Christmasy Things

The holiday spirit is in full swing here at the Hickok house. I thought you might like to see some of the small things the girls and I did to spruce up the apartment for Christmas. 

Before the lone box of ornaments was pulled down (that's right, one box for all our Christmas stuff!!!), I had to make some of my Grandma Minton's raisin filled sugar cookies. For all you raisin-haters out there, this one is not for you. But, this cookie is so intertwined with my memories of my dear grandma, that the memory alone makes these cookies taste amazing! My attempts, while delectable, never seem to live up to the soft, cakey cookies she turned out every year. These were close enough, though, to warm my spirit and remind me of her little frame, standing in her tiny kitchen, making up some holiday goodness.

The filling (made from simmering raisins, sugar, cornstarch and water) looked so pretty sitting there on top, that I had to snap some shots. Pregnancy fail moment 2,348: I never took another picture after the top layer of dough was in place. You will just have to imagine the white little flowers filled with warm raisin happiness inside. Grandma's were always round, never shaped like these. I think she may have used a regular drinking glass to cut hers out. She was just cool like that.

Here is our Advent Jar (that title could use some tweaking). I have grand plans every year to make an advent calendar, and every year I cringe as December 1st comes and I still don't have it completed. Well, this year, I made a choice to admit defeat and just put a bunch of wrapped gifts and activities in a big jar, print out the Scripture readings for each night and call it good. So far, the girls have loved it. And, since each item isn't attached to a certain date, we just reach in and grab one. Added bonus, I have been able to feed my procrastination by adding a couple more gifts every few days, instead of being prepared with all 24 by December 1st. Ha!

Lily and Adelaide have been faithful to decorate the chalkboard every few days with different Christmas designs. 

A horse is on the left ("NAE") and a cow is on the right ("MOO").

Here was my attempt to put some holiday cheer in our room. Let it be said that I am not one for foofy Christmas decorations. I think it stems from my great desire not to store foofy stuff in general, since it takes up so much space. I had ordered a several different rolls of Japanese tape off of Etsy a couple weeks ago, and used that to make some holiday art (I use that term VERY loosely here) for our bedroom. The girls each picked a Christmas picture we could tape over my maps above the bed. Adelaide chose the star (no surprise there), and Lily the tree. I think that tree looks more like tribal art than an evergreen, but the girls liked them, so we are happy. 

Besides that, the tree is all lit up and the mister is working on a Lego train set that runs around the base of the tree. He has three cars completed already! I'll put up some pics of his master work soon enough. 

Hope you are enjoying this holiday season. I think I might have to put on a big pot of apple cider this evening. You are all more than welcome to stop by for some holiday cheer and some cider goodness.