christmas past

Growing up, our Christmas traditions were quite simple.   Christmas Eve meant going to a candlelight service at our church, and then a light supper at a local restaurant before going home.  The next morning, of course, we were all up early and ran down the stairs to open our gifts.  We’d spend the rest of the day eating wonderful meals cooked by my Mom, while my brother and I played with our new toys.  Dad looked on, helping with assembly.

One year, we decided to go to the Caribbean for Christmas.  Since we had few extended family members close by, we had the flexibility for the four of us to just pick up and enjoy the warm weather down south.

The beach and the hotel were decorated with Christmas lights.  All the traditional foods of turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, along with Caribbean fare were available. Although as a child, it felt different, and even with all the Christmas paraphernalia around us,  I’m not sure if it really quite felt the same.  Because it was so warm, all the snowmen (made out of ice) had melted.  Although there’s really no place like home to enjoy the holidays, I have to admit, that Christmas in the Caribbean is still memorable to me today.  Maybe it was the fact that we broke tradition just once, to see what it was like, that made that year stick in our minds. 

Now as a parent, I think it is something that would be interesting to try at least once for my kids.  Good friends of ours have decided to get away from the snow and go to Florida over Christmas, and although we were unable to join them, I think it’s fabulous that they’re creating a vastly different memory for their family.  They may or may not have started a new tradition for themselves, but I think they were tired of following everyone else’s traditions, and wanted to try for once, something new for themselves.

That is what Christmas memories are all about.  Although we can create great comfort with following the same traditions year after year, sometimes it’s nice to change things up a little, and do something that may be out of our comfort zone, and create new and unique memorable moments.

Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies

(inspired from a photo on Pinterest)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 1 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth.
• Beat in the eggs, then add vanilla.
• Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 inch thick.
• Cut into circles with any cookie cutter or create random shapes to mimic melted snowen.
• Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets or silpat.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.
• Cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the icing.  

Icing Ingredients

• 1 cup confectioners or powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. Milk
• 2 tsp. Corn Syrup (to make it appear shiny).
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• Chocolate powder (for brown colouring)
• Red gel icing (pre-bought at the store, or use red food colouring to add to the icing)
• Marshmallow (for the head)

Preparation

• Mix the sugar, milk and corn syrup.  
• Using the back of a spoon, smear the icing haphazardly to appear like the snowman is melting.
• Slightly warm the marshmallows in the microwave for about 10 seconds, then add onto the icing to stick to the cookie.  Using your finger, lightly flatten the marshmallow so it appears like the snowman's melted head.
• Take any remaining icing, add chocolate powder to make brown, then pipe on the eyes, arms etc.
• Using the red gel icing, make the nose and buttons.

Enjoy.

{Attending these beautiful  parties...Privet and Holly}

worth a thousand

Two story, Chanel-themed dressing room in Texas

Actually, this one is worth $35 Million!

Grand French Chateau on 90 acres

breaking bread

Sometimes spending a meal together as a family can be difficult, especially when schedules of both the children and adults collide.

It’s wonderful that with Christmas around the corner, most of the kids’ extracurricular activities have begun to wind down and pause (and I mean just pause, and ever so slightly), allowing us just a few more opportunities to “break bread” together as a family. 

I love all the foods that come with Christmas.  Just like Thanksgiving, I can never tire of turkey, stuffing, gravy, and all the Christmas treats!  The ginger bread cookies!  The candy canes!  The chocolate covered nuts or anything!  However, the only thing that our family doesn’t particularly enjoy is Christmas pudding.

I think the concept is interesting.  My kids love fruit, however, they’d probably prefer something that tasted more like “chunky monkey” sandwiches (banana and Nutella sandwiches), a sandwich inspired by the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream flavor of the same name.  So, when I discovered this interesting Nutella Croissant Pudding found here, I thought, how about making a different kind of pudding...not necessarily a Christmas pudding per se, but a bread pudding that all of us can enjoy.

Let’s just say, the kids loved it!  Although it's not your usual Christmas pudding, here’s a different kind of bread pudding that might just be a new tradition (Christmas or any other time of the year!) 

Nutella Croissant Pudding/Chunky Monkey pudding

(adapted from Inspired Taste’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 croissants (preferably 1-2 days old)
• 3/4 cup Nutella
• 1 banana, sliced
• 2 eggs
•  ½ cup heavy cream, ½ cup 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
•  1/4  teaspoon salt
•  ½ cup sugar 
• 2 tbsp. cashews or any other kind of nut
• Powdered sugar (for finishing touches)

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Slice each croissant in half lengthwise then slather one side with Nutella. 
• Add sliced bananas. 
• Make sandwiches and cut into 2-inch pieces.

• Add sandwich pieces and sprinkle with nuts to a small baking dish or loaf pan.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, almond extract, salt and sugar together to make a custard.
• Pour the custard over the sandwich pieces then gently push down the bread to absorb the custard.
• 
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for about 10 minutes until the bread pudding is golden brown and the liquid has been completely absorbed. 
• Let cool and then sprinkle on powdered sugar to finish.

Serve warm...with ice cream (Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, perhaps?)




{Attending these beautiful  parties...Centsational Girl}

comfort and joy

I was on a recent school field trip with my son, where we visited a beautiful local lake that was once inhabited by the Native people (Iroquoians to be specific).

It was a full day of walking around, observing the lake, learning about the trees and the way the Natives lived off the land.  It takes approximately 5 deer skins to outfit one child.  They didn’t have vitamin C from oranges to prevent them from getting scurvy, so they had rosehip tea instead.

I was amazed at all the ways they had to be resourceful.  Nothing was taken for granted, they all understood that it took a village to help each other, and they worked.  And worked hard.

The women worked on the farm.  They raised their children together and ran a full household.  The men hunted and protected their village.  They built from cedar trees around them.

Although they didn’t have the comforts of modern day living, I bet you they were happy.  Working together…as a village…as a family, is incredibly rewarding.  They cherished everything they had, because they hunted it or made it themselves.  And it’s all they had….nothing was left to waste. 

So this holiday season, I hope that I can be just as resourceful, using simple ingredients from my kitchen cupboard, to create things, while not as life dependent as rosehip tea, but something that is made by hand, to be cherished.

Homemade Clay Gift Tags

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of baking soda (about 1 box)
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 ½  cups water
• Sauce pan 
• Spoon
• Plastic wrap
• Wax paper
• Cookie cutters
• Rubber stamps  (from the craft or dollar store) or toothpick
• Straw

Preparation:

• Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring consistently, until it is too thick to stir with a spoon.
• Cool for a few minutes, or until it's cool enough to touch. Place on the plastic wrap. (Clean/soak the pan immediately or you’ll have clay stuck on your pan!)
• Roll out the dough so it’s the thickness you require. 
• Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut out your shapes.
• Using a straw, cut a hole at the top of the ornament.
• Using a toothpick (I like using the plastic ones which are easier to use), create your message if you want it handwritten, or use a rubber stamp.
• Once you have molded it, it will take 1-2 days for the clay to dry. This clay can be painted with either Tempera or acrylic craft paints.

Joyfully, tag your gifts.

hot hot hot

One of the first movies my son ever watched in a theatre was “The Polar Express” (by Robert Zemeckis).  It was in 3D, and although I’m not a huge fan of 3D movies, this one in particular was really magical to see.  I think it was more interesting to watch our son’s reaction than the movie itself.  In particular, it was funny to see him stick his tongue out to try to catch the snowflakes during one of the opening scenes of the movie.

My personal favourite scene from “The Polar Express” movie has to be the one where all the waiters on the train come out with hot chocolate for the children, singing “hot-hot-hot-hot chocolate”.  Very musical theatre in style, it truly set the tone for the magic to come in the movie, and has become our household’s “must see” movie to watch every Christmas season.

Photograph courtesy of screened.com

As the temperature begins to descend, I hope amidst all the holiday craziness, we can all still feel some magic with the season, stay warm, or even feel “hot, hot, hot”!

Homemade Hot Chocolate

(serves approx. 4-6 people)

Adapted from Rachel Ray’s recipe…I’ve halved the sugar, as I found her recipe a little too sweet.

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• ½  cup water
• ¼  cup sugar
• ½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp. butterscotch chips
• 35% Whipping Cream, (available in cartons in dairy aisle-just take an electric whisk and whisk until soft peaks form)
• 1 tbsp chocolate shavings (I like to use a vegetable peeler to "peel" a chocolate bar to make shavings.)

Preparation

• Heat milk, water, sugar to a boil.
• Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and butterscotch chips until they melt into milk. 
• Pour into small mugs or cups and top with whipped cream swirls and toffee.

Sip slowly, and enjoy.

worth a thousand

Laucala Island, Fiji

let it snow

As we approach Christmas, we start to prepare ourselves for winter weather.  Some parts of Canada already have snow, and lots of it, but according to The Weather Network , for where I live, we should brace ourselves and get our shovels ready for a lot of snow this winter.

I never used to like the snow, but I think I’ve slowly changed my tune. I like it during the holidays when the kids aren’t in school, so I don’t have to drive frantically in it.  (although as soon as school begins in the New Year, I would like the snow to disappear). 

I think now as a parent, I can appreciate the beauty of glistening, fresh, powdery snow.  When it falls lightly from the sky… and you stick your tongue out…pure childhood magic.

It’s that childhood magic that has helped me appreciate the snow more.  Making snowmen, igloos, snow angels.  Now don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like bundling all of us up with snowsuits, jackets, scarves and all the paraphernalia that goes with winter wardrobes.  

However, now that our kids have learned to ski, we now have a new family sport.  If it means we get more time to spend together, enjoying the outdoors…well...bring on the snow!

Easy Snowflake Wreath

This craft takes about 5 minutes to do, assuming you have a hot glue gun.  I saw this project here, and thought...I have those snowflake ornaments!  The snowflake ornaments are flat, and can be found at most craft or dollar stores.  I attached another snowflake with ribbon below the wreath, to fit my long windows.

something to hold on to

My husband likes to say I “over produce” everything.  I guess I am the type of person who, when tackling a project or a task, I give it my best…my all.

Although that sounds like a wonderful attribute, I have to admit, it can be at times, paralyzing.  With our data access at almost over capacity, my computer has been quite slow lately…largely due to the fact that I have over 9000 photographs on my computer.  And my computer is not even a year old!

According to Facebook, on average over 250 million photographs are uploaded each day.

I wonder if in this "Facebook era", do we take millions of pictures to boast what we’ve done or seen.  Or do we do it to remember it?  It might be a little bit of both, but I’d like to hope that people photograph obsessively because we love to share.  For me, there are so many beautiful things that I see, things my children do, special “Kodak moments” that I want to capture, that I want to hold onto it forever. 

I think keeping these memories are a gift.  When I look at past photographs, I’m thankful that I've documented everything and have memories to share as a gift for others.

Quick and Easy Photo Gift Card holder

Print a sheet of paper with your message.
Take as many photographs of your loved ones holding the greeting sign.  Print the photograph.
Attach the gift card using tape, or cutting out around the hands, so the card fits into the slits.

Enjoy the gift of giving.

a smile a day

The advent calendar is a fun tradition in our home.  Every morning in December, the children rush to see if there is any little surprise in the “pockets” of their calendar. Chocolate covered smiles follow.

According to Wikipedia,

“The origins of the Advent calendar come from German Lutherans who, at least as early as the beginning of the 19th century would count down the first 24 days of December physically. Often this meant simply drawing a chalk line on the door each day, beginning on December 1.”

Advent calendar using the actual windows of the German city of Hünfeld's town hall in Advent

The advent calendar is such a lovely way to anticipate the big day.  Although today, most advent calendars are made for children, I thought it would be nice to have an adult reminder too.

1)  Find a plain wreath.  2) Using heavy stock paper, fold into envelopes.
3)  Using stencils found at the dollar store, number accordingly.
 4)  Assemble favour boxes (found in the wedding section of craft stores, like Michaels).
5) Stencil numbers on labels.  6) Attach labels to ribbon, and tie all the boxes & cards to the wreath.

As I look at our advent calendar, it puts a smile on my face too...now we can enjoy our own special countdown before Christmas day.

{Attending these beautiful  parties...Domestically Speaking, Coastal Charm, Homemaker on a Dime, House of Hepworths}

worth a thousand

Madikwe, South Africa

What a cozy place to sit.  Love being surrounded by lanterns.