It's the most wonderful time of the year!
I love Christmas so very much, and since my daughter was born, I think my Christmas spirit is more spirit-y than ever before. I kick off my Christmasing right after the Thanksgiving holiday with Christmas tree decoration. We get a real tree, and this year we did something pretty cool: we rode our bikes to get our tree from the tree farm down the road. It was pretty memorable for my husband and I, and I dare say, I think we had the tree farm boys quite amused as well.
I wanted to share some of holiday stuff that I've been doing in case you need a little inspiration, or find a tip or trick that might work well for your household! First up, a picture of what decoration a tree with a 18-month-old is really like...hehe.
After this photo was taken, I said to my sister-in-law that THIS is what is real. I mean, yes, it's great to have smiley pictures having to do with the holidays, but let's me real: after hauling the tree, getting it set up, and being SO PATIENT about my husband getting the lights precise, this was exactly how I was feeling! Plus, there was the nervousness of not knowing how this whole tree and 18-month-old thing was going to go...which brings me to this:
Ah, Pinterest. I love you soooo much. I saw a picture of a felt tree on there, and I said I have got to make one of those puppies! Granted, is my crafty version of a felt Christmas tree as good as some others? No, but that is not the point! The point is that this is where I direct my little darling when saying "just look" at the real Christmas tree doesn't work. This is activity board I think she'll get a couple of years out of (at least I hope so) and I love it. Great addition to our home and very festive, don't you think?
And finally....my new Christmas project... candies!!!
These are a very simple recipe I found for peppermint patties on--you guessed it--Pinterest! I have never been one to tackle candy making, but these just caught my eye. They were as simple as was promised. So easy, in fact, that the majority of them I actually went a step farther and covered them in chocolate! YUM! I am storing those in the fridge and planning to now make my own Mounds inspired candies from a similar recipe. CLICK HERE for the recipe from Mom on Time Out. One change I made was that I used pure peppermint essential oil (from Young Living) instead of extract. It's the purest tasting mint and is food grade.
My husband thought that these mints were good on their own...but we also agree they are better with chocolate. I bought that melt-in-the-microwave chocolate and it worked well. And I mean, seriously, if I can get these made with an 18-month-old tugging at my apron, so can you! They are impressive for the holidays and make the perfect little gift for that special someone!!
What are you holiday projects?! Please share them with me in the comments section below--include some links because, who knows, I may need to try them for myself!