Currently Cultivating: holidays

Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Homemade gifts have become a staple in our house over the years. In the past they were often associated with whatever craft we were exploring at that time—we've since settled on hand embroidery (me) and woodcarving (him)—but the gifts were always well-received and often elicited a conversation about the ins and outs of our chosen craft.

With grad school on the horizon I will probably have to step back from homemade for a few years, but our aspirations for a simpler, more meaningful holiday season will not fall by the wayside. In fact, less time and an all-encompassing focus elsewhere means we will likely lean toward minimalism around the holidays for a period.

Some of our tried-and-true handmade Christmas gifts, which are fun to make + encourage family time + make the recipient feel loved:

Ornaments // My tree is covered in messy, hard-to-identify ornament projects Kiddo made throughout his preschool and elementary years. Every so often they need to be tended to with some glue or a needle and thread, but gosh if I'm not smitten with each and every one of them. Turns out, friends and relatives feel the same way about our adult creations! I've done an ornament project for the last 8 or so years, which we give to close friends and family. With Pinterest and Instagram, inspiration is everywhere. Bonus: it scratches that holiday crafting itch. (You can find some of my past ornament projects here, here, and here.)

Gift Your Hobbies // Over the past couple of years, I've gifted embroidery pieces. In the past it was jewelry, paper crafts, wool felting, crochet, and various other pastimes I explored. Husband carves beautiful wooden spoons by hand, which the recipient always treasures. I'm currently enrolled in a pottery class which includes unlimited studio time, firing and glazing. I didn't take advantage of those benefits in the early weeks of the course, but now I'm in the studio as often as possible which means many of my family and friends will be getting bowls and mugs this year. Will they be perfect? Not a chance! But they'll love them just the same and think of me every time they use that vessel. Whatever you're into (or have always wanted to try!), find a simple project and cross two things off your list.

Bake // We live in close proximity to a lot of neighbors that have become friends. I want to spread cheer to them during the holidays, and do so by making treats. I buy pretty canning jars and other inexpensive holiday containers in various sizes (which are gifts in and of themselves) and fill them with homemade treats like snack mixes, roasted nuts, caramel sauce, and cookies. Bonus: I get to bake without sweets lingering in the kitchen. (This Homemade Almond Roca is a perennial favorite!)

Share the love // If you know a friend would enjoy learning a new craft, make them a kit! With embroidery, for example, I would print a pattern (Pinterest is chock full of free patterns!) and include coordinating thread, the appropriate size hoop, a scrap of fabric, and a pack of needles. (Total cost: less than $5.) You could even make it more elaborate by including a cute tote bag, sewing scissors and/or a needleminder. Same goes for candle-making, wool felting, knitting/crochet or any other low maintenance craft: The supplies are simple, cost very little, and are readily available. (If it's a craft you enjoy yourself, you probably have almost everything on hand.) Even better? Include an IOU for lessons.

Framed photos // I had copies of Kiddo's senior photo printed on high quality matte photo paper and grabbed some simple frames from IKEA. Grandparents and other close relatives will get a photo all ready to hang.

More handmade gift ideas:

Giant knit blanket // This DIY video makes it look very doable.

DIY hanging holiday lanterns, which I think would be cute year-round.

Mini candles // I took a candle-making class recently and loved it! I picked up some mini Ball jars + scents, soy wax and wicks from CandleScience, all of which were relatively inexpensive and make a lot of candles. Every one of us in the class made a Blue Spruce candle—it seems to be a universally loved scent. I've been throwing around the idea of making mini candle trios for when I need a more substantial gift.

Martha Stewart's 54 Gift-Worthy Christmas Cookies

DIY Mason Jar Snowglobes (adorable! + adaptable to be non-Christmas themed!)

Infused Vodkas

DIY Wool Mittens (using old sweaters!)

Give me all your ideas!

Holiday Cheer: Handmade Gifts

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The last couple years I've scaled back on the hubbub around holidays. Fewer presents, less decor, more handmade, and simpler celebrations. This year, however, I'm focusing a little more on traditions. As a result I found myself in the garage digging out the holiday decor bins. I put up a few Halloween-related things. Then a few more. Our house is pretty darn festive right about now and I'm not the least bit sorry.

I think this craving for holiday traditions stems from the realization that this is Kiddo's last year at home before he adventures into relative adulthood—whether that be work or college has yet to be determined—and I want to squeeze every last joy out of this phase in our lives. Grad school acceptance means tunnel vision for the next few years; all the more reason to enjoy these moments in the meantime.

Here are some fall-related things on my mind:

Our neighborhood participates in "You've Been Booed," where you leave a basket of goodies on a neighbor's doorstep and they do the same for others. It's such a fun tradition!

When the weather gets cooler, cozy house clothes are my jam. Especially when I can run Kiddo to school in them and still feel somewhat put together. These joggers and this pullover are the newest addition to my comfy clothes arsenal. (so soft!)

Husband will be out of town on Halloween, and Kiddo is too old to trick-or-treat, so we'll be passing out candy together. I decided we should dress up just because. LLama + The Flash...hold on to your hats, kids!

I made this easy peasy pumpkin french toast a couple times last fall and it is bonkers good. It's back on the menu.

Watching Gilmore Girls for the umpteenth time, as I often feel drawn to do in the fall, and adoring this mug. (Am I dating myself to admit I watched all the seasons for the first time when they were on television?) Also, this mug!

An adorable DIY paper haunted house. (Made into a pumpkin diorama!)

Trying this Slow-Cooker Butter Chicken. (Thanks, Bridget!)

Putting together a skeleton paper doll kit by Paper Source. (Bought locally and not available online...similar here.)

Searched high and low for the perfect couch blanket—a binge-watching-Netflix kind of blanket—and I finally found it! Garnet Hill's Plush-Loft blanket is the winner. We love this blanket! I routinely have to stop Kiddo from smuggling it upstairs...

A sweet autumn embroidery pattern I'll leave up on the wall year-round.

Stopped into a shoe store in Portland the other morning after pottery class and bought a pair of Joules Wellibob ankle rain boots. It was love at first wear and they've been on my feet almost every day since. (Mine are the Clematis floral print, but I also love the other color options. Bees!)

Happy (early) Halloween!

Seen, Heard & Bookmarked: Embracing Fall Traditions

Friday, October 27, 2017

The past few years I've been a bit curmudgeon-y about Christmas. Well, not Christmas itself, but the societal spectacle that has accompanied the holiday season. This year, somehow, seems better. Less hoopla about Black Friday, more emphasis on Small Business Saturday, and the overall feeling that a little civility has crept back into the season. I'm feeling the call to decorate more simply, to give generously but gift prudently, and to bring some tradition back into our holiday season.

Chalk it up to less free time or a desire to decrease stress or less attention paid to pretense than past years, but I'm feeling more of the jolly and less of the ugh:

// I worked a 12-hour shift on Black Friday so it was as if it never happened. (I also worked Cyber Monday and didn't order a single thing.)

// I devoted all of November 27th to Small Business Saturday and participated in Portland's Little Boxes program. We bought a few small but thoughtful gifts for family at locally owned shops. (Less is more is my motto this year when it comes to gift buying in general.)

// I enjoy baking during the holidays, but don't want piles of sweets daring me to eat them all. Solution: gift my confectionery creations. I've baked cookies for neighbors and teachers, of course, but I've never really put together treat bags in lieu of a purchased item. Last year, for the first time, I made an extra batch of the almond roca I always give Husband and gifted some to friends and family. It left me feeling like I'd restored some tradition to the holidays. I've been wanting to add a few things to my repertoire, so I'm collecting recipes that look delicious and are easy to package and pass out as gifts.

// Mario and I agreed to an eight-gifts-or-less holiday. An arbitrarily chosen number (ten seemed too many?), but it will keep things modest. When you love someone and want to thank them for all the times they let you sleep in on school mornings or spared you homework duty or washed your underpants, it's hard to put limits on giving. But I'm voting for quality time instead of material things as a show of gratitude. Also, Kiddo is getting lots of books, not a single electronic-related gift, and we are officially done shopping for him. A new record.

// After spending an hour trying to design a holiday card online, I realized my heart wasn't in it. So for the first time in over a decade, we're not sending out a formal family card. In the process we are saving stress, oodles of money, and the pressure of writing an impressive What we've been up to! essay which always feels awfully self-indulgent anyway. (Were our lives more interesting, I might feel differently. But probably not.) Instead, a select group of close friends and family members will receive heartfelt, handwritten correspondence. I bought a pack each of Rifle Paper Company's Holiday Snow Scene and North Pole Map postcards from a local shop. They fit the simple + meaningful goal perfectly.

// Most years we've participated in a giving tree. Last year we were out of town and didn't know where to find one. I've always enjoyed giving more than getting (I am an awkward gift receiver), and I'd like to instill that same quality in Kiddo. I picked a person from our tree at the hospital and found out today that Kiddo's school has a giving tree of its very own. Getting back to this tradition feels very right.

// Husband and I were discussing when and where to set up the tree, and after a bit of hemming and hawing, we finally both came out with it: setting up the tree is a chore we don't look forward to. The hours spent assembling it, unwrapping and hanging box after box of ornaments, and untangling + hanging lights takes away from the joy for us. Why were we never honest about this before? Last year we set up a mini tree since we were spending the holidays in Montana, and it was such a relief to excuse ourselves from the effort. This year we are taking a less complicated approach to trimming the tree so we may spend more time enjoying it and less time hanging ornaments. Our halls are still decked, just more simply. (And only if it brings us happiness to do so.)

// Every year for the last 7 or 8 years, I've made a handmade ornament for Kiddo's teachers, friends, and family. More often than not, they became these overwhelming endeavors whereby I poured every ounce of the Type A tendencies I didn't know I had into making some Pinterest-worthy creation. Late nights spent holding tiny bottle brush trees with tweezers so they'd stay upright in the glass bottle I was trying to glue them into. Hours spent on the internet trying to find miniatures that often ended up costing a small fortune. (Exhibit A)(Exhibit B) Yes, people loved them. Yes, they were cute, fun to give, and earned me the admiration of others. But looking back I realize it wasn't worth the hardship. (I've since learned my value as a mother isn't tied to how much the teachers love me or how many elaborately decorated cookies I contribute to the Christmas program. The crappy overbaked and store-bought cookies others brought were consumed just as quickly; people aren't that picky.) This year I combined my ornament project with my desire to learn embroidery. Two birds, one stone. I downloaded some simple holiday patterns, bought a bunch of 3" wooden hoops, floss, and some muslin. Each one took less than an hour, cost just a couple dollars, and could be worked on while binge-watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel. I put a limit on how many I was going to make, which made each ornament feel more personal than in years past. I've enjoyed embroidering so much, in fact, I'm using the extra supplies to make a couple of handmade gifts for family members. (I also hauled in my glitter library from the craft tote in the garage and made my very own shimmering wreath, shown above. Husband is so supportive of my crafty impulses that he barely mentions the dusting of glitter on every surface of our home. Maybe next time you could keep the vacuum hose running next to you when you craft with glitter? You know, to catch the stray stuff?)

// I RSVP'd for the company cocktail party, but opted out of the cookie exchange. I'm contributing an ornament to the department tree, but I'm foregoing the ornament exchange party. Message to the me of years past: Don't be a hero, Sarah.

Here's to putting some sanity back into the holidays. And to letting things be a little less perfect. More handmade and less obligation.

Cheers!

Christmas, simply.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Objects that have made life a little kinder lately:

These holiday cards, for accomplishing the impossible: address change + Christmas card + year-in-review letter + family photos. (+ pre-addressed envelopes!) Our Christmas cards aren't usually this involved, but we've had a big year.

These terrariums, which hang in the kitchen window, for making dish duty feel a little less like a chore.

The Pacific Northwest's excellent hard cider offerings.

These iced lemon cookies, for being a universal crowd-pleaser. I whipped up a big batch and sent them off to friends and our new neighbors.

These tonics, for taking the edge off my allergies, shortening my cold, and bolstering my immune system.

This jade plant, for adding a little cheer (and a pop of green) to the dining room.

This face, which spends its evenings studying the Christmas lights.

This woodland wrapping paper, for being exactly what I was looking for.

This Tummy Tamer tea (left), which makes my grumbling belly feel so much better. (Husband is obsessed with the Circulatory Blend.) Every night after Kiddo goes to bed, we drink tea and watch an episode of Scandal. It's a rather lovely ritual.

This mini Christmas tree, for 1// satisfying my love of white trees, and 2// standing in for our big tree this year.

This stove top potpourri, for making our house smell so festive.

Also, yay for the little guys! Those small businesses and creative minds who make products I want to own, consume, and give. Natalie mentioned Kokosnoot, a fledgling coconut milk company, on her blog last month. They have 8 days left on their Indiegogo fundraiser. (If you donate $45, you get a copy of Natalie's book + other goodies.) Kiddo is totally dairy-free, and I have to avoid it in most forms, so we drink a lot of coconut milk around these parts. Natural, well-made products + hard working small businesses are super important!

whosits & whatsits

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Why all the secrecy? Why all the mystery?
If the guy exists why doesn't he ever show himself and prove it?
And if he doesn't exist what's the meaning of all this?
HOBBES: I dunno. Isn't this a religious holiday?
CALVIN: Yeah, but actually, I've got the same questions about God.

Bill Watterson

In the six years we had lived here, we had yet to attend the tree lighting ceremony in town. In our last year of living here, ironically, there have been a lot of firsts. People gather in Central Square, an island in middle of downtown. Citizens lost over the past year were remembered, The Polar Express was read, and Santa was ushered in on a fire truck, lights flashing. Finally, the tree that grows and thrives

right on the edge of the square was lit.

My toes were frostbitten, but I didn't care. The kiddos were hosting a bake sale fundraiser for an upcoming trip to Washington D.C., and the overall spirit of the evening was contagious. In just an hour and a half they received almost $500 in donations. After the month-long hubbub about Black Friday, my faith in humanity was restored.

I also took the opportunity to practice my night photography. Oh, and my favorite: the blurred Christmas lights shot. Mario gifted me this camera last Christmas, so this will be the first year where I can actually experiment with effects and lighting. I'm off to a good start, I think.

After the tree lighting festivities wrapped up, we decided to try a new restaurant we recently discovered. They serve authentic Cuban and Venezuelan food in a cozy, intimate setting. It has a decidedly mod feel. The food was off the hook and the prices were not fancy at all. We spent almost two hours talking, playing word games, and taking a tapas approach to dinner. The yucca fries were amazing, but the Cuban coconut cake was off the hook. Holy moly. I'm finding a recipe pronto.

I don't regret for a second opting out of the Black Friday frenzy. We went to CrossFit and ended up staying for two hours. There were so many people we had to be broken up into three groups, hence the length of the session. We had a great time! Everyone was interacting and helping each other out. I've been struggling with how to integrate Mario into my CrossFit world, but yesterday went a long way toward helping me find a better head space. I challenged myself and he was there cheering me on and serving as my rep counter.

I like this quieter, calmer approach to the Christmas season. We've allowed it to come more organically which has served to remove a lot of the stress that has historically accompanied the season. And because we avoided having Christmas forced on us, genuine excitement has begun to build. When we got home Friday night, Mario proclaimed that, for him, the buzzing began the moment the town tree was lit and the crowd began to cheer. I imagine a bit of it will happen for me today as we hang decades worth of ornaments, each containing their own memory from years past. Once the semester comes to an end on December 11, I will be able to really focus on the joy this time of year can bring.

CALVIN: This whole Santa Claus thing just doesn't make sense.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

- not the great occasions -

give off the greatest glow of happiness.

Bob Hope

source

I rarely, if ever, rant on this blog. Today it simply couldn't be helped.

Let me start by saying I love Christmas. I love giving. I love the food, festivities, and warmth the holidays bring. We watch A Christmas Story on TBS all day on Christmas, despite owning it on DVD. Watching Kiddo explore his stocking while sipping a cup of joe with my main man is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. Just so we're clear.

All that said, I'm fed up with Christmas. With its encroachment on Thanksgiving and Halloween, in particular. It has become a watered down holiday thanks to commercialism gone horribly awry. Retailers are so over the line, they can't even see it anymore.

Kmart proudly announced this week that they are outdoing all other retailers by opening at 6a on Thanksgiving morning. First, I wasn't aware people even shopped at Kmart anymore. I haven't seen one in over 10 years, to be honest. Second, can't Grandma's $10 toaster wait until Friday? Third, and most important, this mine is bigger than yours attitude that has developed between retailers over the last five or so years affects real, flesh-and-blood people. People who need some extra dough around the holidays. People with families. Sorry honey, if mommy wants to keep her job she has to work 24-hours straight through Thanksgiving. Are you kidding me? Are we, as consumers, so selfish as to deny others their family time because we simply can't wait one day to buy stuff that will be a distant memory by the time we've abandoned our New Year's resolutions? If people stopped showing up, there would be no incentive to push the boundaries in such a fashion.

Every year for the past 6 years, Kiddo and I have made ornaments for the people in our lives. Teachers, relatives, friends. It's fun finding ideas and executing them. It's a great way to bond with my child. This week Michael's had some great coupons. While shopping for supplies for this year's creation, I'll admit I got a twinge of excitement for the Christmas season (we have to start early to get them out in time to hang from trees). Yesterday, with a few minutes to spare before picking Jared up from school, I stopped by our brand-spanking new Kohl's. Christmas carols blared throughout the store and no less than 1/5 of the space was devoted to Christmas decor. Scrooge came back with a vengeance and it took all I had not to push over one of their trees. Not really, but I was on the verge of a good foot stomp. I like carols. But not in early November. Oh, and thanks Sirius, for replacing one of our favorite channels with Christmas music. A month earlier than last year.

What about all the good that can happen at Thanksgiving? I usually buy a meal for a family through a local grocery store. I want to take a moment to be thankful instead of having tinsel stuffed down my throat.

For those of you who put their tree up November 1st, well, that's your thing. No judgement! How you celebrate is up to you. If you came to my house and put up my tree, that's a different thing. And that's how I feel every time I walk into a retailer this time of year. Would you believe that I had to actively search for non-Christmas Kleenex at Target the other day? Like I want to be the oaf with a Santa box of tissues come February because I managed to evade a seasonal cold.

I proposed a radical idea to Mario a couple months ago: a cash Christmas. As in, no credit cards or dipping into savings. It took a while for him to come around. But he did. Each person gets x amount of dollars and it may buy ten presents or four, depending on what we decide to gift each other. Mario and I are on equal footing rather than trying to show our love and gratitude through the volume of gifts we purchase for each other. I also proposed pulling names out of a hat and having a gift exchange among Mario's family members in lieu of buying everyone a gift. And there's a $25 cap. I'm not sure how it was received by certain participants, but I don't really care. I don't want the burden. I don't want to move excess stuff next summer. There are people in my life who give obligations, not gifts. I want out.

The ornaments we make? They are gift enough! I don't have to keep stuffing the box with more things. What drives such behavior? Guilt? Pride? Perfectionism? A bit of each, I imagine. But I'm removing myself from this impossible scenario our culture nurtures. It has made me resentful of my gift recipients and come the 25th I'm usually burned out and stressed.

I'm tired of the rat race. Of agonizing over what to get people. I'm tired of being broke come January. I'm tired of forgettable gifts because quantity was prized over quality. Last year Mario gifted me my camera, perhaps the best present I've ever received. We enjoy it as a family and I'm recording memories. I've found a passion for photography. I honestly can't remember anything else I was given. And I know the boys feel the same way most years. I want my kiddo to grow up knowing how to spend responsibly. If I get him out of the holiday black hole before he's had a chance to fall prey, I'll consider myself a good parent in this department.

I've spent a great many years trying to keep up with the Joneses. Trying to outdo myself from year to year. Then I figured out the Joneses were just as stressed and in debt as I was (perhaps more). I want to enjoy Christmas with my family. So we're getting back to the basics. I realized the other day that next year we will likely be across the country and unable to enjoy Christmastime in New York City. Walking around all bundled up, looking at the window displays, eating great food, flexing my photography skills (this will be my first Christmas with a fancy camera). So we budgeted for a 2-3 day trip to the Big Apple between Christmas and New Years. That's gift enough for me, truth be told.

In the meantime, I can't help what's going on around me. But I'm staying out of it. I won't let it invade my headspace and my wallet. You'll find me enjoying the season when the season actually arrives; but you most definitely won't see me trampling another human over a cheap foreign-made television on Thanksgiving day. This is me taking back Christmas.

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I'm definitely high-fiving this Friday. Getting back into the swing of things is rough after 10 days spent lying around in my "house clothes" and sleeping in until 8-9a every morning. Thank goodness it has only been a three day week. The weekend gives me just enough time to undo the semblance of normalcy I've built up to these last few days.

1. Boy have I resented my alarm the last three days. If only Kiddo's school schedule was synced with the college's, we could all stay in our bubble just a bit longer. But, alas. One benefit of a 6a wake up call, however, is experiencing the sunrise along our morning commute. Mario drove Jared to school yesterday, so I took the opportunity to take some photos with my new camera. Sleeping until 8a would mean missing out on all that loveliness...so perhaps I could warm up to the idea of being a morning person after all. 2. I caught a kitty yawn! After days of stalking my photo subjects, I caught this moment in time. Every time I see it I hear the theme song to The Lion King. 3. Jared took his very first ski lesson on Wednesday. He's a natural, of course, and I can't wait until next week when they try out some hills. 4. Is there anything as simple and delicious as warm biscuits and jam? And a cup of hot coffee or tea? I thought not. I made them twice in the past week because they were really hitting the spot. I find making biscuits by hand to be very meditative. I may have been a British nanny in a past life. 5. The last glimmer of Christmas. We took down our tree and decorations on Tuesday, so these ornaments hanging from a restaurant ceiling were both whimsical and a little sad. The holidays are officially over. On the bright side, only eleven more months until the tree goes back up! It's the ciiiiircle, the circle of life.

High Five for Friday: Lions, Sunrise and a Spot of Tea

Friday, January 4, 2013

But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

Charles M. Schulz

Um, where have homemade marshmallows been all my life?! Sure, I've seen recipes for them here and there, but I always assumed they were reserved for those with a domestic prowess greater than my own. Wrong. So. Wrong. They are fluffy clouds of sugar and the wonder that is gelatin. And oh-so good.

Kiddo and I whipped some up on Christmas Eve and had them in some made-from-scratch hot chocolate Christmas night. Perfection.

There are a lot of recipes out there, and they're all pretty similar, but I went with Ina Gardner's Homemade Marshmallow recipe. She's the culinary goddess also known as The Barefoot Contessa. You knew that.

What's better with marshmallows than hot cocoa? I made the real thing for the first time. It was so good! I don't know if I'll ever be able to embrace store-bought hot chocolate and marshmallows again. I followed a Creamy Hot Cocoa recipe I found online, but modified it to be dairy-free. Even my alternative-milk phobic husband loved it. Success!

Dairy-free Creamy Hot Cocoa

1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3 1/2 cups unflavored, unsweetened almond, soy, or coconut milk (I used Silk unsweetened original almond milk)
3/4 tsp vanilla
dairy-free creamer to taste (I used Silk original creamer)

Directions:
Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes, using care not to scorch. Stir in the 3 1/2 cups of milk alternative and heat until very hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream (if desired) to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature. Top with a homemade marshmallow (or two).

All you need is love.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

My cup runneth over yesterday. With all the hubbub building up to it, I was afraid that I hadn't quite reached the peak of Christmas spirit. But it was an amazing day full of bonding, love, and amazing, heartfelt gifts. It was just me, the boys, and our little holiday bubble.

I was so surprised to unwrap a new camera! I always admire blogs with beautiful photographs and have wanted to improve my own for some time now. With this bad boy and some lessons, I think I can achieve my photography goals. It was such a sweet and unexpected gift from a thoughtful gentleman I am lucky to call my own. The fact that I took a picture of the box containing my fancy new camera with my iPhone is not lost on me.

It was a beautiful day filled with food, love, and lounging. It may go down in history as one of the best.

It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness surrounding the holiday season in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, but this moment is what I live for:

I hope you all had an amazing day!

Food, fun, felines, festivities and photography

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

for Christmas comes but once a year.

Thomas Tusser

Merry Christmas!

At Christmas play and make good cheer...

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Sometimes we require them.

Pat Conroy

Source: huaban.com via J E A N N E on Pinterest

An orange in the toe of our stockings. A Christmas Eve movie followed by appetizers for dinner. Opening one present on Christmas Eve.

Despite a rather hodge-podge upbringing, my siblings and I enjoyed some tried and true Christmas traditions. And although Santa often forgets to put citrus in Jared's stocking or we don't make it to the theater, there are a couple of traditions I've held on to and a few I've made for myself.

Although it was a Christmas Eve Eve Eve movie, the boys and I saw The Hobbit at a local community theater. It's tiny and cute. The theater, I mean. And the Hobbits. Three sodas, 1 large popcorn and 2 boxes of candy cost $11.50. And they play old Looney Tunes cartoons before the show, which makes arriving early to ensure a seat a pleasure for a restless kiddo. Now on to those traditions.

1. Appetizers for Christmas Eve dinner: While we were at a movie with our dad, my mom would whip up a finger-food feast. Homemade lumpia, pigs-in-a-blanket, crudites, tater tots...the list goes on. I have no idea how this tradition started, but it seamlessly continued once I had my son; and I received zero resistance from my husband on this one. My sister got her hands on my old favorite recipe for Seafood Rounds, which I will be trying out tonight. I hope it lives up to the memories. Jared is making pigs in a blanket, and Mario chose bacon-wrapped Little Smokies in brown sugar. Deeelish.

Source: brightnest.com via Sarah on Pinterest

2. Opening a gift on Christmas Eve: Just a small one, of course. Mario and I pass, but we love seeing the excitement build after Kiddo opens one and gets a taste of what's to come. It was one of my favorite traditions as a kid.

3. Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas morning: Another childhood tradition that has carried on. I'm crazy about Pillsbury's sweet orange rolls, and Jared picked out some chocolate rolls from Immaculate to try. The grocery store was out of traditional cinnamon rolls, so I'm guessing this tradition is not unique to us.

Source: browneyedbaker.com via Sarah on Pinterest

4. Watching A Christmas Story all day on Christmas: Despite owning it, we watch the continuous replay on TBS. It may be the single best Christmas movie ever made. A bold statement, I know, but we could watch it over and over again. We also own and watch the classic Christmas movies with the fun claymation/puppets and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Another contender for best movie is It's a Wonderful Life. It gets me every time.

Source: moviegoods.com via Sarah on Pinterest

5. Advent Calendars: I never did these as a kid, but Jared has had one every year since he was old enough. His favorite is the Lego Advent calendars, and he is very specific about opening, building and replacing the figurine back into it's slot. It is hands-down one of his favorite Christmas traditions.

6. Decorating sugar cookies: This is a fairly new tradition, because we are not big fans of sugar cookies in general. The thin, too-crunchy cookies from our youth or the soft, crumbly ones from the store with loads of frosting and sprinkles. A few years ago I discovered the classic Betty Crocker sugar cookie recipe that uses powdered sugar instead of traditional granulated sugar. It's a one-bowl deal and they turn out amazing. Soft but not too soft and amazing flavor. I think the secret is in the almond extract. I make a simple royal icing (1 cup of powdered sugar, a touch of vanilla and almond extracts, and approx. 2 tbsp of liquid...I most commonly use almond or coconut milk so Kiddo can enjoy them). I love to see what he comes up with!