31 Holiday Tradtion Ideas

I thought this post from last year could use a little bump. There are a lot of ideas in it to make this Holiday season extra special. Hope you enjoy it.


31 Holiday Tradition Ideas

I'll be back with new ideas soon!

{ Holiday Tradition Ideas }

It seems like the holiday season drags on forever, yet it's over before we know it.

I've complied a little list of ideas for holiday traditions. I'm sure you've seen many before, but maybe not. Maybe you'll stumble upon an idea that is just right for your little family. My family has enjoyed all of these over the years. I hope your family will enjoy some as well! Take time to savor the moments this Christmas.

Fun Traditions for the Holidays

Watch:  Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving together while munching on the 'feast' from the show: popcorn, toast, pretzel sticks, jelly beans, and ice cream sundaes!

Find: a tradition from another country and make it yours. We have celebrated St. Nicholas' Day since Bean was 3 years old.

We also have traditional British crackers on Christmas Day. These are sometimes hard to find in stores in the USA, but you can buy them online.

Have a Cocoa Bar-: make up different flavors of cocoa, and have a fixins bar with things like: chocolate chips, caramel sauce, whipped cream, crushed peppermint, brewed coffee (for mochas), chopped candy bars, sprinkles, and marshmallows (there are many flavors of marshmallows on the shelves this time of year!). Great for Christmas Eve! You can make this little marshmallow guy with a swizzle stick, three mini marshmallows, an orange jimmie, a gum drop for his hat (shape with your fingers), and a food writer for his eyes, mouth, and buttons.

Baby Jesus:  Make Baby Jesus cakes to celebrate the reason for the season. You can make a regular sized cake, mini cakes, or even cupcakes. We always did this on Christmas Eve just before bed. We sang Happy Birthday to baby Jesus and blew out candles.

Choose a yearly ornament. We started this with Bean the year he was born. It's fun to look at his ornaments now and see what he was into, or what milestone he accomplished that year.You can see below things like the year he started kindergarten, got a puppy, discovered Harry Potter, visited Disney World, etc.

Let your kids sleep beside the Christmas tree. Bean used to LOVE doing this during the Christmas season. Never on Christmas Eve, of course- Santa might trip over him!

Sparkle: I'll admit, this was NOT one of my husband's favorites, but Bean loved it. When he was very small, I told him any where Santa went, he left sparkles behind. I sprinkled glitter on his presents, around the tree, on the cookie plate, etc. I even used body glitter and touched it on Bean's cheek. He still remembers when Santa kissed his cheek! Yes, it's a little messy, but a quick Christmas morning vacuum is worth the memories!

Hunt: Long before Elf on the Shelf, we looked for elves at our house too. However, much like Santa, we were looking for sparkles. I'd sprinkle glitter on the outside of our house and on the outside of the window sills. Bean would go out with his flashlight (because they only appeared at night) and hunt for glitter. If he found it, he knew that the elves had been watching him!

My Bean Circa 2002

Connect: Take at least a few minutes to spend a Christmas moment with friends/family far away via FaceTime or Skype

Enjoy a different Christmas movie every weekend from Thanksgiving weekend until Christmas Eve.

Next Stop: Have a Polar Express party! When Bean was 5, we invited his little friends to come and have a party with us. Everyone was to show up in their PJs, of course, we played games, and I read them the book while they drank cocoa. This was before the movie, which you could now watch.

Lights: go on a Christmas Light Drive. Make up a scavenger hunt list to make it more exciting. Things like: Find a giant Santa, spot a nativity, find a house with all red lights, etc. I've attached a printable here. Right click>Save as. Enjoy!

Host an Ugly Sweater Party, Ornament Party, or a Cookie Decorating or Swap party.

For an Ugly Sweater Party, just invite everyone to show up in their most excellent Christmas garb. The tackier the better. Offer up snacks or  have everyone bring something to munch on. Offer a prize for the "best" sweater.

For an Ornament Party- have everyone bring an ornament to swap, then gather craft supplies to make one while you are all together.

For a Cookie Decorating Party- make up a bunch of sugar cookies and colored icings, have lots of sprinkles and candies on hand. To make it easier, buy either plain sugar cookies already baked or place and bake cookies. Tint canned vanilla instead of making your own.

For a Cookie Swap Party- have everyone  invited make up 1/2 dozen cookies for each person invited. So, if you have 4 people coming, everyone should bring 2 dozen cookies. Then swap cookies with the other party goers. You'll go home with 4 different types of cookies!

Photo Tradition: Have a photo tradition. A photo in the same spot/doing the same thing each year. Here is an example of Bean and our cat, Fairley, the last four years.

String a popcorn and cranberry garland

Count Down: make a count down to Christmas chain, remove a link every night before bed.

Drink: Celebrate Christmas Eve with an old worldly Wassail!

Craft Christmas ornaments together. We still have some on the tree from when Bean was 2 (craft foam that he helped glue buttons on, and his hand print).

Construct "Gingerbread" Houses: Gingerbread House Tips and Tricks

Christmas Eve Box: Make up a Christmas Eve box: New pajamas, a new Christmas movie, and snacks. We've done this for several years now.

Photograph 'quiet moments'.

Grown Ups Only: Have a special 'grown up night's out'. This is something I hadn't done in, well.. maybe ever. Last year my friend Lori and I decided to go out to a fancy restaurant, just the two of us, no husbands, no kids. This is now our Christmas Friend Tradtion. We don't exchange gifts, we just go out to eat together at a local Inn.

Be Neighborly: Make treats for neighbors and friends

Help: Put together food boxes for needy families and drop off at local food pantry/church. Let your children help pick the items, express the need for healthy foods for the boxes, but with a treat or two.

Give: In addition, seek out a place to give to the needy. A great place that we have found to give to through our church is Children's Services. Our teen group has gathered gifts for local teens in foster care for the last couple years. The head of Children's Services in the local county told us that fosters often get little to no gifts at Christmas. Teens are the ones who get the least, because toys are donated more often. You can also look for an Angel Tree or ask at your church if there is a family in need.

New Year's: After Christmas, leave your tree up as a New Year's Tree. Click the link to read more and see what the balloons are filled with.

New Year's Day: It seems like by the time New Year's Day rolls around the fun has disappeared. Extend it by one more day by starting a tradition for New Year's Day. Have family over for dinner, play board games, or make it a special treat day. In our family, we have fondue on New Year's Day! We call it Fondue Year's Day ;) 

{ Christmas Sugar Scrubs }

Whoa! SIX days til Christmas!

WHAT??? I know, right? SIX days!

What I've got for you here is a quick and easy last minute gift. You know you've forgotten someone!

These are inexpensive and oh so lucious. Good enough to eat, but don't. I mean, you COULD, it's all foodstuffs, but...

I've made you 5 different versions of sugar scrub.

All start with the same basic recipe: 1/4 cup of (solid) coconut oil to 1 cup of sugar. After that, the sky is the limit!

These all smell AH-MAZ-ING. I'm not messing around here. Delicious.

So, make some to give away. You can get a lot out of a jar of coconut oil! A lot!

Or... make some for yourself. Or both ;)

So, the scrubs I made today are:


Candy Cane

Hot Cocoa

Pumpkin Pie

Snickerdoodle

and

Gingerbread Cookie

All of the scrubs make approx  1/2 pint. (I got slightly over 2 of these adorable 1/4 pint jars per recipe). You can easily double, triple, etc. any of the recipes.

Please note when using scrubs in the bathtub/shower, that it can get a little slick. The same applies when using on feet. Be careful!

Always test in a small spot of your skin for sensitivity. That said, I have extremely sensitive skin and have never had an issue. Everyone is different though!

To use, scoop a bit of scrub into your palm, then rub on arms, legs, etc in a circular motion. Rinse and pat to dry. You'll feel soft and smooth and smell like Christmas!

Note on the Cocoa Scrub. While this is my favorite smelling scrub here, it is also the messiest. Be prepared for chocolate everywhere ;)

I've also made you some sweet little tags. To use, right click on the file below and 'save image as'.

Just jar up your scrub, add a tag, and bam, you've got a great gift!

Happy Christmas!


Tina



Christmas Sugar Scrubs
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers


Candy Cane:
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup solid coconut oil
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Beat coconut oil on high until softened (30 seconds-1 min), add in sugar and peppermint. Store in airtight container.


Hot Cocoa:
1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup solid coconut oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat coconut oil on high until softened (30 seconds-1 min), add in sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Store in airtight container.


Pumpkin Pie:
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup solid coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat coconut oil on high until softened (30 seconds-1 min), add in sugar, spices, and vanilla. Store in airtight container.

Snickerdoodle:1 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup solid coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Beat coconut oil on high until softened (30 seconds-1 min), add in sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Store in airtight container.

Gingerbread Cookie:
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup solid coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat coconut oil on high until softened (30 seconds-1 min), add in sugar, spices, and vanilla. Store in airtight container.

{ Sweet, Simple Christmas Tree Cupcakes }

As the Christmas holiday closes in, we all begin to panic, if even just a little.

There's just SO much to do. Every year I tell myself I'm NOT GOING TO DO ALL OF THAT, and yet, every year I still do it.

Case in point, Gingerbread Houses. Now, I do it the 'easy' way (see here), but I said I wasn't doing them this year. Yet, what did I find myself doing at 9 pm the night  prior to the party? Making Gingerbread Houses. Christmas comes but once a year. What's an hour of my time and a few dollars in candy? It's a tradition, after all!

I often think about how calm Christmas would be if I didn't host & attend parties. If I didn't bake, and bake, and bake, and candy make. If I didn't do gift boxes of treats, etc. It would be so calm. So peaceful. So... BORING, and SO not me.

So, I go. I do.

It's Christmastime, after all, and I love a good tradition!

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas is watching the Harry Potter movies with the best Christmas scenes. No, I don't watch the whole series at Christmas, I pick and choose. Goblet of Fire for the Yule Ball, Order of the Phoenix for Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Half Blood Prince for Christmas at The Burrow (until those dang D.E. ruined it!). The best of the best, is, of course Sorcerer's Stone. It makes me feel oh, so merry! I love all of the trees in the Great Hall. After watching the other day, I decided to make these cupcakes.

They are the sweetest little Christmas tree cupcakes evah. Totally cute and way easy. Don't tell though. What people don't know won't hurt them.

You just bake up any cupcake flavor of your choosing, frost with a little white, sprinkle on a little sanding sugar, pipe on a little green swirly tree, decorate, and... done!

You can make the trees any shade of green you choose (or, hey, get funky with some colored trees!), but I made mine a more 'natural' shade of green. To achieve this color I used (Wilton Gel food coloring) Leaf Green, Kelly Green, and wee bit of black.

Me gusta.

Hagrid would approve.

So, be it calm or be it hectic, I hope your Christmas is classically YOU.

Tina





Christmas Tree Cupcakes

needed:

Cupcakes, baked and cooled
Buttercream
Green food coloring
piping bag
Wilton 1M tip
White sanding sugar
Decorations


Make sure your buttercream is sort of stiff. You may want to add a little more powdered sugar to your normal recipe.

Scoop out some white and set aside.

Tint the rest to the shade of green you prefer.

Frost cupcakes with the white buttercream. Sprinkle the edges with white sanding sugar.

Using your green icing, in the center of the cupcake, pipe your tree. Make 3 swirls, then lift up. Look! A tree! <3

Decorate as desired. Sprinkle with more white sanding sugar or powdered sugar, add silver dragees
or colored nonpareils,or other sprinkles, etc! Leave top plain, or add a star, snowflake, sixlet, etc.

{ Peppermint Crunch Bark }

Hello Decemeber, hello Christmas!

I'm SO excited to see you.

Yeah, I have eleventy million things to do, but I loooooooooooove you, and you are finally here!

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is bake with my awesome friend, Lori and also with my boy. Lori and I make trays of treats for teachers, neighbors, family members, and other friends. It's always an exhausting but great day. Together we make what could be a chore into a great time! Love me some Lori time!  Bean loves to make Buckeyes and Cake Balls, so we always do that together. Also, rolled and decorated sugar cookies because what is more Christmas than that? The boy LOVES traditions, and I love that.

I know that Peppermint Bark has been done and done again, but this is just a wee bit different.

This adds a layer of Andes Peppermint Crunch chips in the middle. I love the flavor it gives, but even more, I love the color. It makes a classic, lovely Christmas treat just that much better.

Isn't the red festive? I'm pretty smitten.

These are totally going on the Christmas trays this year!

Delicious, easy, and inexpensive to pack little boxes up as gifts for friends, family, co-workers, etc!

Tina



Peppermint Crunch Bark
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

6 ounces white chocolate*
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate*
6 ounces Andes Peppermint Crunch chips
2 candy canes, crushed
1 Tablespoon white sanding sugar
1 Tablespoon red sanding sugar


*Chips work great, but for even better flavor, use a higher quality chocolate, chopped into small pieces


Add crushed candy canes & sanding sugars to a small bowl and set aside.

For instructions on melting chocolate, follow this link: How to Melt Chocolate.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Melt semi-sweet chocolate. Pour onto pan and spread out. Tap on counter to remove any bubbles. Allow to harden by placing in the fridge (about 20 mins) or freezer (about 10 minutes).

Melt Peppermint Crunch. Pour on top of the hardened chocolate layer. Tap to remove bubbles. Return to fridge/freezer to harden.

Melt white chocolate layer. Spread on top of Peppermint Crunch layer. Tap to remove bubbles. Immediately top with crushed candy cane/sugar mixture.

Allow to fully harden. Cut or break into pieces. Store in airtight container.

Makes approx 1 1/2 pounds

This can be made in any quantity as long as the chocolate/Peppermint Crunch portions are even (adjust candy canes accordingly).

You can add a bit of peppermint extract if you wish, if you prefer it a bit more pepperminty. I like the mild peppermint flavor that the Peppermint Crunch adds.

{ Peach And Pecan Kitchen Sink Cake }

I'm not sure how it happened, but suddenly, the holidays are upon us.

Every year I start shopping prior to vacation (we go the first part of September every year). You'd think this would afford me some relaxing moments prior to the holidays. It doesn't. Somehow, even starting in August, I'm panicking a week before Christmas arrives. Now, granted, I do shop both for my own gift giving, along with my 94 year old grandmother's gift giving. Still, you'd think August would be enough time.

Never.

So, I become a fan of shortcuts this time of year. I don't want to skimp, but quick and easy become my bros. My bros and I hang out together and chat about all their friends. One such bro is this Kitchen Sink Cake. Now, others know him by another name. I refuse to call him such things. It just doesn't sound appetizing. I think it's insulting because he really is a lovely creature. Basically, a Dump Cake is not welcome in my house. I have to make up nicknames for him. Like this.

Peach and Pecan Kitchen Sink Cake.

Granted, that isn't the tastiest sounding thing in the world, but, hey, it's better than the alternative.

This cake is easy squeezey.

It takes just a few ingredients and very little effort.

And it tastes amazing.

So quick and easy and a wonderful finish to your holiday meal or perfect for parties and potlucks.

Now I must rush back over to Amazon and place another order. Amazon is definitely my bro. Not just this season, but always. <3

Tina



Peach & Pecan Kitchen Sink Cake
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

1 box yellow or white cake mix (I prefer yellow)
2 small (15 oz) cans of peaches
1 stick butter- melted
1/2 cup pecans- finely chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar- packed
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F

Prepare a 9 x 13 baking dish by lightly spraying with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar.

Pour peaches into bottom of pan- do NOT drain. Sprinkle dry cake mix over. Pour stick of melted butter slowly over the top, coating as well as possible.

Sprinkle mixture of cinnamon and sugar over top, then sprinkle on pecans.

For the final step, sprinkle the brown sugar on the top as well.

Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until brown and bubbly.

Serve warm with ice cream or serve chilled with whipped cream.

{Soft, Rolled Chocolate Sugar Cookies}

Yes, my last post was a sugar cookie as well. I can't even help it. I LOVE SUGAR COOKIES. I'm very picky about them though. They need to be FAT, soft, and slathered in buttercream. These are all very important elements to the, in my opinion, perfect sugar cookie.

While dealing with all the snow and the Polar Vortex Jr, we've been spending a lot of time at home. Yesterday, Bean was off school because of the temps. Apparently our Ohio buses are not equipped to deal with -35 windchills. So, we kept on with our Harry Potter movies (over the weekend we'd watched 1-5). After we finished Half Blood Prince, we wandered into the kitchen to make these. I'd mentioned wanting to make them to Bean a few days ago, and he just couldn't let it go. Since he was little, I've said that he "loves chocolate like a girl". And that, my friends, is putting it mildly.

So, cookie time it was.

Chocolate sugar cookies are an interesting beast. By interesting, I mean delicious, of course. They are not quite brownie, not quite sugar cookie. They are allllllll good though.

These work like regular sugar cookies. You roll them out and cut with cookie cutters. They look great on a tray with regular sugar cookies.

What to top them with? Chocolate buttercream, of course! What else? Honestly, they'd be great with regular buttercream too, but chocolate. I sprinkled mine with a little bit of sparkling sugar and some chocolate jimmies. Perfection.

I'm not sure that they will replace sugar cookies as my favorite (well, after Snickerdoodles), but they are daggone good.

Chocolatey good.

Enjoy.

Tina


Chocolate Sugar Cookies
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4  sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and put aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla. Pour the flour mixture in, a little at a time, until it is mixed thoroughly.Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours (or overnight).

While rolling, preheat oven to 400. Prepare baking sheet with silpat, parchment, or ungreased.

Roll the chilled dough out on a surface dusted with a small amount of cocoa powder. For these, I rolled the dough to about 1/4" so they would be soft and fat. Cut to desired shapes with cookie cutters. Brush off excess cocoa with a pastry brush before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before icing.


Chocolate Buttercream
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers


(you will only need 1/2 recipe for these cookies)

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1/4 cup shortening (I prefer Crisco)
1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder*
4 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
 
Beat the butter and shortening until fluffy (3-4 mins). Slowly add in the powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add in the milk starting with 2 tablespoons. Add vanilla. If too thick add the extra tablespoon of milk. Mix until distributed.

*start with 1/2 cup. If not chocolatey enough, add the extra 1/4 cup.

{Soft Peppermint Sugar Cookies}

I know what you are thinking. You think I've lost my mind. "Christmas was LAST month, Tina!". I can hear you all now.

I know, I know, but I had all these leftover candy canes. Surely I'm not the only one?

Who made up the rule that peppermint is only a Christmas treat anyway? I say NUH UH.

I'm a big fan of all things minty, as long as they aren't TOOOO minty. I like mild mint. That's a thing right? Like mild salsa? If not, it should be. Tic Tacs, yes. Starlite mints, yes. Altoids, no.

My hubs is a big fan of mints too. A couple Christmases ago, he even came up with the idea of rolling Snickerdoodles in candy canes instead of cinnamon sugar. You can see those cookies here. The day after Christmas, he saw the pile of candy canes on the kitchen counter and asked if I could make some peppermint cookies. Normally I do this every year. This year, as I posted about, was CUH-RAY-ZEE for me, so I didn't get them made. I kept thinking I'd get them made, but days turned into weeks, and then.... suddenly it's late January.

While we were snowed in this weekend, I finally got around to it. I used a basic sugar cookie dough, added crushed candy canes (starlite mints will work too!), iced with buttercream, and topped with more crushed canes and some coarse sugar.

Easy and oh so yum.

I don't even care it's January. If you make them, you won't either. Sugar cookie goooooooood. Buttercream goooooooood. Peppermint goooooooood.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies? Goooooooood.

Eat up, my friends.

Tina



Peppermint Sugar Cookies


Cookies:
adapted from Bakingdom's Sugar Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 crushed candy canes or 6 starlite mints

Buttercream Icing:
slightly adapted from Bakingdom

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
pinch teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoons vanilla extract


Topping:

1 crushed candy cane or 3 starlite mints
2 teaspoons of coarse sugar



For the cookies:

Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and put aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla. Pour the flour mixture in, a little at a time, until it is mixed thoroughly. Mix in the 2 crushed candy canes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours (or overnight).

While rolling, preheat oven to 400. Prepare baking sheet with silpat, parchment, or ungreased.

Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface. For these, I rolled the dough to about 1/4" so they would be soft and fat. Cut to desired shapes with cookie cutters. Dust off excess flour with pastry brush before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool before icing.


For the Buttercream Icing:
Beat butter with mixer for 3 minutes. Slowly add in sugar & pinch of salt and beat until combined. Pour in 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Beat for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. If too thick, add more cream, a little at a time. Stir in vanilla.

Spread on cooled cookies.

For the topping:
Mix together, sprinkle on top of iced cookies

{Christmas Look Back, Post 2}

I'm back with another look into past Christmases (or posts I think would be good for Christmas).

I mentioned in my last post that I was panicked. Well, I still am, but I'm slightly better. I've managed to get 75% of the shopping done. This week, however, holds shopping, baking, grocery shopping, an orthodontist appointment, and TWO parties. Yay?

Tis the Season, right?

I'm trying to remember to "Relax, Re-evaluate, and Remember the reason".

It's going, well... it's going. I won't even say it's going OK, but I'm trying here, folks!

That said, let me show you some posts I think you'll like this Christmas!

1.2.3. Cheeseball

One of the easiest and best cheeseballs ever. You can throw this together in about 2 minutes.

Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes

 

These are a Christmas version of one of my most popular recipes on the blog, Chocolate Mint Cupcakes. The glaze is made with Andes Chocolate Mint candy.


Buckeye Bites

Buckeye Bites are the most popular recipe on my blog. They have been for over a year now. They are quick and easy to whip up and great for gift giving as well!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Snickerdoodles are my favorite cookies and although I could eat them at any time of the year, their cinnamony sweetness always reminds me of Christmas. These Snickerdoodle cupcakes, some of my favorites cuppies I've ever made, therefore make me think they belong in this post.


Honey Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub

A very easy scrub to make up as gifts. All the ingredients are probably already in your kitchen. Sugar Scrubs are very expensive, but this one sure isn't. Mix up, put into a jar, and add a gift tag. Done.

Red Velvet Bûche de Noël  

I'd always wanted to make a Yule Log, and last year was the year. This post shows how it's much easier than appears AND how you can screw things up and still make a gorgeous dessert.


Christmas Tree Starburst Effect Tutorial

Want gorgeous photos of your tree? In this post I tell how to achieve the 'starburst' or 'twinkle' effect. Get photos of your tree you will always treasure.

Christmas Pop

A quick and easy treat that is perfect for parties... or Santa.


Homemade Marshmallows & Gift Ideas

Homemade marshmallows are MUCH easier than you'd think, and really, quite a lot of fun. Follow this link for gift ideas with or without making your own marshies!

That's all for now, friends! Hopefully I will be back soon with more!


Tina