If I Had Cookie Decorating Talent, This Is What I Would Make

I am not a cookie decorator. I try, but I inevitably fail. So I decided to enjoy everyone else's amazing decorated cookies.  If I had any talent, these are the cookies I would have made this holiday season.

Munchkin Munchies Cup O' Cocoa Cookies

The Baking Sheet's Reindeer Cookies

Gwen's Kitchen Creations Gingerbread Snowmen Cookies

Glorious Treats Christmas Cookies

Betcha Can't Eat Just One's Snowglobe Cookies

Haniela's Christmas Gnome Cookies

Klickitat Street's Latte Cookies

 

 

 

Lizy B's Fun Christmas Cookies

And I couldn't resist.

Sugar Swings! Serve Some's Super Hero Gingerbread Cookies

Do you now have cookie decorating envy?  I sure do.  BTW - if anyone wants to send me beautifully decorated cookies, I'll send you my address =o)

We hope you and your family have a very merry Christmas!

 

Zachary is Back!

Two years ago we introduced you to Zachary, our Elf on the Shelf.  Last year we showed you how much fun he can be.  He's back again this year (for the 4th Christmas) and has been making my kids smile since Thanksgiving! 

Each morning my kids search the house for him and he's been in some fun places!

Hanging out in the dining room.

 

Hanging out in the living room.

 

Everyone needs to brush their teeth!

 

And notes are always a good thing.

 

My daughter thought this was pretty funny with Zachary in her doll's high chair.

 

Zachary reading with the Barbies.

 

He even delivered the kids some yummy cake pops one day.

 

Santa giving Zachary some Christmas lovin'.

 

Hanging out with his pals.

Zachary can crochet!

 

Even Zachary needs some hot chocolate!

We've had so much fun with Zachary.  Do you have an Elf?

Greetings From the North Pole - via USPS

Who doesn't love getting mail? I know I do.  And I know my friends and family do.  And how about this fun idea to send in the mail?  Yes, in the mail!

We had so much fun sending our Easter Eggs through the mail.  Then we mailed off some Love From the Oregon Coast.  Well, we just couldn't stop at there.  And it is Christmas time, after all.  How about this idea?

And they were so simple to make. 
 

Supplies:

* empty 2 liter soda bottle (with lid)

* candy or anything to fill them

* scissors

* packing tape

Cut the top of the bottle off with a pair of scissors or a knife (parents do this part.)  I forgot to take a picture of this part (I was a little too excited to get these into the mail.)  Cut at the point where the bottle starts to curve.

Wash the bottle and dry thoroughly.

Fill with candy (or toys or any goodies.)

Tape the top part of the lid back on. 

Print out your label.  This one isn't fantastic but you are more than welcome to use it.  Just right click and save it and print it out.  Write in the address and cut to fit the soda bottle.

Use packing tape to tape the label onto the bottle.  If you position the label at the cut line and then tape the label there, the recipient won't be able to tell there's a cut line.  This is always fun when they get it and can't figure out how you got the candy inside the bottle.  

When you take these to the post office they may give you a funny look.  The woman that was helping me gave me this really weird look and said "really?  You're mailing them like that?"  I just smiled and said "you bet!"  She weighed them and then said "that's so cool."  Totally agreed!

What do you think?

They were around $7 to mail from Oregon to Chicago.  Not too bad.  The smiles will be well worth it!

 

I'm linking to the parties on my sidebar.

Santa Handprint Cards

I just love little handprints. They are so darn cute.

This has been done a million times but we had to do it.  So cute!

I'm linking to the parties on my sidebar.

Letters From Santa (Free Resources)

Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday.  People could argue why Christmas is important, the "true meaning".  Some people could argue that it's other things that make Christmas time special.  I'm not here to argue either.  I just love Christmas.  

I love the feeling Christmas brings.  Whether it's coming together in Church and celebrating something so much bigger than all of us, or the lights and decorations and festivities.  There is a feeling of hope this time of year.  When people come together and help one another.  A feeling of wonderment in the faces of small children.  And a feeling of warmth and familiarity for those who have traditions in their family that have been passed down for years.  

I love seeing my children's faces every morning when they look for our Elf, Zachary.  I love when they ask me questions about Santa and how he comes into everyone's house on the same night.  How they talk to Zachary and tell him about their day.  It makes my heart happy.

I found the absolute coolest thing on the internet the other day.  It's site that sends letters to children (or adults) from Santa!  Yep, you read that right... FROM SANTA!  The looks on my kid's faces when they watched their personalized videos was truly something I will never forget.  

The site is Portable North Pole and you have to go check it out.  You will love it!

If you don't want to send a video, there are letters from Santa out there that are wonderful (and free.)  Here are a few of them.

Easy Free Letters From Santa
(We have a giveaway going on until 12/18 here if you want to win the paid for, deluxe version)

Free Letters From Santa 

Free Printable Letters From Santa

Free Printable Santa Letters

Here are some links to letters that are not free.  They are wonderful!

Personalized Letters From Santa Claus

Personal Letter From Santa

Personalized Letter From Santa

What child doesn't want a letter from Santa?!

Have fun!

 

Candy Cane Pudding Cookies

 

I just love this time of year.  LOVE IT!!!  I bake all the time but the month of December is ridiculous but is filled with deliciousness. 

I'm in love with pudding cookies.  When we made our M&M Pudding Cookies I couldn't believe how moist and yummy they were.  All the pudding possibilities were flying through my head. 

This one was awesome!  So festive and completely delicious!

 

Plus... YUM!

 

 

Candy Cane Pudding Cookies

Source: Adapted from our M&M Pudding Cookies

 

* 1 cup butter, softened

* 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

* 1/4 cup sugar

* 1 (3.4 ounce) package of candy cane instant pudding

* 2 eggs

* 1 tsp. vanilla

* 2 1/3 cup flour

* 1 tsp. baking soda

* 1 cup white chocolate chips

* 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips

Cream butter and sugars in a bowl.  Add pudding mix and mix well.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix.  Add flour and baking soda.  Add white chocolate chips and Andes Peppermint Crunch and gently stir until blended.

Scoop dough using a medium sized scoop.  You can make bigger cookies (or smaller ones) but make sure you change the cooking time.

Gently pat the tops of the balls of dough to make a flat surface.  Don't completely flatten them!  Add some more Andes Peppermint Crunch on top.

 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes (depending on size.)  Do not over bake.

 

 

Don't they look great?  We loved them!

 

 

 

 

I'm linking to the parties on my sidebar.

We Wish You a Merry KISSmas and a CHAPPY New Year

My friend Renee told me about this idea she found on Pinterest.  I loved it so much I, of course, had to do it too.  Isn't it cute?  Simple and easy.  The perfect combination for a small thank you gift for teachers or friends.  We're doing these for my kid's teachers.  We did this cute idea last year and they were a hit.

We made the tags on the computer and backed them with colored paper.  The tags say "We Wish You a Merry KISSmas and a CHAPPY New Year".  Here are the tags that Renee made for me.  (She's way more techy than me!)  You can right click and save them and print them out. 

Put any type of lip balm in a cello bag and tie with a ribbon.  Viola!  

What do you think?  That's clever, right?  =o) 

 

Here's some more great gift ideas for Christmas:

Christmas Candy Bar Wrappers  (there's lots of different one's too)

Ho, Ho, Ho from the Ding Dongs Next Door (you can add anything there.

What fun things are you making for Christmas?  I'd love to hear about them!

I'm linking to the parties on my sidebar.