Holiday Traditions #2–Deck the Halls

November 14, 2011
|
Save & Share:

holiday traditions


Decorating our home for the holidays is a family affair in our house. But we can’t start decorating until we make a batch of cookies! The first kind we make every year is my childhood favorite – Spritz. It isn’t really about the taste, although I love the buttery melt-in-your-mouth cookies. And it isn’t because they were a childhood favorite, although I have fond memories of baking these in the kitchen with my Dad. The reason they are my favorite is because they look so pretty and immediately make it feel like Christmas to me!

my kitchen helperour families favorite christmas cookie #recipesbaking cookies is a family affair

buttery spritz

Christmas Decorating Snacks

The other preparation we make before decorating is getting together an appetizer spread. Everyone gets to pick an appetizer. Then, as we decorate, we get to nibble on some yummy treats. Typically we have caramel popcorn, cheese ball & Sociables, Christmas Cookies, meatballs, and Punch.  But it does vary some from year to year. This year we also had potato skins (something Tinkerbell could eat & somewhat nutritious) and White Chocolate Party Mix.
christmas punchSnowman CheeseballChristmas snacks
Christmas chex mixbaked potato skinsOur meatballs secret ingredient is the grape jelly! #recipes #appetizers
cocktail meatballs
caramel popcorn
I think us adults, like kids,  are very sensory oriented too. When I think of Christmas I think of the smell of cinnamon from the Wassail my Mom would boil on the stove top, the sound of bells and Christmas Music, the prickly texture of the Christmas tree as I would help my Dad string up the lights, and the sight of all the beautiful lights that adorn our tree and home.  So to help my kids have beautiful sensory experiences of Christmas too, we always have some fun, joyful Christmas music playing throughout our decorating.
Then it’s time to decorate! The best thing I did was a couple years back I organized. I found that I was always doing all the decorating because no one else knew where I wanted things to go.  So I fixed that! After things were decorated I took a picture and labeled where everything was suppose to go.  I put everything in bins together. Now you grab a bin and decorate that room with the items in the bin just like the picture shows. Goofy can decorate his own room and my hubby is a HUGE help! We started out with just one tree, but each year when things go on clearance we pick up a couple new things. I try to make the kids room’s festive, without going overboard. I don’t want cookie cutter rooms that each look the same, so I try to spruce up what is already there. (For example Minnie has a pink princess room – so she got white light garland for her dollhouse & a little Christmas tree with mini Princess ornaments).
November 2011 024November 2011 025November 2011 038
We save the best for last ~ the tree! By doing it just after lunch time the younger kids will be going down for a nap and there is less chance of the favorite ornaments breaking! Goofy & Minnie are now old enough to help us. We love laying out all our ornaments and looking at them before we put them up. Each ornament holds a very special memory to us, but I divulge, more on that in Holiday Tradition #7. At the very end my husband lifts up one of the kids to put on our star like tree topper. This year I had a new special ornament for each of us. The kids were so excited to start things off opening a present! Now they look for that special ornament on the tree. I decided to start this because I always look for clearance ornaments after Christmas (since Hallmarks can get pretty spendy). Plus if you wait until Christmas you don’t get to really use it/see it much until the following year –this way they can use look at it all Christmas season!
November 2011 063Cruise 2008 252Cruise 2008 258
When the kids all wake up from their nap we have a tree just for them. It is a simple tree we got when it went 90% off at Walmart, but it thrills the kids. They get to decorate it with a couple non-breakable ornaments and all their beautiful ornaments they make that year! They can rearrange them on their tree as much as they like!
PB130002November 2011 050
And TADA – our house is decorated! The last part of our tradition is we all watch the original Grinch together on the couch while we admire our beautifully decorated home. Then we look through our Christmas album and remember all the fond memories we have of Christmases past.
December 2007 084December 2006 352November 2011 026
picture framesNovember 2011 035October 2011 794
  December 2007 090
And this year I even decorated my blog =) Just a few subtle things: a Merry Christmas banner & Stocking Social Icon buttons. I hope you enjoy them.
image

So I urge you to make decorating your house a family fun time! Create memories of decking the halls. Be intentional about making the most of every precious moment you have with your kids.
merry christmas
tradition series

 

These are the absolute best cinnamon roll recipe you are ever going to taste. These homemade cinnamon rolls are gooey, delicious, and easy to make. Plus this clone of Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe comes out perfect every time! But the best part, you can make these amazing cinnamon rolls in the bread machine! Your family is going to love these bread machine cinnamon rolls!  Delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread REcip

Breakfast Recipes

Unlike traditional Chili, this Sweet Chili has baked beans and is super EASY to make. Favorite even with picky eaters. YUMMY  Delicious Instapot Corn Chowder REcipe This is not only the best tomato soup recipe, but it is actually good for you too as it is filled with not only tomatoes but carrots, celery, onions, and garlic too! But don't worry, your family wont realize they are eating lots of nutritious vegetables as they will just enjoy the rich flavor from the bacon and roasted tomatoes. This best homemade tomato soup is our family's favorite soup recipe for fall, winter, and anytime we want some yummy, homemade comfort food! I know your family will love this best ever tomato soup too! Amazing Thanksgiving Leftover Soup

Soup Recipes

Pizza Quesadilla - this easy lunch recipe is ready in 5 minutes and tastes amazing! Plus it is a kid favorite lunch idea for at home or in their lunch box #pizza #quesadillas #easyrecipes #lunchrecipes #kidrecipes #yummy Best Asian Slaw Recipe Nothing says summer like a fresh summer chicken salad! Whether you eat it on a plate or as a chicken salad sandwich, it is such a yummy lunch idea for at home or on a picnic. Our easy chicken salad recipe is the best - it combines all the traditional things you expect with the unexpected refreshing crunch of grapes. Your whole family is going to love this homemade chicken salad that is so quick and simple to make! You've got to try this quick, EASY, and fresh summer salad! This berry spinach salad has a homemade raspberry vinaigrette on top of spinach, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.

Recipes for Salads and Sandwiches

Easy Lasagna Recipe filled with pretty layers of flavorful meaty sauce, cheese, and pasta noodles. Family favorite casserole that super yummy!  Nothing says summer like a warm grill cooking meat to perfection! But enough with burgers and dogs, it's time to make some delicious grilled pork loin. My mouth starts wating at the thought of our delicious BBQ grilled pork loin recipes. These juicy grilled pork tenerloins have a super easy pork loin marinade for grilling that gives them the most incredible, rich flavor while keeping the meat moist and oh, so yummy! Want to learn about cooking pork tenerloin on the grill? Keep reading! If you are looking for a mouthwatering recipe that uses up leftover turkey, you will go nuts over this EASY Turkey Pot Pie Recipe.  I have been known to cook a whole turkey just to get leftover meat to make this flavorful recipe for dinner. Pasta makes a quick, easy and filling meal, but pasta dinner ideas seem to be either tomato or heavy cream based sauces. This easy pasta recipe is a quick dinner idea with a no tomato pasta sauce you can make all in one pan in under 30 minutes! This simple pasta recipe is sure to become a new staple  easy pasta dishes the whole family will love!

Main Dishes

Whether you are whipping up appetizers for friends or family, are prepparing some desserts for a game night, looking for a fun super bowl dip, or are just looking for a easy dessert - you will love this oreo cheeseball. This dessert cheese ball is quick and easy to make, but oh-so-yummy! We like to serve this sweet cheese ball with pretzels, apple clices, vanilla wafers, etc. Your guests will be asking for this oreo cream cheese balls recipe! cookies with snickers Best-Gingerbread-Cookies-Recipe Everyone loves a good apple pie! Whether you are celebrating the Fourth of July, celebrating apple month in September, or whipping up a homemade apple pie to round out your Thanksgiving feast - everyone wants to make the best homemade apple pie! Making a home made apple pie is actually really easy and quick to throw together! Here is our super easy apple pie from scratch recipe that will make you the hostess with the mostess and leave your guests begging for more!

Desserts

Our families traditional pepperoni cheeseball looks like a football and is quick and EASY, making it the perfect super bowl appetizer recipe! This pineapple cheese ball is the perfect cheese ball recipe! It is slightly sweet with an amazing flavor that will be a favorite with kids and grown ups alike. This is my favorite appetizer recipes. Yummy! Nothings says summer like a fresh salsa recipe. Whether you are making homemade salsa to go along with chicken, top your tacos or carnitas, or to serve as a chips and salsa appetizer - salsa from scratch is always a hit! This pineapple salsa is a tropical twist that is bursting with flavor! You can make it spicy by adding jalapenos for a spicy pineapple salsa or keep it a mild pineapple pico de gallo if you prefer - either way it is abolutely delicious! Are you looking for a quick and easy fruit dip to serve at your next party or game night? This peanut butter dip is not only simple to make, but is super yummy and versatile too. Use our peanut butter fruit dip with apples, vanilla wafers, pretzels, and other dippers for quick appetizer recipes! With just 3 ingredients you will love this cream cheese fruit dip that has become a family favorite staple throughout the whole year!

Appetizers

Mouthwatering cornbread recipe that is soft, warm, sweet, and oh-so-perfect! This yummy, homemade corn bread sidedish uses creamed corn!  super yummy quick yeast rolls You will love this easy to make recipe for delicious bread in crockpot. This rosemary bread recipe is super easy and cooks up in your slow cooker so you can smell the yummy bread smell all afternoon. Serve alongside soup, salad, or main dish for a satisfying meal.

Breads and Side Dishes

Beth Gorden is the creative multi-tasking creator of 123 Homeschool 4 Me. As a busy homeschooling mother of six, she strives to create hands-on learning activities and worksheets that kids will love to make learning FUN! With over 20 years educating children, she has created over 1 million pages of printables to help teach kids alphabet, math, science, English grammar, history, and so much more! Beth is also the creator of 2 additional sites with even more educational activities and FREE printables - www.kindergartenworksheetsandgames.com and www.preschoolplayandlearn.com. Beth studied at the University of Northwestern where she got a double major to make her effective at teaching children while making education FUN!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *