Yarn Along: Christmas Gifts

Joining in (a day late) with Ginny's yarn along to share some of the crocheted Christmas gifts I made this year.

Sky received a Saint Elizabeth doll (along with a book and prayer card).

Star received with a Saint Therese doll (also with a book and a prayer card).

I made a ruffle scarf for my new mother in law using Red Heart sashay yarn.

And for my mom I made the Claudia scarf.

My brother got a can cozy in his football teams colors.

Last but not least the Godmothers of my children got cross bookmarks.

Currently I am working on another ruffle scarf for my hubby's mom and I am reading Radical Homemakers by Shannon Hayes.

Christmas Baking: Sugar Cookies

So I did manage this year to make all the Christmas goodies I had on my list.  For the final cookie I made sugar cookies.  I used this recipe that I found in a What's Cooking magazine a few years ago.  These are a soft, delicious sugar cookie.  The addition of cream cheese makes them a bit more expensive to make but it also makes them oh so good.  They are easy to roll out as well.  I always get the kids to help with these.  This year we cut them out with a star and tree shaped cookie cutter.  I then made some icing, divided it into two, and coloured it yellow (for the stars) and green (for the trees) and let the kids decorate them with candy and sprinkles.  They turned out very tasty and were a lot of fun to make too.  LK even helped to decorate them.

Christmas Baking: Butter Tart Slice

Well here it is January already.  I hope everyone had a good holiday.  Ours was busy, fun-filled and over too fast.  I know this is late in going up but I wanted to finish posting all the recipes for the Christmas goodies I baked.  I am back dating this for December so that next year I can find all the Christmas baking posts in December.  All of the goodies went over well and I had plenty to put out a large tray of cookies at least 3 times over the holidays.

Today I am sharing with you a recipe for a butter tart slice.  I love butter tarts!  However, I don't always have the time to make a crust, roll it out, and cut out circles for tarts.  So instead I throw together this butter tart slice.  It is simple and easy to make.  The only thing I suggest is lining the pan with parchment paper as the filling is quite sticky.

Butter Tart Slice

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

Combine and press into a 9 inch pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 350* F.

1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. cream
1 cup raisans
1 egg beaten slightly

Mix above ingredients and spread over baked base.  Bake again for 20 to 30 minutes in a 350*F oven.  Cool and slice.

I doubled this recipe and made it in a large approx. 9" x 13" pan.

Christmas Baking: GIngerbread Boys

Here is another one of our Christmas recipes, gingerbread boys.  I got this recipe from my mom.  My kids don't like regular gingersnaps as they are not a fan of the molasses flavor.  However they really like these gingerbread boys as they have no molasses.  We had a lot of fun making these this past weekend but for some reason the cookies expanded into gingerbread blobs.  So no pretty pictures of fancy cookies but we had a lot of fun laughing at our gingerbread blobs.

Gingerbread Boys (or blobs)

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 tsp grated orange peel
2 tbsp corn syrup
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Thoroughly cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs; beat until light and fluffy.  Add orange peel and corn syrup; mix well.  Sift together dry ingredients, stir into creamed mixture.  Chill dough thoroughly.  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with gingerbread man cookie cutter.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake in 375* oven for 8-10 minutes.  Cool 1 minute before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

If you are in a hurry I have made these No Chill Gingerbread Cookies and enjoyed them.  However they have molasses and weren't such a hit with the kiddos.

Christmas Baking: Vanilla Walnut Crescents

This week I got another item crossed off of my Christmas baking list.  I made these delicious Vanilla Walnut Crescents.  This is not a traditional family recipe but one I started making a few years ago after coming across the recipe in a Country Woman magazine.  They have quickly become a favorite and are one of the most popular items on my Christmas goodie tray.  You can find the recipe here http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Vanilla-Walnut-Crescents.  They are delicious and very easy to make. 

Christmas Baking: Shortbread Cookies

So last week I got another item of Christmas baking completed.  I made a large batch of shortbread cookies.  I think shortbread is one of my most favourite Christmas cookies.  This a cookie that we only ever make at Christmas time and I love the way it just melts in your mouth.  This is the recipe that my mother made.  It was also found on the back of a box of cornstarch for many years.  Some people fancy them up by adding candied cherries, sprinkles or other things but for me I just prefer them plain.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cup butter, softened (not melted)

Sift dry ingredients together then add butter.  With large wooden spoon work butter in thoroughly.  Work with hands until soft, smooth dough forms.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet, flatten with lightly floured fork.  Bake in 300*F oven for 15-20 min. or until edges are lightly browned.  Store in tightly covered container.

Enjoy!

Christmas Baking: Date Squares

I don't do a lot of Christmas baking but I do love me some cookies.  So I try to make a few extra goodies for Christmas.  Some of these only get  made at Christmas time so they are an extra treat.  Also I try to let the older girls help with baking so it can become a fun family time (it doesn't always work though as mom has trouble giving up control but we try).  I thought I would share what is on my Christmas baking list for this year along with some of the recipes.

My baking list for this year is:

Shortbread Cookies
Gingerbread Men
Sugar Cookies
Vanilla Walnut Crescents
Butter Tart Squares
Date Squares

Yesterday I made some Date Squares.  This isn't the most Christmassy goodie but I really like Date Squares and I hardly ever make them.  Also this is one of the more healthier recipes I make for Christmas.  It is full of good fibre, iron, and magnesium.

Without further ado here is the recipe:

Date Squares

Filling
5 cups (2 3/4 lb/1.25 kg) pitted dates, coarsely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups water

Crust
3cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, melted

For filling: in saucepan combine dates, lemon rind and juice, and water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until dates are very soft.  stir mixture well to mash dates.

For crust: in bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in melted butter until thoroughly combined and crumbly.

Pat half the crust mixture onto bottom of lightly greased 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan.  Spread filling over crust evenly, sprinkle with remaining crumbs.  Bake in preheated oven 350*C for about 45 minutes or until deeply golden.

Cool before cutting into squares.  I then place them in paper muffin cups.

I make this recipe pretty much as written.  I didn't have a lemon on hand though so I just put some bottled lemon juice in the filling.  Also I like oats so I added an extra cup without changing any of the other ingredients.  I imagine this might have made the crust a bit more crumbly but that was okay by me.  Enjoy!

What are you baking this Christmas?

Here the girls are making Sweet Potato Whole Wheat Gingersnaps.

Teacher Gifts

If your like me the last day of school is coming up and your frantically trying to think of a gift for your children's teachers.  I'm never sure what to get them and I am working from a limited budget, but I did want to give them a little something to show our appreciation for all they do.  After some debate I decided chocolate was the way to go.  They can serve it up at a holiday gathering, regift it as a hostess gift or to the mailman, or freeze it for a sweet treat when the holidays are just a memory. 

Then I came across this M&M nativity legend and decided that M&M's it would be.  I purchased a couple bags of M&M's and then printed out the M&M nativity legend and glued it onto card stock.  The girls made their teachers a card and then I tied it all together with some ribbon.  Hopefully they will enjoy it.

Homemade Fun

This Christmas the girls (Star especially) have been into making gifts for others.  Star has gotten into sewing and is enjoying it and Sky has even been doing a little bit.  We have the book Homemade Fun by Rae Grant and the girls have been getting ideas from there.  It has a good section on hand sewing.  (We have her other books Cooking Fun and Crafting Fun too and you can find many of her projects from here books at her website here.)   We really enjoy her books.  One thing though is they have no pictures of completed projects.  This can be a good thing in that you are not comparing your craft to the picture perfect one in the book.  However, when we first got these books Sky was not into them as she couldn't read much and without pictures she couldn't pick out what she liked.  Star has always really liked them and I really like the vintage graphics in the books.  So I would recommend these books for ages 7- 12 or so.

Sky made this purse for her cousin.  She came up with idea, did all the stitching herself, and made a crocheted chain for the handle.

Star made this stuffed bunny for LK.  She started this project when I wasn't even home.  She traced the pattern onto the fabric and cut it out all by herself.  Then I looked on YouTube to find a video on how to do a blanket stitch and she took it from there.

Now I realize that these are not works of art but they turned out pretty good for the girls having done most of the work themselves.  In the past they would have wanted to make these things but I would have ended up doing all the work.  This way they got to feel the joy of making something themselves and learned some handy skills along the way.  If you notice both projects involved sewing on a button and that is a something everyone should know how to do.  You never know when you will lose a button.

One other thing that Star made was this "I Spy Jar" for another of her cousins.  It is simply a jar filled with rice and small "treasures" that you have to find in the rice by moving or shaking the jar.  She just went on hunt for small items around the house put them in a jar and filled it almost to the top with rice (you want to leave some room so the rice can move around).  You can find more pictures and instructions here. 

So those are a few things that the girls have been working on this December.  It has been a joy to watch them create things to give to others.

O Christmas Tree

Star and Sky decorating the Christmas tree.

Today we put up our Christmas tree.  The girls have been asking for weeks to put it up.  It is one of our favorite Christmas things to do.  Daddy sets up the tree and puts on the lights.  Then we let the girls do all the decorating.  They love looking through the ornaments and finding their favorites.  Also we have a lot of homemade ornaments that they have made through the years and they always seem to remember who made what.  (Amazing considering they can never remember to pick up their socks even after being reminded a thousand times.)  Our tree is definitely not fancy but fun.

We have a small artificial tree that we put up.  I love the smell of a real Christmas tree but they can be a little pricey here on the prairies.  This small tree we inherited from my Aunt and it is really old but it still works.  It doesn't take up too much room which is nice as our living room is full!!  Also we can put it up a little higher so hopefully LK doesn't knock it over.  We may get a real tree again in a future year but this is working for us this year.

Last year I bought this Little People Nativity Set as our other one was quite destroyed.  If you have little ones I highly recommend this or some other nativity set that they can play with, without doing much damage to it.  Kids love to play with the figures and act out the Christmas story.

Star setting up the Nativity Set under the tree.

LK playing with the Nativity Set.

That really is the extent of the decorating we do.  We hang our stockings up and have a few other odds and ends that we put out; but the real highlight is the Christmas tree and Nativity set. 

Now that the decorating is done I just have to focus on keeping the place neat and clean which is always a challenge for me.

Advent Time!

I know this post is coming a little late as advent is nearly half over but I thought I would share with you what we do during advent.  We have an advent wreath which we light during our evening prayers.  The girls really like lighting the candles and blowing them out so it makes our prayer time a little special.  The other tradition we have started is having a Jesse tree.  For our Jesse tree I just clip a branch from one of the bushes or trees in our yard, put it in a flower pot and keep it in place with some stones.  In some places I have read that a Jesse tree should be green but this works for us and then we put up our evergreen Christmas tree a little closer to Christmas.  I use the devotional and symbols found here with our Jesse tree.  For the ornaments I just printed out the symbols and had the girls colour them.  Then we glued them onto some red and green card stock and used some yarn to hang them on our tree.  It isn't much but I know the girls appreciate the little extra effort.  The other day Star said that her favorite time of day is lighting the candles on the wreath.

Our Jesse tree and Advent wreath.

Oh, and as we light the advent candles we sing this song to tune of Jingle Bells.

Advent time, Advent time,

It' Advent everyone.

It's the getting ready time

to welcome God's own Son.  (2 times)

One (two, three, four) candle(s) on the wreath,

Shining oh so bright,

Help us all to think about

The coming of our light.

How do you make Advent special on your home? 

Sky's Birthday, Christmas Shopping, Getting Sick

Sky and her cousin celebrating Sky's 7th Birthday.

I'm back!  I know I have been MIA for a little while.  Last weekend we went to the city to visit Grandma (and Grandpa and various aunts, uncles, and cousins).  While there we celebrated Sky's 7th birthday.  (7 already! I swear the older I get the faster time flies).  For her birthday we took  her to the Science Center.  They have a lot of interactive displays and play areas there and the girls had a lot of fun.  Then we had pizza and of course cake at Grandma's.  Lot's of my siblings were there and it was great to visit with everyone.

Also while in the city I took off by myself for a couple of hours Saturday morning and got most of my Christmas shopping done.  It was nice to shop by myself for a change and I went early enough that the stores were fairly quiet.  We try to keep things pretty simple for Christmas here.  The girls get one gift from us usually $20 to $40.  This year Star is getting a build a bear kit as she really wanted a teddy bear, Sky is getting a mega block set as she likes to build, and LK is getting a wooden playset.  In addition in their stockings they are each getting a board game, a craft kit, a book and a few other trinkets (like a new toothbrush).  LK's stocking is a bit slim as he is a little young for games, books, and crafts but I don't think he will mind.  We draw names for the adults on my side of the family and keep a price limit at $30 to $40 dollars.  This year we decided not to exchange gifts on hubby's side of the family.  That keeps Christmas shopping pretty simple and we spend a lot less than the average person on Christmas.  I am happy to be mostly done with Christmas shopping.

When we got back from the city we all (except for Sky) got sick with some sort of stomach virus.  It was not a fun week but we are all finally recovered and things are starting to get back to normal around here.  I hope your week was a better than mine.  But here's hoping that since the virus went through our house now we will all be healthy for Christmas. (Wishful thinking maybe, but I am hoping).