We did something very different this year. Usually, we host our family’s Christmas dinner at our house. After many years of traveling here and there on Christmas day, my husband asked me for one thing. You have to understand, he never asks or expects anything. He wanted to start staying home on Christmas day. I asked if it was okay to invite everyone to our house, and he said as long as he didn’t have to drive – he didn’t care. So for about five years, we have had our family here. We had typically had between 20 and 35 people sit down to dinner in our big family room.

This year we decided that we needed to have a quieter Christmas day. For Christmas day and dinner it was just “our” family. My husband and I, our six children plus the two we were lucky enough to have marry in and our four grandchildren. Only fourteen of us! It was such a wonderful Christmas! We actually had time to have conversations. I saw all the kids open their gifts. We did a fun craft. For the 5 youngest we got kaleidoscope kits and had a relatively calm dinner with just us.

Of course I missed being with my mom and dad, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, but it was a really special day for us. We had a very hard emotional year and the quiet time for us helped bring some of the focus back from the losses to our amazing blessings. I don’t know if we will have a quiet, smaller Christmas dinner next year, but it was truly the greatest gift I received this year!

I have started my holiday baking. Mmmm, mmmm, do I love cookies? Yes, I do. We’ve been baking off and on for several days in between Christmas concert performances and Christmas parties with our family and friends. Here are a few more great Christmas cookies recipes with pictures.

CRANBERRY ALMOND BISCOTTI yield 24 cookies

In a microwave safe bowl add all ingredients except walnuts. Working at 30 second intervals, heat the mix then stir. Repeat heating and stirring until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add in walnuts and spread in a 9 x 9 inch pan. Cool completely and cut into 1 inch squares. You can also try mixing different types of chips (peanut butter, milk chocolate, mint) and different nuts (almonds, cashews or peanuts) to create various types of fudge.

If you are giving cookies and candies as gifts, a fun and easy to way to present them is to get a new gift box. Line the box with either foil or parchment papers and then add your cookies. Tie off with a big bow and your gift is ready to go.

My husband on the other hand really wants a gingerbread house. Years ago he saw someone make a “gingerbread” house out of graham crackers. That was the beginning of “his” Christmas tradition. Every year he goes off to by all the crackers, icing, candies and sprinkles. He sets it all up and then together with our children they create their beautiful “gingerbread” houses.

It is a wonderful thing to watch. He helps the younger ones get their houses built, makes suggestions for the decorations and basically has a great time helping the kids with their creations. The kids love this special time with their Dad. They know that this is something they do together every year, and they love it.

My husband will be the first to tell you, that if he can do this, so can you. He covers pieces of cardboard with foil for the bases. He buys everything else: the graham crackers, canned icing, food color, sugar cones (for the trees), mini M&Ms, big M&Ms, red hots, marshmallows and candy sprinkles. His secret is to attach the graham crackers to the base as he builds the house. You can carefully use a serrated knife to saw the crackers into different shapes for the roof or chimney. Then the fun part – decorating!

This year our three oldest grandchildren got their first chance at the “gingerbread” houses. They had so much fun! The youngest one mostly ate the decorations, but he had a wonderful time decorating with all the big kids and

Grandpa. So if you want a truly fun, easy and creative project to do with a special child in your life, try this one!

. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:14

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine egg, sugar, peanut butter baking soda. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet. Press with a fork to make criss-crosses and flatten slightly. Bake at 350°F until golden and firm to the touch. Cool completely before storing.

My oldest daughter found this cookie recipe a few years ago. We all love it! You can also make this cookie recipe with almond butter or cashew butter. Yummy!

Ingredients:

1 pound butter

2 cups sugar

6 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

4 teaspoons baking powder

8 – 9 cups flour

3 tablespoons orange extract

3 teaspoons vanilla (clear Mexican vanilla if available)

3 egg yolks for brushing tops

Mix butter, eggs, sugar, milk, orange extract and vanilla together thoroughly. Add baking powder and 8 cups of flour. Combine well. Add more flour if needed to make the dough not sticky so you can form the cookies in your hand. Working with small amounts of dough, roll into a long coil. Cut into 4 inch pieces and scroll into an “S”. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Brush with egg yolks. Bake at 350° for about 15 – 20 minutes.

I grew up eating these cookies. Our neighbor Androula made them all the time. They are the perfect cookie for dunking in coffee or tea. They are so simple and so delicious. Give them a try!

Holiday baking is one of my most treasured family traditions. I love to smell the sweetness as the cookies and breads bake. It is so much fun to teach my children how to make and decorate their own special cookies. Now my grandchildren are in the kitchen baking cookies, too. It is such a great way to spend time with my family. If you haven’t done holiday baking in the past, I hope that you try it this year. Merry Christmas!

I remember my first nativity set. I was a young mother who wanted her children to understand the true meaning of Christmas. Money was very tight, but one day while I was at Pic-N-Save (anyone remember?) I found a small ceramic nativity set. The stable was just particle board, but the little figures were pretty. Simple, but pretty. I have used that nativity set for 28 years. The particle board stable has been replaced, but I still have the figures. Okay, the cow and donkey are missing their ears, but I’ve got them.

One of my favorite nativity sets was a huge surprise. It is my Italian style yard nativity set. My husband and kids gave it to me for my birthday about 5 years ago. My husband and I had seen it while shopping one day. It was love at first sight! Then, I saw the price. Oh, well. John said I should get it because I would be sorry if I didn’t, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much on something that would only be enjoyed for just a few weeks each year. So, surprise! They gave it to me for my birthday. It is so beautiful. I keep it on our front porch under the Christmas lights and smile every time I see it.

Another one of my favorites is a small resin nativity set that I set up in my den window when I got it. I think it was from one of those school fundraiser catalogs. I was really pretty and I thought it looked so cute there. Well, so did my granddaughter. She was barely two years old, but she climbed up on the bench in front of the window and played with that nativity set for hours. Needless to say at the end of the season when I put away all the other Christmas decorations, that one stayed out. It is still there with lots of broken ears, lost heads, etc. but now all my grandkids love to play with it. I am looking to replace it with something sturdier.

With collecting comes a challenge or two. Where does one display 10 nativity sets? Well, you have to get creative. I have two mantels; each one displays a nativity set. I put the little ones in the windows. They get placed on shelves wherever I can find room and I clean out my china cabinet and put one in there with my Christmas dishes.

I don’t know if I will ever get more nativity sets, but I really love the ones I have. They remind me to stay focused on the true reason for the season – the celebration of the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My husband will only allow a “real” tree in the house, so we always have either a fresh cut Christmas tree or a living Christmas tree. As we are running out of room to plant trees, we have a cut tree this year. There is nothing like the smell to get me into the holiday spirit. By the time you add the lights and sparkle I am ready for Christmas morning.

A Christmas tradition in our house is that Daddy puts the lights on the tree. Sometimes he does it by himself. Other times he has helpers, but Daddy is in charge of the lights. He likes lots of the tiny, multi-colored ones. He also likes tinsel, but he usually gets vetoed on that one. It’s not that I don’t like tinsel, but the fake plastic stuff gets static-y and sticks to everything but the tree. Sorry to get off track. Daddy does the lights.

Our tree is covered with a vast array of ornaments. Most treasured are the ornaments made by the hands of my precious children. We also have ornaments that have been gifts from family and friends. Some of the ornaments are in perfect condition, others not so much. We all have our favorites and those are the ones that make it to the tree. I could never have a themed tree or a designer tree, because our handmade and treasured ornaments wouldn’t fit. And believe me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Our last bit of decorating the tree also goes to Daddy. Our tradition is for Daddy to place the Renaissance Angel atop the tree as the finishing touch. One year we couldn’t find her in the garage, so now she has a special place in my bedroom closet. After the angel is in place everyone stands back and admires the tree. Somehow year after year we always find the Christmas tree a very special part of our Christmas celebration.

So here’s to all the Christmas trees – stylized, thematic, shiny and beribboned – you make everything look and smell like Christmas!

I am so excited.  Just like a little kid, I can’t wait to get our outdoor Christmas lights put up.  I think that the outdoor Christmas lights are one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  My dad always put up outdoor Christmas lights when I was growing up.  I don’t know if it is because they light up the cold dark December nights, or because they are an outward symbol of the Christmas celebrations inside our homes, but outdoor Christmas lights are always magical.

The outdoor Christmas lights are something that we can share with everyone who drives or walks by whether we know them or not.  To me they say, “We wish you a Merry Christmas!” to everyone who passes by.  In our family, we try to make at least one trip to drive around different neighborhoods and enjoy everyone else’s outdoor Christmas lights.  It’s so much fun to drive around singing Christmas carols, drinking hot chocolate and looking at the beautiful Christmas lights.

There have been very few years when our house didn’t have the sparkle and shimmer of outdoor Christmas lights.  Several times we have just been “too busy” to get them put up.  That never happens two years in a row, though because the whole family spends the entire Christmas season missing them.  So the next year, they are the first Christmas decorations that go up.  We must have our outdoor Christmas lights.

A fun and strange thing has happened over the years.  My children go from being observers to active participants in the outdoor Christmas lighting.  My sons especially like to design the lights for the year, although my daughters are always there to pitch in.  The younger siblings are always so impressed with the efforts of big brothers and sisters.  Now we have our grandchildren to enjoy the Christmas lights, too. 

So tonight is the night for outdoor Christmas lights!  I can’t wait . . .

Like my mom, I like to do a thorough cleaning before we decorate for Christmas. So for the last week I have been dusting, scrubbing and vacuuming like a mad woman. The living room and den are almost done, windows and all! The kitchen is well on its way and so is the carpet cleaner. My husband cleaned out little ones’ room, so hopefully Friday we will put up our Christmas tree and start the decorating.

For my holiday housekeeping, like most other things, I need to organize! To me, the words “organize” and “list” are synonymous. I have my Housekeeping To Do List. I make a heading for each room: living room, kitchen, den, bathroom, etc. Then I make a detailed list of each thing to do: declutter mantle, clean off tops of cabinets and TV armoire, wash windows, vacuum under sofa cushions, all the big and little things. As I make progress I cross items out.

I leave this list by the telephone. You would be surprised (I always am) at how many times one of my kids will choose something off the list – do it and then cross it off. Without me even asking! I don’t think they mind helping out with chores, but they need something to guide them in what they do.

I know that if I was more thorough in my housekeeping all year I wouldn’t have the big housekeeping project at Christmas. And to be fair, I do a complete cleaning the first week that I am off work in the summer, but there are still some things that just don’t get done until I have the “big” motivation. But, it feels so good when it’s all done and the Christmas decorations are the icing on the cake. Everything so clean and jazzed up and sparkling for the big celebration of our Savior’s birth! Now that’s motivation!

I don’t know how I forgot to start my favorite and most important list. The holidays just wouldn’t be the same for me without our favorite Christmas cookies. Some make an appearance every year. Others are special editions. Some cookies I only make at Christmas.

My most favorite cookie of all times is the Italian Chocolate/Pepper cookie! Yum, yum, yum. This is my Grandma Mary’s recipe and as far as I know, she only makes it at Christmas. I only make it at Christmas because I love this cookie so much, if I made it year long, I would eat nothing else. They are also my Dad and oldest son’s favorite cookie, so we make lots of them. I know the recipe sounds “different”, but try it once and you will be hooked!

Cookie Ingredients:

Mix butter, sugar, milk and eggs together thoroughly. Add dry ingredients slowly. Mix completely. (If you want, taste the dough. I like mine really spicy. Sometimes I need to add more pepper or other spices.) Take a piece of dough enough to form into a 1 inch ball. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400°F until set to the touch, but not browned. Cool on parchment or wax paper.

To make the glaze, start with adding 3 tablespoons of the milk to the powdered sugar. You want the glaze to be the consistency of pancake batter. Add more milk if needed. When cookies are cool you can either dip them into the glaze or paint on the glaze with a pastry brush. Top with a pinch of candy sprinkles. This step is a must because that is how Grandma always did it! The glaze will harden and then you can store them.

Another cookie that shows up every year is my Mom’s favorite – Mexican Nut Kisses. These cookies have many names including wedding cakes and butter kisses. But, no matter what you call them – they are tasty!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened

1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling cookies)

3 teaspoons vanilla (clear Mexican vanilla if available)

2-1/4 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup walnut pieces

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla together thoroughly. Add dry ingredients slowly. Mix completely. Take a piece of walnut (approximately 1/4 of nut) and a piece of dough (about a 1 inch ball) and form the dough into a ball around the walnut. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400°F until set to the touch, but not browned. Cool on parchment or wax paper. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar until covered.

I will be sharing more of our favorite Christmas cookies and desserts in the next few weeks. As soon as I get some pictures of the cookies, I will post them so you can see how pretty they are. I really hope that you find something you like.

I find that making a list really helps me to organize my time and thoughts.  I usually create a big spreadsheet with Microsoft Excel and put all the list titles that I need.  I type in as much as I can and save it.  I send a copy to my email so that I can have access to the list from home or work, then I print a copy and keep it with me at all times.  Sometimes I need to add something by writing it in by hand, other times I am crossing things off as I complete them.  I update the list almost daily and print a new one.

I do worry about my husband or kids seeing the list if they get in my purse or something, so I fold it into quarters and in large print mark it TOP SECRET – Don’t spoil Christmas!  So far, no one has decided to ruin their Christmas by reading my list.   If you are not a list maker, you should be!  I cannot tell you how much easier everything is, and how much more organized you will be if you just take the time to start your lists.  List making is my Number One tip for being organized; at Christmas time, and all the time.