Up goes our tree

Our Christmas tree is up, a day after the school one...

In school...
I was just done packing folders for Jon's class, when I saw the parent's chair working on the tree by herself, and it looked like she could use a hand. By then, the three parts of the big faux fir were already stacked one on top of the other. But the lights wouldn't come on. At her suggestion, we both took the whole tree apart, and started from scratch.

Now it was a fairly old tree, and whatever labels that might be a hint of which sets of plugs should go with which, had come off. It wasn't exactly a tangled mess, but there were a lot of plugs, and for a moment, it wasn't clear if we could put together the "missing links".

But as soon as the switches were correctly plugged in, the sections of the tree lit up -- one after another. All the way, until the whole tree was aglow! It was as if the Maker himself had stood right next to these two desperate women trying to make the good old tree work, and said, "Let there be light!". And it was done!

Back home...
Inspired, I didn't wait for Vern, but went and fixed our artificial tree together, with a little more help than needed from Ben. After that, Jon worked with me to put the wires on the ornaments, and we had them hung up in no time!

Of all our ornaments, my favourites are the ones Jon made in Sunday School last year. Besides the "Adorenaments", each symbolizing something that Christ is, there is this colourful cutout of Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus, and the words "Jesus is the best gift", that says it all, about the season for the reason.

It's such efforts by the church, and the Christian school our boys go to, that help them see the meaning of Christmas. This morning, spending some time in Ben's class when the teacher's aide was held up because of a flat tyre, I also got to see the nativity scenes in the classroom that the 3- and young 4-year-olds have been playing with, not just ornaments to hang on the tree on the tabletop, or presents they were learning to wrap, to put under it.

The season is also about spreading love and cheer, and next week, Jon's class and their buddies in the sixth grade will be carolling at a veteran's home. Other opportunities, like an earlier Operation Christmas Child project by the school and church, also let our boys do their bit for the needy.

For those we love and care, I have a few ideas already. It's always nice to be able to add a handmade or personalized touch, no matter how small it is. Over the years though, I've had to rely more on store-bought gifts. Partly because I'm not particularly good at something, and the perfectionist in me worries that what I make is not good enough. Partly because it's not easy to set aside a chunk of time, and when the boys are asleep, I want to climb into bed, too! But such are the things I enjoy doing.

Here's a sneak peek of a part of something for our families, the only thing I've started on so far! Not perfect, but tell me there's still time! And yes, ultimately, I need to remember it's the warm wishes that come straight from our hearts, that is what really counts!



As far as Christmas cookies go, it was a lovely aroma wafting through the house, when we baked these peppermint candy cookies for the first time. I'd stuck the recipe, from an advertisement in the papers for baking products, on my fridge for the longest time ever, so I would get round to trying it. But when the dough would not stick, I went ahead and added an egg. Maybe there was a misprint in that recipe*, maybe I stumbled on a different one!



*Scroll down for the recipe, if you would like to give it a try!

'Sno doubt, it's snow alright!
Meanwhile, there was about an inch of accumulation, from snow that started falling late yesterday afternoon. The snow had started out heavier than the "false start" the other day, but it was soon mixed with rain, and stopped way before midnight, ahead of what the weather forecast had predicted.

By this morning, the icicles and whatever snow there was, were fast melting away!



Still, a cool start, and at least it tells us we're on the right path -- that this place still falls under the "may snow, will snow" part of the country! Hehe!

Recipe for Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies
Source: ad for baking products

This is the original recipe, and if you're interested in giving the other version I ended up making (as shown in the pictures above), simply add an egg to the dough! Let me know how it works out for you!

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup corn starch

• Mix butter, sugar, crushed candy and vanilla thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch.
• Form into 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper lined baking sheets (I just went with foil).
  Gently press down on each cookie to flatten using fingers (the palm works too!), or a flat bottomed drinking glass (dipped in sugar to prevent sticking.)
• Bake in a preheated 300 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown.