The holiday season is such a special time to make memories with those we love. Our family is past the stage of all night dollhouse assembly and shopping for the most popular toy, but there are some traditions that have remained special to our family for many years- and I’d love to share them with you!

Favorite Holiday Treats:

Peppermint Bark. We tried making our own peppermint bark after having some gifted to us, at least 15 years ago- and it is always a holiday staple! Here’s a link to a great recipe: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/peppermint-bark-recipe/

Reindeer Food. A sweet friend, Brenda Robertson, made this for our family when we lived in Alabama, and talked about how her three boys enjoyed it as an after school snack all holiday season. We were QUICKLY hooked, and it is still our son’s favorite holiday snack! Simply melt white chocolate chips in the microwave, and pour over/mix with Chex Mix and holiday M n M’s on wax paper. Let it cool in the fridge for about an hour, then break it up and enjoy!

Martha Washingtons. During my husband’s first time as a Pastor, I got the great idea to make Christmas treats for all 18 deacon’s families for Christmas! I had no idea the commitment I was making when I bought 18 rather sizable tins to fill with my homemade treats. As if that wasn’t enough, I decided to try a recipe that involved melting wax and chocolate to dip homemade candy in. Surprisingly, it worked, and they were amazing! What I didn’t account for is that my husband would love them, and request them every year since! If you like coconut, these are a MUST! Here’s a great recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/martha-washington-candy-3052396

Favorite Things to Do:

For the past 12 years, with very few exceptions, our family has attended a Christmas Eve candlelight service at our local church. We sing carols, listen to the Christmas story, and go out after for Chinese food! This tradition began by accident, when Chili’s was closed and the Chinese place was our only option (we lived out of state from family, and were planning to drive for a visit just after opening gifts on Christmas morning). However, we all had such a fun time, and it was a relief not to have dishes to clean up right before Christmas…so the next year we did it again! And that’s how our Chinese food tradition began.

Movies are definitely something our family enjoys over the holiday season! We usually repeat the big favorites- Elf, Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life, and White Christmas, but a few years ago my husband and I discovered “The Family Man” with Nicolas Cage and  Téa Leoni, and enjoyed it so much! I won’t spoil it, but if you need a good date night movie, it appeals to both guys and gals, so that’s a win!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about a few of our favorite things! Merry Christmas 2020!