Christmas is the Best!

I look forward to the Christmas season every year. I love the glow that Christmas trees and decorations create in the home. I love the colder weather. I love that people, for the most part, are a little bit kinder (assuming you're not shopping on Black Friday). One of the traditions in our house is setting up 2 Christmas trees. One is our "pretty tree". The other, the "fun tree".

The pretty tree stems from my love for visiting places that are decked out for Christmas. I loved to see the "designer" trees that were more uniform in their colors and seemed to have themes. Years ago I found the ribbon I used on our tree and fell in love! It's got an iridescent sheen to it and if you look at it from one angle, it's a true Christmas green and from another angle it is red. The ornaments have changed over the years as I've found new ones or new ideas. I got the idea to put colored "icicle" streamers inside glass ball ornaments. They shimmer in the lights and add another dimension of color and sparkle. To pay homage to the reason for the season, the only ornaments that are not balls are the stars. Crystal-looking stars in the shape of the Star of Bethlehem and gold stars. I love this tree, so much so, that I've kept it this way for at least 10 years, changing little but the balls.

"Pretty" Tree

Then there's the "Fun Tree". This tree has a snowman head for a topper and houses our collection of ornaments. There are some pretty elements to help give it a cohesive look, but overall, it's a display of our years together. When we travel, instead of looking for souvenirs to clutter our shelves, we search for ornaments. Each year we also buy a family ornament and one for Jayden. That way when he leaves the nest and settles his own, he will have ornaments chronicling his life. When it's time to pull out the Christmas decorations each year, it's fun to pull out all these ornaments and relive the memories behind them. I must admit, I write somewhere on them the year and/or where, who or how we got them. My memory is not what it used to be as most people's. I don't want to forget so I write in the most inconspicuous place I can.

"Fun" Tree

This year's craft project was these reindeer ornaments made from paint-stirrer sticks. Jeremy found that Sherwin Williams was the most cooperative. They gave him 36 for free! Now before you go thinking I'm super creative, don't. I copied the idea from an ornament given to me next year. That's how I get most of my ideas. I liked the overall elements of the gift but as always, I have to put my little spin on it. The original had a wreath around the neck, but I couldn't find mini-wreath's I liked so I had to improvise. But here's this year's finished product.

A Time to Be Thankful

Here are some cute ideas of daily activities for the month of November to make it an especially grateful month!  If you want to see the original post, go to:  http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-countdown

Another fun Halloween "Trick"

I saw a picture of these fun finger foods online and figured out my way of doing it:

6 boiled eggs
approx 1 tbsp honey mustard (to taste really)
approx 2 tbsp Miracle Whip (again to taste but enough to bind)
sliced black olives (cheaper to buy whole and slice yourself)
paprika
blue food coloring
red food coloring

After slicing eggs in half and removing yokes to a small bowl, take a fine tipped paint brush and use red food coloring to paint veins onto the whites of the eggs. Combine yokes with approx 5 drops of blue food coloring with honey mustard and Miracle Whip.  Mix until desired consistency.  Spoon into sturdy plastic storage bag and cut tip to pipe into eggs.  Pipe into eggs then sprinkle with paprika and top with a slice of black olive.

It doesn't take much more effort than just making deviled eggs but adds some fun to the Halloween spread.

Halloween--"Tricky Halloween Treats"

One of my favorite Halloween memories was the dinner my mom would make for us before we'd go out trick-or-treating.  As you know, kids are so excited to get their candy-gathering on that they sometimes don't really want to stop to eat dinner.  But my mom found a way around that.  She would make what she called "Tricky Halloween Treats".  I apologize for poor photo quality, but my camera's dead so all I had was my cell phone. 

The recipe is below and couldn't be easier. *If you want to sneak in some extra nutrition, finely chop up fresh spinach.  They'll never know!* 

1 pkg Pillsburry Grand biscuits  (I use the flaky ones)
1 lb ground beef (lean is good!)
1 small onion finely diced
1 cup shredded cheese
ketchup (enough to moisten meat mixture slightly)
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
Green, red and orange food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven according to biscuit package directions.    Take 4 biscuits and put them on cookie sheet.  Brown ground beef with onion.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Drain and add to mixing bowl.  Add cheese (spinach if desired) and ketchup.  *you don't want the mixture soggy, just enough ketchup to lightly coat meat. 

Roll or kneed out the biscuits to make them flat and somewhat pumpkin-shaped.  Scoop about 1/8 to 1/4 cup mixture in the center of the 4 biscuits. 

Top with the remaining biscuits and seal edges with a fork. 

Cut small triangle eyes, nose and a mouth to make it look like a jack-o-lantern.  Add a small amount of water to egg to make an egg wash.  Add a drop of red and yellow food coloring if you want to make it look more orange-like.  Brush the pockets with egg wash and bake according to directions.

It's a fun treat that my husband and I have done every year, even before we had our son.  It's fun for kids and adults who still enjoy a kid-palette!

Christmas is Around the Corner

So here's a fun tradition that was started in my days in Placentia and I have decided to continue on wherever I live.  A few of my lady-friends that I had worked with on different church projects.  It was a FUN group of women but I find this activity is also a great way to get to know ladies in your area.  Basically all I do is organize a potluck that is an Ugly Ornament Exchange.  Everyone hunts for an ornament they deem ugliest and wrap it and we do a white elephant/stealing exchange.  It's fun and most of the ornaments make a good conversation piece on your Christmas tree.  The photo is of the first ornament I ever got and I LOVE it.  She's missing bells and completely quirky but most of all, I have great memories of the night I acquired her.  And isn't that really what holiday traditions are all about?

It's Been a While

I've decided to recommit myself to blogging a little bit.  Who knows if anyone out there is going to read it, but I had started this blog over a year ago because I love traditions!  Daily, monthly, seasonal...it doesn't matter to me.  I like to hear other's traditions and I love adding to my own family's.  A friend suggested I "start" a blog but since this one's already started and it's a topic I love, I just thought I'd recommit.

So this is me, recommitting!

January Tradition

When I lived in Placentia, some of my "sisters" and I would get together for dinner each month as a "supper club".  For January's get together, in addition to dinner, we would do an ugly ornament exchange.  So much fun!  One of my ornaments that I brought one year was so ugly that my dog had tried to steal it and bury it!

This year (2011) I started the Ugly Ornament Exchange here.  The first one was a lot of fun.  Instead of a supper club, we had a potluck brunch and exchanged ornaments.  It was a fun morning and hopefully everyone had fun searching for their ugly ornament!