Flashback Friday: It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Karlie and Brina
The girls were super thrilled with all the neat Christmas items around the house to play with. We were constantly putting Christmas ornaments back on the trees and various decorations back in their place. Their curiosity was peaked and they loved exploring all the cool stuff. The most interesting place we found a Christmas decoration during their first Christmas Holiday was in a diaper. We went to change Karlie one time and she some how managed to get a good chunk of an ornament that she pulled off the tree down her diaper. We think she was chewing on it, dropped it and it fell down in her dress only to re-appear at her next diaper change. We were pretty surprised, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.
Dairy & Egg Free Sugar Cookies
3D Christmas Tree Sugar CookiesMy friend Ashley at Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life brought over some amazing Christmas cookies earlier this month. They were delicious and they were a huge hit with our family! We have one family member that is not eating dairy and eggs so I adjusted Ashley’s recipe a little bit and the cookies came out delicious and beautiful (you would never know they didn’t have eggs and dairy)! My Mom gave the girls these super cute 3D Christmas trees which the girls loved decorating and putting together. Thankful for some time to spend with the family and enjoy special treats!
Sugar Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups Non-Dairy Butter (soy or almond), softened
- 2 cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 Egg Substitutes (Ener-G Egg Replacer is our favorite and lasts a long time too)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Cream non-dairy butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg substitute and vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Place cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.Next day: Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool completely.We decorated some of the cookies with sprinkles prior to baking. The remaining cookies we decorated with icing after cooking.Cookie Icing- 1 pound Powdered Sugar
- 1 stick Non-Dairy Butter
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 cup Non-Dairy Cream (coconut, almond, or soy milk)
- Add Food Color or divide in multiple bowls and create a variety of colors
Blend together all the ingredients until smooth. Chose one food color or divide up into multiple bowls and a variety of colors.
A batch of the girls decorated cookies
Decorating the Christmas Tree
A picture of our spinning Christmas tree all decorated at night!
The girls LOVE helping us decorate the tree for Christmas and can barely wait for us to get all the stuff out of the attic. Over the years they really have become a huge help when it comes to decorating, not to mention that their excitement is contagious!
When we decorate the Christmas tree we like to turn on the Christmas music and have fun. While our tree will not win any award for the “most professionally decorated” or “color coordinated”, it is packed full of memories. Christmas ornaments I had as a baby, items the girls have made for us, and many other fun family treasures. In all fairness it is the perfect tree for our family because we did it together.
Karlie all smiles as she wears the “tree skirt”!
My little Brina helper! All smiles as she listens to music and helps put up the Christmas decorations.
Taking a break from tree decorating to drink some Eggnog!
Our Christmas tree, decorated by the whole family!
Throughout the Christmas Season you can often find our family reading a book together near the tree, sitting on the couch next to it talking about our days, or even enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while looking into the tinkling lights. I am thankful for my family and the opportunity to celebrate yet another wonderful season together.
