I was a busy baking bee in the days leading up to Christmas. I wanted to make goodie plates for my friends as well as try a couple new recipes. The result was:
Peanut butter fudge and Italian knot cookies.....
Banana breads and cranberry breads...
Gingerbread cookies...
Rice krispie treats....
And for Christmas Day, snickerdoodle blondies.
Took a few closeup pics of the ornaments too. They look so pretty with the lights.
These next 2 ornaments were made by me when I was about 9 or 10. I have 6 of them.
Part of the Putz village. A few years ago I dyed those trees pink and added the glittery snow.
I am so glad I got this multicoloured tinsel tree. I'm not sure where I picked it up but I'm gonna guess Fred Meyer, out in WA. It's sooo pretty and sparkly. I want to keep it out year round.
I lined up the reflection of the deck rail lights on the driftwood thing.
Christmas Eve was rainy which was awesome. I got all my errands done early and had time to do some food prep for the next day and update the family photo album. We got Chinese takeout for lunch/dinner but unfortunately it didn't set well with either of us. Needless to say it'll be awhile before we will get Chinese again!!
Christmas Day was cold and clear. We visited my mom in the morning then headed home to finish all the food prep for the kids' visit that afternoon. Russell got us all scratch tickets but only 2 of those were $10 winners unfortunately.
Some of the food stuffs. I forgot to take a pic of the deli platter I made with the meats and cheeses. A few years ago we ordered them from Stop & Shop and were shocked at how little stuff was provided for the prices. It's cheaper to do these myself. It's more time consuming, but it's fun.
Happy with his shrimp and the horseradish/ketchup sauce he makes.
My amazing and awesome stepkids and girlfriend.
Sagieboo
The day went by really fast. The kids left around 3 or so and we just hung out and grazed on the leftovers. Now it's time to take everything down and put it away till next year. Everything looks so pretty, colourful and glittery but it's time to get the house back to normal. Hoping to have everything cleaned up by the end of the week.
Looking forward to seeing 2016 end. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting. George Michael dying on Christmas Day was a terrible surprise. This year took a lot of great people. Some expected due to age, but the others weren't. We are hoping for a quiet New Years Eve. We're just gonna hunker down at home and order a pizza, and go to bed early. Our days of staying up to midnight are long over!
I'm hoping 2017 will be a better year. Happy New Year everyone. See ya on the flipside.
You sure went nuts on the baking JoJo. I found Christmas exhausting this year, I think it's the last we will ever do at home.
ReplyDeleteI'm always exhausted anyway. Now I have to take everything down.
DeleteWow! Your kitchen sure was a hopping place!
ReplyDeleteIt sure was. The amusing thing is that we literally went from 'there's no room in the fridge' to 'I need to go grocery shopping' in two hours on Christmas day. lol We gave almost all the leftovers to the kids to take with them.
DeleteLooks like it was a wonderful and tasty!! Christmas. I enjoy the decorations and now I am ready to take it down. Then without all the reds, the place looks stark like out of a bleak movie set I tend to find NYE a tad depressing so early to bed for me. But 2016 had a bright spot- I met you via A to Z blog! Cheers to 2017.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought NYE was depressing too, and New Years Day very anticlimactic. Always thought that Sept 1 or Labor Day should be the new year. My house is back to normal and cleaned so I feel less overwhelmed.
DeleteSo much baking, and all yummy food.. hope you enjoyed Christmas a lot...
ReplyDeleteHug..
Too much baking! All I'm doing is eating cookies. haha Christmas was very enjoyable, yes. Hope yours was as well!
DeleteLove all your decorations! But my favorite are the ones you made when you were little those are so cute hope you had a great Christmas! And I agree here's to a better 2017!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn! Happy New Year to you and your family!!!!
DeleteI still have some ornaments I made when I was little. It's fun to see them hanging on the tree and realize how many Christmas' they've been brought out.. What a feast! I would've totally mud wrestled Russell over that shrimp n' cocktail sauce. :) Happy New Year JoJo! Fingers, eyes and toes all crossed that 2017 is gentle with us all.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT I would like to see, you mudwrestling Russell for that shrimp. lol Happy New Year to you too!
DeleteIf that's you dragging - wow! You're productive and surrounded by love. I'd say you're doing more than alright. Have a safe, healthy, warm-loving new year, JoJo.
ReplyDeleteThanks Robyn. 2016 was bad for us from a financial point of view, and celeb deaths, but I'm hoping things pick up this year.
DeletePlease, no more food ever!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty tired of baking. lol
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