Holiday Fun

Well, if you aren't done yet, you better hurry.   There are only two more shopping days until Christmas!  This is the most relaxed I have ever been before Christmas!  We scaled things down quite a bit this year, and I have enjoyed the Christmas season SO much more!  I have had the time to really sit and enjoy my family.  I had a special visit with a long time girlfriend the other day, and we sat at the kitchen table over tea and baked goodies and chatted away for a couple of hours. 
Today our daughter Gennifer asked if we might be available this evening to watch the girls so that they could catch the movie Lincoln.  I said sure!  We had so much fun with them.  First we watched Home Alone Two, which they giggled through from start to finish.  Then Uncle Goo (Drew) played some Christmas music and the girls danced and sang along.

Drew's girlfriend Diana is so good with the girls!  They love her!

The kids are awfully excited about Christmas this year! 
I made two big batches of granola this weekend.  One for us, and one batch to give to neighbors along with their Christmas gift.

I should have taken a photo of all of the good stuff that I put in this bowl, but I forgot, so here is a photo of the bags of some of it.

You can really put whatever you like in it.  I start with about 6 cups of whole oats.  Then add a variety of nuts.  Tonight I used about 2 cups sliced raw almonds, 1 1/2 cups of pecans, 3/4 cup of walnuts, and 1/2 cup of raw sunflower seeds.  Then I added about a cup of coconut.   1/3 cup of wheat germ, 3 teaspoons of real vanilla, cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice.   3/4 cup of brown sugar, light or dark.  I prefer dark for this.  For this amount of oats and nuts, I used about 3/4 cup vegetable oil.  Stir to coat well.  Then spread out evenly onto deep trays.  Bake in 275 degree over for an hour or until golden brown.  Turn the mixture every 20 minutes or so, so that toasting is even.

The house will smell so yummy, and everyone who walks through will ask what smells so good!

Let cool before putting into jars, or containers.   You could add dried fruits to it at this point if you like.  I was wishing I had some dried cranberries.  I got these cute holiday take out containers at Michael's the other day.  I put it into holiday ziplock containers before sealing the box. 

I also save my creamer containers, and my friend Viki give me hers too!  These make great containers for gifting different things.  One year I made a hot cocoa mix and put them into these pourable jars. 

The other one is a cute glass bottle that I had gotten egg nog in last year. 

Tomorrow I will be baking some cookies and making fudge to add to these gifts.  What do you like to give your neighbors for Christmas?
My friends and neighbors, Sue and Carl gave me this darling apron today, along with Carl's homemade fudge and cookies.

You can't see the G, but it says Grandma's Sippy Cup.  I love aprons, and I have a few holiday favorites.
This Santa suit apron was given to me by my son's girlfriend last year.  I love it!

And another holiday favorite is this one that Jann sent to me after I won a giveaway from her blog.

While I was in the kitchen turning granola and waiting for it to finish, I stood at my fridge looking at this photo of all of us.  It was taken one year for our Christmas Cards.  The old truck was my Dad's.  We put a wreath on the front, and our cut Christmas tree in the back, and we all piled in.  We took many different shots.  Some in the grove, and some out in the front of the house.  I loved these pictures.  Gennifer was 14, Erika was 12 and Drew was 6.  Greg and I were younger, thinner and had more hair! 

We wanted our two labs, Tucker and Sally to be in it too, but they were not cooperating.  You can see Tucker by Drew, and Sally is in the front of the truck, you can see her in the reflection of the bumper.
I hope you are taking the time to sing some Christmas Carols with your family.

I did not send out Christmas cards this year.  I usually do a family photo, and I did not have one with all of us in it.  The photo in my header would have been perfect, but our daughter Erika and grandson Noah were not in it.  So, this year, I skipped it.  I hope to get a good family photo and perhaps send them out at the first of the year.
I hope that this finds all of you enjoying the holiday festivities with your loved ones.  And in case I don't make it back for another post, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!! 
XO  Kris