13 for Christmas

Christmas is a very favorite time of year for me because there are so many things you can do for other people, and with other people. It is giving at its best, and it should be love at its finest. My friend Olivia posted on her blog about Christmas Throwback, and it started me thinking about all that I love during Christmastime. So here is a fun compilation of things to do.....and things I have enjoyed at Christmas.

 

 

1 - Put up the Christmas tree. If you do it right, it should take all day. I use an artificial tree because I love nature and I don't want to cut down a tree....say I'm "going green" by saving a tree. :-) I made my own Pandora channel of Micheal Buble holiday mix. Turn it up loud and dance with the kids while decking out the tree. It's OK if they don't do it right.....what's right anyway? (Found my tree for $5 at a garage sale...score!) White lights, red and white wood beads, red ribbon and ornaments, and vintage candle holders. My dad bought me my angel on top - she looks vintage too.

2 - Watch White Christmas. It is a classic by Irving Berlin, and stars Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. I love how it shows people willing to put aside their holiday plans to help someone else and show them how much they are appreciated. Post WWII-era setting.

3 - Go to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. One of my favorite people attends this concert every year. It really is an amazing concert: the piro is great, the music is AMAZING, and it has a good "story" with the show.

4 - Story time with Kids. Read the Christmas story to your children while setting up the nativity scene. They talk about Jesus and His birth all through the season, and the wise men get moved all over the house. (Maybe they are trying to make the nativity more correct.) Frederick puts them all the in barn together so they can all see Jesus at once. Matthew 1-2; Luke 2

5 - See Christmas lights. If you like a destination, the Columbus Zoo has a great light show they call Wildlights. Our friends Toni and Marlen took us a few years back and it has more lights than I could imagine in any one location. Opens at 10AM (though I don't know why you would go during the day) and shows until January 1. We also look for Christmas lights while driving in the car because it is a great diversion when the oldest two in the back seat can't leave each other alone. Competition as to who can find the most lights first seems to quench the fussiness.

6 - Send a WorldVision Child a Christmas Present. There are so many creative things you can fit in an envelope and send to a child for Christmas. WorldVision does an excellent job of fighting poverty and injustice all the while bringing Jesus to children all the world over. You can sponsor a child or send a gift from their gift catalog. Here is a great gift idea: Thai bracelet for supporting this amazing ministry. Better yet, give the gift of life to a child! Sponsor: you won't regret it!

7 - Make Christmas treats to share. My mom does this every year and she takes plates of cookies and candies to share with their neighbors. I always enjoyed arranging everything on the plate to look nice. Jeremy's family would also make caramels, peanut butter balls, and pretzel turtles. As with all gift-giving, make sure nothing needs to be returned.

• Pretzel turtles recipe: melt caramel block, adding a little Eagle brand milk. Dip short pretzel rods into caramel, then into diced pecans. Let harden, then dip into melted chocolate.

8 - Thank a soldier / veteran. If you are out shopping and see a soldier or a veteran (the uniforms or hats will help identify), thank them for serving. It is a small gesture of appreciation, so small compared to what they give to us. If you know a soldier who is not home for Christmas, send him/her a card and/or send a care package to their families. It is hard to be alone at Christmas.

9 - Support a single mom. We have a gentleman at our church who has a Christmas ministry of supporting single moms and their children. This is a great way to teach children that Christmas is about giving to others, and that shopping does not have to be centered around them. Let children choose presents for other children, as nice as something they would like to receive for themselves. It is humbling to watch the generosity of children!

10 - Operation Christmas Child. Another great ministry is Operation Christmas Child - if you missed sending a package in November, you can stock up for next year. Again, we love to go to the Dollar Tree and get essentials and fun stuff to send to a child. My kids thought this was so fun and they wanted to help wrap the present too. Each child was able to send a box - so fun.

11 - Wrap presents. I LOVE to wrap presents....a little crazy, I know. Don't bag....how boring! (OK, in a pinch it will work.) How fun is it to start with a plain ol' box, take some cute paper, wrap it nice, then top it with a ribbon?! Here are my colors this year:

12 - Christmas Eve pizza. I adopted this tradition after Jeremy and I were married. His family would get together on Christmas Eve and they would make homemade pizza with the whole family around. They would eat their homemade pizza with frozen applesauce on top!  OK, I didn't adopt all of it....my applesauce gets eaten separate, but it is a tradition. My family opens one present on Christmas Eve, so we have merged traditions and have a fun time!

13 - Christmas Day meal. I love my mom's Christmas meal....maybe because the whole family is sitting around the table, and there - together - is one of the best presents I could receive. It is more than the food, it is fellowship. And don't forget the egg nog and custard pie.

Give LOVE. It truly is Christmas, when God - who is love - came to earth as a child, to bring us his love, to die upon the cross, to forgive us our sins. There is no greater love than to give one's life for one's friend. God has called us friend, and we call him Saviour. Share his love with someone this Christmas.

Give. Bless. Love.

for the kitchen help

My children love to help me in the kitchen while I am working. They like to help with the dishes, mostly because they can play in the bubbles....and they like to sample whatever I am making at the time too. Frederick and Elauna spend hours playing pretend cooking and I thought this year for Christmas I would make them all something they can use when they are playing and when they are helping me.

I made each of my kids child-sized aprons, oven mitts, and pot holders. They are coordinating colors, but I definitely wanted Frederick's to look like a boy, not flowery like the girls. I made my own pattern for each then sewed them up.


Elauna's

 Frederick's

 Claire's

fat quarter project

More handmade Christmas ideas, this time using a fat quarter. A fat quarter is a quarter of a yard of fabric, and they measure 18" x 22". I have a little niece coming soon and wanted to make something for Momma A. I found some cute coordinating fat quarter pieces and went to work.

The first thing I made was two burp cloths. I quartered my fabrics and rounded the corners. Next, I faced the top sides together and sewed the edges, leaving a little space to invert, just as you would a pillow. Then I stitched around the outside to close the hole and put a border around the cloth. Finally, I worked on light-colored fabric and sewed a basic design that matched a pattern in the fabric. It helps the fabric not to seperate after washing or using several time.

I used the same fabrics to make a bib. I cut the design out of both fabrics and put back-sides together. I applied my velcro in the top corner. (I use the velcro that has adhesive on the back to you can place it where you want it and sew in fast later.) I then sewed my edging on using a coordinating blue.

All done. Pretty quick and easy, but oh, so cute.

cupcakes and chocolate buttons

The idea of serving cupcakes at Claire's birthday appealed to me this year because cupcakes are so quick and they instantly look cute with some icing and decorative paper cups. I found these baking pearls that I love, because you simply drop them on the icing and they stick instantly; they don't roll around at all. (I should say, they don't roll around on the icing....they roll around on the floor quite well when you get "help" in the kitchen). :-)

For Claire's cake, I used a 6" baking ring pan. It took longer to cook than normal, but I think it is because it is so deep, so plan on doubling the time on a smaller deep pan. I recently learned the trick to a smooth looking cake. Most cakes "dome" when you bake them. Before icing, let cake cool completely then take a cake saw, or serrated knife, and cut the top off the cake so it is level across. Then ice as you normally would.

I also found this cute button fondant mold, but did not want fondant on the cake, so I used colored chocolate from Wilton. I followed the chocolate directions for warming, then spooned the chocolate in the mold and let cool in the refrigerator. After icing my cake, I put the chocolate buttons on the cake and also used some of the aforementioned pearls.

Here is Claire eating her cake. She insisted on using her fork the whole time and didn't want to get messy. Her Papa even took the fork away, and she stared at him - not touching her cake - until he gave it back. She never did get really messy.

A year has gone so fast.
I love you, my little dear.

lots-o-knots scarf

I love my big chunky scarf and wear it all the time - with everything. It is super simple to make and I wanted to share the steps, since it is Christmas and many of us are making our own presents.

Step 1 - Find a chunky/thick yarn. Cut 18 strands to 108 inches. My scarf is 6-feet long. A good rule of thumb is to cut your strands to 1 1/2 times the length you want your scarf to be. (A six-foot scarf is 72 inches times 1 1/2 gives you the 108 total inches).

Step 2 - Divide the strands into six sections of three strands each.

Step 3 - Knot every two sections together to start the scarf. (See below). Then knot the inner sections together, spacing a couple inches from the previous knotted row.

Step 4 - Continue this pattern until close to the end of the scarf. Finish scarf the same as started, with three knots on the end. Trim yarn on each end so it is the same length.

I wear mine looped around my neck to give it a fuller feel. You could also throw on a cute pin and change it up with whatever you are wearing.

for the birthday boy

For their birthdays, I make my children the cake or meal of their choice. The morning of my little man's birthday he requested a red cake with m&ms. I am not a big fan of things in my cakes, so I thought that using the m&ms on the decoration might be to his liking....and mine. I gave it my best shot. I made a two-layer red velvet cake with cream cheese filling and icing, and used mini m&ms. He liked it, so that is what counts. :-)

party like a princess

My daughters were invited to a princess party recently celebrating the birthday of their friend "A." Elauna was so excited to go; she tried on her princess dress 3 or 4 times that week just in anticipation of spending the day with her friend. When we arrived to "A"s house, we were welcomed by her mother "Miss L" who had decorated the house so nicely for the party. She had planned the most lovely party for all the girls invited, and the moms sure enjoyed watching their daughters play. Little girls in cute dresses with their hair done up.

 

 "Miss L" had set up a photoshoot area with a pink linen backdrop and a white lace overlay, and balloons dangling around - very cute. There were tubs of dress-up clothes and a full length mirror. There were so many fun things for the girls, but I want to share why I was so impressed with this party.  "Miss L" gave her daughter something much nicer than just a princess party, and she let her sweet spirit shine through. She gathered the girls around to share a princess story, and she told them they are true princesses, because God in Heaven is their father. She told them he loves each little princess there very much.

 

When it was time to eat, she asked the little princesses to join her in the kitchen to help serve the meal to the mothers and grandmothers. Each girl was given a task, and each did it with a smile. It really was a delight. After the meal, the girls gathered round to watch "A" open her gifts and were delighted with her joy. "Miss L" then had them sit around the table to decorate cookies. They could decorate one cookie for themself and at least one to give to someone else. Through their creativity, they were learning to share and make something beautiful for another person. Elauna made her cookies to give away for her Papa and Mimi.

The love of the Father, a servants heart, sharing with others.
These are the things every true princess should know! Thank you "Miss L" and happy birthday "A"!