• Book: “The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury” selected by Alice Low

    Several years ago I picked up this book The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury selected by Alice Low at a local Goodwill store.  The girls love getting this book out every year and reading through the many (over 50) Christmas stories and poems.  It includes a mix of traditional Christmas stories.  I like that it has The Birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-20 in the book and other religious stories as well as a few  stories about Santa, Snowmen and more.  I think the “make believe” stories are neat to read with the girls as long as they know the true meaning of Christmas.  Probably one of my favorites is at the very end of the book:

    The Joy of Giving

    by John Greenleaf Whittier

    Somehow, not only for Christmas

    But all the long year through,

    The joy that you give to others

    Is the joy that comes back to you;

    And the more you spend in blessing

    The poor and lonely and sad,

    The more of your heart’s possessing

    Returns to make you glad.

  • Recipe: Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, & Snowflakes

    We were getting tired by the time we got to making the Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes on our Christmas Baking Day.  Despite being tired these turned out pretty well.  Brina was determined to “help” us make them which slowed down the process but we got enough to share with our neighbors.  The purple didn’t set right and the blue got a drop of water in it so it was done within a matter of minutes but we had plenty of the red, yellow, white and brown colors to make it look festival.  We added crushed candy canes for a minty flavor and a Holiday flair.  The neat part about these is the kids can pitch in and help.  They enjoy making special candies for others as well, however, I do not recommend starting around 9:30 in the evening after baking for several hours.

    Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    • White Chocolate
    • Milk Chocolate
    • Mix of Colored Chocolates
    • Candy Molds – we had Flower Pretzel Sticks, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    Melt the chocolates over a double boiler or slowly in the microwave (microwave for 15 seconds, stir, microwave for 15 seconds, stir) because they can burn easily.  Use the molds you have chosen to place the chocolates into.  You can paint the chocolate into the mold using a toothpick then fill in the reminding amount with a solid color.  When doing the pretzel molds paint the flowers, fill with solid color, then roll the pretzel stick to coat.  We stick the chocolates into a pan of warm water on a griddle to keep the chocolates melted while decorating, just make sure to not get any water in the chocolates at it will ruin the entire bowl.  Once the tray is complete freeze for about 10 minutes, turn the mold over and the items should pop out quickly.  Repeat the steps as many times as you like or until you run out of chocolates.