Sylvanian Pride and Prejudice - Part Two

For those who do not know, it has been an ambition of mine for some time to cast and photograph Jane Austen's delightful Pride and Prejudice, using Sylvanian Families.  This is Part Two of that endeavour - I do plan to post instalments from time to time when I can, and have great hopes of eventually getting through the whole story!

If you missed Part One, I recommend reading that first.  (I also highly recommend seeking out Austen's original book and reading it - it is great fun!  Many people do not realise how much writers such as Austen have influenced modern romantic comedies).

Obviously, the words that follow are not my own, although I have heavily abridged the original text to come up with this version.  I hope you enjoy it.

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In a few days, Mr Bingley returned Mr Bennet’s visit, and sat about ten minutes with him in his library.  He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much, but he saw only the father. 

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards dispatched, but an answer arrived which deferred it all.  Mr Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently unable to accept their invitation.  Mrs Bennet was quite disconcerted, however Lady Lucas quieted her fears – her report of Mr Bingley was highly favourable.  He was quite young, handsome, extremely agreeable, and to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party.  Nothing could be more delightful!

When the party entered the assembly room, it consisted of five altogether;  Mr Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.

Mr Bingley was good looking and gentlemanlike, with easy, unaffected manners.  His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion.  His brother in law, Mr Hurst, merely looked the gentleman, but his friend Mr Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was immediately in general circulation, of his having ten thousand a year. 

He was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners turned the tide of his popularity, for he was discovered to be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased.

Mr Bingley was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, and talked of giving a ball himself at Netherfield.  

What a contrast between him and his friend!  Mr Darcy danced only once with Mrs Hurst and once with Miss Bingley, and declined being introduced to any other lady.  His character was decided.  He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again.  Among the most violent against him was Mrs Bennet, as he had slighted one of her daughters.

Elizabeth Bennet had been obliged, by the scarcity of gentlemen, to sit down for two dances, and during part of that time, Mr Darcy had been standing near.  Bingley came from the dance for a few minutes, to press his friend to join it.

“Come Darcy,” said he, “I hate to see you standing about in this stupid manner.  You had much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not.  You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner.  At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable.”

“I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Bingley, “for a kingdom!  Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life, and there are several of them uncommonly pretty.”

“You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,” said Mr Darcy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.

“Oh!  she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!  But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I daresay very agreeable.”

“Which do you mean?” and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, then coldly said, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.  You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.”

Mr Bingley followed his advice.  Mr Darcy walked off, and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings toward him.  She told the story however with great spirit among her friends, for she had a lively, playful disposition. 

The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family.  They returned therefore in good spirits to Longbourn.  They found Mr Bennet still up.  

He had rather hoped that all his wife’s views on the stranger would be disappointed, but he soon found that he had a very different story to hear.

“Oh!  my dear Mr Bennet, we have had a most delightful evening.  Jane was so admired, nothing could be like it.  Mr Bingley thought her quite beautiful and danced with her twice.  Only think of that, my dear, he actually danced with her twice, and she was the only creature in the room that he asked a second time.  Oh!  I am quite delighted with him.  He is so excessively handsome!  and his sisters are such charming women.  I never in my life saw any thing more elegant than their dresses-“

Here she was interrupted.  Mr Bennet protested against any description of finery.  She therefore related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudeness of Mr Darcy.

“Another time, Lizzy, I would not dance with him, if I were you.”

“I believe, Ma’am,” replied Elizabeth, “I may safely promise you never to dance with him.”

~~~ o ~~~

When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.

“He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she.  “I was very much flattered by his asking me to dance a second time.  I did not expect such a compliment.”

“Did not you?” replied Elizabeth.  “I did for you.  He could not help seeing that you were about five times as pretty as every other woman in the room, and you never see a fault in any body.  All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes.  Well, he certainly is very agreeable, and I give you leave to like him.  And so, you like this man’s sisters too, do you?  Their manners are not equal to his.”

“Certainly not at first.  But they are very pleasing women when you converse with them.  Miss Bingley is to live with her brother and keep his house, and I am much mistaken if we shall not find a very charming neighbour in her.”

Elizabeth listened in silence, but was not convinced.  With more quickness of observation, and less pliancy of temper than her sister, she was very little disposed to approve them.

The manner in which the Netherfield party spoke of the Meryton assembly was sufficiently characteristic.  Bingley had never met with pleasanter people in his life;  every body had been most kind and attentive to him;  and as to Miss Bennet, he could not conceive an angel more beautiful. 

Darcy, on the contrary, had seen a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, and for none of them he had felt the smallest interest.  Miss Bennet he acknowledged to be pretty, but she smiled too much.

Mrs Hurst and her sister allowed it to be so – but still they admired her and liked her, pronounced her a sweet girl, and one whom they should not object to know more of.  Their brother therefore felt authorised by such commendation to think of her as he chose.

~~~ o ~~~

Ready for more Pride and Prejudice?  Click here for Part Three...

Happy Hallowe'en!

 "Trick or Treat!" 

Happy Hallowe'en to all those who celebrate it, from the critters of Macadamia Grove!

Pippa's Big Idea

When the Patches family moved to Macadamia Grove, Pippa Patches was a little surprised to find that the village did not have a library.  An avid reader herself, she thought it a pity that the villagers did not have the opportunity to borrow books.

As time passed, and the family settled in, the thought came to Pippa that perhaps she could do something about it herself.  After talking the matter over with her husband, her mind was made up.  The next day, on the pretext of collecting Zac from school, she stopped to chat to the headmaster, Mr Buckley.  He was a member of the Village Council, and invited her to put her idea to the Council at their next meeting.

When the day came, Pippa was quite nervous, but she was greeted courteously by the members of the Council (most of whom she knew by now anyway), and took the seat that the chairman, Edward Babblebrook, offered her.

Pippa spoke intelligently about the importance of reading, and about how a library could be a valuable part of the community, and the Council members listened carefully.

"Well I for one agree that it would be a lovely idea," said Amber Hazelnut, "but where would the library be?  And who would run it?"

"Somewhere central would be best," Mr Buckley put in.  "From my point of view, it would be excellent if it was close to the school.  We do have a number of books that the students can take home to read, but a wider selection would be great for them - and for their learning."

"I may have a suggestion," said Brooke Rivertail.  "If we are to go ahead with this idea, there is still a building in the village square that noone has opened a shop in as yet.  The Council could claim it, and employ someone to run it.  It's only small, but it might do."

"As for who is to run the library, I for one would be very happy to volunteer some of my time," said Pippa.  "I think some of the other villagers might, too.  My husband and I have also collected some encyclopedias and other books that we would be pleased to donate, if you like."

In the end, it was settled.  The Council voted unanimously to forge ahead with the library plan.  The Council would own the building, and agreed to finance the purchase of books for the library.  The day-to-day running was to be done by a team of volunteers, headed by Pippa herself.

After that, things moved quickly.  Brooke Rivertail had asked her husband to supply shelves for the library.  He arrived early one morning with Hawthorne Prickles, and began installing them.

"Phew, this is heavy work!"

Next, the books began to arrive.  First, the encyclopedias and books from other lands that the Patches had donated, then the books ordered by the Council, which came in several deliveries by post.  Pippa took charge of them all, and was soon happily stocking the shelves.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and someone poked their head in.  Pippa was thrilled to see who had stopped by - it was Ariane Woolly!

Ariane was something of a local celebrity, as she was a very popular children's author.  Pippa's daughter Sarah, like many Sylvanian children, had spent many happy hours reading her books.  Pippa hadn't met Ariane properly yet, and felt a little star-struck!

"Hello," said Ariane.  "It's Pippa, isn't it?  I do hope I'm not interrupting, but I heard about the library, and I think it is a wonderful idea.  I wanted to stop by and donate some of my books.  Just a couple today I'm afraid, as I had a few extras of this one already, but I have asked my publisher to send copies of all of them to you, and one of my husband's book too.  I do hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me!" she added, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Oh no, it's wonderful!  Thank you so much!" cried Pippa.  "The Council has been very generous, and have ordered what books they could, but we can always do with more.  It's very sweet of you."

"No problem at all," Ariane smiled.  "Now I must rush off I'm afraid - I've left the twins with Angel, and I'm really a bit concerned that they might be a bit much for him to deal with if I'm away for too long!"

Pippa was pleased to find that there was great enthusiasm among the other villagers for the library too, and several had put their hands up to help her run it.  Willow Thistlethorn was one of the first to volunteer, and her eldest daughter, Celeste, insisted on joining her to help set things up.

"Look Mum, it's Goodnight Honeybee!  This was Ash's favourite when he was little!"

After the Thistlethorns had left, and Pippa was just about to head home for the day, Edward Babblebrook stopped by to check on progress.

"I must say it's all starting to look good, Pippa!" he said cheerfully.  "There's quite a few empty shelves though," he added, looking around.  "I'm sorry we couldn't buy more just now, but books are quite expensive, as you know, and it's all the Council could spare at the moment."

"Oh that's quite alright," Pippa said with a smile.  "This is a very nice start, and the Woollys have offered some of their books too.  It will probably take people a little while to get into the swing of borrowing from the library anyway.  Perhaps we might have a fundraiser or two later on, to pay for some new books?"

"That sounds like a great idea," Edward agreed.  "Have you found anyone to help you run things as yet?  Isabella has a knack for ferreting out volunteers, if you need her to help."

Pippa laughed.  "Oh, that's quite alright.  A few people have volunteered already - I have made up a list for you - and I shall put a sign up on opening day if we still need more.  Really though, everyone has been very kind already - it has all happened more quickly than I expected!"

"Yes, the people here are generally pretty helpful, aren't they?  That's good to hear," Edward said, pleased.  He was very proud of Macadamia Grove, and relieved that even as the little village had grown larger and busier, still it had not lost any of its friendliness, and sense of community.  Not for the first time, he found himself reflecting that he wouldn't want to live anywhere else!

Trick or Treat!

This Hallowe'en, the Thistlethorn and Hazelnut children wanted to go trick-or-treating.  Nicholas Thistlethorn had been invited to go with some of his friends, but Celeste offered to take Priscilla and Ash out, as well as their neighbours and close friends, Odette and Maxwell Hazelnut.

One of their favourite stops was the Courtyard Restaurant - the Trunk family always have delicious treats to hand out to trick-or-treaters, and Mrs Trunk always has a lovely friendly smile for them, too!

"Trick or Treat!"

The costumes the mice are wearing were made by Caitlyn and myself for the "Costumes and Fancy Dress" crafting challenge on the Sylvanian Families Collectors' Forum.  Odette (the pink fairy) and Maxwell (the ghost) were dressed by Caitlyn, and they both looked super cute!  Here is a closer look at the costumes I made for the Thistlethorns:

Priscilla has once again managed to get herself a new dress, made by Mrs Prickles.  It is going to cost her though - Mrs Thistlethorn had given each of her children a small costume budget for Hallowe'en, saying she would pay for a small, or very simple, item of clothing, and that they would have to buy or make their accessories themselves.  But Priscilla wasn't satisfied with "simple" - she and her best friend Odette had already decided they wanted to dress as fairies, and Priscilla felt that what she needed was a beautiful sparkly dress...  Knowing her older sister was not that interested in clothes, Priscilla proposed a deal:  if she could have Celeste's budget as well as her own, she would do Celeste's chores for a whole month!  Celeste accepted this deal with pleasure, and is now enjoying her extra free time!  Meanwhile Priscilla is thrilled with her new fancy dress, to which she added detachable fairy wings that she already owned.  She made her wand and bag herself.

Ash stuck to his own budget.  He wanted a cape for his wizard costume, using some of the same fabric Mrs Prickles used for Priscilla's dress.  He made his own hat from paper, and drew the designs on it himself.

Celeste was pleased to go along with her little sister's plan, as she knew their neighbour Lucy Squeaks had a spotty party dress that would work perfectly for her costume!  Lucy was quite happy to lend it to her, as she knew Celeste was a sensible girl who would look after it well.  Celeste, who is able to sew a little, made her own hat.  (I should mention here that Lucy Squeaks' party dress was made by Caitlyn, to whom Lucy belongs.  I just made Celeste's hat).

The children all had great fun on their evening out, and between them collected quite an enormous amount of lollies!

Thank you to my daughter Caitlyn for allowing her dormice and Mrs Trunk to appear here!

Back To School

Some weeks ago, the Sylvanian Families Forum moderators announced a special "Back To School" themed challenge.  For this challenge, we were tasked with featuring a Treefellow owl in a back-to-school themed story, with a maximum of four photographs.  I can tell you it was VERY hard narrowing it down to just four pictures!  Here is my entry - I hope you enjoy it!

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Sarah Patches was going back to school.

She had been looking forward to this day, ever since her family had decided to stop their travelling lifestyle and settle down in Macadamia Grove.  Her younger brother had never been to school before, as they had both been homeschooled on their travels.  Sarah, however, remembered her first year or two of primary school quite fondly, and had been so excited when she received her letter of acceptance to Bottlebrush Academy.  She had read all the booklets the school had sent – twice – and her schoolbag had been packed for weeks.  Now, she was finally – finally! – walking with her mother up the path to Bottlebrush Academy – and suddenly she felt shy and a little panicky.  She hadn’t been to a real school in a long time, and never to high school.  What if she didn’t fit in here?  What if the work was too hard for her?  What if she didn’t make any friends?

Just then, her mother squeezed her paw, and smiled at her. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart, you’ll be just fine.  You know, it’s lots of other kids’ first day here, too – you won’t be the only nervous one.”

Sarah nodded, took a deep breath, and followed the stream of students toward the front doors.

As it was Sarah’s first year, she was expected to come with a parent to meet the Headmistress, Miss Treefellow, in her office.

“Well now, whooo have we here?” said Miss Treefellow, as they entered.  “Ah, Miss Patches.  Dooo sit down.  I am Arabella Treefellow, Mrs Patches, how do you dooo?”

Sarah had been rather dreading this interview, but to her surprise she found that Miss Treefellow was actually very nice.  She commanded respect, certainly, and her manner was very proper, but she spoke kindly to Sarah, and there was a sparkle in her eye that showed when she spoke about her school and its students.  Clearly Miss Treefellow loved her job, and was very good at it.

“I see that you are a very well-travelled young lady, Miss Patches.  I must say your work samples are quite impressive for your age.  Someone has taught you well thus far,” Miss Treefellow said, inclining her head to Sarah’s mother.

“Sarah tries very hard at her school work,” said Mrs Patches. 

“Lovely to hear,” said Miss Treefellow.  “May I ask what subjects you like most?”

“I like languages, Miss Treefellow,” Sarah replied, “but my favourite subject is history.”

Miss Treefellow looked pleased. 

“Well,” she said, “I shall look forward to seeing you later this morning in my French lesson, but for now, we shall join the other first-years for a quick tour before the welcome-to-school concert – unless you had any questions, Mrs Patches?”

Mrs Patches hadn’t, so they all went out into the corridor where the other first-years were waiting with their parents. 

Mrs Treefellow was very proud of her school, and it showed as she led them all on a tour around some of the building and grounds.  They saw the large sports oval, and the tennis court, and a pleasant grassed area where, according to Miss Treefellow, many children chose to eat their lunches, or spend free time.

Next she took them back inside, and they climbed the stairs all the way up to the cafeteria on the top floor.

“There is another outdoor recreation area just up those stairs, on the roof – it is quite safe, all fenced of course – that is another popular place at lunch times,” said Miss Treefellow.  “The cafeteria is where you will come to buy your lunch if you have not brought it from home, and if you peek across the benches, you can also see the kitchen area.  That is where the lunches are prepared, as well as being the classroom for your weekly cooking class – here at Bottlebrush Academy we believe every student should learn independence, and the cooking class is part of this.”  Several of the parents looked quite impressed at this.  Sarah looked at the kitchen with interest, as she knew that this was her Aunty Dorothy’s domain.  It was empty at the moment though – Aunty Dorothy was also the school’s House Mother, and was probably helping the boarding students to settle in for the term.

Next, Miss Treefellow showed them a large classroom with desks and a blackboard, as well as an open-plan one that was used for music, dance and drama classes.  It was also the venue for school assemblies, and was currently filling up with older students.  Sarah could hear the sound of musical intruments being tuned.  Finally, it was time to say goodbye to their parents.  Sarah gave her mum a big hug.  Miss Treefellow then invited the parents to sit at the back of the room, where chairs had been set out for them.  She showed the first-years where to sit too, and then took her place at the front of the room.  The students quietened down immediately.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all – parents, teachers, and students alike – to Bottlebrush Academy.  I wish all our students a happy, productive year of learning.  I hope that you will work hard, but also enjoy your time here at school.  Without further ado, I would like to introduce our talented music students, led ably by Mr McWalkies, to perform the school song.”

Later, as Sarah settled in to her first class, the chihuahua girl she had been placed next to gave her a shy smile, and said “Hello, I’m Lillie.  What’s your name?”

“Sarah,” said Sarah.  “Is it your first day too?  I don’t know many people here yet.”

“Me neither,” said Lillie.  “I live at the Seaside, and the only other kids from there who come to this school are in the senior class.  I don’t know anyone in this class.”

“Well, now you know me,” Sarah said, with a smile.  “Shall we sit together at lunch?”

“That would be awesome!” Lillie replied.

The work wasn’t a problem either – nearly all the first-years were beginners in Miss Treefellow’s French class, and even among the second-years there seemed to be different levels of ability in the subject, so Sarah didn’t feel out of place at all.  She began to relax a little, and then to become excited again about all there was to learn!  It looked as though coming back to school was going to be just as wonderful as she had hoped!

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The transformation of Caitlyn's Grand Hotel building into a high school / boarding school has been a project we always intended, but have never quite got around to.  We had beds in the dormitories, and Caitlyn had her School Music set installed in the building, but we had never quite got around to fitting out the classrooms and other rooms.  The "Back To School" challenge was the perfect excuse to get it done!  Caitlyn had already decided which rooms of the building would be which.  I built the blackboard, the cupboard under it, and the blue desks.  I made special school uniforms for the music students (the other students will have different uniforms, but Bottlebrush Academy has a free dress day on the first day of term).  I also made the textbooks & exercise books (which Caitlyn helped with), the paints, paintbrushes, chalk and glue sticks.  Caitlyn also kindly allowed me free rein to include some of her Sylvanians in the scenes - especially Miss Arabella Treefellow!

I had a lot of fun crafting for this challenge, and setting the photos up - it has been a while since I did a biggish story with our Sylvanians!  Being part of the forum is great for getting inspiration, and for connecting with a lot of other people who appreciate these little critters and the fun we have with them!

A Tree Change

The Outback Koalas moved into Macadamia Grove in January (you may have seen them on my Meet The Families page).  This is the story of their arrival...

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After their very successful village Christmas party, the Trunk family (who own the Courtyard Restaurant) had decided to sell the large tree they had been using as a function centre.
"We really don't have many functions large enough to warrant it, and with the village growing so much, I just feel someone else would get more use out of it," Savannah remarked, and Hugo agreed.

So the decision was made, and the next morning a new sign could be seen outside the tree...

A week or two later, Steve and Kylie Outback arrived in Macadamia Grove by town car.  They were a little tired, having visited three other small villages that day, and looked around appraisingly.

"Well this one is rather pretty," Steve remarked.  "Nice feel to the air, too - lovely and fresh."
"Mmm," his wife answered noncommittally.  "Well, let's have a look around..."  The last place they had been was pretty too, she thought, but much too small and sleepy for them to make a living there.  Would this place be the same?  Were they asking too much to find a village that was just right?  Would they be better off staying in Town, with its larger population and well-equipped hospitals?

You see, the Outbacks led very full and successful lives in Town, but they had always felt there was something missing.  After the birth of their second child, they had finally made the decision:  what they needed was a "tree change", to live a less hectic life with green things growing all around.  So on this sunny day, they had left their children with friends who were glad to babysit, and had made a tour of several likely-sounding country villages.  So far, they hadn't had much luck.  This village was to be the last they looked at today, before heading home.

As they walked through the heart of Macadamia Grove, Kylie had to admit she did like the look of this little village.  The stream flowed bright and pure, the grass was green, and Steve was right - the air really was delightful.  The villagers, too, looked happy and contented as they went about their late afternoon activities.  Several faces turned curiously toward the newcomers, and one or two people gave them a friendly wave.

Finally they saw a welcome sight - in the distance, over a bridge, a lovely looking restaurant beckoned. 
"Shall we have a drink before heading home?" Steve suggested.
"Oh yes," Kylie answered gratefully.  "I could do with a rest.  Maybe we could even get something to eat?  Kevin and Stacey said they didn't mind if we left the girls with them for dinner."

Five minutes later, they were being ushered into their seats by a very attentive Maitre d'. 
"Welcome to the Courtyard Restaurant!" said Mr Trunk, handing them their menus.  "What would you like to drink?"

After they had ordered their food, Steve said tentatively, "Did you happen to see the 'for sale' sign next door?"  Their eyes met.  Kylie had noticed it, too.
"It would be a lot of work..." Steve added uncertainly.  "Heaven knows where we'd find a builder..."

Over at a nearby table, Mr Rivertail couldn't help but overhear.

"Ahem..." he said, coming over to their table.  "Sorry to intrude - Murray Rivertail's the name.  I couldn't help overhearing - were you thinking of buying the Treehouse?"

The Outbacks were a bit startled by this, as was Mrs Rivertail, who stared disbelievingly at her husband!

"We're... er... not sure.  We haven't even looked at it yet really," Kylie managed.

Mr Rivertail went on to explain that he was the local builder, and would be pleased to arrange a meeting with them and Mr Trunk if they were interested.  The koalas thanked him, and arranged to return the following day.  Just then, their food arrived, and Mr Rivertail left them to enjoy their meals.

The next morning, the Outbacks returned to Macadamia Grove, and went straight to the Treehouse, where they met Mr Trunk and Mr Rivertail.  Kylie and Steve explained exactly what they would need built, and Mr Rivertail seemed to think it was no problem at all.
Then Steve raised an important question - would they be able to find work in this village?
"What do you do for a living?" asked Hugo, curiously. 
"We're both doctors," said Steve.  "Kylie's a top-class surgeon and obstetrician in fact, while I deal more in the GP line." 
Hugo looked thrilled.  "Why, that's perfect!" he exclaimed.  "We could do with some medical professionals in Macadamia Grove - there currently aren't any.  In fact we were just discussing it at our last Town Committee meeting."

Kylie and Steve looked happily at one another, as Murray and Hugo started to talk sums, measurements and equipment. 

"Well honey, I think we might have just bought a house!" Steve said with a smile.
"And it's going to be perfect!" Kylie breathed.  "How marvellous to actually be living IN a tree!"
"A real 'tree change' indeed!" Steve laughed.

The Perfect Christmas Party (Part One)

Okay, so the Advent Calendar thing got away from me a little at the end there - we have been very busy, what with four Christmas parties to attend in three days, and two of them being at our house!  I hope this story will make up for my absence - and fill in the gaps of what our Sylvanians were up to in that last week before Christmas!  This is a collaboration, so many of the creatures pictured here are my daughter Caitlyn's.  She has written the second half of the story on her blog, Sylvanian Stories.

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'Twas the week before Christmas...  and everyone in Macadamia Grove was looking forward to the big village Christmas party!

Every year in Macadamia Grove, the whole village is invited to one big celebration on Christmas Day.  Each family takes a turn hosting the big event.  Some families (generally those with smaller cottages) choose to host the event in a park or by the river;  others hold it in their own home.  This year, it was the Trunk family's turn, so of course the event would be held at the Courtyard Restaurant.

Savannah was very excited and proud to have a chance to host Christmas in their beautiful restaurant.  It was the perfect venue, with the large grassy area outside, the huge old tree with the "special functions" dining platform, and of course the restaurant itself.  Savannah had planned the perfect menu too, and the whole family had had some input into what decorations they would have.  Savannah just knew this was going to be the best Christmas party ever - it was going to be perfect!

Many other people in the village were excited about the venue for this year's party too, and were very interested to see what delicious food Savannah would be preparing!

By the 18th of December, preparations were in full swing.  Hugo had placed orders for everything they would need from the Supermarket.  Most of the decorations were waiting to be put up.  Hugo had also arranged one or two extra surprises without the children's knowledge, and he went to see Mr Rivertail to check on progress.

"Don't worry Hugo,"  Murray said cheerfully, "It will delivered safe and sound the day before Christmas!"

On the 19th of December, Edward Babblebrook arrived at the Courtyard Restaurant to see how things were going.  As the Chairman of the Macadamia Grove governing committee, it was his responsibility to make sure the host family was managing okay with all the preparations, and to see if they needed any help.  He was very impressed with how organised the Trunks were.

"Is there anything I can do while I'm here?"  he asked.
"Well actually, you could give us a hand putting the lights up if you don't mind,"  said Hugo.  "Brooke Rivertail will be here soon to help too - she is bringing a ladder."
"Sure, no worries!" said Edward.

In due course, Brooke arrived, and the three worked together to hang the lights all around the front of the restaurant, and in the big tree.  Brooke had an excellent eye for where the lights would look best.

On the 20th of December, the Buckley family played host to a large group of village children.  This was Nellie Trunk's idea.  She had had so much fun making paper snowflakes with her brothers and sister that she thought it would be lovely to display their efforts at the Christmas party.  Her brother Ivor had said, "But we won't have nearly enough!", but Nellie knew just how to fix that, and had gone to see Mrs Buckley.

With school finished for the year, Mr and Mrs Buckley had a bit of time to spare, and were glad to help out.
"Now children,"  said Anna, "After you have finished folding, take your scissors, and..."

Maisie Honeycrackle leaned over to Misty Rivertail.  "It's just like being at school!" she whispered.
"But more fun!" Misty whispered back.

On the 21st of December, Christopher Appleblossom started on a new gingerbread house, specially created for the party.

He wanted to make sure he got it done before he needed to concentrate on all his cranberry macadamia nut bread orders...

On the 22nd of December, Mr Whiskers and his daughter Pearl brought the Supermarket order to the Courtyard Restaurant.  Hugo was amazed at the large number of Christmas Crackers Savannah had ordered.

"Well there needs to be one for everyone, dear!" she pointed out.

On the 23rd of December, it was time for Savannah to start making some of the food for the party.  She decided to start with dessert.  Meanwhile, she set Ivor to work in the garden, picking vegetables to be roasted tomorrow.

On the 24th of December, Savannah got up very early, as she had a busy day ahead!  All the mixing, chilling and freezing was done - all that remained was to fire up the oven and get baking!  Savannah turned the oven on, humming, and walked around doing a last check on things while she waited for it to heat up.  Everything was looking perfect!

But just as she got back to the kitchen, disaster struck!  A plume of smoke drifted up from the oven, accompanied by a nasty crackling sound!

"Oh no, oh no!" cried Savannah.
"What's wrong, Mum?" Ivor exclaimed, running downstairs.
"My oven is broken - how will I finish this cake now?  Let alone all the roasts I need to cook!"  Savannah wept.
"Well can't you ring Mr Prickles?"  asked Ivor sensibly.  Mr Prickles was the local handyman, whom everyone tended to call on when something needed fixing.
"He's away, the whole family have gone to spend Christmas at the Seaside," Savannah groaned.  "Oh, what am I going to do?  Our perfect Christmas party is ruined...!"

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Oh no - will the Trunk family be able to pull their Christmas party together, even with no food?!
Head over to Sylvanian Stories now for the thrilling conclusion...