Christmas Tour of Homes

This post is linked with Boo Mama's Christmas Tour of Homes. If you would like to see other homes AFTER you have looked at mine ;) ,
just click on the highlighted text above for more places to visit.


The 2008 Christmas Decorating
around our house started off by
calling in the "Troops"!

The "Troops"

From the hats they came up with (designed by one 4 yr. old) they seem
to be more ready for a party than for work!
FYI: The silver and blue hats are the bottoms of drum boxes I use for decor!??
The cardboard thingy on the baby's head is a packing cushion for a cookie jar.
Classy, aren't they!

It turns out that one of them is a mighty good helper!

The really short one. . . . . no so much! He can't quite hang'um high enough :)
and the tallest one does the outdoor decorating.


So, let's begin and see how it all turned out, shall we?

WELCOME TO THE PARSONAGE

This is a little blurry but I think you can get an idea of how it looks.
The driveway is a circle drive so cars drive around the nativity scene.

The front door.

The tree.

A shot that shows the lights a little better.
The theme is "toys". There are toy ornaments on the tree and
toys under the tree for the children.

A close up of the tree. The soldier bear is animated.

The dining table and hutch.

The kitchen window.

A little touch of Christmas in the bathroom.

"What Jesus Wants for Christmas"
This little nativity set came with 7 gift boxes. Six boxes contain a part of the
story of Christ's birth. The 7th box has a mirror in the bottom and when
the child opens it they see themselves and you explain that they are what Jesus really wants for Christmas. It's a sweet way to share the plan of salvation with a child and teach them the real meaning of Christmas.

Would you care for some refreshments?

If you were really at my house we would sit down for a nice chat over some Christmas,
goodies, but since this is a virtual-type tour, I will share two recipes that you might like to try.

Here is a very EASY recipe for candy that always seems to be a hit.
All you need is:

2 1/2 cups Captain Crunch cereal (plain)
2 cups Rice Crispies cereal
2 lbs. white chocolate
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Melt chocolate. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper.

Note: I melt the chocolate by making a double boiler out of a large bowl placed on a pan on simmering water. Stir chocolate frequently until smooth.
If you can't find white chocolate, vanilla bark works well, too.

Apple cider anyone?

Here's a simple and festive cider for Christmas.
(It tastes good, too!)

1 gallon apple juice
1 small bag of red hots

Heat apple juice. Add red hots and stir until melted. You can adjust the amount of red hots according to your own taste.
This can be made in and served from a crockpot it you like.


Come back soon and I will show you some on my favorite Christmas ornaments,
many of which come from my travels.


Thank you for stopping by today.
Let me wish you a Merry Christmas
and a blessed New Year!

Come back soon for another visit!

Love,