Category: Holidays
Christmas Tree Clippings from Fraser Firs & More🎄
I started this ritual four years ago. We pick up our Christmas tree, and I collect an arm full of clippings, using them later to make our mail box festive like everyone else’s in our neighborhood.
After we choose our tree, we get back to the car, and wait for our tree to get wrapped to the top of our car. Here I stand next to a mountain of clippings, and I always ask for permission to dip into the mountain, and I am always encouraged by the sales people to pick up the entire load 😂 Beautiful, green branches, with the fresh scent of Fraser Fir, that fills my car, as I drive home with our Christmas tree (which we can’t smell) on top of the car, looking like a Christmas card.
After a few days, weather permitting, I take some branches, and the trimmings that I will be using, to the mail box, and start working. It usually takes a few minutes to arrange the branches, trim a few, add berries and pine cones to make our mail box looking festive, colorful and beautiful. 🎄
I kept these berries and pinecones from last years wreath, I add them for color and more texture🎄
I still have plenty of clippings left, I am planning on using them around the house for center pieces, and the fireplace mantle. I will Take photos for another blog, stay tuned 😉Have a wonderful holiday season🎁
A Gift Idea
No matter how early I start shopping for family and friends, there is always the last minute shopping, when the on line deadline makes it impossible to get that last gift on time. I create two lists for gift ideas. One is for family members that have giving me hints on what they like Santa to bring, since Halloween , and the 2nd list is names of friends, and people that I don’t know well, but I like to acknowledge their kindness, toward my family during the year. Our teachers, our mailman, three trash collectors, and three recycling collectors, and new friends, are on my 2nd list.
There are two facts I always keep in mine, when shopping on behalf of Santa. Everyone’s hobbies, and interests. It can be something new, like starting yoga, swimming, or traveling, or a life long interest like, writing, reading, gardening, and cooking. And when it comes to shopping for teens and younger adults in my family, I am always hoping to introduce them to a hobby, that I think they might enjoy to try, and experiment with. Since I prefer Online shopping. choices are limitless, and the fear of ending with dorky, absolutely uncool gift is close to impossible. The window to the world of young consumers is wide open through all the social media platforms, and with one search word it is easy to find the write gift, and read hundreds of reviews related to it. I know for me going off the Christmas wish list and purchasing that one gift that might start a life long interest is not going to be too risky!!
As I always have, every Christmas, I purchase writing instruments, journals, coloring books, and pencils, for many of my young family members. Helping them to discover their interest in the joy of writing with a beautiful fountain pen, and drawing and sketching with great quality pencils. Hoping they see the joy of writing in a notebook, or sketching their thoughts in color. Using other tools to express themselves, in peace and quiet, with the sound of their pencil against their notebook, without the distraction of popping texts, and emails.
I wish you and your family a joyful holiday season. 🎄 and I hope you watch and enjoy “ Looking For Gift Ideas” video on our YouTube channel, and please support us by subscribing. 🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁
How to add more flavor 😋😃🙌
Hot cocoa, also known as hot chocolate is an international drink. It isn’t a beverage for just winter season or cold climates, since this delicious drink made with coco powder, and hot whole milk, and sugar to sweeten it, is very soothing and fun to drink for little ones and grown ups.
I grew up drinking hot coco with my breakfast, and never ever dreamt of adding anything else to my chocolaty milk, till now. More chocolate with added flavors.
Marshmallows, salted caramel, mint chocolate, even for fun jelly beans. It is super easy to make with your entire family, and a step by step video will give you some more ideas on how to make these flavor boosters for hot drinks, and even for dressing up vanilla ice cream for a jaw dropping presentation. I hope you enjoy making them, and if you come up with more ideas please share it with me.👍😋
Merry Christmas 🎄
We hope you enjoy the video link I have included from this years beautiful fall’s sounds and sites.
Holiday Baking is on ❄️🍪🙌
Cooking and baking has always been a fun hobby that I have enjoyed immensely. I am an average cook that loves to experiment with cooking healthy meals. I enjoy baking, just simply because I am addicted to chocolate, and for me a lovely pastry with coffee, and tea is a trip to heaven and back☺️
This year, more than ever in my life 😥 I have been cooking and baking for my family, and now for holidays I have decided to bake new goodies and find my new favorites.
I started with :
Pizzelle 👩🏻🍳 every Christmas we enjoy eating these lovely lightly sweet giant snow flakes all day long when we travel to see grandparents. This Christmas I had to bake our own batch 😳 I pulled out my pizzelle maker which I had received years ago as a Christmas gift, and used grandmas’s recipe. After a couple of tries they came out perfect snow flakes 😋
Italian wedding cookies 👩🏻🍳 they are made with crushed almonds, and coated with powder sugar, and look like small snow balls. They are beautiful to look at, and are lightly sweet, and believe me when I say 🤣 you can’t stop at just one.
Cranberry bars 👩🏻🍳 using leftover cranberry sauce from thanksgiving meal, I baked these thick delicious bars with two flaky layers of dough, cushioning a layer of my chunky cranberry sauce, and a layer of walnuts. I am already thinking of making more of these bars with almonds. This is my absolute new favorite 👍
Peppermint bars 👩🏻🍳 I have always bought them as gifts for friends, and loved having them during holidays. This year never found the time to purchase them on time, so I decided to make some. Couldn’t perfectly layer the white chocolate over the dark chocolate, but the result was a swirl of dark and white with crushed peppermints that made little ones very happy to crush and spread over the baking dish. Easy, fun to make, and very delicious. Next time I will make it thinner, so it would be easier to cut, and I have more to eat👍
I wish you all happy cooking and baking💕please check out our YouTube channel. And please subscribe and leave your comments. I love reading them and sharing more videos with you. https://youtu.be/Qb8lgNMk8AY
Keeping it together 🥰
I can list many things we are not doing this Christmas, but I realize I will be only whining, and not respecting the facts that this has been a historic year. The events of this year has changed many lives, and will change the way we used to entertain for many years to come. Special days like birthdays, anniversaries will be remembered as not so memorable, and our photos will be good evidence of that, but we also know family get togethers during Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas will never be the same again.
In my Family events that get us together include our grandparents, and close relatives. Their presence is necessary and important to us, and their visits has always left an impression on our children. Every occasion matters, and they are memorable. This Christmas family visits are not possible, and to keep grandma, and grandpa part of our fast growing family (one day they are toddlers, next day they are teenagers) we are staying in touch using everything accessible to all of us.
Sending pictures while trimming the tree, baking, and decorating the yard has kept our family close and involved. Trying to create memories together while not being in the same space. Keeping it together until things are back to normal !! “after all tomorrow is another day”❤️
Paper Garlands for Christmas 🎄
During the holiday season, decorating has become an important note on our todo list, right after shopping and baking cookies. For my family holidays always called for traveling, and cooking. And this year unfortunately traveling is out, entertaining is out and we are left with cooking, baking, and keeping our family busy, happy, and healthy.
During holidays making ornaments to decorate the Christmas tree became a way to also entertained our guests, specially the younger ones. Nieces and nephews, grandparents, and classmates, will spend time putting together a ginger bread house, or get crafty and make ornaments, to keep or give as gifts. This year with a smaller number (no guests ) we are still planning on making paper garlands, and ornaments, decorating, baking, thinking of our family, friends, and just be thankful and grateful during the holiday season.💕
To see step by step instructions on how to cut a perfect angel and a Christmas tree garland Please click on this video 🎄 https://youtu.be/nJDlqF70Z_I we love to read your comments💕 so please watch, leave a comment, and subscribe👍
Have a safe and happy holiday season ❄️☃️
Thanksgiving Cranberry sauce 😋
Cranberry sauce is delicious, super easy to make, and so good for us. these small red berries loaded with vitamins, add more flavor, and amazing color to our holiday table.
Please click on my video link to see step by step directions on how to make a delicious, simple cranberry sauce for your thanksgiving meal.
Place cards for the holiday table😋
This is a fun project that my family actually loves to work on without complaining. It is part of setting our table for our family before sitting down to give thanks for all the wonderful goodness around us.
This year we are setting a smaller table, but the work is still there, and we need place cards to be clear who is sitting where. Yes for the three of us !! Our fun project started with gathering our supplies. We get creative and try to be colorful, interesting, and unique.
Please watch my video for more photos on how to make fun, natural, beautiful place cards with your family👍 Have a wonderful, safe holiday season💕
HouseResort 