christmas day 2011

How do I sum up this year's Christmas?  Three words.  Harry Potter and Playmobil.   Abigail received many Harry Potter themed gifts.  And the boys - it was all about the Playmobil castle this year.

 Receiving the Harry Potter series.

 Hoop earrings.

 Firetruck painting kit.

Harry Potter board game.

Prints for the kids new bathroom.

 Painting.

Typing out information from her new Harry Potter movie guide.

Enjoying the new castle.  Both boys were BLOWN AWAY when they opened the box containing the castle.  I took a video of this moment.  I will try and post this later.  Nathaniel kept saying "This is the best Christmas ever!"  It was a dream come true for him.

And this year's ornaments for the kids.

Our dancer.

Our goalie.

Our firefighter.

Grandma and Grandpa then came over for supper and to play with the new toys.

It was the perfect day.  Low key.  Low stress.  A few changes that really reduced the amount of work - I opted out of preparing the baked french toast for Christmas morning.  The kids were just as happy with the little cereals that are usually reserved for camping.  I also made lasagna in the afternoon and nixed all the appetizers I usually make for supper.  These changes saved me hours in the kitchen.  I even sneaked in a much needed nap after all the gift opening.  The kids played with their toys and then we watched Annie - Abigail's new movie.  This was how we spent Christmas day 2011.

christmas eve 2011

Despite having random December pictures yet to post and tons of renovation pics to share, I wanted to start the sharing of our 2011 Christmas memories.  Our tradition is to attend our church Christmas eve service.  When we return home, the kids get on their pjs for our annual Christmas eve picture in front of the tree.  This is Jesse's second year with his carrot for Rudolph.  

We then check out Santa's location.  This year we watched as he flew over London England.

 The Christmas cookies and milk are put out for Santa.  This year, as Jesse was being tucked into bed, the kids and I watched Miracle on 34th St.  They were finally in bed by 10.

Merry Christmas 2011

Photo courtesy of Kelly MacDonald Photo + Design

his own world

I know my older two children entered into their own imaginary worlds while playing by themselves.  But I don't remember either of them talking as much as Jesse does now.  His voice is usually quiet and if you listen you can hear lots of conversation and sound effects during his play.  It's something he does when he plays with his cars and trucks and most nights as he lays in bed and drifts off to sleep.  Yesterday I took the time and captured this moment in pictures and with a short video.  Luckily by the time he noticed me, I had what I wanted.

cream wafers

Cookie baking for 2011 is almost complete.  There were a few great recipes from last year that I didn't have time to repeat again this year.  Not that they weren't good.  I either don't have time with fussy cookies or they had to step to the side to make room for a few new recipes.  This particular recipe did not get pushed to the side.  I remember as a kid looking through the cookie plate, trying to find these pale and tender little treasures.  The cookie melts in your mouth with its soft creamy icing filling inside.  Yum.  Thankfully this year I found a more appropriate size cookie cutter.  Last year's was so tiny I had made tons and had to ice them all.  This is the right size.  Perfect for popping whole in your mouth.

Cream Wafers - recipe from my Tante Anne

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 cups flour

granulated sugar

In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until soft.  Gradually add in the whipping cream and flour.  Cover the dough and chill for several hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Working with one third of the dough at a time, roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut into 1 inch circles.  Transfer the rounds to a piece of waxed paper that is heavily covered with granulated sugar.  Press each round into the sugar so both sides are coated.  Place the sugared rounds on an ungreased baking sheet.  Prick the rounds with a fork 3 times.

Bake the rounds just until set, approximately 7-9 minutes.  Cool for several minutes on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack.


Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
red and green food colour


As the cookies cool, prepare the icing.  Cream the butter, gradually adding the icing sugar and vanilla.  Add a few tablespoons milk to achieve a spreading consistency.  Separate the icing in half, colouring one half with green food colour and the other half with red food colour.

Put cookies together in pairs with the frosting.

christmas tree decorating

After cutting down our tree, we came home and decorated.  This year I put on the lights.  (Andrew might say this is his least favorite part about the holidays.)  The kids were then given the go ahead to put on the ornaments.  They always enjoy rediscovering their own decorations.  Each year they receive a new ornament in their stocking.  I also purchase one new family ornament each year.  When I found the "under construction" ornament this summer, I knew it was the perfect decoration for 2011.  

We needed to remove some furniture to make room for the tree.  We weren't sure how much space we'd actually have but I am thrilled that we were able to accommodate this size of tree.  It's a bit smaller than our usual tree, but it is the perfect size for my children to decorate.

christmas tree hunting 2011

It has been difficult this year to get into the Christmas spirit.  Once my gift shopping is done, I can usually relax into the time of year and get excited for decorating the house.  Living in a rental this year doesn't help and the month has definitely not slowed down with the continued renovation decisions that surface everyday.

But the tradition of searching for and decorating our tree has helped.  

This past Sunday we ventured out on a beautiful sunny day to choose this years tree.

We were looking for something smaller.  This year's tree had to fit into our current living room.  It didn't take long and we all agreed on the one.  Each of the kids took turns with the saw.

Then after a quick break of hot apple cider/hot chocolate and cookies, we returned home to decorate.  These pictures coming soon.