The Sparkly Poinsettia

​“The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees sway…”
 
The song “White Christmas” begins with the singer describing Christmas in Southern California—and wishing for the snowy weather of their Christmases past. And though I have always lived in California, I have usually spent the holidays in the northern part, which is, if not cold, cooler. You don’t see snow, but there is usually a nip in the air.
 
But this year I am in Southern California for the holiday. It’s nearly 70 degrees and brightly sunny on December the 24th. And though I am not, as the song says, “longing to be up North,” since I am with family, I am finding the holiday weather a bit of a novelty. I didn’t even bother to bring my fancy Christmas coat with its faux fur trim, which I typically wear on Christmas Eve. (I am wearing it with the gray Parkhurst hat in an early Hat Project post).

However, I do like the warm weather and the chance to wear my newest holiday fascinator, the sparkly poinsettia. No need for the fuzzy red beret that I often wear Christmas Eve.  My ears are warm enough!
 
I originally bought this fascinator with a headband (similar to my other holiday fascinator The Christmas Tree Fascinator). However, the band provided by the Etsy maker pinched a bit, so the proprietor was kind enough to replace it with a clip. Does the poinsettia still qualify as a hat? Well, Ascot requires hats to be four or more inches, and the flower is nearly five, so I’m counting it!
 
I got this poinsettia because I wanted a festive hat that was less goofy than the Christmas tree, something I could wear to church and even in concert without feeling too kitschy. I wore this poinsettia to both of those this holiday season.
 
In the spirit of Christmas in Southern California, I took the first picture in front of an orange tree. Also, as bonus, here is a picture of the poinsettia hat and my poinsettia necklace (really a pin on a ribbon) while I'm posing with an actual poinsettia. It’s warm enough here that poinsettias grow in the ground and bloom naturally in December. That seems very Christmas-y to me.

​As the song says, “May your days be merry and bright” this holiday season and into the new year.