Christmas Cookies and a Letter from Santa himself

I love making cookies…especially Christmas cutouts!  For the past 9 years I have made them with all my nieces and nephews back East.  We each get about 4 to decorate and everyone has a blast in seeing what each other comes up with. 

I was determined to make this year the most special ever and Amelia would love it SOOOOO much that she will beg me every year to make Christmas cookies!

It started out grand.  Plopped her up on the counter and we made the dough.  Ok, enough of Christmas cookies for today…she was on to other things. 

Next day.  Lets go!  Lets roll them out and bake them!  Yay!  Ok…enough of that.  Off she went to play.  I rolled, cut out and baked most of them.

Surely, she will love decorating!

Day Three.  I ran to the store for extra special embellishments.  Stars, balls and Christmas sprinkles and sugar!  Woo hoo!   This was exciting!  I made the icing.  Oh now she was very interested.  I gave her the tools to ice.  GREAT!  She loved it.  Ice, ice, eat some, ice, ice, eat some.  She did 3.  Bye. Perhaps she ate too much icing.

I made 35.

Ok Rob...please come help.  

Santa sent us a note this week too.  

Amelia was thrilled!  Who wouldn't be?!  

Complete with a Santa dollar, sticker and... 

a signed photo!  Of course, I happened to have the perfect frame and it now sits right next to her bed along with Prancer.

Along with the turkey dinner, we completed Christmas cards this past week, as well as, her advent calendar, made my annual christmas calendar refills, did a few more crafts, attended the Nutcracker.... and our Elf on the Shelf (who made his appearance this week as well) is affectionately now named...Kevin.   

All appearing soon on the blog.  Stay tuned.

Christmas Creations

We have been very busy with a daily Christmas project.  

Amelia was a bit cautious on her feet being painted, but then thoroughly enjoyed it ... so we made SEVERAL.  

I painted her feet with the green and red and she added the  yellow finger print dots for the lights and star after the "tree" was dry.

For the pinecone, I gave her the glue and let her go at it.  The glitter was in a shaker which made a bit of a mess, but not too bad. I had to finish up the details as there was gobs of glue that needed glittering :)  

Of course, we did snowflakes.  Amelia appropriately adorned hers with snowflake stickers.

Lastly we did a popsicle stick christmas tree that I absolutely love.  She loved the painting of course and put the white beads on.  I helped with the others.

More to come...

Cutting down the tree

There are many little trees around us that just are not going to make it to adulthood.  Each year the “Weed Ripper” as we call it, comes around with these huge rotating blades and cuts anything and everything in its path leaving mangled branches and strewn little trees on to the roads and yards.  It is to keep the growth at bay and leaves the roads that are winding thru the forest open for plows and cars.  Still, it’s a scary site if the driver of the monster beast isn’t careful.  Last year both Rob and I commented that an experienced Ripper must have gone thru as it wasn’t too bad of a sight.

  

It is why I didn’t feel bad cutting down a spruce to adorn our back family room and hold the overflow of ornaments.  This one Amelia and I had scouted out on a walk down the bear path as we call it.  We do not venture down here at any other time of year except when the bears are safely to bed. 

Last weekend Dad came with us to cut us down our tree!  

He agreed that it was doomed as it sat next to an electrical box that the city would surely be clearing away soon. 

Amelia was fascinated of course.

yes, it looks skimpy, but we love it!

I love the country feel it has.  Next year I think a popcorn garland is in order! 

Amelia decorated the entire bottom and moves them around several times a day. Do need a new tree skirt and star...but will wait til we find the perfect one or make one!  

It is the new tradition in this house to have our artificial in the front living room and a fresh Alaskan spruce for the back, carefully chosen to serve it's last days being enjoyed to the fullest extent by a very happy little girl.  I will never threaten to not have one either (read the last post). :)

Next...Christmas crafts!

Let the Festivities Begin

This house has been in full Christmas mode as of late.  The day after Halloween Amelia and I got out all the red and green Christmas bins and prepared to take on the task of decorating the house and putting up the Christmas tree.  It turned into a full day event, Amelia lost interest and ended close to a Griswald Christmas disaster…ok it really wasn’t that bad...

I had purchased a pre-lit tree a few years ago much to my dislike.  However, we were traveling much of the holidays and Christmas trees here in AK are much more expensive and harder to come by than the lower 48. No Christmas tree farms here as the trees grow so slowly…they need to, to battle 100 mph winds and survive the arctic temps. It made more sense to have an artificial one.

 Yet, I had never had a fake tree and was fighting pulling out the credit card as I kept hearing my mother yelling  “I am getting an artificial tree next year!” after a fight about chosing one, cleaning up the needles or water leaking from the tree stand.  I felt defeated.  What next?!  A table top?? She threatened that too. 

So, when I brought the tree home and decorated it…I felt…great.  Yes…great.  Why didn’t I do this before???!  Yes, I miss the smell and the excitement of getting a tree, but what ease in putting the ornaments on….no mess….and no hassle with lights as it was pre-lit!  This is great!!!  Oh wait…

This year was EXTRA special as Amelia actually is very interested in all things Christmas….snow, Santa and presents.  She dug thru the boxes finding all things Christmas.  I put the tree up as usual and plugged it in.  Hmmm… seems to be a strand out.  What to do on a pre-lit tree…must be one loose or something….or something.

I brought Rob in on it.  We pushed on all the lights, we started taking each one out and then realized we just did what the other undid.   After an hour of this and Amelia needing her lunch, I said…”why don’t we take them off and use the LED lights instead”.  Rob agreed and he started the dismantling.  Has anyone ever taken off lights from a pre-lit tree?   Uh not easy!   After at least another 2 hours,  the tree was naked.  I got the LED lights out and now was determined to at least get this tree illuminated!  Great!  Done!  Plugged them in and the 4 strands were all different tones of white! WHAT???!  Apparently, I used a couple strands for around the garage in previous years and they fade.  WHAT?????!!!!  

UGH..it's ok…I have a few sets of regular lights.  Took LED off and put regular on.  Perfect.  Illuminated.  That night and the next morning, Amelia and I (who has now lost all interest in decorating) put the ornaments on.  I opened the last  Christmas bin and found 4 unopened boxes of …LED lights.  Uh…no.  Will put them on for next year. Sigh.

We completed the task of decorating and putting up the tree!  She and Dad assembled the train ... which brought her back to decorating and is by far her most treasured Christmas decoration!

We have a mini tree in practically every room and that started when I worked at Alaska Dance Theatre.  I was trying to come up with a money making fundraiser and remembered The Festival of Trees at the Everson Museum in Syracuse.  My dance troupe performed during the event that hosted dance, choirs, pianists and musicians as entertainment while people ventured around looking at the trees that were to be auctioned off.  Most were corporate sponsored trees, but many were individuals, but all were fabulous to look at with each having it's own theme and appeal.  Why not do that here at ADT I wondered.  A fundraising committee member suggested why not do mini trees instead of large ones?  It was done.  And ADT still does this event each year...Amelia and I will venture over and check them out and post later :)  Two of ours are in the pics above.  The kitchen tree that sits in my window above the sink is decorated with miniature cookie cutters, measuring spoons, peppermint ornaments and candy canes, while the living room tree is pinecones, cranberries and glittered pears.  Really the ideas are endless.  

So...back to trees.  I looked at our little Amelia and thought this little girl needs a real tree..she needs to smell it...put it up...get some sap on her hands!  I had pondered another smaller artificial tree in the back family room for a few years, as the number of ornaments was increasing at an alarming rate, but had not pondered a real one.  Certainly, we were not going to buy one. we live on the edge of wilderness...we must be able to find a tiny tree that was ready for collapse somewhere near by, so that our darling daughter could experience cutting down a tree couldn't we???!  ... stay tuned.

PS  While decorating, I glanced out the window to find a coyote passing thru.  Think he was checking out our decorations :)  All this time I thought the tracks I had been seeing was a dog that found his way into our yard! Grabbed the camera fast.