Nostalgic Christmas Gift Idea

 I am always looking for inexpensive Christmas ideas to have on hand for hostess gifts, thank you to church workers, my daughter's team of teachers, my hairdresser, etc. I have done Peppermint Sugar Scrub in the past and wanted something new this year. Pinterest to the rescue!

I don't ever remember my Mom simmering this on the stove, but the smell is pure Christmas of my childhood. Funny how a smell can take you back!

These were super simple to make and thanks to Amazon, inexpensive to buy many of the ingredients in bulk. I highly recommend making a batch of these and you'll be ready for the many little pressies needed over the next few weeks.

Supplies:

Clear Gift Bags- 20 for $3.47 on Amazon
2-3 cinnamon sticks in each bag- $12.92/1 pound bag on Amazon
2 T cloves- $17.99/1 pound bag on Amazon
1 orange
2/3 cup fresh cranberries

If you are short on time and not making a lot of these, you can easily find everything at the grocery store and bags at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. This bulk purchase should make about 20 of these bags and cost less than $2.50/each.

Directions:

Mix everything in the bag and add a cute little tag with a merry message and directions to the recipient. I added a fun little graphic from a free printable I found online. Thanks Mrs. Craft Berry Bush!

I tied the bag shut and tag on with red bakers twine and then added a simple ribbon. Both were found at Hobby Lobby.

Happy Gift Giving!

Making Spirits Bright

Merry Christmas for our family to yours!

We sent out our Christmas cards in early December which included these lovelies from Erin Condren and a folded box card I loved from Target with this photo inside.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

Fun Gift Giving Game for the Whole Family

Looking for something to do with the relatives after presents are exchanged and food is consumed?

My friend told me about a fun game she plays at the holidays with her extended family and this year we are doing it with a family gathering of 7 adults and 3 kids. 

Bring a handful of wrapped presents for the exchange. It can be whatever price point you are comfortable with. Make one of the gifts clearly the more valuable gift. For us, there is a Target gift card, but everything else is little things under $5.

Bring a two dice, a winter hat, scarf and mittens (not gloves) to the exchange.

Pick a magic number between 1 and 12. Everyone gathers around a table and one by one rolls the set of dice. If you don't roll the magic number, pass the dice to the next person.

Once the magic number is rolled, that person has to put on the hat, scarf and mittens and gets to pick a present to open. They must work quickly because as soon as the magic number is rolled again, everyone must stop and the person in the middle of opening must go back to the table and the new person who just rolled the magic number must put on the hat, scarf, and mittens and quickly try and open the gift before the magic number is rolled again. They can try and open an untouched gift or finish off the one started before them.

Keep playing until all gifts are opened.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tour 2013

Welcome to our home all decked out for Christmas!

My husband pulled out all of my Christmas buckets on the Friday after Thanksgiving and while he decorated outdoors and entertained our daughter, my Mom and I tackled the house. She focused on the Christmas trees and I took down fall and replaced it with a little red and green all over.

Our front porch has a hodge podge of outdoor decor. Our porch is long and skinny so the items are protected from the elements, but can't be too big. I love my shiny green tinsel wreath from Target last year and the JOY sign!

I use lots of red accents in my home which I think always works to my advantage at Christmas time. This red chest houses the small wooden nativity.

Next to it is an old wooden shutter I bought at a yard sale. I painted it black and have used it year round in many different ways. For the Christmas season, it holds the cards we receive. I love seeing all the happy families fill the shutter.

Down the long hall leading into the living room is a new piece of art- the hand print tree made at Abby's 4th birthday party last year. See details on her Merry & Bright party and the tree here. 

I own so much Christmas decor from 15 years of marriage and decorating. I didn't pull it all out, but tried to put like things together to give some cohesion. I am torn between wanting to get rid of some older things and waiting just a little longer for them to be vintage and cool again. 

The four pieces of art on the red wall where a Pinterest inspired project last year. Get the printables and directions here. 

Our living room is at the end of the long entry hall. To the left by the windows is our Master bedroom and to the right is the kitchen and formal dining room. This is where we live and where I focused most decorations this year.

The formal dining room is open to the living room and I used reds, lime green, and turquoise in here. I love throwing a little turquoise in with my decor.

One of the few craft projects I did this year was these mason jar snowglobes. I glued bottlebrush trees to the lid, added some fake snow, and closed the lid. Easy, inexpensive, and fun! They are on display on the high bar in my kitchen overlooking the living room.

The living room is a fun mix of reds, plaids, vintage Santas and my snow globe collection. I love how it turned out this year.

And a look at our tree at night, all lit up! This is how I see it most days. I love it. We have an 8 foot tall and skinny tree. I don't think my living room has the perfect sure spot for a tree. We have had it in three different places in 5 years. 

Our cat wanted in this shot! Hi, Jean Grey!

Thanks for visiting! To see past Christmas tours and my daughter's "sweet" tree, click here. Or, to see everything Christmas including crafts, recipes, homemade gift ideas and more, click here. 

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving and Instagram

I am finally posting more to Instagram. I had it and never really used it, but now I am and I love it! Click here to follow me and see all the fun happenings in my happy little world. 

We had a wonderful pretty low key Thanksgiving. Our little family of three hosted my Mother and Mother-in-Law on Thursday for lunch. On Wednesday afternoon while desserts were baking, Abby and I made this little banner for the fireplace. I google searched Thanksgiving images, printed them, she colored them and I backed them with scrapbook paper and hung them on ribbon with clothespins. She gave each picture a name and was happy to give them out after the meal. An easy project and great for any holiday.

To only have five people at the table, we had food for 15! We ate a big lunch and then had leftovers through the weekend. We kept it simple by ordered sliced turkey and ham from a local restaurant, bought Sister Schuberts yummy rolls, and made the rest including cornbread dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and Paulina's Sweet Potato Hash. 

Dessert was my responsibility and I took it seriously! We were given a beautiful apple pie by a friend and I made my favorite Cranberry Salad, Southern Pecan bars, and Mix and Match Mama's pumpkin cake. Abby made sure the cake had plenty of sprinkles :)

 After lunch, Marcus and I went to the Texas Tech/Texas football game. It was cold and we lost, but lots of fun! 

On Friday, we stayed home and in pajamas all day while decorating for Christmas. Abby's excitement as the tubs came out could not be contained. It was precious! I brought out all of my snowglobes which hasn't happened since 2007. I just couldn't do it when she was little and knew they would be broken. I was due at Christmas in 2008, so there was little decor that year. 

I'll be sharing all of my Christmas decorations on the blog soon. For now, I am enjoying the view!

 I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too! 

No Bake Raspberry Coconut Balls

These no bake balls were very popular among my grandmother's generation and I can see why. They are quick, easy, and very versatile. I love how brightly colored they are and that you can make them in the summer without heating up the oven!

Raspberry Coconut Balls from The Homesteading Housewife

1 7 oz. package flaked coconut.
1 large box Raspberry jello gelatin
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 small box Raspberry Jello gelatin (for coating finished balls.)

Mix first 4 ingredients together in large bowl. Using wet hands, roll into small balls. Next, roll into small package of Jello powder. I poured the jello into a cereal bowl. Refrigerate in an air-tight container.

Cran-Pistachio Cookies

I made these cookies last week for my husband to share with his customers and oh my heavens, I will be making them again and again and again. They have great flavor, are colorful and are unexpected! I just loved them! They would be great at Christmas time with the chunks of green pistachios and the red cranberries.

Cran-Pistachio Cookies
recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

1 (1 lb 1.5 ounce) pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1 box (4 serving size) pistachio instant pudding and pie filling mix
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup dry roasted salted pistachio nuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl stir cookie mix, pudding, and flour. Add melted butter and eggs and stir until
incorporated. Add pistachios and cranberries and mix well.

Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten a little with your fingers.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. They will be slightly brown on the edges and still look light green on top. They are done- I promise. You want them soft and light.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Holidays Recipes of 2012

I have spent a lot of my holidays in the kitchen... and I love it! I made some favorites this year and tried a few new recipes. These are the best of our 2012 holidays...

For my daughter's Christmas party, they had a breakfast potluck and the kids wore their jammies. I brought Bacon and Egg Muffins. They are yummy and both her teachers wanted the recipe! 

For Christmas Eve lunch, we had tamales from a local restaurant with a few chips and dip and this Chocolate Poke cake for dessert. We always place our Little People Jesus on the cake and sing Happy Birthday to him. There was something wrong about my daughter licking frosting off the Baby Jesus that made us all laugh! There is nothing wrong with this cake- Peppermint Creamer poured into chocolate cake is genius!

Christmas morning, we had our traditional monkey bread. I love this bread and don't think I have had it since Christmas last year. It is delish and smells great while opening presents.

For Christmas lunch, we were at my Dad and Jacque's house and I brought dessert. We had Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings and Pineapple Pretzel salad. I love both of these desserts! My Dad doesn't eat chocolate and my BIL only eats apple pie for dessert, so these were perfect to please them.

Christmas dinner we were back at home with my Mom and I made one of my husband's favorites soups with sausage and tortellini. It cooked in the crock pot while we were at my Dad's house and was ready for us when we got home. The temperature dropped about 30 degrees while this soup was cooking, so it was great to have for dinner.

Easy Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Pour into your crockpot the following:
1 can French Onion Soup
2 cans Italian (garlic and olive oil) diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 cups frozen green beans
1 link sausage, cut into small bite size pieces

Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5.

Add:
cold or frozen cheese tortellini

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes.

Serve and top with shredded cheese.

from my family...

Cookie Extravaganza 2012

 It has become a tradition for me to bake for my husband's customers at this time each year. I honestly look forward to the day. I get to be domestic all day long- I start with empty tubs and a big pile of baking supplies and as the day goes on the supplies become delicious treats and the tins become full of color!

This year I filled 10 tubs- a total of about 300 cookies were made today! Each tub is filled with 6 different cookies, all favorites of mine that I have made before. Don't they look yummy?

Here are the recipes, starting at the top left....

Cherry Jello Cookies

Ginger Spice Cookies

Orange Zested Cookies

Andes Mint Cookies

Southern Pecan Bars

Lime Jello Cookies

Enjoy making your own cookies- I am done baking for a few days :)

Christmas 2012: Abby's "Sweet" Tree

I shared my main Christmas tree here, but wanted to share Abby's sweet tree with you as well and give you a sneak peek of her new purple room! I promise to share details of her new room soon!

I bought her tree when she was just a baby and decided to give it a candy theme. I've had lots of fun buying ornaments of gum drops, lollipops, peppermints, cupcakes, and all sweet imaginable!

She loves her tree and keeps it lit all day long! We have to sneak in her room after she is asleep to turn it off! I am not normally a fan of a white tree, but I love how it provides the right backdrop for all the fun colors on her tree. I can't imagine it green!

I posted this picture on Facebook and it just makes me laugh. She was playing with her little people nativity set and her cars at the same time. It appears the wise men have moved on from camels in 2012 ;)

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas 2012: Festive Vignettes

In keeping with my theme of doing my decorations differently this year (so they seem new and fresh without me buying more!), I decided to set up a couple of vignettes as opposed to placing a few pieces all over the house. I really like the impact my Santa vignette has in the entry way of our home.

Most of these Santa's are not new- I have collected them from local boutiques, gifts from friends, and my favorite holiday stores, Hobby Lobby, Stein Mart, and Home Goods.

This is a new Santa- he is over 3 feet tall and I found him at Home Goods. My husband loves that he folds flat for storing in the garage.

My BELIEVE banner seems fitting for the Santa display. I found it on etsy. Although, with a little twine, burlap and glitter letters you could make one easily.

In my dining room, I set up a more modern and colorful display of presents, balls and Christmas trees. My daughter's 4th birthday party is this weekend and the kids will be doing Christmas crafts in here. I wanted the space to be kid friendly and colorful. I'll be sharing party posts later this month- be sure to check back or follow Your Little Birdie on Facebook for updates!

I wrapped two pieces of  canvas art I already owned with wrapping paper and tulle. You'll also see the canvases of my daughter to the right of the archway... those have been replaced with a fun printable project from Pinterest I shared here. 

My blue dough bowl from Fredericksburg this summer is filled with blue, green and silver ornaments. I placed three polka dot placemats below it to create a small runner.

On the opposite wall is a really crooked present... sorry about that! Bad camera angle!

I wrapped my American Flag art in aqua paper and hung a bright green wreath on top. It made the perfect backdrop for my funky tree collection. I love these trees and really struggled with placing something so modern in my home when my Christmas is really more classic and cozy. I love this all together now!

 The center tree is made from styrofoam and my daughter and I covered it in peppermint candies and ribbon. I don't think it'll last until next year, but am loving it this year!

This wreath and the matching green trees are from Target last year. The others are from Hobby Lobby in past years.

In my living room, I set up another small vignette on my antique Singer sewing table. It includes our wooden nativity and a little reminder about Christmas that I smile each time I see. The holidays are about so much more than we focus on... LOVE came down at Christmas time.

Finally, at the front of my house, you'll find my copper wise men, a 50% off find on December 26th last year and a few additional wooden decorations. 

To see more of our home this year and in past years, click here! It is all Christmas!

I linked up here, go see more houses!