Christmas in July - Day 1

I love Christmas and Christmas in July is not exception. I know me and I will not post daily like so many of those crazy Christmas blogger will, but I am going to try and follow Magical Holiday Home's schedule with movies and maybe throw a few of our favorites in as well!!!

We have already started with watching Calliou's Christmas ..... Jack's favorite!!!

Have a great Christmas in July Y'all!!!

A Christmas Ornament Finished

With 31 individual gifts to buy this year ... we are making most of them. So this is my first Christmas ornament done this year with several more to go. As many people are this year we are cutting back and making the 31 less by giving family gifts where appropriate to cut expenses. By making gifts to families instead of everyone getting a separate gift it cuts the list down to 21 gifts to create this season. We have several unmarried family members and a total of 6 nieces and nephews so the list is still large :O) I have several more gifts in the works and will add those as I can. I hope everyone is at least thinking about Christmas ahead of time :O) Have a great week!!!

Christmas Gifts

This year we are giving homemade Christmas gifts! This recipe is for Sand Art Brownies from Organized Christmas....and excellent site!!



Materials:
12 wide-mouth quart (4-cup) canning jars
1/2 yard print cotton fabric1 round
(6 yards) craft ribbon
2 pieces cardstock (for gift tags)

for 1 jar:
2/3 t. salt
1 1/8 c. flour, divided
1/3 c. cocoa powder
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans

Instructions:
Wash, rinse and dry canning jars.
Layer ingredients as follows:
2/3 t. salt
5/8 c. flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. walnuts

Cut twelve 7-inch circles from cotton fabric. Top each jar with fabric circle, and tie with ribbon.
The website has free tags and instructions for making 12 at a time. Since I try everything first I used the breakdown above for 1 jar. I have not baked these because we have too many sweets around at the moment. Hopefully I will this weekend and I will post the turn out!!! But they were supper easy and cute to boot!!

I separated out the ingredients before hand to make it quicker to set up

This about half way thru stacking the ingredients.
Completed jar with out the fabric.
Completed jar with fabric and jute ... I did not cut my fabric large enough so it looks a little short on the jar.
I hope yall enjoyed this one.... Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas is on the way...

Wow half way through October, and when looking for crafts for Christmas you can not start too early looking for ideas. I found a great site ....this lady has listed her crafts from years gone by that she has made and given as gifts great ideas here!! Enjoy!!

Holiday Grand Plan Wk 2

I know I am late posting this, but with working on my ofc re-do w/ Organized Junkie is hosting this month, and trying to get ready for the church consignment sale, I am way behind this week!!

Cleaning Chores for the week:
Living Room

• dust base boards
• knock down spider webs
• spot scrub carpet
• vacuum furniture & cushions
• dust blinds - replace broken blind
• vacuum carpet
• dust all pictures and things on the wall

I accomplished my cleaning last week ... let's see how I do this week!!!

Gifts to work on:

same as last time... I did not finish anything last week

• finish cross stitch that I am working on as a gift
• start the ornaments to give
• spray paint gift basket

List & Planning:

• Christmas card list needs to be compiled
• print labels for envelopes
• finish planning menu for Thanksgiving & Christmas (almost set with Thanksgiving)
• fix for family one goody that might be given as a gift
• finish list of items to be cooked as gifts
• finish up Christmas list for family
• compile list of gifts already purchased

It's already Wednesday.... better get busy!!! If you would like to know where to go to get on board with your own Holiday Grand Plan click HERE!!!!

Holiday Grand Plan Week # 1

Okay this year I am working the plan at Organized Christmas to make the holiday less stressful, so that I can focus on the true reason for the season instead of what I still have to do. This is my plan for the week.

Cleaning Chores for the week:

• Front Porch Zone - knock down spider webs
• Sweep off porch
• Wash Front Door <
• Trim bushes back, & pull weeds in front beds
• Change light bulb on porch.
• Windex windows <

Gifts to work on:

• Spray paint basket I purchased at goodwill.
• Finish cross stitch gift I am working on.
• Start the cross stitch ornaments that I want to give.

List & Planning for the week:

• Plan the menu's for the week of Thanksgiving & Christmas.
• Plan what needs to be cooked for In Law Christmas get together.
• Make Shopping list for each week.
• Finalize list of items to be baked for others as gifts & gather recipes.
• Make a gift list for all family and start marking the names off!!!

I hope everyone else is underway to making this holiday season a wonderful one!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Homemade Christmas Gifts Part II

The second gift idea I found was Peppermint Bath Salts.

Material Needed:

12 tall jelly (12-ounce) canning jars with lid and rings
2 4-pound cartons Epsom Salts (approximately 16 cups)4 pounds sea salt or Kosher salt (approximately 6 cups)1/2 teaspoon glycerin, divided12 to 15 drops peppermint essential oil12 to 15 drops red food color
3 pieces cardstock (for tags)

I broke the recipe down and only made 1 jar to test. I only had quart jars so that is what I used. I will use a smaller jelly jar for the actual gift giving, but you can get the idea. Also I did not have enough red food coloring so I used green. I plan on giving this gift to my nieces & a couple of ALI's friends with a loofah ..not sure how to spell that.

Directions:
Wash, rinse and dry canning jars.
Empty one carton Epsom Salts into large mixing bowl or batter bowl. Add 3 cups sea salt, stir well. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon glycerin and 6 to 8 drops essential oil. Mix well.
In second large mixing bowl, empty one carton Epsom Salts, and add 3 cups sea salt. Stir well. Add 1/4 teaspoon glycerin, 6 to 8 drops essential oil, and food color. Stir until completely blended. Color should be even.
Tip: use a heavy-duty stand mixer (such as Kitchenaid-brand) to mix bath salts easily. Set mixer to lowest setting and mix until color is even--but don't try this with hand mixers or smaller stand mixers!
Holding canning jars at an angle, layer salts in jars, alternating white and colored mixtures.
These 2 gift ideas we have tried out. I can honestly say both were easy to put together and worked out great. The cookies from part I were yummy...and the bath salts were fun and we all smell like peppermint! This site here has other ideas for gifts in a jar, but we have only tested the 2 I mentioned. I will be testing others as time permits. Happy Christmas Planning!!!

Homemade Christmas Gifts Part I

This year my DH & I are planning to give as many homemade gifts as possible to our family and friends.

I do not like to give anything that I have not tested before hand so in this quest...I have worked on 2 gift ideas that I have made, packaged, and tested. These are both gifts in a jar for easy gifting.

1. M&M Cookies in a Jar
Ingredients for 1 Jar - Ingredients for 12 Jars here
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups M&M-brand chocolate candies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder





Instructions:
Mix together flour, soda and baking powder. Layer sugar, M&M-brand candies and flour mixture in quart-size canning jars. Pack firmly.





Recipe Instructions (include on gift tag):
Empty jar of cookie mix into mixing bowl; blend thoroughly.
Add 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix until completely blended.
Roll into 1-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until edges are lightly browned, about 12 to 14 minutes.
Cool on cookie sheet for five minutes, then transfer to wire racks. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.





We followed the very simple directions and made very delicious cookies that were enjoyed by all in our family. They instantly went on our list of gifts to give. I have some SIL that will be getting these yummy treats. I the pictures I have not decorated the jars. I plan on adding fabric and ribbon to the top before giving.

Merry Christmas in May

I am joining up with the Rudolph Club to help keep Christmas simple in my home. The Rudolph Club is an online club through the link below that has a once a month posting of ways to keep Christmas on track. Planning a little all along so that we can truly keep in the forefront what is important about the season. Remembering why it is called CHRISTmas!! I hope that by planning a little all along that I can keep our home more focused on the "Reason for the Season", and not the last minute rush!

This year we have already decided due to budget that Christmas will be a homemade gift for family and friends. I have tried this in the past and due to poor planning I get too overwhelmed at Christmas to get very many together (if any). A friend of mine here in Blog world advised me to check out a website http://organizedchristmas.com/april-2008-rudolph-club-meeting. That link will take you to the Rudolph Club Meeting for April and you can look around from there. The May meeting will not be until the 25th for obvious reasons.

So this year already I have started planning my Christmas letter (a first for me - we usually send the generic cards), also I have figured out which items I will be making and will be starting those soon and trying out the recipes. Jon and I have planned our budget and will try hard to stick too it! Last year we did really well and did not go over!!!

I do truly love the holidays ... the time from just before Thanksgiving until after Christmas are my favorite albeit busy time of the year. That is why I think this is such a great idea the Rudolph Club. Dedicating one day a month the 25th to work toward an easier Holiday season. I will update our progress monthly until the big day. For now I just want to wish everyone a MERRY MAY CHRISTMAS!!!