The kitchen and dining areas of Vicki Boccuzzi's home were teeming with activity on Tuesday, November 7, when Mrs Boccuzzi hosted members of her garden club for the second preholiday event workshop.

Each year The Garden Club of Newtown holds several workshops to create the many items sold at its Holiday Greens & Gifts Sale, traditionally presented the first Saturday in December. On Tuesday of this week, women crowded around the kitchen island of the Boccuzzi home, creating clove oranges, and finishing bows that will be used next month to decorate wreaths just prior to the December 2 sale.

This year's event will be presented at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street, from 9 am until noon.

The annual event traditionally features wreaths that are made from local, fresh greens and decorated by garden club members, as well as boxwood trees, door swags, wooden stars, yard decor, kissing balls, unique centerpieces, gift baskets, candle centerpieces, ornaments, and other gifts.

The sale will have a loose theme of "Snowmen on Parade," with many items featuring the seasonal character.

One new addition will be wreaths with a base not of pine, but white gauzey ribbon with shimmery highlights. One of the new offerings was hanging from the front door of the Boccuzzi home on Tuesday, greeting workshop arrivals. The effort was the work of three club members, one who crafted the base, one who fashioned the snowman's eyes and smile from foam, and another who fashioned a felt carrot nose and top hat with festive ribbon.

Nearby, other members were seated around a kitchen table covered with newspapers and paper plates, the latter serving as palettes holding acrylic paint of various colors. Ladies at the table were painting terracotta planters - ranging from three to seven inches across the top - that will be planted with paperwhites and amaryllis bulbs for December's sale; or handmade salt dough ornaments including penguins, stars, candy canes, and the sale's thematic snowmen.

Last Tuesday's was the latest workshop the club will be conducting prior to its Holiday Greens & Gifts Sale.

Members will also continue working on projects at home during upcoming weeks. They will reconvene at Newtown Meeting House during the two days prior to their big sale, which serves as a major fundraiser for the longstanding club.

At other workshops in November, Garden Club of Newtown members will make the 100 bows needed for the wreaths, gift baskets, and other specialty items. They will also plant amaryllis bulbs in gift pots and create Christmas terrariums to sell.

In addition to workshops, some club members work at home to create hand painted ornaments and birdhouses, while others create gift items with homemade jams and decorated cookies.

The final workshops will be held in the days just prior to the sale. Club members will create 60 wreaths, boxwood trees, kissing balls, and a dozen or so centerpieces and unique Christmas designs from the fresh greens people contributed from their yards.

The annual Holiday Greens and Gifts Sale is the major fundraiser for The Garden Club of Newtown. It enables the club to maintain the Blue Star Memorial at VFW Post 308, along with three additional gardens in town. Proceeds from the sale also allow the club to contribute funds to FAITH Food Pantry, Newtown Scholarship Association, The Newtown Fund, and Newtown Forest Association.

For additional information send e-mail to thegardenclubofnewtown@yahoo.com or visit gardenclubofnewtown.com.

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