Saturday, December 26, 2015

Twas the Night Before Christmas . . .

In spite of being sick most of the month of December, I still had a wonderful time.  We celebrated on Christmas Eve this year to accommodate diverse schedules.  We had a formal (ha!) dinner of lasagna and all the trimmings.  Everyone brought their signature dishes and it was a night to remember.

One thing I did want to share was my table setting.  I had decided to keep it simple with just a red tablecloth and colored napkins, but both my daughters-in-law sent me a picture of tables decked out with snowmen.  I LOVE SNOWMEN!  I scrutinized the pictures they sent me, then visited Pinterest for more ideas.  And this is what I created:
 

The red tablecloth was replaced with a white one and red square napkins were used to make up the top hat.  I had some blue snowflakes to set on the table to add a little accent.  Scarves for the snowmen plates were quickly folded from the linen napkins and the silverware was placed just so.  Junior Mints were used for the eyes, baby carrots made the noses, and Hershey's Kisses were used for buttons.   


Is this cute or what?  And easy.

The table was a success with my guests, and Jolly the Elf approved, too.


My table is on the small side, so the end settings got "melted" snowmen.  They were still cute.


Best of all was that my family and I got to share a wonderful meal and spend time together. 

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Mesh Snowman Wreath

 It's no secret I love snowmen, and when I saw this cute mesh snowman wreath I knew it was going to be this year's project. 

I found everything I needed at JoAnn's except the hat.  The hat I found at Party City.  To make your own, you will need 2 wreath forms (a small and large), 3 rolls of white mesh, a piece of orange felt, a  bag of pipe cleaners, a hot glue gun, and a black plastic hat cut in half.  Don't throw the other half of the hat away!  I used the leftover half to cut the eyes and mouth for my snowman, and then glued to the mesh with the glue gun.  Since the hat is plastic, it will stand up to the cold and wet weather. 

Wire the large and small wreath forms together, then cut the mesh into 10" lengths.  Pinch mesh strips in the center and tie with pipe cleaners, then twist them onto the wreath form.  Glue hat and face features on last.


You can find the instructions and an excellent video on how to make the snowman wreath at http://grillo-designs.com/peggys-snowman-wreath/




 As a finishing touch, I glued a festive piece to his hat and hung some jingle bells from the wreath form.

This is a quick and easy project, but the mesh is unkind to your hands.  My wreath took me about 3 hours to make.  








Frosty Snowman Pretzels

These adorable Snowmen Pretzels are going to be a new Christmas tradition at my house.  Who can resist sweet and salty treats? 

These little guys are as addicting to make as they are to eat! I found round pretzels at my local Albertson's market and bought a bag, thinking I would make wreaths or something with them.

After using the pretzels for my homemade Chex Mix I still had a zillion left.  I began looking for more ideas.

On Pinterest I saw a post on how to melt a Hershey's Kiss inside the pretzel round and top it with an M&M candy.  These did not turn out well for me. 

Then I saw another Pinterest post using the round pretzels and white candy coating (CandiQuik).  I had a bag of miniature M&Ms and a bottle of black icing, so I figured I would give it a try. 

The white candy melted quickly and easily in the microwave and a I used a spoon to fill the rounds.  I picked the orange M&Ms to use as the noses, then used a toothpick dipped in the black icing to dot on the eyes and mouths.  Easy!  (The original recipe for the snowmen used miniature chocolate drops as the eyes, but I didn't have any on hand.)

They were so much fun to make!  My only suggestion is to not do too many at one time.  I had about 40 pretzels filled and by the time I got to the last ones, the white candy was too hard to push in the M&M.  (That's why there is one ghost in the bunch.  What can I say?  I love Halloween.)  


I make goodie bags for neighbors and friends every year and these little guys are going to be included.  I think they'll be a hit!

You can find the post at http://hungryhappenings.com/2013/01/winter-themed-treats-frosty-snowman.html/

Sunday, December 20, 2015

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry

 I had such big plans for this Christmas.  It is my grandson's first Christmas and I was going to decorate the house to the hilt and do so many things.  I was off to such a good start.  I put up the tree and set out some of my Christmas trinkets.  I put away the table setting we had for Thanksgiving and set the table for Christmas dinner.  My grandson and I went shopping at Target and lingered in the Christmas section.  I thought I was so smart. 

And then on the Flu Bug bit.  The entire family and all our friends got sick.  And before you say it, I DID get my flu shot.  Two weeks later, I began to think about Christmas again. 


























So much for big plans.  It got me to thinking though.  We are not promised tomorrow.  Delight in every moment you're given.  They are a gift from God.