Deck the Halls

Christmas Decorating

As I talked about in my last post, I love Christmas.  Last week, I spent 3 days helping my mother decorate her home for Christmas.  This week, I’ve been doing the same for my place (it has taken considerably less time, though).  I truly enjoy the decorating process (much to the bewilderment of my friends), and I add just a little bit every year, if I can.

My tree is full of decorations that I have collected for as long as I can remember.  I love decorating my tree because as I pull out the ornaments, I am able to reminisce about where I got the ornament.  My ornaments are a combination of gifts, mementos from trips, and ornaments I have made.  It’s a very eclectic tree, but it makes me smile whenever I look at it.

One of my favorite holiday decorations is gingerbread and gingerbread-related items.  My love for gingerbread started about the time I began doing my annual gingerbread baking (recipe to come later).  It has become a popular theme for many of the gifts from my family.  So popular, that I now have a small village and enough to deck out my bathroom with gingerbread.

Several years ago, my mother decided that she needed to wrap her pictures to look like presents, and I followed suit starting last year.  I also added ribbon to my kitchen cabinets.

It’s such a comforting and wonderful place for me, as I sit in my home surrounded by Christmas.

Christmastime is Here

Christmas

It’s finally the Christmas season, and that makes me so happy.  This is my favorite time of year.  The traditions, the decorations, the joy, the anticipation, and (of course) the treats all combine to make this season the happiest for me.  I don’t care about the gifts that I receive as much as I care about the gifts I give.  This is a time of year that I get to do something for others.  I give gifts to my friends and family that make them smile and bring them joy.  I take treats to the library staff, and their eye light up to see the gingerbread and fudge that I’ve made for them.  There are Christmas parties with silly games and lots of laughter and joy.  I want these feelings to be present all year round.

I know a lot of people feel stressed over the holidays with all the cooking, shopping, and expectations.  I think we should all take a step back and remember the joy we felt as a child on Christmas.  Yes, there are a lot of expectation, but how much of that do we put on ourselves?  What if we all decided to do the things that bring us and others the most joy?  Does that mean changing up how you decorate?  Does it mean more baking? Less baking? Doing more events and fewer gifts?  Maybe your Christmas dinner is different?  That’s okay.  Christmas shouldn’t be a stressful time of year.  Consider looking at what part of the Christmas season may stress you and finding a way to change it so that it brings you joy.  Maybe you don’t want to make 20 pies for Christmas.  That’s okay.  Pick your favorite and make that one.  It’s okay to step back from all the expectations out there and find a way to enjoy the Christmas season.

Personally, I enjoy decorating my house so that it looks like the set of a Hallmark Christmas movie (I get this from my mom).  I love to bake Christmas cookies and take them to people so they can enjoy them.  I buy gifts for all of my family and friends.  I love to wrap gifts and partake in my family’s traditions.  I listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies.  These are the things that make me happy at Christmas.  This year, I will be doing more Christmas crafts than ever before, and I will be sharing them here for you.  I will also be sharing my Christmas cookie recipes with you and some of my favorite traditions.

I truly hope that you can find joy this Christmas season, just as I do with my family.

Apple Pie Recipe

Apple Pie

My favorite pie is apple pie, and my dad and I make this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We used to make the pie crusts from scratch (and by we I mean my dad would make the crust and I would help lattice and eat the extras).  I cheat and use store bought crusts because for some reason I haven’t mastered pie crusts yet (one of these days I will).  This is the recipe I like best.  It uses brown sugar instead of granulated sugar, and I love the flavor of it.  I hope you enjoy as well.

Yields: 1 9” apple pie

Ingredients:

• 2 pie crusts
• 6-7 cups of apples, sliced
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon, ground
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 F
• Lay one pie crust in a 9” pie pan.  Poke holes with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
• In a large bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix well.

• Pour apple mixture into pie pan.  Dot with butter.
• Top with second pie crust (I lattice mine)

• (Optional) Brush top crust with an egg wash (egg white mixed with 1 Tbsp of water)
• Shield pie with aluminum foil
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, until apples are cooked.