Blog of Christmas Present: Top Five Tips & Cookie Recipe

Part two of my Blogging Christmas Carol begins with being elbow deep in flour, sugar sprinkles and frosting as I have begun my holiday baking!

I spoke to my MIL early Saturday morning and she shared the best line I think I have heard coming from my FIL...she said he asked her "When are you going to make the house smell like Christmas?!" He is speaking of the lovely anise aroma that accompanies making Italian Pizzelle cookies. My husband surely follows in his father's footsteps...when the first steam of the waffle cookie escaped from the pizzelle iron, my husband exclaimed "It's Christmas! I smell Pizzelles!"

I only make these cookies twice a year: Christmas and Easter. But I do have to admit, they are delicious!

**Update***1/1/11

If you notice the recipe is missing....you are right. Hubby claimed that giving this recipe was like sharing a sauce recipe....something you just don't do! So, I promised to take it down today.

My Christmas "Present" is a lot different from my Christmas Past....For one, I am working full time. This has changed how I prepare for the holidays this year.

Here are five of my top holiday tips that have helped me through the seasons and will hopefully help make your holiday a little easier:

1. Make a list and check it twice:  of what baked goods you plan to make. When your list is complete, make another list with all the ingredients, paying attention to the amount of flour, sugar, confectioners sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla (the most common ingredients) that are used in each recipe. Make this your shopping list for the store-you will be sure to have all the ingredients you need, saving time and money. This has helped me through many- a - baking season without having to run to the neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar!

2. Click and Ship: Shop online for friends and family that are in far away zip codes. I have missed the holiday's on more than one occasion by not shipping gifts on time! I have learned that with a click of the mouse, I can purchase the same item I would pick out in a store and then have it shipped directly to my loved one, AND have it arrive on time! NO more finding the right sized box, dragging the kids to the post office and standing in line for ages. Why I did not do this years ago, I will never know.

3. Focus Santa, Focus: Have the kids make a focused Santa List. We all had that gift that we were searching for under the tree, so when the kids were old enough to make a list for Santa, my husband and I asked them for the top 3 things they would look for under the tree. The 3 things that they really, really wanted. Of course their list was filled with more than 3 things, but by separating the top three, made it easy for us to shop because we could handle their wish-list and not go overboard. This also kept it very simple for us because the other items could be shared with family members for gift ideas.


4. Save a tree and some money.  Don't wrap the gifts from Santa. My husband and I never wrapped with exception of only a few things: ( ie: clothes). I can honestly say that I have used the same wrapping paper for a good two or three years.

5. Have Christmas in July!  Have cards printed and addressed early. Are my greetings mailed yet? No. I hope to make it to the post office today. I tell myself every year, I am going to make a spreadsheet of next year's card list, get that special photo, have it printed and ready in July. Does it ever happen? Not a chance! I need to take my own advice.

So how is Christmas Present shaking out? The baking has started, the gifts are shipped, I still have wrapping paper and the cards are ready to go. Now the only thing still needed is to light a fire under Santa's butt to get out and shop!

Next up is Blog of Christmas Future: Some big announcements are headed your way!

Do you have some easy holiday tips? Share with us in the comments below!

Like this post? Please share on Facebook or Twitter!

Blog of Christmas Past

Remember the story "A Christmas Carol"? The character Ebenezer Scrooge gets a visit from 3 ghosts showing him his past, present and future self.

Well, I thought it might be fun to do a little spin on that premise and have a MGB visit to the past, present and future!

So, Part One....

Blog of Christmas Past
Where was Mom Got Blog a year ago? Let's go take a visit!

This time last year, we were crossing our fingers for a snow day, which did actually happen! I guess the magic of sleeping donned with inside out pajamas, spoons under the pillow and sleeping "backwards" really does work! Who knew!

I also wrote one of my "Really?" posts...and actually mentioned Scrooge in this phenomenon of one decorating their car to look like a reindeer. I thought it was dumb then, and I still think it's dumb. Bah, Humbug!

Last year, our son was in the snoop-dog house, when my husband interrupted the covert operation "Mission Present-Ops" that my son and his buddy had put into action. The boy still needs to learn that "The General" is a master at strategy and is always three steps ahead!

Photo by: Jerry Search

I was also patiently waiting for news as to whether I would be going to the Olympic Games in Vancouver. I was so excited for the possibility, because I knew so many of the athletes from the US Speedskating teams, that I was really hoping to win the Olympic Blogging Contest that I had entered in October. But, I did not and wrote from my chair at home, still beaming with pride for all the friends putting their heart and soul out there on the ice.

Well, we are back at the homestead. That was fun. I haven't read those...in, well, a year! Hope you enjoyed visiting them as much as I did.

Tomorrow: A visit to Blog of Christmas Present! I believe it will have to do with some of my favorite holiday tips!

What were you doing a year ago? Leave a comment and let me know!

Like this post? Please share on Twitter and Facebook!

T'was the Night Before Christmas...

And I can't wait! I can't wait for the pre-dawn scuttle (that still happens, even with teenagers), to have the coffee self-brew on automatic timer and to fill the kitchen with the smell of cinnamon rolls. This is my favorite time of year!

I will be taking a short break from posting to the blog to enjoy some family time. I will be back in a few days.

In the meantime, I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and here's to a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Snoop Dog-house Christmas

As I was shopping for my 2 year old nephew, I came across this item in a catalog. I couldn't believe my eyes! In a matter of seconds, I was remembering one of my favorite gifts found under the Christmas tree.

I don't remember why I wanted a Snoopy snowcone maker, but I know it was way better than the Easy Bake Oven. The EBO was time consuming and the end result was barely two bites of a teeny tiny cake! Snoopy hooked me up with a few cranks of crushing ice cubes and some syrup and I could make as many as I wanted.

I never really was one to snoop for Christmas presents. I always waited for early Christmas morning to do that. I would sneak down before anyone else was awake and check under the tree to see if Santa was indeed there. Under the tree I would find wrapped boxes with my name and my brother's name. Sometimes, Santa would leave some toys unwrapped, ready to play. I can remember one year, my brother got this really cool ship with a helicopter that you controlled with levers. By moving the right and left, up or down, you could make the copter take off, fly in a circle (it was attached with a wire), hover or go backwards. I zipped it around the ship once or twice, landed it, clapped my hands together under my chin, and with a big smile tip-toed back to bed, happy to know that my brother and I once again landed on the "Nice" list.

This Christmas, I believe our son is afraid that he is in the doghouse. Two days ago, I would have agreed with him. He had been asking for a few weeks to have a friend sleep over, so we finally caved and said sure. His buddy is a good kid and we enjoy having him over. My husband and I were watching a movie and when it was over,  I cleaned up while my husband was getting ready to go to bed. He went upstairs and caught them red-handed searching for presents. Well, I believe our son was snooping while his friend was the look-out. Our son said "Well, I saw this big green box under your bed with my name on it and I wanted to see what it was." Now mind you, our bedroom door was closed and the box was well under our bed, far from sight unless you were to get on your hands and knees and pull it out to see the name on the small tag! My husband got nose to nose with our son and said "I think it is now time that you go to bed!"

The next morning, my husband and I had a good chuckle over coffee as he told me of the covert operation gone awry.  When the boys emerged for breakfast, I let them squirm a little bit. I asked what time they went to bed (12:00 was the answer).  They ate and went to play video games. When our friend came to pick up his son, he asked, "So, were you guys good last night?" Both chimed at the same time "oh, yeah! We were great! We even went to bed early, and got a good night sleep and ate a good breakfast!" After his friend said thank you and goodbye, my son had the look of "whew!" mom doesn't know....

"Ah, Pal" I said, "I want to ask you a question". GULP.

I don't know about you, but it seems for us, it's getting harder to keep the surprise for Christmas morning! I guess Santa will let our son out of the doghouse (as he was a good kid all year) and I hope he finds magic under the tree with a gift that will be remembered as a favorite!

Really?! Part 4

I may get a lot of flack for this post, but it is not a reflection on anyone as a person or a dig at one's holiday spirit, it is just my opinion.

In my travels to and fro around town to do holiday errands, I have started to see a lot of autos with this "car costume". I never knew there was such a term until I Googled it just a few moments ago. I have seen wreaths on front grills in the past and have said "okay..." but this latest trend is making me instantly turn into Scrooge like Jekyll turns into Hyde.

I am a big fan of Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer and I love to snuggle down and watch him profess "She thinks I'm cuuuuuute!!!" as he leaps into the air upon learning Clarice's affection for him. But to decorate your car?? Many reviews say "it's cute".

Uhm. No. It isn't. It looks ridiculous.

But if you strongly feel like channeling your inner Rudolph, you can purchase your own at Taylor Gifts. And as I pass you on the road, I will not be saying "Oh, how cute is that?!"

Bah! Humbug!

The 3 C's of a Snowday

When the weatherman has a winter storm forecasted to hit your area, every school-age kid secretly wishes for the same thing: A Snowday!

Today's youth has their own version of making that happen. They sleep with spoons (I don't get that one either), wear their pajamas inside out & backwards and may even sleep in the opposite direction in bed. When I was younger, the best we could do was cross our fingers and just hope for the best. We would wake up and hang on every word the RADIO announcer would say. Yes, they would read each and every school delay and closure. If your school name started at the beginning of the alphabet, you were in luck because you learned before most that you could sleep just a little bit longer. Disc jockeys in modern times rejoice that school closings are now announced via the local news channels. Most parents stare bleary-eyed at the TV trying to see the small print at the bottom of the screen wondering if school will be delayed or closed. If delayed, we moan and if closed we smile, remembering that special feeling of getting a "pass" for the day from Mother Nature.

I prepared for today just in case. I have all my baking supplies, craft supplies and as I mentioned yesterday, my holiday cards.

When the kids awake from there cozy slumber, I anticipate hearing giggles and a few "Woo-Hoo's" before requests for pancakes and hot chocolate are made. After playing in the snow, we'll trim our tree and dive into our 3 C's for the day-

• 
  
  Cookies
  
  
  
• 
  
  Crafts
  
  
  
• 
  
  Cards
  
  
  

Thanks Mother Nature for giving us a magical day!