It always makes me a bit sad to see the Virtual Cookie Exchange come to an end.
The thought of waiting another year for a cookie party with you is so hard!
But we have today, so let's enjoy the virtual scent of fresh baked cookies, new ideas for traditions,
projects, and beautiful Christmas quilts. I love hanging out with you!
projects, and beautiful Christmas quilts. I love hanging out with you!
It's my day to share my own recipes, quilts and traditions along with some other
amazing blogger friends. I'm glad you're here for my party!
P.S. I think this is one of my longest posts ever...sorry. Just skip to the end when you get bored.
P.S. I think this is one of my longest posts ever...sorry. Just skip to the end when you get bored.
CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT FAMILY
I'm lucky I have a totally normal family!
TRADITIONS
When I was a child we spent Christmas Eve at my grandparent's house.
We HAD to wait until my grandfather got off work before we could eat or open presents.
Since he was the manager of a grocery store that stayed open as long as possible,
that meant our waiting seemed like FOREVER, especially for a little kid like me.
We were so tired and hungry by the time he got home!
I'm the one up front with two of my older sisters in dresses my mom sewed for us.
CHRISTMAS MORNING
My mom started the tradition of Christmas morning breakfast and we've carried it on.
Some of them don't bother to get out of their pajamas.
CHRISTMAS EVE PARTIES
Every year we had a party that included two of my favorite friends and their families.
Lots of food, laughing, and memories.
We had so much fun!
We'd have a special visitor sometimes, too.
Our Christmas Eve parties are pretty much just my family now...with the Monkey Boys, of course.
ANNUAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING
This is a much anticipated event with some serious competition involved.
Sometimes things happen accidently or on purpose...
The number of gingerbread houses has grown quite a bit over the years!
COOKIE BAKING
When my kids were little, Christmas baking was massive at our house.
There were cookies for school parties, church parties, neighborhood gifts, our traditional
Christmas Eve party, and "eat me now" cookies. Then the Monkey Boys came along
and everything changed. My daughter took over the baking and now I sit back and enjoy
the delicious rewards of all the goodies she bakes. My family loves her baked cookies!
THIS YEAR'S COOKIE RECIPE
I had a cookie recipe I'd been wanting to try (I even bought all the ingredients) but I didn't
have the time to tweak it by removing some of the yucky stuff that was in it. Okay, so maybe it
didn't have yucky stuff in it, but it had things that I didn't want in there. My daughter came to the
rescue and said she'd whip them up for me. Yay! She even took photos...yes, she's a keeper.
With a baby on her hip, a toddler holding on to her legs, and four other monkeys climbing
the walls, she tweaked the recipe and made cookies that were so delicious!
They were Monkey Boy approved, too.
Ganache Filled Cookies
Grinch Ganache Filled Cookies (just add a little green dye)
This is my newest 2018 Christmas quilt...I love that Grinch guy!
Thanks for scrolling through my Christmas stuff!
Check out the amazing stories and recipes from some very special blogger friends:
Check out the amazing stories and recipes from some very special blogger friends:
November 27
November 28
TODAY - November 29
Hold on...there's two giveaways!
Two lucky winners will be chosen.
Rules:
Leave one short and sweet comment to enter both giveaways.
The winners will be chosen using Random Number Generator.
ENDED ~ Ends 12/1/2018 at midnight MST.
The first giveaway is from Quilted Works (thanks Quilted Works!)
It's an amazing gadget for holding your sewing tools.
Oh Sew Organized Stash 'n Store
(accessories not included)
You can find it in their store HERE.
Congratulations to Daryl who won the Stash 'n Store!
Two lucky winners will be chosen.
Rules:
Leave one short and sweet comment to enter both giveaways.
The winners will be chosen using Random Number Generator.
ENDED ~ Ends 12/1/2018 at midnight MST.
The first giveaway is from Quilted Works (thanks Quilted Works!)
It's an amazing gadget for holding your sewing tools.
Oh Sew Organized Stash 'n Store
(accessories not included)
You can find it in their store HERE.
Congratulations to Daryl who won the Stash 'n Store!
The second giveaway is a $20 gift certificate from me for Quilt Taffy's online store.
Shopping at her store is so fun!
Congratulations to H Clare who won the gift certificate!
Congratulations to H Clare who won the gift certificate!
There's a Pinterest page for all the cookies and projects, too!
Cookies from the past Virtual Cookie Exchanges...
Thanks for stopping by!
I hope you've had fun seeing all the traditions, recipes, and Christmas quilts!
%20(1).png)
