We spend lots of nights snuggling on the couch having movie nights & drinking hot chocolate this time of year. Of course, our favorite Christmas movies are "Christmas Vacation" & "A Christmas Story". I also love "Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas". I need to get it on DVD so my kids can grow up watching it too!
Allen always makes the outside look fun & festive. He's a little bit of a Clark Griswold!
This is what our entrance looked like last year.
We always go to our favorite pizza place, The Hideaway. Then drive around looking at Christmas lights on the huge houses in Nichols Hills. I like to look in the windows to see how the "other half" live. ;) {from the car of course, not like in the bushes!} We drive through our local park's light display about 5 times in December because it's so fun to the kids and it's close to home. We also always drive by the awesome light display at Chesapeake Energy.
I always give the kid's a gift to open on Christmas Eve...and it's always new pajamas.
I have this mailbox for a decoration and a few years ago I snuck a little surprise in there for Sydney. So now it's a tradition that I randomly sneak little surprises in the mailbox for the kids. They love running to the mailbox to see if there's anything in there. And it's always a great bribe for good behavior..."if you don't straighten up I can guarantee there won't be any mailbox surprises for a few days."
We always make a gingerbread house.
And my favorite, we always make Christmas sugar cookies. It's a long & messy process, but so fun & worth it! This year I got smart. I've already mixed up the dough & put it in the freezer. So when we're ready, we can make them on a moments notice.
Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder & salt. Mix everything well & cover. Chill dough for at least one hour or overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 400. I take out half the dough and put the rest back in the refrigerator. I find it works best to break it into two parts because after a while, the dough gets too warm & is harder to work with. Roll out half the dough on a floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely.
For the icing, I just make it up as I go. But it goes a little something like this:
1 stick butter, softened
Add powdered sugar & mix until you get the consistency & sweetness you like. If you like it thin, add a splash of milk.
Then to make fun colored icing, place some icing in three different bowls. Leave one white, add green food coloring to one and red food coloring to the other. Ice the cookies when cooled completely & top with Christmas sprinkles.
P.S. ~ Santa loves these cookies!
And lastly, we always listen to Elvis on Christmas morning while we open presents.
When I was a kid, my Dad played this album every Christmas morning while we opened presents & I have carried on that tradition since Sydney's first Christmas. Our favorite song is "Santa Claus Is Back In Town".
~ MERRY CHRISTMAS! ~
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