Christmas Stockings

Christmas stockings were the snooze buttons on our Christmas morning alarm clocks.  We had an agreement with the kids, if they got up early well before we were properly awake, then their stockings were fair game.  My daughter's shows how I made them a little wider to accommodate a coloring book.  I would stuff them with yo-yos, candy, paper dolls for Jill, little action figures for Andy, stuffed animals...well, you get the point.

I decided to make new stockings this year and while researching ideas I noticed in pictures of store bought ones that they hung to the right and when I made these I had them hang to the left.  Funny the things we notice.  Now,  I wonder, which way do most stockings hang?

Things are busy around here even with the man away.  I find my days flying by, a good thing because that means he'll be home soon, but with the kids coming in on Friday for the weekend, I find myself in crunch mode.  I do find time for Pinterest and it's especially easy using the app on my iPhone.

The embroidery design is from The Pattern Bee Vintage Embroidery Shop but the lettering is my design. 

I am happy to have them done and hanging and I did make a new tree skirt, too, but I'll show that later.  I don't want to put all my eggs into one basket, as they say.

Hugs my friends!

Gingerbread

Gingerbread and Christmas.  You can't think of one and not the other, at least, that's how I feel.  Christmas baking this year has been spread out to doing a batch of cookies here and there, usually I set aside one day for baking.  A friend at my redwork club told me about Penzey's spices.  There is a store in Tempe and I decided to try them out.  Love the flavor!  And this is my first time using whole nutmeg and a grater; I'll not be going back to already ground ginger.

Another icon of Christmas in my home is Hallmark.  I started collecting Hallmark ornaments and stuff back in 1976.  Every year I add something and this year I knew immediately what it would be the moment I heard him...

Step away from the gingerbread boy, he is not delicious!

It's all for the cause, dear.

If you are wondering about my recipe for gingerbread cookies, well, I have to admit, there is no single recipe that I use.  Mainly, over the years, it has been from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook but the last few years I've tried Martha Stewarts' and several from Food Network. 

Last year, I used one from Simply Recipes blog and it earned a repeat this year. 

You can find the recipe here.

Warm Christmas Hugs,

Susan

The Christmas Tree

Today was a homemade chicken noodle soup kind of day.  It was raining when I woke and stayed grey and gloomy all day which was fine by me because I stayed inside finishing the holiday decorating.  I wasn't going to start this early but with my guy leaving the 30th of November, I decided to have the tree at least up before he left.

And I found Bubble Lights at Hobby Lobby! 

The tree is our favorite decoration.  We love to sit and gaze in the evening with only the lights of the tree on.  I am the one who puts up the tree every year.  I like to do it.    We used real trees when we were first married, always getting one from the neighborhood tree lot.  When our children were school age we started going to a tree farm and cutting our own.  Then we moved into a new house and seemed to alternate between a real one and an artificial one and it seems the latter took over.

We bought this 7 ft. Hudson Valley Douglas Fir artificial tree back in 1988.  When putting the tree together I had more "needles" on the floor than what a real tree sheds when Christmas is over.  We've looked at the new trees and thought if these pre-lit ones would last 23 years and what do you do if the lights don't work?  Alas, we might have to succumb to a replacement. 

With the tree up, now, all that's left to do is make the tree skirt and 5 stockings. Steve and I have never had Christmas stockings and every year he asks for one.  I just wanted simple ones like they have at Pottery Barn, so, I decided to make them.  I am using red velveteen and white linen, very traditional looking.  I'll do a show and tell when I've completed all of them.

It is so quiet in the house. 

Good Night!