Christmas Creations

Here are some of our recent crafts and such:

For family home evening this week, we made some paper decorations for our kitchen. I made a snowy forest. The snowflakes are on the curtain rod, and the pine trees are on the window thingy behind them, so it’s a 3-dimensional display!

Jeff made some star chains before I showed him how to make paper snowflakes. Then he meticulously snipped and clipped until he mastered the art. Jay just played with the scissors and shredded a piece of paper. He loved it.

Another day this week, Jay and I made some sheep ornaments for our tree. This is a craft from my childhood.

Jay kept asking where their mouths were, so I made him one with a toothy grin. I thought I plucked all the hot glue strands off, but I guess I missed most of them after all.

Sheep on the tree. A word about our poor little fake tree: It is getting MANGLED by two certain children. Jay keeps taking all the matching ornaments and hanging them on the same branch. He likes to organize things. Rose likes to pluck things off the tree. She ripped the garland in half this week. So who knows what our little faux-pine will look like by Christmas. I guess it’s a good thing that we’re going a-visiting for the big day.

MMMM cranberry scones with orange cream sauce. Like the Daily Prophet, even the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook is bound to get it right sometimes.

I made this happy Claus couple last year for our mantle. They are tin cans covered in felt and other soft stuff. Santa originally had a cotton-ball beard. In the absence of a mantle this year, I put them under the tree. Jay bearded Santa and stuck the cotton balls into the can under his hat. I was wondering why Santa looked a little less…fluffy and puffy. Christmas decorations take a beating from children. I’m starting to wonder how on earth my Mom preserved her décor.

This little girl takes after her brother. She wears his old pajamas. And his old bibs. AND she likes oatmeal balls!!! It is tricky to feed myself, Jay, and Rose breakfast all at once. Two of us usually end up with cold food. So I tried my old Jay-trick of oatmeal balls on Rose (thick oatmeal scooped in blobs). She loves it even more than Jay did when he was her age. I think it’s gross, but it works!

I had to post a picture of my Hample Pie. It is a dinner pie filled with ham, apples, cinnamon, and cheddar cheese (ham + apple=hample. I did not even invent that name—it was on the recipe). Believe it or not, this is SO GOOD. I’ve already made it twice.

Hample Pie goes wonderfully with neon squash rolls. These babies are  light and bright with a nutty squashy flavor. Yum.

I invented a little box car for Jay. I used those little wheels that come with plastic storage drawers and a sturdy cardboard box. I just poked holes in the bottom of the box, inserted the wheels, rolled a blanket up in it for a seat, and weehaw! Jay was on the move. It’s kind of flimsy, and it doesn’t roll on carpet, but Jay likes to sit on it and use it like a skateboard or a wagon. 

And last but not least, our nativity set. My mom gave us the child-safe one of my childhood this year. Jay loves it. Every day I find a different arrangement.

There. With the exception of the Christmas gifts I’m making, you’re now up to date on all of our latest creations. [As usual, I  have to wait till after Christmas to post pictures of the homemade presents, because it would be kind of a big giveaway]