments.
Click HERE to find the step by step instructions!
Photo by HomeTalk.com
Want to have a Christmas Tree but just don’t have the space?
How about buying a few pieces of garland, cutting them to size & putting them up on the wall!
Photo: @julesdenby
Bring some festive colour to the Crew Mess by decorating the cupboards with wrapping paper.
This is really inexpensive, easy to do & looks SO good! (If you decorate early December, it might look a little tired by Christmas-day, so have some extra on hand to redo if need be.
Photo: Country Living
We may not all have loads of floor space in our crew mess, but one thing we do all have are overheads. So why not use them?
Using blue tape (just double check with your Chief Stew first!), tap ribbon to the ceiling with Christmas baubles tied on at the bottom.
Photo: Design Sponge
Now what’s a Christmas without a festive cocktail or two for the crew?
A few of my favourites…
Champagne & St. Germain
Mulled Wine
Spiked Hot Chocolate
Peppermint Martini
Cranberry Gin Fizz (See Below)
For Recipe Click HERE
Not quite sure where to begin when setting up the Crew Area? It can be so overwhelming when starting from scratch on a new build, or having to go through everything to ensure you have what you need before setting off to remote locations! So Ella & Emma, the lovely ladies over at Centerpiece have decided to share their Crew Area Checklist!
Click below to instantly download it!
List of Items Reccomended Crew Area- Centerpiece LLP
Happy Decorating Ladies!
Hugs,
Gem xo
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