I have to say that it’s feeling very much like Christmas in our home. We have our Christmas tree up and gifts under it (all for our son). And to make it even more refreshing, we’ve received a little bit of snow on the ground. It’s quite a bit different this year than it was last year – as I sit here and reminisce.
I have the joy this year of watching our son crawl underneath the Christmas tree and just lay there and look up at the lights. He will push the presents out of the way and make a little spot for himself to just lay there and watch them. My husband used to do the same thing when he was a child he told me. The season definitely takes on a whole new meaning when children are involved. I look forward to the years to come and teaching him about ‘Santa’.
I’ve thought a lot about my own childhood and my view of Christmas as a little one. I remember looking forward to Christmas Eve the most and the tradition that we had. This year we’ll find our own tradition and see what works and what doesn’t. I’m looking forward to the 23rd of December as well – since that will be my 25th anniversary of having Type 1 Diabetes. That is definitely something to celebrate along with many other things in our life.
I’ve been using the last month to count my blessings and think of all of the things in my life (nothing is too small) that I’m grateful for. It’s been even more rewarding as I’ve been packing up our home and getting ready to put it on the market to sell it. I’ve had the pleasure of going through our belongings and the list of memories and the moments I’m grateful for continue to grow.
When I was a child, I can remember one year when I was in kindergarten that we made our own Christmas ornaments. I’ve been looking for some fun things to make with our son as he gets a little older. The traditional play dough and fun things come to mind. But one thing I know we’ll do, is make our own Christmas Ornaments – as keepsakes every year together. As long as he wants to do it with me. I can remember making Gingerbread Christmas ornaments and tying them with a ribbon. I gave mine to my Great-Grandmother and she kept them until she passed away. They were definitely well taken care of.
I’ve been putting together a book of my ideas on things to do with our son and I’d like to share a page of it with all of you, in hopes to pass along an inspirational activity with your children or grandchildren.
Things You’ll Need
- 6 tbsp. shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup molasses
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tsp. ginger
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 7 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Brushes
- Groceries
- 2 Large Mixing Bowls
- Cookie Sheets
- Flour Sifters
- Holiday Cookie Cutters
- Knife
- Rolling Pins
- Cookie sheets
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat shortening and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir in molasses.
- Sift baking soda, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon and flour together in a large bowl. Stir this mixture plus water into the sugar and shortening mixture, alternately adding the water and baking soda mixture to the shortening mixture.
- Stir until mixed thoroughly and refrigerate 6-8 hours.
- Cut dough into three equal pieces, knead each piece lightly and then use a rolling pin to roll out each piece to a 1/4-inch thickness.
- Use holiday cookie cutters made in the shapes of gingerbread people and houses to cut shapes out of the dough.
- Use a medium- to large-sized drinking straw or the end of a wooden chopstick to make a hole at the top of each shape.
- Put cookies on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes. Turn oven off and allow cookies to cool in the oven. This will help harden the cookies.
- Place cookies on racks to completely harden. Place racks in a cool, dry place and let sit for two to three days.
- Coat cookies with clear acrylic or varnish and allow cookies to dry thoroughly.
- Paint cookies with acrylic paints as desired. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.
- Thread a 5- to 6-inch length of narrow ribbon or cording through the hole at the top of each ornament. Knot ends and hang ornaments.
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Question: do you use parchment paper so they peel off easy without breaking once dry? or do they remove easily?
This is such a neat idea- never had the recipe for gingerbread men ornaments. I’ll copy this for future reference. Thanks
In regards to your reminiscing – yes, you do have much to be thankful for in this past year and I hope it will continue for you to grow that list of thankful things as the years go by. Memories are so precious.
You know, I don’t remember if we used parchment paper or not when I was a kid. But I’m willing to bet we did. It would help them to not stick and easy clean up when they are dry. I can still smell them. Everyone seems to have a scent that reminds them of Christmas and ever since I made these, the ornaments are my scent. When I got the ornaments back a year ago – they still smelled like they did when we first made them and that was 22 years ago!