Christmas In A Nutshell

Christmas Eve~ At my brother's house.  I try to get all the cousins in a photo together as often as possible.  They grow up and change so quickly!

Charlie and Ava~too cute!

  

Presents!!!

Mom gets some help from Ava.

Me! In a photo for once!

Christmas Day ~We remembered to snap this family shot just moments before heading out the door to Steve's sister's house.  We have so few pics of us all together.

 Another Cousin group shot!

 Exec. Chef Tracy with her sous-chefs/kitchen hands/stewards.  Those big kids are such a help!

 Steve and his Mom. Cute!

Crazy busy couple of days with the family, but so, so enjoyable!

Merry Christmas!

We hope Santa brought you everything you wished for this year!

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread House

Ah, the Gingerbread House kit.  So simple, yet so much fun.  Years ago, I used to scoff at these kits in the store thinking, "How lazy to buy the pieces already baked!  I am invincible and will do it myself."  Well, I got over that pretty quick. 

Call me lazy, but $5.99 at Aldi bought the boys plenty of fun, I didn't have to lift a finger to help, 

 and the results are a lovely dwelling any fairy tale character would be proud to call her home!

 

How about you?  Do you bake your own gingerbread to construct a house, or do you go straight for the kit?  What's your tradition?

Bumble's Weakness

When I set Bumble up last night to announce our holiday activity for the following day, he was decorating this ceramic Gingerbread house. The activity being building and decorating a real one.

At some point though, the scene got changed up a bit. Evidently Bumble couldn't resist the sweet temptation.  Now I guess the activity for this afternoon will just have to be Eating Icing. 

We all have our weaknesses. 

December 4th

We decorated the tree!!

Our tradition is to listen to the story CD of the Nutcracker as we put on ornaments.  

And we made a wonderful snack to much while decorating, too.  Cinnamon Almonds. Oh my, yum!

The boys all receive a new ornament on St. Nicholas day each year, and it is always great fun to look through the collections each Christmas.

What are your tree trimming traditions?

December 3rd

Around here, our version of Elf on the Shelf is simply the lovable Bumble.  He doesn't watch anyone, or report to Santa, but he does move around every night and announce the fun holiday diversion for the day.

For instance, here Bumble announces "Take the day off from school" as he chomps on the school bus he obviously chased down that morning.

And here he has demonstrated the day's activity...paper snowflakes!

   

 Paper snowflakes are messy.

 Will, dissatisfied with tiny snowflakes, shows us all how it's really done!

Ben also made some snowflakes from old sheet music (see just above his arm).

 

 Then there was this unfortunate "accident" with the scissors.*  I love how the elf in back is all like "What? I didn't do it."

I think they turned out better this year than in the past, thanks to proper folding techniques and some great on-line templates!!

I'm especially proud of my "Weeping Angel" snowflake in the upper left corner.  I'll try to get a better close-up picture and post it later.

  

And Charlie's snowmen turned out pretty awesome, too!

So far we have most of the first floor windows decorated with flakes, but I'd love to do enough to decorate a whole room ala the movie Elf (which we just watched the other night, by the way)!  And maybe, just maybe, our snowflakes will encourage some of the real stuff to fall!

*Hermie was already broken at the time of this photo, and is awaiting repair.  No Elves were harmed in the making of these snowflakes!

December 2nd

The older boys are working at the Boy Scout tree lot again this year, so we went during one of their shifts and picked out our Christmas tree.  I forgot my camera, so here's a flash-back photo from 2010. 
We have absolutely no snow on the ground right now, so this photo is making me a little nostalgic for winter. REAL winter!

Make up your mind already, Lady!

We picked out a Fraser Fir this year and I love it!  We usually get a Balsam, but the change pleases me! Someday I will have a White Pine, which cannot hold an ornament to save its life, but they are so delicate and beautiful! 

Which variety of tree is your favorite?  Balsam, Frasier, Douglas, Scotch Pine? Obligatory Other? Or is artificial more your style?

December 1st

We have been keeping busy with holiday-related activities here, as well as our continuing our studies.  We started out December with some ornament making.

Ben and I made these charming bird ornaments from card stock, old book pages and sheet music.  It was a struggle to find a book to tear pages out of.  We finally settled on an old copy of David Copperfield.  Instructions to make your own can be found here.

 Charlie and I made this adorable felt penguin together.  We glued him instead of sewing, and he came out so cute!  Charlie loves him.   Directions and a template are here.

I keep finding fun ideas on Pinterest for more ornaments, so I'm sure we'll be firing up the glue gun again soon!  Are you making any unique ornaments for your tree this year?

Peppermint Bark

Usually we like to stick with cookie baking around our house, but when I saw the recipe for this peppermint bark at The Long Thread, I thought it couldn't hurt to give some Christmas candy a try.  

Predicting this won't last long at our house

Super simple to make, (it's basically just melted chocolate chips) and super sweeeeet to eat. Pretty to look at, too.  If you're interested in giving something like this for gifts, The Long Thread even has a downloadable label and packaging ideas for you.

Chocolate Dipped Spoons

With all the snow (we got 23" on Saturday!!) and cold weather lately, and Christmas fast approaching, we have been trying to keep busy with making tasty treats, interesting crafts and decorations.  This past weekend the blizzard put us in a very Hot Chocolate kind of mood, so these delicious Chocolate Spoons seemed like the perfect undertaking for extra sweet treat time.  

 Incredibly simple to make, you just melt your chocolate chips (we also used Reese's Peanut Butter chips) in the micro, dip your spoons and add your favorite accompaniments. 

 We used what we had on hand: crushed peppermint candy canes, coconut, mini-marshmallows, and additional chocolate chips.

Smashing Peppermints

Our inspiration came from Alphamom.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out

At The Minneapolis Institute of Arts & Children's Theater

Back in November one of my home schooling friends arranged for a December field trip to The Children's Theater Company to see A Christmas Story.  We were so excited when the big day finally arrived this past week. We have seen a few other plays here in the last couple of years and they have always done a fantastic job; A Christmas Story was no exception.  We all laughed our way through the production and enjoyed sharing the day with friends.  

Chaz and Liam

The play (and the movie) are based on the short stories and anecdotes from the childhood of Jean Sheppard. The story is set in the 1940's at Christmastime and tells the tale of Ralphie Parker who only wants one thing for Christmas: "An official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass and this thing...which tells time...built right into the stock".  Hilarity ensues as Ralphie works out the best way to convince the grown-ups in his life that no other gift will do.

Definitely a day to remember, and a highlight of our holiday!

Elf Ornaments

With all the Christmas hubub around here this past weekend, Charlie has been asking, nay, begging to do some holiday crafts.  I spent some time on the internets looking at my favorite kids craft sites and have come up with some good ones to make in the days to come, but we got started today with Pine Cone Elves from Pink and Green mama's blog.   Will joined in on this one, too.

It's always a good day when I find that I have all the needed materials on hand for a spontaneous project.  Today was just such a day, although I wish I had some of the cheerier colors of felt like Pink and Green used.  Oh well, traditional Christmas redwhitegreen it is!  I am just darn impressed that I was able to pull the doll bead heads out of my lowly craft bin! 

I have to admit that I did much of the work on these guys because of the hot glue and fine motor cutting skillz that Charlie just hasn't mastered yet.  He was really into doing what he could with me though.  I applied the glue and he put the pipe cleaners, felt and head in place.  Each step of the way they became cuter and cuter and kept Charlie interested in continuing.  

Here is how they came out.  I think we were "supposed" to put the head on the other (flat) end of the pine cone, but hey, I'm a craft rebel.  And they came out so very cute I don't think it really matters!  

So cheery!

I have yet to add a little embroidery thread hanger to the hat, but for now they will sit snugly inside the branches of our tree.

O Christmas Tree

Well that was fun!  We enjoyed decorating our tree last night while listening to the story of The Nutcracker, adapted by Janet Schulman.

 

This book comes with a full-length audio CD featuring Tchaikovsky's music and a narration of the story by actress Claire Bloom.  It set the mood nicely for us.

I am happy to report that I didn't curse once while stringing the lights, nor did I try to interfere with the placement of favorite ornaments.  Following tradition, Steve made himself scarce until it was time for the ceremonial placing of the tree-topper.

Every year the kids take turns placing the star on the top of the tree. 

Charlie 2009

 

It is one that Steve made for me in our college days from sports car parts and love. I treasure its simplicity still. 

Cue angelic voices and sparkle effects

This year Bumble had the honor, with a little help from Ben of course.

"That is one Humble Bumble"

  Looky what he can do, and he doesn't even need a step ladder!

Ben, 12 years old and 5' 8", reaches the top with ease.

And here is the tree in all its lighted glory (or at least the best we could do not being professional photographers).

Pretty, no?

Unprecedented

Normally we are a family that does not put up a Christmas tree until, oh, maybe a week before Christmas.  I am just that way. While I do choose fun projects and outings to do with the kids, I try to keep things to a low simmer, not a manic frenzy. I don't bake a bajillion cookies, or shop on Black Friday, or go out and chop down a tree mid-august.  I bypass the Christmas aisles that spring up just as the Halloween candy gets hauled away, and shun any radio station playing carols until Christmas Eve.  Bah-humbug, right?  I know.  So what is the meaning of all this, a full month before Christmas!? 

Have I lost my mind?

Well, no, I lost my mind long ago, so that is not the issue right now.  I am just trying to turn over a new leaf and not be such a damn crab about everything.  I am trying to be positive about the holidays because I know it is fun for the kids to decorate and bake cookies and enjoy all the carols.  I can do this.  I can be full of Goodwill and Cheer.  Just watch me.  Helping me along with this installing of a tree so early in the season is the fact that Ben is working the Boy Scout tree lot in town this year, so it was only right that the family support his cause.

"Well, M'am, it is so close to Christmas that we are almost out of trees. Not."

 A dear friend of mine, who loves Christmas to pieces, also gave me some motivation to get a tree from Ben:

"I think you should have a little fun with Ben; ask him to pull out tree, after tree, after tree, after tree, for you to walk very slowly around & then dismiss as being 'hopelessly wrong for the space you have in mind' while waving your hand haughtily and taking a swig out of your leg flask."

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Too fat.

Too thin.

This isn't one of those trees where all the needles falls off, is it?

How could I resist that bit of fun?! And this sage advice really made me see the light. I don't have to completely give up the crabby me in order to enjoy the holidays after all.  

What?  I just want to find a nice tree.  Is that so wrong?

Oh sure.  Wander away to help those "real" customers.  So rude.

Here's the final  pick all loaded up and ready to take home.  Sure looks nice on top of the car. 

Are you suuuuure it doesn't need to be tied down?

Stay tuned for the decorating!!!

Falalalala-lala-la-laaaaaa!