Our December To Do List

With December arriving tomorrow I have been thinking a lot about what all I want to do with the kids to enhance the Christmas season.  I have several things already on the calendar and a few other ideas up my sleeve.

December 1 we will hang the first ornament on our Jesse Tree.  I love this tradition of showing how all of Scripture points to Jesus!

December 2 is our CC Christmas Party and ornament swap.  B is really looking forward to it--as am I.

December 4 is our town's Christmas Parade.  Our church has a float in the parade each year, so we will definitely be there to watch and maybe walk with the float in the parade.

December 7 is the kids Christmas program at church.  B is playing the part of "Little Elf" and C is the "Star of Bethlehem."  They will be so cute--I can't wait.

December 11 is the Christmas parade in the town where the Hubs works.  Our church participates in that parade as well, so of course we will be there.  This is a picture I took when B and I participated in the parade last year.

December 13-14 is our church's Christmas Tour of Homes and our house is on the tour.  I love entertaining especially around the holidays!

December 22 our family is going to Callaway Gardens for the Fantasy in Lights.  It is an absolutely beautiful light display and with the amazing Groupon offer, I couldn't pass it up.  I haven't been since the Hubs and I were dating, so I am giddy to be returning and taking the kids.

December 23 I am hoping to do a birthday party for Jesus.  Two years ago we had pizza and a giant cookie cake, we sang "Happy Birthday" and just had a blast.  The kids really love celebrating Jesus's birthday by having a party just like we do for them.  B has already mentioned it, so it has got to happen.

December 24 will be our normal Christmas Eve shindig with my family.

December 25 usually means the in-laws come for the day.  Last year we had brunch after opening gifts and I will probably do a repeat of that this year.

Some other activities I am hoping to do with the kids are:

• Make and decorate a gingerbread house
• Have a family movie night with a Grinch theme
• Watch Home Alone
• Watch Charlie Brown Christmas
•  Purchase an item for Toys for Tots
• Make Christmas Cookies
• Have friends over for hot chocolate and cookies

Just thinking about these plans makes me excited for the coming season!

Be sure to link up with Andrea at Momfessionals for her What's On . . . Your Calendar linky party!

2nd Annual Bethlehem Breakfast

I was so excited--possibly more excited than the kids--about the arrival of Mary and Joseph at our 2nd Annual Bethlehem Breakfast this morning. Mary and Joseph's Journey to Bethlehem is our family's alternative to the Elf on the Shelf, and you can read more about why we do it here.

I had fun doing it--and I enjoyed getting to use my new waffle iron that I got for less than $10 at Wal-Mart the night before.  I served bacon and sausage with the waffles and milk in fun glasses because we all know milk is much tastier from a bottle.

The kids were thrilled to see that Joseph and Mary had returned and B must have mentioned 10 times that he was wondering where they would be the next morning.  Watching them look for Mary and Joseph each morning is such fun!

Friday Favorites {Christmas Traditions}

I love Christmas traditions, especially the ones that include spending time with my family and reinforcing the real Reason for the Season.  These are some of our family's favorites from Christmases past.

Matching Christmas Pajamas

 

For the last two years, I have gotten matching Christmas pj's for my kiddos, and I continued the tradition this year.  Sometimes I wrap them up and give them as a gift, sometimes I just pull them out and surprise them with the jammies the night I want them to wear them.  We always wear them right after Thanksgiving up until Christmas when we wear them Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning.  I also take their pictures in the jammies in front of the tree to hang on my kitchen tree in an ornament frame.

Jesse Tree

The Jesse Tree is our daily advent activity.  You can find the details about it here.  We read a Bible verse and hang a new ornament that represents that verse every night from December 1 until Christmas Day. The kids love taking turns hanging the ornament and learning about how all of Scripture points to Jesus.

Yearly Keepsake Ornaments

I know I am not the only mama who does this, but I get my kids an ornament every year that represents something special for them that year.  For instance, the top picture is B's ornament from last year because he went to Disney World for the first time and completed his first season of t-ball.  The second picture shows both kids' ornaments from their second Christmas--B got the plane because he rode in an air plane for the first time and C got the bear because that was the year her daddy started calling her "Bear" or "Baby Bear" as I sometimes refer to her.  It's a sweet tradition, and I look forward to picking their new ornament each year.

Birthday Party for Jesus

Since the real reason we celebrate Christmas is the birth of Jesus after all, we like to have a birthday party for him.  I make a cookie cake (which we can leave a piece of for Santa later) and we have pizza.  It's casual and fun--just like a good birthday party.  We sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and just have a good time celebrating the birth of our Savior.  The kids loved the first one we did and asked for another one last year as well.  I look forward to doing it this year.

Mary and Joseph

I mentioned our Elf on the Shelf alternative last Friday, but it is worth mentioning again.  Mary and Joseph journey to Bethlehem throughout our house from shortly after Thanksgiving until Christmas morning when they can be found in the stable with baby Jesus in the manger.  You can read more about the how and why of this tradition here.

 So there you have it--my five favorite Christmas traditions.  What are your family's holiday traditions?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our festivities actually started the day before with a gobble gobble breakfast of turkey cinnamon rolls and bacon.

Then it was on to Turkey Day.  As usual, I had intentions of taking lots of great pictures of our Thanksgiving and took exactly three.  But here is a recap.  I started the morning by getting the turkey in the oven and then watching the parade while cleaning the house and getting some sides ready for the meal.  My mom, dad, and brother arrived around 12:30 and we sat down to eat around 1:00.  We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes (which I didn't cook long enough because I was an hour late getting them in the crock pot) and gravy, mac and cheese, corn, squash casserole, green beans and rolls.  For dessert we had pumpkin pie, chocolate derby pie, and pecan pie.  It was delicious.

I promise to do better with pictures next year.  Really, I do.

Momfessionals Recipe Club {Squash Casserole}

With Thanksgiving coming tomorrow, I decided to share my favorite holiday dish with you.  Paula Deen's Squash Casserole is a staple side dish with my family for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It is easy, delicious, and a must have for any holiday meal or church pot luck as far as I am concerned.  I will start by giving you Paula's official recipe from her original The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.  Then I will share the pictures and my personal input since I very rarely make a recipe exactly as it says to!

Squash Casserole

1 large onion, chopped
4 Tbsp butter
3 cups cooked squash, drained with all water squeezed out
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers, plus additional for topping
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp House Seasoning (see below)
 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute onion in butter for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together.  Pout into buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

House Seasoning

1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix well and store in an air tight container.

So here is my take on Paula's Casserole.  I really don't measure anything any more since I have made this so many times.  The main difference in my way and her way is that I leave out the onion.  I like onion just fine, but I don't like the extra step of chopping and cooking it.  lol

 

I used 7 medium sized squash to make my casserole this time and it was the perfect amount.  I slice them about 1/4" thick, put them in a dutch oven and boil them until they are fork tender.

 

When they are cooked, I drained them and begin mashing them with a potato masher while they are still in the colander to get some of the water out.  Then I transfer them back to the dutch oven to finish smashing them.

I add in the cheese first so that the hot squash can melt it.  Then I add in the sour cream, House Seasoning, and cracker crumbs.

I have always used my oval baker from Pampered Chef to make this casserole.  It fits the dish perfectly and the stoneware helps it stay warm longer.  So I pour it in and top it with some extra cheese.  If you are making your casserole ahead of time (like me) this is wear you would stop, cover it with foil, and put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.

Tomorrow, I will take it out of the fridge, uncover it, top it with the cracker crumbs, and bake it for about half an hour--until it is hot and a little bubbly.  I have found that if I put the cracker crumbs on it before putting it in the fridge, they get soggy and just don't crisp up and get brown like they should.  I will update this post with a picture of the finished product after our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow.  Enjoy!

Whatever you are serving tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful feast with family and/or friends.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Favorites {Thanksgiving Edition}

The time between Halloween and New Years is truly one of my favorite times of the year.  And even though I don't put my Christmas decorations up until the day after Thanksgiving, I do love seeing the Christmas stuff in the stores, I enjoy the slow infusion of Christmas music on the radio stations, and relish the gradual appearance of Christmas decor around town.

Thanksgiving is the Hubs' favorite holiday, so I don't overlook it by going "all out Christmas" before turkey day.  Here are some of my faves that are on or around Thanksgiving--and yes, I will kinda get Christmasy here.  ;)

Baking

I know for a lot of people, the holiday baking and cooking is an added stress.  Many of my friends have someone else cook their holiday meals for them, and I don't blame them one bit.  However, I LOVE cooking for the holidays.  I love making pies of all kinds for our family gatherings.  I love making Christmas cookies with my kiddos.  I love making casseroles and dressing for Thanksgiving.  I love it all.  And I do it for days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And yes, I wear my Christmas apron while cooking.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

My all time favorite thing to do on Thanksgiving Day is watch the parade while the turkey roasts in the oven.  The smell of the cooking turkey plus the festivity of the parade just really puts me in the holiday mood.  And now that I have kiddos of my own, I just love watching their expressions when some of their favorites like Buzz Lightyear or Gru and the Minions from Despicable Me show up along the parade route.  It is my routine every year for turkey day, and I don't expect this year to be an exception.

The Hunger Games Movies

I know, I know.  These movies don't have anything to do with Thanksgiving or the holidays, but this is the third year in a row that the newest movie has come out the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Last year the Hubs and I went on opening night for a little date night, and the movie did not disappoint.  (Confession:  I have watched Catching Fire three times in the past couple of weeks just to build my already frantic excitement about this newest movie!  I fully realize that I should probably seek treatment or need some sort of intervention.)  Some women love the Twilight books and movies, some swooned over Magic Mike, some are waiting with baited breath for the Fifty Shades of Gray movie, but The Hunger Games are my jam.  I can't wait.  Don't judge me.  (I realize that I am in the vast minority of women who have not seen any of the aforementioned movies and don't plan to--I guess I have been too busy reading about Katniss and Peeta. lol)

Black Friday Shopping

Yep, I do it.  With my parents.  Every year.  Have ever since I was a child.  It's something I actually really look forward to.  We operate on a pretty strict budget, so being able to get nice gifts for my family for a great price...it makes me happy.  The Hubs had never joined me in my Black Friday shopping until last year when he went with me to Toys R Us to get in line an hour before they opened the doors on Thanksgiving Day.  And I am pretty sure he would be loathe to actually admit that it wasn't bad and he kind of had a good time.  Because we only get our children five gifts each for Christmas, I was done with my Santa shopping in one trip.  SCORE!  You can read about our gift giving guidelines here.

Bethlehem Breakfast

This is our Elf of the Shelf alternative, and I love it.  If you want the long explanation, you can read my post about it here.  But basically, Mary and Joseph move throughout our house until Christmas morning when they arrive at the stable and Baby Jesus is in the manger.  My kids love waking up and looking around until they can find where Mary and Joseph have traveled to during the night.  Last year, Mary and Joseph's big arrival was marked with what I called a Bethlehem Breakfast.  I have Bethlehem Breakfast 2.0 planned for the Saturday after Thanksgiving . . . I guess I had better get to work on that.

So there you have it--my Thanksgiving faves.  I would love to hear some of your Thanksgiving faves as well.

And be sure to link up your own Friday Favorites with Andrea at Momfessionals.

Downtown Christmas Open House

It's a little early for Christmas stuff at our house since we try to wait until after Thanksgiving to get our Christmas on.  BUT our hometown had their annual downtown Christmas Open House tonight, so we went and had a BLAST.

We met at a local clothing store downtown where bestie K's husband works.  I met up with her and her sweet baby H there, snapped a pic of the kids in front of their tree and then we headed off to the park where Santa and his reindeer were greeting people.  C cried the whole way because she was afraid of Santa, but once we got there and she saw that I wasn't going to force her into Santa's lap, she calmed down and consented to a picture with the reindeer--but only at a distance.

When the smell of our favorite local hot dog joint across the street started calling our names, we called the Hubs to join us there for supper.  We snagged one more picture of the kids with the reindeer--a little closer this time--and then noshed on hot dogs for a while.

After hot dogs, we drove up the street for an ice cream treat at our favorite ice cream and goodies shop.  Then we were able to hop on the trolley for a fun ride through town.

It was a fun night of family and festivity celebrating the coming season!