Christmas is coming! Less than 40 days! 
So, this week I've decided to focus on getting a few things ready for one of my favorite holidays! I adore Christmas! The snow, the lights, the festivities, the joy, the songs, the cookies... most of all the feeling of joy from knowing what God did for us so many years ago. It is a wonderful season!
One of the things I find myself getting into every year around this time is crafts. Crafts and baking. There is something about Christmas... when I was a kid my siblings and I would get psyched up with only a few weeks left, and we could always be found at the table making something Christmas related out of paper or pine cones... clay... anything we could get our hands on. We'd make all sorts of nativity related paper ornaments, string them with yarn, and hang them all over the tree. Mom and dad would keep them all, but we'd insist on not putting them up the following year, and just make new ones. Then we'd get out our toys and place them around the tree, playing near the lights, watching them sparkle, and dance around to Christmas music. We had a little house my dad found us, and these animal sets (you know the Calico Critters sets? I had the mouse family and my brother had the fox family) that we would decorate for Christmas. We'd make a little tree, little fireplace, little decorations, etc, and decorate that little house for all those critters to sleep in... adding presents on Christmas eve like 'Santa' (which we never believed in, but it was always fun to pretend). We even had a Bible for the Daddy mouse to read to the kids.
Anyway, with not much time left before the 'crunch' of the season, I've been trying to get myself going on a few projects myself. Basically, I've been making lists and looking at craft ideas in order to figure out what I should make. Not much luck yet. I figured out I need to make a boatload of cards... and I do mean a LOT. And if I do photo cards again, the number is still terribly high. I don't think I'll be bothering with envelopes except for those that get them mailed. Which means looking for my address book again, haha.
Another thing I like to do before the holidays is plan out the types of cookies/goodies I wish to bake. I like to try a few new recipes each year, and it's a lot of fun as long as I have all the ingredients. So, I look through my books/online, pick the items I want to make, and write out the 'grocery list', including amounts for one or two recipes of each item. I also put them in order of the item I wish to make, just in case I find that one of the ingredients is either too expensive for my tastes, or not in stock at the store. Then I know which ones I can 'eliminate' from my list. I've figured I'd like to make at least 8 recipes this year. I'm not sure exactly what as of yet, but I know the regular White Christmas Cookies will make it in there, as well as a batch of buns/cinnamon buns. I'm also hoping to make some candy again, like perhaps peanut brittle, toffee, or homemade caramels/chocolate caramels. We'll see. I've made them before, but they take a LOT of time stirring on the stove, so that may depend on my daughter and my husband... I'll be sure to post the recipes of the items on my cooking blog when I've decided on them (and made them, so I can post pics as well).
As for decorating... I haven't started yet. I wish to, mainly because I am having a hard time even planning anything out due to the lack of snow on the ground. The weather has been crazy lately... still above zero Celsius here in Canada... which is odd. Usually we're fighting with mitts and scarves already, but not this year. So, I kind of want to get some decor up to help me feel the season. Like maybe some garland, or the wreath. I'm not ready to tackle the tree yet.
Any of you end up having to put everything up on your own? And take it down on your own? And yet still have the rules that you can't put it up or take it down until a certain date? Yeah... :)
Maybe I'll turn on a Christmas CD and watch my husband roll his eyes when he walks in for lunch... hahahahaha!
So, this week I've decided to focus on getting a few things ready for one of my favorite holidays! I adore Christmas! The snow, the lights, the festivities, the joy, the songs, the cookies... most of all the feeling of joy from knowing what God did for us so many years ago. It is a wonderful season!
One of the things I find myself getting into every year around this time is crafts. Crafts and baking. There is something about Christmas... when I was a kid my siblings and I would get psyched up with only a few weeks left, and we could always be found at the table making something Christmas related out of paper or pine cones... clay... anything we could get our hands on. We'd make all sorts of nativity related paper ornaments, string them with yarn, and hang them all over the tree. Mom and dad would keep them all, but we'd insist on not putting them up the following year, and just make new ones. Then we'd get out our toys and place them around the tree, playing near the lights, watching them sparkle, and dance around to Christmas music. We had a little house my dad found us, and these animal sets (you know the Calico Critters sets? I had the mouse family and my brother had the fox family) that we would decorate for Christmas. We'd make a little tree, little fireplace, little decorations, etc, and decorate that little house for all those critters to sleep in... adding presents on Christmas eve like 'Santa' (which we never believed in, but it was always fun to pretend). We even had a Bible for the Daddy mouse to read to the kids.
Anyway, with not much time left before the 'crunch' of the season, I've been trying to get myself going on a few projects myself. Basically, I've been making lists and looking at craft ideas in order to figure out what I should make. Not much luck yet. I figured out I need to make a boatload of cards... and I do mean a LOT. And if I do photo cards again, the number is still terribly high. I don't think I'll be bothering with envelopes except for those that get them mailed. Which means looking for my address book again, haha.
Another thing I like to do before the holidays is plan out the types of cookies/goodies I wish to bake. I like to try a few new recipes each year, and it's a lot of fun as long as I have all the ingredients. So, I look through my books/online, pick the items I want to make, and write out the 'grocery list', including amounts for one or two recipes of each item. I also put them in order of the item I wish to make, just in case I find that one of the ingredients is either too expensive for my tastes, or not in stock at the store. Then I know which ones I can 'eliminate' from my list. I've figured I'd like to make at least 8 recipes this year. I'm not sure exactly what as of yet, but I know the regular White Christmas Cookies will make it in there, as well as a batch of buns/cinnamon buns. I'm also hoping to make some candy again, like perhaps peanut brittle, toffee, or homemade caramels/chocolate caramels. We'll see. I've made them before, but they take a LOT of time stirring on the stove, so that may depend on my daughter and my husband... I'll be sure to post the recipes of the items on my cooking blog when I've decided on them (and made them, so I can post pics as well).
As for decorating... I haven't started yet. I wish to, mainly because I am having a hard time even planning anything out due to the lack of snow on the ground. The weather has been crazy lately... still above zero Celsius here in Canada... which is odd. Usually we're fighting with mitts and scarves already, but not this year. So, I kind of want to get some decor up to help me feel the season. Like maybe some garland, or the wreath. I'm not ready to tackle the tree yet.
Any of you end up having to put everything up on your own? And take it down on your own? And yet still have the rules that you can't put it up or take it down until a certain date? Yeah... :)
Maybe I'll turn on a Christmas CD and watch my husband roll his eyes when he walks in for lunch... hahahahaha!
3 comments:
You're totally getting me into the Christmas spirit! And yes... you are NOT alone in being the one to put everything up and take everything down yourself, haha. ;-)
You WON the book on my Christmas giveaway 2.
How should I get it to you?
Congratulations, make sure to enter the next ones too. I post a new book tomorrow!
Ohmygoodness, ohmy goodness, Calico Critters!!! I am so excited, haha! When I was little I got a bunny from my Sunday School teacher, it was the baby girl and came with a cradle & tiny bottle! I absolutely loved it. And it came with a big paper that showed all the different families. I wanted more so badly. When I was a little older I even wrote to the address on the paper but my letter got returned. Apparently the company changed their name (I'm pretty sure they weren't called Calico Critters at the time). It's just so neat to find them again! I've never known anyone else who played with them. Anyway...I feel like a little kid...at Christmastime, haha!
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