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My son leaves for Cote d'Ivoire, in Africa, for his mission for the Church in just 9 days! He will be gone for 2 years. I wrote about that here. He leaves just before Christmas. So, last night we had a special "Jacob's Christmas" for him to let him have a bit of a celebration and we gave him gifts of things that he will need on his mission. We also made sure we had some of our family favorite holiday treats so he wouldn't feel like he had missed out on them when he wakes up in Africa on Christmas Day. It is funny how there are certain family favorites that you must have each holiday or you just don't feel like Christmas was complete.
This morning, I woke up and made some Hot Orange Punch. I had made some last night, but it was all gone this morning and the chilly weather made me want some. As I sipped it I thought I should share the recipe with you and then Lindsey reminded me that she had already posted about Hot Orange Punch last year! But it is such a favorite, and so warm and comforting, (which I really need since I am about to send my youngest child halfway around the world), I decided I would share with you the recipe again and put together a little round-up of some of our other traditional recipes that we still love and that are must haves each Christmas.
Besides Hot Cocoa Bombs, this is one of our favorite drinks during the holidays. LIndsey especially loves it and she blogged about it here. It is warm, tasty and comforting. It makes you feel better if you are under the weather. The recipe is on her post.
I love using my Waechtersbach Christmas teapot and mugs that my husband and I bought in Germany many years ago. You can't get my exact ones anymore, they say West Germany on the bottom of them! But the pattern is still available on Amazon here!
These are from my childhood! Growing up, we just called them Mounds. We loved them all year round, but on this post I made them a little more festive!
This one is also from my childhood! My kids love it and one of my sons was mad that I shared the recipe last year because he holds this fudge so dear! It is the best peanut butter fudge ever!
The next two "recipes" are not food, but recipes for a wonderful Christmas with your family.
One of the things that Jacob asked to do last night at his Christmas was to watch the movie, "A Christmas Story" together. We have a number of movies that we love to watch that never fail to bring the holiday spirit. Here is the list we put together of the Top 10 Christmas Movies of All Time! For us, A Christmas Story is probably the favorite. We usually have it playing all day on Christmas so that we can laugh at which ever part is on as we walk past it. It is just so funny.
I explain this tradition on this post. Jacob has a beautiful bass voice and I have to admit as we all sat around last night singing to the tree together for his Christmas, and I heard him singing his part on "Angels We Have Heard on High", I got pretty teary eyed and the sopranos had one less voice for a bit. I'll be missing that voice over the next two years. This tradition is my most favorite of all.
Those are just 5 simple things that we do to celebrate Christmas in our family. We also try to share with others and spread the joy of the reason for the season, and #light the world! That is why Jacob is going halfway around the world!
Maybe you would like to adopt some or our ideas, or maybe you already do something similar. Tell us about your traditions in the comments. We would love to hear about them.
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Have you ever wondered where your favorite Christmas traditions come from? The history and reasoning behind various traditions is fascinating and I believe that they are the things that give this holiday its depth of meaning to so many people. Here at 3 Winks Design, our religious beliefs are at the center of our holiday traditions. As my children were growing up, I tried to teach them that everything that we did to celebrate the holiday, from Santa to candy canes to gifts and to Christmas trees, all pointed to the main reason we were celebrating. That reason is the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, today, for this 43rd Friday Fave, we are going to share our favorite traditions and their history AND how they point towards Jesus Christ.
Christmas Stockings: Alicia chose Christmas Stockings as one of her most favorite traditions. When I was a little girl, we used some of my dad's old socks as our stockings. Then, when I was married, my mom crocheted stockings for my husband and I and then some for my children as they came along. I think my younger sister actually crocheted Alicia's stocking. Now, Alicia is crocheting stockings for her own family.
The tradition of the Christmas Stocking reaches way back to the time of a rich bishop named Saint Nicholas who lived in the 4th century in an area near Turkey. He was known for the kind generous deeds he did for the less fortunate. One story tells of how he dropped gold down one family's chimney into the young girls' socks. This led to the tradition of hanging socks by the fireplace for St. Nick to put gifts in them. The stories of his gifts to the poor are of course what points this tradition to the Savior. True acts of love and kindness are given at Christmas, reminding us of the love and kindness He has shown to us. In our family, the gifts in the stockings are usually small things, along with candy, nuts and fruit. There is always an orange and an apple down in the toe of the stocking! If you aren't quite up to crocheting or sewing or knitting stockings at this point for your family, Minted has some beautiful personalized stockings that are sure to become keepsakes. For example, I love these two.
The Christmas Tree: I chose the Christmas tree as one of my favorite traditions. I love decorating it with the ornaments that we have collected over the years. I love seeing it lit up at night with all of the other lights turned off.
My husband and I lived in Germany when we were first married. I remember the truck that came to the village where we lived. It was loaded with trees. We were able to choose a tree right off of the truck. It was fresh and fragrant. The first person to bring a Christmas Tree into a house, in the way we know it today, may have been Martin Luther in the 16th century. A story is told that, one night before Christmas, he was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas. Another story from Germany goes like this, " Once on a cold Christmas Eve night, a forester and his family were in their cottage gathered round the fire to keep warm. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. When the forester opened the door, he found a poor little boy standing on the door step, lost and alone. The forester welcomed him into his house and the family fed and washed him and put him to bed in the youngest sons own bed (he had to share with his brother that night!). The next morning, Christmas Morning, the family were woken up by a choir of angels, and the poor little boy had turned into Jesus, the Christ Child. The Christ Child went into the front garden of the cottage and broke a branch off a Fir tree and gave it to the family as a present to say thank you for looking after him. So ever since them, people have remembered that night by bringing a Christmas Tree into their homes!" (Source) When we lived in Germany, I actually saw some of the older native Germans' trees with real candles on them! It was beautiful, but dangerous! I am thankful for modern lights! I have been told that Christmas tree needles and branches point towards Heaven, which is another symbol of the true meaning of Christmas. I grew up with real trees from the tree lot and for years, that is what we did for our children as well. But, about 10 years ago we broke down and got an artificial tree. It is about time to get a new one as this one is starting to wear out. Target has quite a selection to choose from, as well as ornaments and lights, etc.
Christmas Carols: Madalynn has chosen Christmas Carols as her fave! In our house, the tree and carols go hand in hand. You can read about how we gather together to "sing to the tree" on this post.
From before the middle ages, Christmas Carols were written to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. St. Francis of Assisi is often credited with incorporating Christmas Carols into religious services. Feeling the Spirit of Christmas is so easy when carols are playing. When we gather together as a family to sing together, not only are we singing praises, even when we sing the fun songs about Santa, there is just so much love and fun in the room, you can almost tangibly feel it! Our family loves the old favorites and some newer versions as well. One of the best CDs that my girls and I love is a collection of Amy Grant singing Christmas carols! Emmanuel and Oh Little Town of Bethlehem are two of her arrangements that we love to belt out! Epiphany: It is always great to have the holiday last a little longer. Lindsey came back from her mission to France with a great tradition that is observed in many countries, but not as much in America. It is known as Epiphany, or 3 Kings Day. When we read the story of the Birth of Christ in the Bible, we realize that the Wise Men didn't get to Bethlehem on the night of his birth. They came to find him much later. Thus, the symbolism of Epiphany. Traditionally, in France, a King Cake is made and a little toy or favor is hidden inside of it. Lindsey wrote about it on this post a couple of years ago! (Our blog has evolved quite a bit since then!) Lindsey was given a tiny doll (or feve) from a sweet lady in France that she uses to put in her King Cake. One child in the family decides who gets what piece of cake. The cake is slices so that there is one extra slice, just in case some poor person comes needing food. Whoever gets the little toy in their slice, gets to be the King (or Queen) for the day. If you weren't lucky enough to go to France and have someone give you a little feve, Dollar Tree or Oriental Trading may be good places to check out.
Of course, these are just a few of our favorite traditions. We could go on and on. If you would like to read about more of them, you can check out this post from the past. What are your favorite traditions? We would love to hear all about them!
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One way that we keep the magic in Christmas around our house is by serving food that is festive and not just the same things that we would eat everyday. In this example today, I would feed my children Chunky Apple Pancakes throughout the year, but this Cinnamon Red Hot Syrup is something that tastes like Christmas with its rich,creamy cinnamon flavor and festive color. It makes them even better when I serve them on my snowman Christmas dishes. (I have had my collection of snowmen dishes for awhile, but I just found these today! I love them!) And, of course a dollop of whipped cream and some sprinkles just say Christmas like nothing else can.
I came up with the idea of this red hot syrup while I was canning apples. I had canned some Apple Rings with Cinnamon Syrup. I had left over syrup and wondered how it would taste on pancakes. This recipe is the result of that thought process! It is easy to make, not very time consuming and puts everyone in the Christmas spirit from the beginning of the day. I hope you will give it a try.
Here are some other breakfasts that are great for the holidays:
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Owls have been very collectible for the past couple of years. They are fascinating creatures and here at 3 Winks, we love all of the cute renditions of owls out in the market place. We also know a number of other people who are owl lovers and we thought we would put together a gift guide for the owl lovers out there in your life. This guide could also overlap as a gift guide for women, a gift guide for the Harry Potter Lover, and a gift guide for the difficult to buy for. Or, a gift guide for me because I love everything on this list!
6. Look at this adorable owl print from Minted! It is available in many sizes and in many frames. Plus, right now you can get free shipping on non-custom art with the code: FREESHIP! I love free shipping! And, I love this little owl. Wouldn't he be cute in a library or nursery?
7. For a little different, more British feel, Minted also has Mr. Owl's English Tea by Natalie Groves. The free shipping is also available on this one. Now I can't decide which one I like best. 8. If you only want to add a touch of owl to your gift, Dollar Tree is the place to shop. You can find owl themed stickers and pencil sharpeners. They are super cute, too! 9. Here is an adorable board book for your grandchildren! The thoughts are so sweet, listen to these words: "When I made my wish upon the Grandma Star, I made my wish for you. When I first held you in my arms, my Grandma Wish came true." It is called Grandma Wishes, by Julia Lobo and the beautiful illustrations are by Helen Rowe. 10. Don't forget that owl lovers will most certainly love receiving an owl calendar for next year. There are many beautiful ones to choose from. Here are just a few of the choices.
So, there you have it! My top choices for owl gifts this year! I am certain that any of them would not disappoint the true owl lover!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
May 2024
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