Christmas Cookies Etc
December is always such a busy month, but I'd be lying if I didn't kind of like the hustle and bustle. I mean, don't get me wrong: I really dislike when Christmas becomes more about commercialism and materialism than about celebrating the birth of Jesus and spending time with loved ones. I've done almost no shopping so far for anyone, including our kids. I suppose I should get on it soon, huh. And by "on it," I mean "on Amazon" of course. ;0)
One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is baking (and let's face it, eating) Christmas cookies. Every year several moms and their kids make and decorate Christmas cookies for our annual church Christmas party. Other years we all spread out in the church basement with our already baked cookies for the children to joyfully (and messily) decorate loads of cookies and treats for the party. Well, this year there were a bunch of sick kids so the event got cancelled.
So I did what every sensible mother of four with a tiny house would do: I invited some of my friends over to bake and decorate cookies here. There were a total of four women and 12 children six years old and younger. To say that it was loud and chaotic is an understatement. But it was fun... and messy! We made gingerbread cookies (actually, I made the dough this morning with a teeny help from my kids), peanut blossoms and those pretzel/kiss/M&M treats, whatever they are called. The kids all helped a little, but eventually we escorted them into the other room to watch a Christmas show while the moms finished the decorating... and maybe a little sampling. For quality control. ;0)
I kept all the cookies here and put them in the deep freezer until Wednesday morning before the party. I really hope that I forget they are there. I'm not always known for having the best willpower. If you come to the church Christmas party and wonder why there are a bunch of store bought cookies, you'll know that I completely lost my ability to be civilized in the presence of sugar.
Last year I went a little nuts with the cookie baking. I am sure I'll spend a day with my kids making some more that we get to keep and eat ourselves. Or maybe that isn't such a great idea. Perhaps I should find some paleo cookie recipes... ;0)
***
In other news, we are going to put our Christmas tree up tomorrow! I know it's late for some people, but we were out of town last weekend, and the last thing we wanted to do after driving for four plus hours was to haul out the Christmas tree and ornaments. (By the way, before you start judging me for having an artificial tree, Justin and I talked, and we are considering a real tree next year.) I'm looking forward to going through the ornaments and letting the kids help decorate the tree!
Traditionally, St Nick "visits" tonight. My children do not believe in Santa Claus, because I never wanted to confuse them about why we celebrate Christmas, but I have done stockings in honor of St Nick. Well, I simultaneously dropped the ball and was extra creative this year. I forgot/procrastinated too long to get goodies for the kids' stockings tonight, but I've got some fun ideas for the Christmas countdown!
First of all, I got out the Advent calendar I had made a few years ago.
And instead of filling it with cheap little ornaments for the kids to decorate the tree (which isn't up yet) or candy that they do not need, I decided to buy a 100 piece puzzle, and put 4 pieces in each box. So each morning they get to add to their puzzle, and Christmas morning, they will finish their puzzle, and have a gift to be enjoyed year round! I was pretty excited about that idea. I think I want to make it a tradition, and gradually get harder puzzles. They currently think it's pretty fun, but we'll see how they feel about doing a puzzle together in several years. haha
In addition to the Advent calendar, I've also wrapped up a bunch of books to be opened each morning. Most of them are books they already had, but they enjoy finding out what book is next in the basket. The idea is to read to them the book that was unwrapped, so we're spending that time together. 80)
I'm going to try to enjoy everything that this Christmas season throws at me this year without getting Grinchy or stressed! I'll let you know how I'm doing the closer to December 25th we get!
One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is baking (and let's face it, eating) Christmas cookies. Every year several moms and their kids make and decorate Christmas cookies for our annual church Christmas party. Other years we all spread out in the church basement with our already baked cookies for the children to joyfully (and messily) decorate loads of cookies and treats for the party. Well, this year there were a bunch of sick kids so the event got cancelled.
So I did what every sensible mother of four with a tiny house would do: I invited some of my friends over to bake and decorate cookies here. There were a total of four women and 12 children six years old and younger. To say that it was loud and chaotic is an understatement. But it was fun... and messy! We made gingerbread cookies (actually, I made the dough this morning with a teeny help from my kids), peanut blossoms and those pretzel/kiss/M&M treats, whatever they are called. The kids all helped a little, but eventually we escorted them into the other room to watch a Christmas show while the moms finished the decorating... and maybe a little sampling. For quality control. ;0)
I kept all the cookies here and put them in the deep freezer until Wednesday morning before the party. I really hope that I forget they are there. I'm not always known for having the best willpower. If you come to the church Christmas party and wonder why there are a bunch of store bought cookies, you'll know that I completely lost my ability to be civilized in the presence of sugar.
Last year I went a little nuts with the cookie baking. I am sure I'll spend a day with my kids making some more that we get to keep and eat ourselves. Or maybe that isn't such a great idea. Perhaps I should find some paleo cookie recipes... ;0)
***
In other news, we are going to put our Christmas tree up tomorrow! I know it's late for some people, but we were out of town last weekend, and the last thing we wanted to do after driving for four plus hours was to haul out the Christmas tree and ornaments. (By the way, before you start judging me for having an artificial tree, Justin and I talked, and we are considering a real tree next year.) I'm looking forward to going through the ornaments and letting the kids help decorate the tree!
Traditionally, St Nick "visits" tonight. My children do not believe in Santa Claus, because I never wanted to confuse them about why we celebrate Christmas, but I have done stockings in honor of St Nick. Well, I simultaneously dropped the ball and was extra creative this year. I forgot/procrastinated too long to get goodies for the kids' stockings tonight, but I've got some fun ideas for the Christmas countdown!
First of all, I got out the Advent calendar I had made a few years ago.
In addition to the Advent calendar, I've also wrapped up a bunch of books to be opened each morning. Most of them are books they already had, but they enjoy finding out what book is next in the basket. The idea is to read to them the book that was unwrapped, so we're spending that time together. 80)
I'm going to try to enjoy everything that this Christmas season throws at me this year without getting Grinchy or stressed! I'll let you know how I'm doing the closer to December 25th we get!
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