Getting festive with PANDORA

I am a huge fan of PANDORA.  My favourite jewellery pieces are their rings, charms and bracelets.  I love filling my bracelets with gorgeous charms that each relate to a specific memory, so I can look down at my wrist and be reminded of a fun or significant moment in my life.  I adore the class and sophistication of the brand as a whole, and was thrilled to be invited to the VIP launch of their winter collection last week.  With Christmas quickly approaching, PANDORA is the ideal gift for a loved one.

As part of their launch, we took part in a gingerbread house decorating workshop; my first festive activity of the year.  Here’s how I got on.

WHAT IS PANDORA?

PANDORA is an international Danish jewellery manufacturer and retailer founded in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen.  The company started as a family-run jewellery shop in Copenhagen, and is now an international brand, that sells products in over 100 countries, across 6 continents.  It is known for its customisable charm bracelets, designer rings, and necklaces, which by 2017 had earned total annual revenues of $1.38 billion.

CHRISTMAS COLLECTION

For those of you familiar with PANDORA, I hope you are just as excited as I am to know that their fabulous new Christmas and winter collection ‘Purely Pandora’ has now launched, and it is stunning! This new collection showcases a range of elegant jewellery pieces, including festive charms, Disney themed charms, as well as necklaces and earring designs that can be worn all year round.  

I was fortunate enough to be gifted their ‘Ice Baguette gift set’, which included a pair of beautiful stud earrings and a glistening pendant necklace, both inspired by ice cubes.  They feature a combination of round and baguette-cut cubic zirconia stones, framing a larger stone in the centre which creates a wonderful focal point.  The set also comes in Rose Gold.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING WORKSHOP

The gingerbread house decorating workshop was so much fun! It was my first time assembling and decorating gingerbread, and I was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward it was.

Fortunately for us, the ginger bread was already baked, and 6 slabs were placed at each of our stations.  We were provided with some white icing that consisted of a piping bag filled with the mixture; for beginner bakers, this is essentially a plastic bag with the end (corner of the bag) snipped off.  Depending on how high up you decide to snip, depended on how thick the icing would come out.  The tip is to start off with a small cut to draw outlines of shapes, and leave the thicker icing for a cool snow effect!  I had no idea that icing also acted as a glue, and would be the main substance holding the house together, so it was important to be very generous with the icing at the corners to make sure the structure didn’t fall apart.

Once the house is assembled it was time to decorate!  Although quite creative, I’m awful at anything artistic, so was worried about how my house would look, but somehow, I ended up creating something I was extremely proud of.  We were provided with various edible decorations such as coloured icing, beads, and festive shapes to create the perfect holiday gingerbread house.  I settled on icing holly and wreaths on the walls, a Christmas tree in the windows and of course, a snowy rooftop.

FOOD & DRINK

Throughout the evening we were served some delicious canapes including steak skewers, mini Yorkshire puddings, chicken skewers, a variety of seafood, and a few other things I can’t pronounce! Bottomless prosecco went down a treat and a fun evening was had by all.

This was one of my favourite blog events so far, made even better by the people I met.  I made friends with some lovely bloggers who I have stayed in touch with, and look forward to attending more events with them in the future.

For more info on PANDORA’s Christmas collection, check out their newest jewellery pieces here: PANDORA WINTER COLLECTION

 

Disclaimer
*  I was invited to this event and gifted products in exchange for a review.  Views are my own.