Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

Its the most wonderful time of the year… while I agree with Johnny Mathis, the holidays can also be incredibly stressful as well.  There are many things I have to do… decorate my home, send out cards, buy and wrap gifts, bake, sew.   And there are many more things I love to do.

Because I love the Holidays and don’t want to miss out on all the fun, every year I make a Christmas Calendar.

I start our calendar in November.  Some years I have made it a small work of scrapbook art.  Other years it’s just a plain printed paper from my computer.  Either way, I go through the entire month and plan our fun activities, traditions and events. Then the calendar gets a place of honor on our refrigerator.

That way, it doesn’t matter if I don’t have enough brain power to plan an activity at the end of the day.  When it’s on the calendar, I’ve already thought about it ahead of time.  I am able to have what we need or have made the necessary plans… bought tickets, made arrangements, etc.  Because of our Christmas calendar, my family and I don’t miss out on the fun of the season, and are still able to get everything done.

Here are few of the things on our calendar:

• The Back in Time Nativity in my hometown (an amazing Live Nativity where they recreate Bethlehem complete with blacksmiths, weavers, millers, potters, and all the animals including camels.)
• Make gingerbread houses
• Visit the lights at Temple Square (an amazing and lovely display of lights in Salt Lake City, not to be missed if you visit Utah in the month of December)
• Making care kits for the Food Bank with our friends
• Visit real live Reindeer at the Candlelight Christmas at This is the Place Monument

Those are just a few of the activities on our calendar.  As you can see, I don’t leave out the little things like Making Gingerbread Houses at home.  That’s one of those activities that might be missed if I didn’t have it on the calendar.  Having it there helps remind to buy candies for decorating when I’m at the grocery store the week before.

Making the calendar has been our essential tool for really enjoying the Christmas season.

If you embellish your calendar and use scrapbook paper, at the end of the season, the calendar makes a nice addition to your family’s scrapbook.

I’ve never been a fan of Cranberry Sauce.  That red jelly stuff from a can… (my sincere apologies if you like it.)  No thank you… Cranberry Sauce has never been my cup of tea.

That is, until I tried my Mother-in-Law’s homemade sauce.

And despite my prejudice, it was love at first taste.

Nowadays it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the delicious smell of cranberry sauce simmering on the stove.  And what would Thanksgiving turkey be without a big dollop of sauce on top?  Or best yet, turkey sandwiches on rolls with cranberry sauce the next day.

Making cranberry sauce is so quick and easy, there is no excuse for buying the stuff in a can.  And when I say it makes your house smell good, I mean I would still make Cranberry sauce even if I didn’t like how it tasted, just for the smell.

Here’s her wonderful recipe:

Kit’s Cranberry Sauce

• 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large Granny Smith apple
  
• 1 large Anjou pear
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• zest of one orange

Rinse cranberries and place in a medium sauce pan with sugar and water.  Cook over medium heat until cranberries start to pop, about 10 minutes.

Peel and cube the apple and pear into small cubes.  Zest one orange.

When cranberries start to pop, add remaining ingredients and cook for about 5 minutes or until apples and pears soften.

It’s hard not to like this Cranberry sauce, just look at the ingredients.

1.  Combine cranberries, water and sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until cranberries start to pop.

2.  Peel and cube the apple and pear into small pieces.

3.  Zest one orange.

4.  Once the cranberries start popping, add remaining ingredients.

5.  Cook for about 5 minutes more over medium heat or until the pears and apples are softened.

The sauce will thicken as it cools.

I like it straight on a spoon.  But I can hardly wait for turkey…