Saving Christmas Memories

I love getting photo Christmas cards each year. It's often the only time I get to see some of my dear friends that live miles away. And I love looking at our own family cards, reflecting on past Christmas celebrations, and seeing how the family has grown and changed year after year.

Typically, a copy of each year's card gets put in a special album or box, but I have found that I seldom get time to pull it out and reflect on them. So here's a way to enjoy those cards year after year, every Christmas season.... 

Frame them.

I haven't had a chance to do them all, but I found the last four Christmas cards and popped them into frames (some old and some new), and spread them around the living room.

Each card is unique in it's own way and seems to fit in some special spot in the house. After the first of the new year, I'll gather them up, wrap them in tissue, and tuck them away until next Christmas. But for now, I'm enjoying every second of sweet memories!

I can't wait to dig out more cards and place them in frames... this could be my favorite Christmas present to myself in years!

If you have some frames that have photos in them, but you've been looking at them so long that you don't really notice the picture anymore, it's OKAY to just carefully switch them out, because you can always switch them back. It's a great way to refresh your photos and you'll love how much joy it brings you to see some of those old cards! (And if your photos are getting too much sun, it's good to give them a break so they don't fade as fast!). 

How do you display your old family Christmas cards?

Christmas Bedrooms... Simple Transformations!

Yes, you too can easily transform a bedroom from everyday into HOLIDAY! Frugally, I might add.

Most people pick their decorations FIRST and THEN try to make them fit the room, which is why many find it hard to achieve "the look" they are after. The key is in working with the scheme that already exists in your room and selecting the right accents to switch out.

I'll agree... my semi-monochromatic bedroom palette, may make it a bit easier. But by removing a few accents and replacing them with something that coordinates, and yet adds a touch of Christmas, you can convert just about any room in the house so that it has a holiday feel.

The Master Bedroom

Here's a "before" and "after" side-by-side photo so you can see what the room typically looks like and how it looked afterward (at least the bed, anyway).

I only did 4 simple things that impacted the room in a B.I.G. way.

1) I switched the one accent pillow from a tan plaid to a solid red pillow. Actually, it's not even solid red. Look at the back of the pillow...

I picked this up at T.J. Maxx for next to nothing! (This was the only money spent on the room other than the plants - but those don't count, do they?). After bringing the pillow home, I tied a ribbon around it to make it look like a package. (Perhaps I'll use the other side for Valentine's Day?)

2) I switched out the quilt at the foot of the bed. This one is borrowed, but I'm on the look out for the same quilt. I can see me using a red quilt like this a LOT.

3) I added some greenery to the antique watercolor above the bed.

4) I switched out the flowers on the night stand, adding the red Poinsettia and red foil paper.

That's it. Nothing more. Can we all agree that this is simple?

Later I did add some greenery and a couple of things from around the house to the dressers. Oh, and the antique angels of my grandmother's.

Again, the key here is two-fold...

1) Be willing to remove some items so as to keep the room from becoming crowded or cluttered. This also helps eliminate items that will distract from the holiday accents you are adding.

2) Be willing to match the accents to the room, not force holiday decorations that you "like" into a room where they won't work well.

Apparently our little friend, Tiki (visiting for the week), liked the rooms, too.

Okay, so maybe it was really just the soft bed and the fact that SHE got to get up on it!

Simple Cookies with Big Flare!

I love all those gorgeous Christmas cookies that are beautiful decorated with all sorts of icing and such. You know the ones... like Martha Stewart makes.

But seriously... during the holidays, one of the BUSIEST times of the year, who has time to do all that? I wanted something that LOOKED spectacular, but really didn't require too much effort. Something the kids could help with.

Found it. Jay's Catering in Garden Grove, California had these DARLING cookies. So I took their idea and made my own using a simple gingerbread recipe. I did modify them a bit... Jay's uses two cookies and sandwiches them between a cream filling. I skipped the cream filling.

So how is this so simple? Well the cookies are just rolled balls, not cut outs. Second, the white on them is just melted white chocolate... dip and dry. EASY. Finally, the red and green holly leaf is about as easy as you can get with icing. You can crank these out in mass quick as a wink!

I'm including the Gingersnap recipe for you here, but I would add more ginger if you want that sharp ginger taste, especially since the chocolate or candy melt softens it a bit. Personally, I wanted more of a bite to the cookie so as to compliment the mild candy taste. Really, you could use any cookie recipe and just decorate it accordingly.

For the "chocolate", I just used Wilton's White Candy Melts, so they really aren't chocolaty, but if you can find the chocolates it would be even better. For the holly berries and leaf I used Wilton's Meringue Powder and coloring.

Gingersnap Cookies
from Joy of Baking
Makes about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup (170 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (105 grams) dark brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Garnish: extra granulated sugar

Directions

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). 

Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. 

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. 

Cover and chill the batter for about 30 minutes or until firm. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Place about 1 cup (200 grams) of white granulated sugar in a medium sized bowl. When the dough has chilled sufficiently, roll into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls. Then roll the balls of dough into the sugar, coating them thoroughly. Place on the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart and, with the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly. 

Bake for about 12 -15 minutesor until the cookies feel dry and firm on top.  (The longer the cookies bake, the more crisp they will be.) Cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy with a cup of Christmas tea!

Wrapping Up Christmas

No, it's not over yet. I'm talking about gift giving... wrapping paper. This year I wanted to do something a bit different and so I pulled together a few Pinterest ideas to create my own unique version.

Basic brown kraft paper from the dollar store, a red ribbon, an old photo printed from the computer, and the recipient's name stamped on front (I just wrote in black sharpie on the back who the gift is "from"). And since these are shipping out via postal service, they'll pack nicely in boxes without messing up the ribbons.

For the photos I selected some scenes from a past Christmas together, but I'm thinking I may go further back... WAY back and do a few from our childhood. Wouldn't that be fun? If you don't like the black and white theme, you could print these in color, or sepia, or whatever suites your fancy. And these were just printed on standard printer paper and glued to the front with a glue stick. Definitely simple and frugal (and I had such fun looking at the old photos!).

To give each package an extra special touch, I used a bit of that red and white baker's twine I'm so fond of lately to "tie it up" a bit...

Food gifts are a big item in our family... we like to share what we make that's really yummy. Using supplies I had on hand, I covered the jar in white paper, tied it up with some more red and white baker's twine, added a tag telling what's inside, and a sticker with our name embossed on top.

Years ago I invested in a simple embosser with our name on it and I've used it again and again. For the sticker, I just used some large printer labels for shipping in white and cut out 2" circles using a Marvy jumbo paper punch. (This is another excellent investment that I use all the time for gift giving tags with various embossers).

Understated, with just a touch of Christmas. These will go in kraft paper bags along with a scone mix and then accented with red gingham paper, a red ribbon, and some rosemary, boxwood, and pine tied to the front along with a stamped tag. (If you don't have a pine tree, but you have a cut Christmas tree, reach up underneath or deep inside and cut a few smaller branches. You can also use any evergreens available in your area.)

And with that, Christmas will be all wrapped up... simple. frugal. beautiful.

Deck the Halls... Simply!

I know the posts have been sparse lately, to say the least. We've been blessed to host out-of-state company on two separate occasions in the last 3 weeks, so I've been having fun with family and friends. In between I managed to get a few things up around the house to make it festive for the season.

I'm convinced with our media saturated lives, we crave the simple and uncluttered. Our eyes need a break! But they need beauty, too. Keeping the adornments simple and not over done allows us to focus on a few items really well.

And can I add that decking the halls shouldn't take a week to put up OR to take down? As much as I like to decorate, there IS more to life! Like building snowmen, reading a good Christmas book, taking a hike in the brisk afternoon air, baking cookies with the kids...

However, I will confess I took the opportunity to deep clean the main room as I put up a few things. It was sorely needed and easiest to do at the same time.

The fireplace mantle got the biggest transformation. I removed the large picture that normally hangs between the sconces and dug out an old window I had been saving for a project. The sconces themselves got red bows and old tree toppers (stars) were used to fill in along with a couple of red plates I had (usually I have yellow plates up on the mantle). As for the greenery... we have a wood stove that heats the house. Nothing can be close enough that would be flammable, so no stockings or garlands. But even with that limitation, I was pleased with how it came out.

To the left of the mantle I added more windows, a pine wreath (I just switched out the bow to coordinate, and a matching chicken. The green rosemary tree is a bit too small, but that will be planted in the garden later and I may add another larger one if I come across it.

On the right side of the fireplace is a large red armoir my husband made for me years ago (how convenient that it matches the holiday!). I removed some flowers on top and added antlers that an elk shed behind our house a few years ago. The sun bleached them white and they were perfect on top! Makes me think of reindeer antlers. I'm going to add another little rosemary tree on top in another galvanized pail to bring more green and some needed height.

A basket with a white pitcher and red mercury glass balls are all that was needed. I REALLY like these and I may buy a couple each year to put on the tree as well. They look rustic, antique, and glittery without being overdone.

The hutch is mostly the same, but I pulled out a few items and replaced them with red and white things. A few pieces of greenery and viola!

The NOEL angels were my mom's when she was a little girl and the antique bells were my grandmother's. I love using selections from their Christmas decor for my own decorating. Sweet memories!

The Italian made nativity was also my mother's, now an antique. It sits in a creche made by my husband on a table behind the sofa in the center of the room.

On the opposite wall is another half hutch that has very little to adorn it, but just enough. I removed a summery bouquet and threw a fun berry wreath around one of my VERY favorite pieces... a ceramic sheep. While this is MY favorite item, it's a joke for the rest of the family. When I bought it, I ran in a store while the family sat out in the car (not interested in the shop I was excited to see). After quite a while, I came out with the sheep that the store keeper had wanted to part with and gave to me at about half the original price. I was THRILLED. My husband? He started laughing so hard, tears streamed down his face! He couldn't believe I was so excited about it and that it looked... well... odd, I guess. Of course, this set the girls to laughing and apparently embedded in their brains as a permanent memory! I still don't see what was so funny.

Oh, notice the screen door to the right? I wrote about it earlier and long story short, the shop keeper accepted an offer I made and it's now at home on my pantry!

The china cabinet got the same treatment as the rest... just re-worked with those things in the right colors taking center stage along with a little greenery. I typically like to use fresh greens from around the yard, but these will be added closer to Christmas as it dries out too easily. If I'm going to spend money on the fake stuff, I like to at least get the kind that looks as real as possible.

There you have it. I don't think I spent even $20 on all this. Almost everything was from "Christmas Past" and got re-worked in some way or another. Or it was an everyday item in the right color palate. A frugal Christmas fits our family philosophy so that we can give more and not overly participate in the commercialism of the holidays.

The tree is yet to go up and I'll post additional photos of other rooms later. But for now, get to writing your own holiday or Christmas post as the Barn Hop Ladies will be hosting a special Monday event on December 17th where we will link up related holiday posts instead of the regular homestead post. That way we can share and enjoy more terrific ideas for the holiday season!

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