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On my side of the family, Scrabble is the family game. I was raised on it, as were the rest of my siblings. My mom, who recently turned 95, is always up for a game. I would venture to say that playing Scrabble all of these years has contributed to keeping her mind as sharp as it is at her age. She is kind of a Scrabble snob, I am sorry to say. She gets disgusted if you only use 3 letter words or if you don't get loads of points from two directions with your "S". She doesn't like it when someone always refers to a dictionary to find their words. But, even so, we have a blast when we play together! When we play without her, the defining rule is that if my mom has used the word, it is legal in Scrabble.
Often, when we travel to California to visit my side of the family, the Boltons, we will gather at my brother's house and have a Scrabble Tournament, with 2 or 3 games going at once and winners playing each other in a round robin type competition. It is always so much fun. One year, Alicia and I made everyone t-shirts that had Scrabble tile holders on them with letters like this one:
I have noticed that Scrabble Tiles are popular things to make crafts and decorator items with. That leads me to believe that there are many of you out there who love to play Scrabble as much as my family does. Since today is officially Scrabble Day, our Friday Fave question is this:
What is a favorite item you have seen or made with Scrabble Tiles?
I have seen some adorable Christmas ideas using Scrabble Tiles! Look at these Christmas trees!
By the way, in order to make any of these crafts, there are a couple of ways to get the tiles without raiding your Scrabble game.
Now, when you order these, no fair slipping an extra "O" or an "E" up your sleeve for the times that you have a set of letters like the one in the game above!
We also found some really adorable Scrabble themed items on Etsy!
Look at these sweet pillows for only 4.99 a piece!
Who knew that these simple little tiles could enrich our homes so much! I know that Scrabble has helped me to be a better speller and problem solver! Now it helps me decorate my home as well, LOL! I love it!
So, maybe you can craft a thing or two with some Scrabble tiles, or if nothing else, be sure to enjoy a game of Scrabble to celebrate the day! Let us know if you have any great ideas using these letters.
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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.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
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!
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for any purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support! Hey Alicia here again with some more advent calendars to show you. With the busy holiday season upon us, I feel like I'm running on all cylinders trying to get things done and make this season enjoyable. As you read in my previous post, I love advent calendars, they have always been a part of my Christmas traditions. I wanted an advent calendar that would provide activities and treats for my family to enjoy together, but I feel that I don't have the time or energy to devote to making a really great one. **Raise your hand if you're feeling the same way!** So to avoid the burnout before the season even gets started, I found these awesome printable advent calendars. All I have to do is push a button and there it is ready to use! Today I'll show you my favorite Printable Advent Calendars. Plus there is a free one that I made at the end of the post! Printable Advent Calendars from Etsy Harry Potter Themed Advent Calendar
Art Journal Advent Calendar
Nativity Story and Countdown
Printable Advent Calendar from Mormon.org You may have participated in the LDS church's Light the World campaign last year. Well, it is happening again this year and it looks like it's going to be just as wonderful! From Mormon.org about the calendar, "Each Christmas, we celebrate the life of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. By following His teachings, we let his light shine—in our lives and in the lives of others. This year, use this calendar for inspiration as you plan your Christmas activities to help #LightTheWorld by serving those in need." This calendar is all about serving others, which is what Christ was all about. Printable Advent Calendar from 3 Winks Design
There you have my favorite printable advent calendars for 2017! However you choose to enjoy the season, I hope it is merry and bright!
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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
April 2024
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