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Merry Merry Christmas to You!

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Merry Merry Christmas to you! As we near the end of the year and look back you no doubt will have some strong memories. Tomorrow is Christmas. My wish for you is that you will have joy, peace, and gratitude as you head into the new year. That’s what we all wish for, right? Well, at least the joy and peace part. Sometimes we just want to have our own little pity party and rehearse all the bad things which have happened to us. Say NO to that!

You are so blessed

Yes, this year has been a doozy! But look closely at your life and see all the fantastic and beautiful things that have happened amidst the struggles. Please remember those things. Choose to celebrate the blessings instead of the struggles at least for one day. I do not know your circumstance but I do know that you are so blessed. Refuse to give in to the negative. Make your day full of joy and gratitude. You will feel better and so will everyone else you share space with.

A tiny list of my blessings

God is my Father!

Unlimited supply of clean safe water.

Food.

Two legs.

Ability to speak.

I have two eyes and I can see.

I have an amazing family. Yes, both physical and spiritual!

My husband’s health has improved this year.

A new grandson this year.

There are thousands of things that I could add to this list but this is just a tiny list so I will stop there. Why don’t you make your own tiny list?

Thank You!

I want to thank you for reading my blog this year. You have brought me joy in so many tiny and big ways. Your words of encouragement have lifted me up! Have a beautiful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Putting More Joy in Your Christmas

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Putting more joy in your Christmas

What Christmas traditions do you have that do not require spending money? Or buying gifts? Can you really have a Christmas without things? I personally do not know. I have lived most of my life in the land of plenty. But traveling to some of the poorest countries in the world really has had an impact on my perspective. There are many places and people in the world who never even question what they will buy for Christmas. Yet they are full of joy at the approach of Christmas.

What do you do when you have little or no money to create a big Christmas? One friend told me that you make the celebration bigger. Homemade decorations maybe, Christmas movies together, hot cocoa or popcorn.

Maybe this year you have chosen to keep Christmas simple for many reasons or just want to add some simpler touches.

Childhood Memories

So ask yourself what memories do you have from childhood? What was fun? Compare Christmas from your childhood with what Christmas looks like now. If you have children at home maybe you can share stories of your childhood Christmas. Most kids love stories. Get the grandparents involved with sharing their stories of childhood Christmas past.

What do you wish for? Personally, I think the gift of time is the best.

Here are a few suggestions for putting more joy in your Christmas

Play charades

Caroling to your neighbors or with them

Lego building contest

Flash mob of Christmas songs

Gingerbread men or houses or Graham Cracker houses

Bake sugar cookies and decorate them.

Make ornaments

Paper chains even the youngest children enjoy doing this.

Have friends or family over just to enjoy time (no gifts allowed) calm, lowkey day, sing songs, put together a puzzle, play a game. Eat soup maybe Andalusian Christmas Soup but keep it simple.

Making gifts for each other from things you have on hand – give a favorite book you’ve read, with your own review or some unknown tidbit about the author. Maybe you have a teacup to share.

Make coupons for backrubs, no chores pass, clean out your car, etc.

Giving something from your wealth of possessions to friends and family.

Write a poem or story for a specific person.

Give extra blankets, coats, gloves, etc. to those in the cold.

Perhaps you will want to purchase a “doing gift” for your family. An experience. This can be a lot of fun but may require some scheduling.

I know that many of you have some great ideas to share. Please do share below!

 

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Joy of Cooking – Gingerbread Men

I would like to share the Joy of Cooking recipe for Gingerbread Men. Joy of Cooking is the cookbook from my childhood.  For the Christmas of 1980 my sister-in-law Linda gave me my own copy. My children grew up with Joy of Cooking in our home kitchen.

Many of the familiar recipes my children grew up with are found in the pages of Joy of Cooking. Here is one recipe for making gingerbread men or other shaped gingerbread cookies.

A few days after Thanksgiving we decided to make a little bit of gingerbread. It was a lot of fun!

Joy of Cooking

Joy of CookingGingerbread Men

Preheat your oven to 350°
Blend until creamy:
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of white or brown sugar
Beat in:
1/2 cup dark molasses
Sift:
3 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Resift with:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in about three parts, alternating with:
1/4 cup water
You may have to knead in the last of the flour if you are not using an electric mixer.  I roll mine out on parchment paper and cut the gingerbread men out and place them on a cookie sheet on the parchment paper. Bake them for about 8-10 minutes depending on thickness. Touch the cookie and if it springs back after 8 minutes it is ready to cool on a rack.
I did a search for a gingerbread man and found this template which I printed and traced to make our men.

 

We forgot to take pictures before we started eating them.

Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread
Gingerbread