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I have such fun decorating our family’s Christmas trees. Yes, TREES. Plural. We have our big tree that is beautifully decorated in our front room, a small Norwegian and Swedish tree in our dining room, and a small kitchen tree, decorated with miniature kitchen utensils and cinnamon applesauce ornaments. I'm hoping to have another big tree upstairs in our loft this year as well, and one in our downstairs movie theatre by next year. I am giddy just thinking about it! Okay, back to the ornaments. They are very simple to make, last for years, and make the house smell wonderful! And who doesn't love a spicy aroma wafting from the kitchen this time of year? It just shouts Christmas! By the way, kids of all ages will have fun joining you in the kitchen to make these, so let them help, and make some memories together!

• Preheat oven to 200° F.
• In a bowl, mix together 3/4 c. applesauce and 1 cup + 3 T. cinnamon until well incorporated and smooth.
• Sprinkle cinnamon on a cutting board, and roll out dough to 1/3″ thickness.
• Cut out with small cookie cutters.
• Carefully place cut outs on an unprepared cookie sheet.
• Using a straw, poke a hole at the top of each ornament, as shown in the picture at the top.
• Bake in oven for 2-1/2 hours, until hard. I kept mine in for an additional 15 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack.
• Cut or tear strips of muslin, homespun, or twine for each ornament. I used coffee-stained muslin. Mmmm, smells delicious!
• Place a strip through the hole of each ornament and knot at the top.
• Hang on tree!

• These will last for years if stored carefully in an airtight container!
• Note: even though these are made with just applesauce and cinnamon, they are not edible. Trust me.
• These look FABULOUS when dusted with a fine champagne or bronze colored glitter. 

Here is a picture of my kitchen tree from last year. It was a work in progress when I snapped the pic.

• 2 sticks salted butter, softened
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. pure almond extract
• 2 1/2 c. unbleached flour
• food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream softened butter and sugar.
3. In a separate small bowl, whisk the 3 egg yolks.
4. Mix the vanilla and almond extracts into the egg yolks.
5. Add the yolk mixture into the bowl with the butter and sugar, and mix well.
6. Add flour, one cup at a time, into the mixing bowl. Combine well.
7. Divide dough into smaller bowls. (I wanted to make three different colors of cookies this time, so I divided the dough equally into three separate bowls.)
8. Add a few drops of food coloring into each bowl to make colored dough. Mix well.
9. Using one color at a time, put dough into a cookie press and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet in the shapes of your choice. (*Tip: I have found that a chilled cookie sheet works best, so I stick mine in the freezer for 5 minutes before pressing the cookies.)
10. When your cookie sheet is full, bake in oven for approx. 8 minutes, until cookies are just slightly golden. They will be very soft to the touch, but will firm up just a bit while cooling.
11. Remove cookie sheet from oven, and allow cookies to cool for a couple minutes.
12. Using a spatula, carefully remove cookies and place on a cooling rack.

*I used a little bit of leftover dough to make the candy canes in the picture, just to see if it would work. If you do make a few cutouts with this dough, you will need to be very careful, as it’s a very soft dough. Using the cookie press is much better, and is the traditional way.

It's week three of Sneaking Christmas. I went big this week! I just couldn't resist. Not Christmas tree big, but big enough that anyone who walks through our front door will take notice and bust me in 2 seconds flat :)

Isn't he the cutest thing? He was a gift from my sister-in-law, and was made by her very talented mom. I get excited every year about putting him out for all to see! This year, he greets all of our visitors in our entryway.

What did YOU do to sneak Christmas the past week?

And now, for a sneak peek of what's coming Thursday! Many people have asked me to post it. You ask, I listen (as best as I can!) Sooooo.... be sure to check back here this Thursday for...



...the best homemade laundry detergent ever! I've tried several, and have found the BEST. I will never go back to my {old} favorite store-bought detergent again! (And tomorrow I will have a scrumptious cookie recipe for you!)

Happy Saturday! It's the final week for our "6 Weeks to Make Your Home Shine for the Holidays!" series over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour! Join me there to see what cleaning and organization is taking place this week AND to find out what I have in store for us starting next week! (It's fun! You won't want to miss it!)

Sneaking Christmas? What's that?
If you missed the first week, click here ---> Ho! Ho! Ho!

Ok, now that you've been brought up to speed, welcome to the second week of Sneaking Christmas! We have had one crazy weekend, so this is coming a bit late... this is our Friday series, and here it is Monday. Oops! Last week, I was listening to a Christmas cd, and now as I write this today, I'm watching a Christmas movie. I didn't plan it, I promise! I just LOVE Christmas! My wonderful hubby made his way to Wisconsin last week to get some of our things out of storage, and surprised me with one of my favorite Christmas decorations! Little does he know, it went up somewhere in our house today! hehehehe

Isn't it cool? I just love it. What did you do to sneak a little Christmas into YOUR home since last time? Feel free to share pictures on our facebook page, or comment below! Until next time...

It's week five of  "6 Weeks to Make Your Home Shine for the Holidays!" over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour! We are cleaning and organizing our bedrooms and bathrooms this week. One more week to go in this series, and our homes will be CLEAN and ready for holiday celebrations! Join us! :) 

It's week four of  "6 Weeks to Make Your Home Shine for the Holidays!" over at Girlfriends Coffee Hour! Today we are learning what we need to do this week to finish up our kitchens, and we're putting together our Christmas Planners! I've put together a list of free Christmas planning printables for the ladies at Girlfriends Coffee Hour. If you'd like the list and are not part of GCH, just comment below and I will make sure you get it :) Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

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It all started with a picture of Santa in the bathroom.

Here it is, five days before Halloween, and I am looking at facebook while listening to my Michael Buble Christmas cd (true story!) When what to my wondering eyes should appear but a pic of St. Nick... standing on top of a commode! I said, "LOL What are you doing? Putting a Christmas decoration out each week to see if you can get away with it?" To which my genius online pal, Tonya, replied, "Yep, we are. Are YOU up to the challenge??" *GASP* A woman after my own heart! And so began the sneaking!

I immediately went through my house, looking for any shred of Christmas I could find! You see, we just moved, and many of our things are in storage, BUT I found a Christmas candle, and voila! A little bit of Christmas in my kitchen! (And oh, does it smell delicious!)


It's the little things in life that make me happy! I thank Tonya and her friend for letting me in on the fun, and give them all the credit for inspiring me to write up this "Sneaking Christmas" challenge. And now, I am asking if YOU are up to the challenge?! Every Friday from now through "Black Friday," share what Christmas decorations you've put up in your house. The goal is to be a little sneaky to see if anyone notices. Oh, and we're talking small decorations, not something obvious like a tree! ;) I'd love to hear if anyone has funny reactions! Be creative, and have fun sneaking Christmas!



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Don't Waste Your Homemaking