Cookie of The Month Club

I know that everyone is probably done and ready to move on from Christmas posts but I really wanted to share Grace's gift to Bryce.  I think it's such a cute idea (if I do say so myself!) for a gift that children can make for a parent or grandparent.  It would work not only for Christmas but birthdays and Father's or Mother's Day too!

Bryce loves cookies of almost any sort, particularly chocolate chip cookies, which Grace makes for him fairly frequently.  For Christmas this year she gave him The Cookie of the Month Club.  Every month, for one year, she will make a batch of cookies just for him.  She even went ahead and selected cookies for each month loosely based on the seasons!

She made an adorable coupon booklet for him and wrapped it up along with her first batch of cookies, Christmas Coal, that were made with Oreos, a favorite!

Santa's Gifts

I almost forgot about my annual posting of Santa's gifts to the children.  I particularly loved the stocking stuffers this year. 

 

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned that Santa brings the majority of the children's gifts.  Both children got one gift from Bryce and I this year and the rest were from Santa or family.  To say the least, they were thrilled with all of their gifts!

 

Sibling Gifts 2013

Since we started making sibling gifts they, along with our other handmade gifts, have become one of my absolute favorite parts of Christmas.  The children are excited about making them and it's the first gift that is opened after Santa's gifts!  This year was all about the pillow!

Grace loves mustaches so Harris and I came up with the idea to make a pillow with interchangeable mustaches.  Since I have zero sewing skills, we enlisted the help of my Mom who did all the sewing for both the children's gifts.  Harris designed the mustaches and the face of the pillow, stuffed the pillow and helped cut out the mustaches.  He also made a little pouch for the mustaches that aren't being used.  He was delighted with the results as was Grace.

 

Several years ago, Al and Marilyn found this plaid, insulated shirt at a stadium that they were visiting.  After trying to find the owner, they kept the shirt and sent it to Harris.  Wouldn't you know that it became his favorite shirt and in fact, there is a period of time where every picture I have of Harris he is in this shirt!

It was a sad day when he realized it no longer fit him, but he didn't want to get rid of it.  Grace had the idea to make a pillow out of it to commemorate his favorite shirt.  I think the pocket was a stroke of brilliance.  It's perfect for little notes or tokens!

Christmas Menus

One of my very favorite meals of the Christmas season is Christmas Day breakfast.  I love the excitement in the air, family gathered round our table, the contentment of having all morning with no where to be, the light shining in our dining room and last, but certainly not least, the food!

We always gather together as a family in our pajamas for Christmas morning breakfast- even those who are driving to join us come in their pajamas!  It's a fun tradition that we've been doing since we got married (maybe even before?).  This years menu was perfect and I don't think it needs to be changed at all.

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Breakfast Casserole (made the night before)

Cinnamon Rolls with Eggnog Icing (also made the day before)

Candied Bacon and Regular Bacon

Gingerbread Waffles with maple syrup

Fruit

Hot Cocoa for the children with marshmallows and peppermint sticks

Coffee

Our Christmas Eve dinner is our more "dressy" meal.  We eat before we got to our church service and then have dessert once we get home.  We don't have a traditional dinner, though we've tried to find "the" menu.  We've tried everything from lobster to steak to seafood gratins but nothing has struck gold with us yet.  The problem is that we want a special dinner but we don't want all the clean-up!  To spend hours cleaning up in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, especially when you've got other matters to attend to, is frustrating.  Therefore, I've looked for something that's extraordinary but can be made ahead.  This year, I'm not sure that I struck gold but it sure was tasty!  I think perhaps it can be tweaked a bit to make it just right.

Also, years ago, Bryce used to make an Eggnog from scratch that was really tasty.  However, we somehow let that go and it has been years since it appeared on Christmas Eve.  No longer!  He once again made a delicious and tasty Eggnog that will always be on our Christmas Eve menu (there is absolutely no comparison to store bought.  None.)

Christmas Eve Dinner

Homemade Eggnog

Cheese Plate (Champagne aged cheddar and Wensleydale Cheese (Cranberry) with red grapes

Lobster Mac and Cheese

Boston Lettuce Salad with pomegranate seeds and  Champagne Vinaigrette

No-Bake Miniature Cheesecakes

Framed Christmas Art

Years ago, when the children were in preschool, they made hand-print Christmas art.  It's obvious that lots of care and attention went into making the Christmas tree and wreath (it's also obvious that a lot of help came from the adults) but they are such a wonderful reminder of that sweet, sweet time and of their precious hand-prints.  I love them and have pulled them out every year to display on our cork board.  However, I started to notice that the backing was getting little tears in it and the art was getting bent in our Christmas bins, and I was worried that they would get ruined over time.

My solution was to have them framed for permanent Christmas display.  I had the construction paper backing cut off and a simple red frame put on.  I played around with mats but ultimately decided that simple was best for this project.  I hung them behind the sofa on two hooks that normally have a much larger piece hanging on them but it works perfectly for the Christmas season!

This is what is usually going on while I'm trying to take pictures...

Christmas Outfits

I always enjoy picking out the children's outfits for church on Christmas Eve.  Usually whatever we buy also subs in for other "dressy" events we have during and after the Christmas season.  Grace is more of a jeans and sweatshirt kind of gal at this moment in time, but Harris loves to get dressed up.  Whenever he gets a blazer or bow-tie  he wears it fairly frequently and in his opinion it's even better if Bryce has something similar.   It's very cute if you ask me. 

 

This year we went with a red and gray theme.  Grace's skirt and cardigan (I got them 30% off!) are festive and pretty without being too cutesy or frilly and she will be able to wear them separately later on.  Bryce has a gray jacket so when I spotted this one on sale I knew it would be great for Harris!  He loves it!  The plaid shirt compliments Grace's outfit perfectly too.

P.S.  I know these are pretty poor photos- I just didn't want to spend more than 5 minutes taking them! 

An Airstream Christmas

Last year, my friend, Ashley, gave me an Airstream card that she had dug up from the Moma archives. I loved it so much that I mounted and framed it so that it can become a permanent part of our Christmas decorations.  Having plaster walls makes it hard to hang non-permanent pictures on the wall so I always switch pictures that are already up for the holiday season (or use 3M hooks!).  It fits in perfectly in our kitchen, and I just love that we have a fun reminder of the Airstream during the Christmas season! Thank you Ashley!

(not sure why the color in this photo is so off!)

Also, I couldn't resist buying an Airstream pillow when I spotted it at Pottery Barn.  

Yesterday, we had our first snowfall of the season.  We simply had to run over and put a wreath on the Airstream.  We're thinking she might even make an appearance in our Christmas cards this year!

An Ornament of our Home

As you all know, I love having ornaments that represent significant events, trips, interests or hobbies in our lives.  For each house we have owned (we are on our third!), I've had an ornament made to represent the house.  I love each one!  I recently acquired one for our current home and it's absolutely amazing!  Seriously.  So pretty.

I purchased it from Natalie Fanell on Etsy.  She had a waiting list but I was willing to wait and when it arrived it was Christmas in July!  Her work is so beautiful and I couldn't be happier with my ornament!

Hunting For a Christmas Tree

This year, for the first time ever, we went to a "cut your own" Christmas tree farm!  It was really fun to wander the grounds looking for the perfect tree.

Seeing the trees out in the open, I was worried that they weren't full enough or tall enough, but as the owner warned us, "They get a lot bigger once they are in your house!"

 My Mom always goes with us to get her tree as well!

Sibling Gifts 2011

When we started making sibling gifts several years ago (here, here, and here) I had no idea that it would become such a family favorite.  The children love making gifts for each other and it's the first gift they want to open on Christmas morning.

This year, Grace knew right away that she wanted to make some sort of animal for Harris.  She decided on a sock animal that she found in an old Martha Stewart Kids.  With a little help/guidance from her Grandma she created Mr. Meows for Harris.  He is darling and Harris adores him!

I helped Harris to make lip balm for Grace.  He was giddy the whole time he was making it (and he did almost all the work- he even shaved the beeswax!) because it was one big science experiment for him!  We followed the instructions from Martha Stewart and the balm turned out beautifully.  I think we will all be using it.  I waited a little too long to order pots or tubes so we used travel sized pots from Target and they worked out just fine.

Christmas Eve and Christmas

Christmas at our house was everything one could hope for (minus the snow, we wish we had some!).  

How was your day?  I"m already feeling the itch to clean-up, put away and organize for the new year!