Christmas GTKY!

melissa0726

It's all snowy here, and our tree is up (just lights, Santa will decorate the rest) and I'm feeling excited for the holidays!

1.  Real or fake tree?

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like?

3.  Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas?

4.  What are you most looking forward to this year?

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up?  Will/do you do this with your own family now?

Duffgurl

1.  Real or fake tree?
Real

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like?
White lights and a wreath

3.  Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas? Cheesecake & Pumpkin Rolls

4.  What are you most looking forward to this year? Seeing Logan's reaction to this Christmas compared to others. Also seeing his reaction to Santa, Already when he sees a Santa he says Ho Ho Ho.

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up?  Will/do you do this with your own family now? We always opened one gift Christmas eve and the rest Christmas morning. We also try to get our Christmas tree on DH's birthday Dec.14th or close to it.

Duffgurl

I think next year we will start 25 books for 25 days in Dec, for Logan. I saw someone shared this idea and I like it. Wrap them all up and let your LO pick one each day till Christmas to open.

melissa0726

1.  Real or fake tree?  Real!  And we will try to cut ours down every year, when possible.

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like?  I have conceded to white lights, which DH prefers.  We also have a wide variety of light up animals - the wire kind strung with lights, I think it's called grapevine?  But I am anti inflatables!

3.  Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas?  Nope.  But I am making a crock pot lasagna recipe for the first time this year to bring to my mom's for dinner.  I think that will become my "thing" because she likes to serve one Italian dish in addition to the ham, and I want to help her with dinner in some way. 

4.  What are you most looking forward to this year?  Seeing DD's face light up with surprise and excitement on Christmas morning!

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up?  Will/do you do this with your own family now? Not only did Santa bring presents, but he also decorated our tree.  So when we went to bed, the tree was up, but bare.  And when we came down in the morning, there was a magical transformation - lights, ornaments, train running underneath, plus stockings full and presents under the tree!  It was the most magical thing, I truly have so many memories of the excitement to go downstairs on Christmas morning.  DH and I are starting that tradition this year for our girls. 

ETA - we really enjoy having our tree up for the month of December, so we do put it up and string the lights so we can enjoy it beforehand.  But we will do the rest on Christmas Eve after the girls go to bed.

amywalt1684

melissa0726 said:

It's all snowy here, and our tree is up (just lights, Santa will decorate the rest) and I'm feeling excited for the holidays!

1.  Real or fake tree? Fake.

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like? Lots of white lights and lit garland around our front porch columns.

3.  Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas? Lots of cookies, Christmas breakfast and usually a dish to pass.

4.  What are you most looking forward to this year? All of the excitement and wonder through DDs eyes!

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up?  Will/do you do this with your own family now? So many and yes.

melissa0726

@Duffgurl

Do you have a pumpkin roll recipe?  I do not usually bake, but would like to try to make some kind of dessert for the holidays.  I've heard you can make and freeze these, so that would take some of the pressure off if I didn't have to make it right before our Christmas party. 

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha

1.  Real or fake tree?

Real. There's something about sweeping those million needles out of the house that just sends me in total Holiday Cheer mode.

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like?

I'd love to do something nice and coordinated, but I don't have the time or budget for it. I bought a set of multi coloured lights and wrapped them around our little cedar bush and called it a day. DD1 thought it was the bee's knees. Oh I also bought a wreath but the girls don't like it because it doesn't light up. Whatever, kids.

3.  Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas?

Yup. Doughnuts, gingerbread, shortbread cookies... Oh and I always make a yule at least once. I think I might try my hand at an ice cream one this year, too.

4.  What are you most looking forward to this year?

Honestly, I just look forward to seeing my kids' faces light up on Christmas morning. I just want it to be as magical and special as can be

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up?  Will/do you do this with your own family now?

We always did Christmas as "just us" (my parents, my brother and me) on Christmas Eve. I loved it and wish we could do the same with our own family now. Unfortunately, that's just not in the cards anymore. Oh well.

Duffgurl

@melissa0726

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cake part of Pumpkin Roll

Jelly roll pan
Wax paper (for the bottom lining of jelly roll pan)

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all dry ingredients together

Add wet ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin mix (Libbys small can makes 2 of these cakes or the large makes 3. You can always freeze the mix)
Mix all together

Pour all on top of wax paper lining in jelly roll pan. You can add chopped nuts such as walnuts but thats optional. Bake for 20mins in 350 degree oven. Check with a toothpick as you would a cake.

When done I always get a damp (not soaked) towel to go over the cake part then flip over and remove wax paper. While still warm roll the cake part up in the towel and let sit for about 2 hours to cool.

While the cake is cooling you can take the cream cheese 8oz and 2tbsp butter/margarine out to get to room temperature. Once it has been about 2hrs you can work on the filling: )

Filling cream cheese

8oz cream cheese
2tbsp butter or margarine
1tsp vanilla
1 cup powder sugar

Mix all wet ingredients together then add powder sugar. Mix until no lumps.

Finally roll out your cake from the towel and begin to layer on top the cream cheese filling. Once a layer has been set on top you will roll back the cake together without the towel of course lol. And voila pumpkin roll! Now if you opt out the nuts you can always add siffted powder sugar on top. Theese freeze perfectly just be sure to use clear wrap and secure tightly let thaw out in fridge when wanting to eat. Also these always taste better the next day.

Enjoy

melissa0726

Thank you so much!  I think I will give it a try!!!

ladybugpjb

1. Real or fake tree? Fake - we usually have real, but didn't want to deal with the mess this year

2. Exterior decor - white lights, multi-colored, inflatables - what's your house look like? We have some blue and white icicle lights on the house, and some white lights on the bushes

3. Do you cook/bake anything special for Christmas? Hmmm....cookies?

4. What are you most looking forward to this year? I haven't put up my own tree at my own house in three years, so I'm glad I got to decorate a bit. It will be Annie's first Christmas, so that will be exciting.

5. What is your favorite holiday tradition that you had growing up? Will/do you do this with your own family now? Growing up, I enjoyed Christmas Eve with my family. We'll do as much as we can with our families, but we won't always get to be there with them.