In my misguided and greedy childhood the days of December were carefully counted down to  the magical December 25th on a hand-drawn grid, each square marked off with a decided X. I spent hours with the Sear's "Wish Book" and other catalogues imagining how wonderful my world would be if I was the lucky recipient of every item on my list for Santa. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around - about a thousand years after December began - I had worked myself into such a frenzy that I could not sleep. (I learned to stock up on reading material at the library so that the long night would be bearable - reading several books each year.) I thought the excitement of Christmas was that final moment, the big reveal. All that getting! I had so much to learn.

Getting is pretty fun. I have to admit that. I love presents. I love to get them, I love to give them. I think one of the big drivers of my joy in receiving is the joy I find in giving. The planning and preparing I pour into each gift results (I hope) in a tangible evidence of the love that I have for the recipient. So as I receive I anticipate the same. It is not the actual gift, as perfect as it may be, that fills me with delight but the awareness that I am known and loved.

We try hard to teach the concept that it is more blessed to give than to receive and I think that often that precept is interpreted not as intended but as the concept that if giving is 'better' then getting must be less worthy, maybe even a bit shameful. And we become ungracious receivers. How sad..... it seems to me when we are inhibited in receiving gifts we rob the giver of so much joy - and ourselves as well. Gifts are intended to enrich but that doesn't happen when we don't receive them with open hearts and delight.

I watched a dear friends at a party a few weeks ago and thought she has mastered the art of getting. Her delight was abundant and contagious. She delighted as much in the gifts of others as her own. It was childlike and open. Delightful to others because it was absolutely generous. Unselfish and un-self conscious. 

Watching her I knew getting is as much an art as giving. Art takes time and effort to develop. Watching her I realized it is not less good to receive because if it were, if none of us were able to receive with joy, giving would be a chore; perhaps still an act of love but sucked of much of the joy. I resolved to give joy by receiving with delight; to find the love, thought, and effort behind the gift and so realize that although it may not be a perfectly hoped for item it is without a doubt the perfect gift. It is not (after all) what is wrapped up in the box that fills our hearts on Christmas morning but the love.

It has been many years since I counted the days to opening my own gifts having long since learned to find real joy and honest excitement in giving. I know too that receiving with sincere delight is gracious, honest, and kind. Loving. It enhances relationships and opens our eyes helping us see in one another's heart. May we each give and get with delight. The best gifts just don't wrap.

fruit cake

I do realize that fruitcake is a bit of a joke. It seems to be somewhere on most people's list of dislikes - sadly usually quite high up the list. I may be putting myself up for more than a little ridicule but I hold my head up and proudly say ... I like it. I even like it a lot. That was not always the case, I hated it when I was a child. It was none of the things that qualified anything as a treat nor was it any of the things that qualified as legitimate food. It was just ..... not good. So I avoided it (easy enough to do) and that was that. Then  one day I was visiting a new friend and she offered me a piece of fruitcake -  made from a recipe that was a family favorite. It was one of those awkward situations; I didn't know her well and I certainly did not want to offend her in any way but I really didn't want to even nibble the fruitcake. I could have declined but she was so eager that I try it that I would have felt small if I hadn't. Gracious manners won out and my life was changed in a tiny way. I joined the small (by comparison) number of fruitcake fans. I may not be the head of the fan club but I am a card-carrying member for sure. I remember that December afternoon in Kobe eating my Australian friend's family favorite fruitcake every year when I pull out the recipe for what is now our family favourite fruitcake. I have lost track of the friend but send out a little thankful thought to her as the aroma of the baking cake fills the house.

My mom loves fruitcake and David claims it is his favorite Christmas treat. I like this fruitcake because it is many of the things that make a treat - buttery, tender, toasty, a little bit sweet but not too, filled with wonderful dried fruits and nuts. Light not dark. Fresh with a bit of lemon. Perfect with a cup of tea or a glass of eggnog. Might be you would like it too.

Like everything else this is as good as what you put in it. So use the best butter you can. It really is worth it. Same goes for the dried fruits and almonds. I dislike candied pineapple so you won't find it in my fruitcake. I like the pretty shades of brown in the raisins, almonds and ginger with the bright red cherries. I think it is pretty - in a soft and modest way.

fruitcake

(from a lost friend's recipe file)

1 cup unsalted butter

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup sultana raisins

1/2 cup dark raisins

1/2 cup mixed peel

1/2 cup crystalized ginger, chopped

2/3 cup glace cherries

1/2 cup glace fruit mix

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 1/2 cups flour

Prepare a round 8" baking pan by cutting a parchment circle to fit the bottom of the pan and buttering the sides of the pan. Set aside.

Cream butter, lemon zest, and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in fruits and almonds, then flour. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan. Bake at 300 degrees F for 3 hours. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

The beginning of December marks the legitimate start of the festive frenzy. Magazines and blogs have been encouraging us for weeks in order that we can be 'ready'. Decorating, baking, gifting, entertaining, dressing - the guides abound for every area. It is easy to get totally sucked in and whirled around, then spit out the other side .... exhausted and unfulfilled, wondering what happened and why.

A good friend suggested that it would be a good exercise to think back to last year - to remember how we felt at the end of the season and on what we wish we had spent our precious resource of effort. The thought really resonated with me and has been constantly at the back of my mind ever since. I know that I don't wish I had baked more cookies or wrapped a few more presents. I don't regret that I didn't buy new Christmas decorations or have Christmas in Hawaii. I am not sure that I do have any significant regrets but the things that I remember and treasure are snuggling with a child and a book in a quiet corner, the mess (and satisfaction) of baking simple cookies with my daughters and grandkids, the joys of being together.

The beautiful trimmings are just that - beautiful trimmings. And I like them. But they are not what make Christmas work for me. All the trimming in the world - be that trimming food, or a pile of gifts beautifully wrapped (or not), or an exquisitely decorated home - doesn't create the love and warmth that happy memories are made of. It is the mindful living of each moment. The knowledge that those moments cannot be recalled and lived again but are precious motivates me to take the time to really connect with the people I love. To snuggle a little longer with a sweet two year old. To take the minutes it takes to teach a six year old to crochet. To listen to a wish list or not mind that things aren't perfectly arranged but are perfectly perfect because we are happy and warm and there is love.

Our Christmas tree is decorated and prettily so but it was not until this evening when our grandchildren looked at it with shining eyes that it became magical. It is that sharing that makes the whole of December so blessed. Perfect doesn't matter - doesn't even exist. Together does.

So I will bake cookies and make candies, sew pajamas and Christmas dresses, shop and primp and wrap. But under and over it all I want to be very careful and sure that at the end of the day the people I love really feel the love I have for them. That I am not so busy with the unimportant that I am drained of the important. No one will be aware of the gift I don't make or the cookie not baked but the memory of warmth and love and closeness will never be forgotten. To make those memories is my Christmas wish.

wrapping

For a long time I pretended to myself each Christmas that next year I would get my presents wrapped earlier - earlier than Christmas Eve. Finally I have realized that I like the last minute wrapping frenzy. Almost as much as I like the activity of wrapping presents. And I do honestly love it. I like selecting the paper and box, the ribbon or string, the tag, the embellishments, and then making it all come together in a beautiful package that says 'I love you'. A beautifully wrapped gift is an affordable luxury, one that is within the reach of anyone with the patience to take a little care and use the tiniest bit of imagination. 

I don't think gift wrapping needs to be over the top to be wonderful. It just needs to be neatly executed. Quality ribbon goes a very long way. As do cool tags. Some years I have spent more time than I should have crafting tags of one sort or another (always a ton of fun), other years I have purchased shipping tags or even price tags. This year I decided to use nothing but brown kraft paper or white newsprint paper to cover my boxes, red or black baker's twine, 'ribbon' strips torn from a piece of black cotton, bits of faux Christmas greenery, and velvet ribbons from my ribbon collection*. The tags (which I love) are from here and here. 

Simple. Beautiful. Done.  (Well..... almost. Just four left to wrap. And that is a record for me!)

*Every year I use, save, and re-use 'real' ribbon. I have a large plastic bin full of the glorious bits. It may be a bit eccentric (or maybe just plain weird) but my loved ones accept and even anticipate the collection and saving of ribbon. I like to think of it as being green.

salted deep chocolate caramels

There are chocolate caramels and then there are chocolate caramels. These are the latter. Deep and richly chocolate with the loveliness of a sprinkle of Malden salt. Eye-rolling, deep-sighing, mouthfuls of goodness. You. must. try. 

Must!

That's all I will say. All I can say.

salted deep chocolate caramels

(from Gourmet December 2006)

2 cups heavy cream

10.5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup golden syrup

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

flaky sea salt** - I used Malden's

Line the bottom and sides of a 9X13-inch metal baking pan with two long strips of crisscrossed parchment paper.

Bring cream just to a boil in a 1 qt saucepan over medium heat, being careful not to scorch, then reduce heat to low and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir  until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and set aside.

Bring sugar, syrup, water and salt to a boil in a 5 or 6 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, uncovered, without stirring (but swirling pan every minute or so) until sugar is deeply golden - about 10 minutes. Tilt pan and pour in the chocolate mixture ( this will bubble and steam a bit alarmingly). Continue to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture registers 255 F on a candy thermometer*. This may take about 15 minutes - I always stay very close to the boiling pan, usually reading a book or magazine to while away the tedium because this does get tedious. I also stir more or less constantly but you can gamble with burning if you choose. Remove from heat, add butter and stir until the butter is completely melted and fully incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan and DON'T scrape any caramel clinging to the sides or bottom of the pan. Let the caramel stand 10 minutes, then sprinkle evenly with sea salt. Cool completely in pan then carefully lift the caramel out of the pan with the aid of the parchment. Use a large heavy knife to cut into strips and then into squares. Wrap in 4" squares of cellophane or waxed paper.

*Check the info on using a candy thermometer in yesterday's post.

**Two notes here: I am a salt-lover. That should perhaps all be written in caps. Anyway, I  sprinkled the salt quite generously. It was good. Second note, I think it is the salt that really makes these caramels extra special. The chocolate is amplified, underlined, just somehow better because of it.

black licorice caramels

I have a passion for black licorice. And caramel. The two together are simply brilliant. I know that not everyone shares my passion for black licorice but I really do think that if you are in the black licorice-hating camp, and you were bold enough to give this a try, you just might begin to be persuaded. If not, well.... as my dad used to say "All the more for me!!" 

This recipe is really just a tiny adjustment to the Caramels with Mediterranean Sea Salt that I posted in February. 

Disclaimer: I am not any kind of an expert candy maker. I have made caramels for more years than I care to share and although they are about the most fool-proof candy out there, there are a couple of tips best kept in mind.

The first tip is that a candy thermometer is a minimal investment and worth every penny. Everybody's grandmother probably tested candy done-ness with a cold water bath and you can too but it takes a bit of trial and error to figure out exactly what a soft ball is as opposed to a hard ball (and we are not talking sports here). If you want to go that route, knock yourself out but you will probably also ruin more than one batch of candy while you are learning. So save yourself some grief and get a candy thermometer. A good one will still be under 10.00. 

Second tip: Proof that new (or old) candy thermometer. What? How? Remember back to grade school science? We learned that water boils at 212 F (or 100 C). That is true but it is also true that it is true at sea level and elevation makes a difference. Way up here in the foothills of Alberta water actually boils at 202 F (according to my thermometer) so unless I want to overcook my candy and have a tooth-pulling mess, I need to account for the difference when making candy. What this means for you is - when you get your candy thermometer put a pan of water on the stove, clip your thermometer on the side, and note at what temperature the water boils. If it boils at 202 F,  when your recipe says to cook the candy to 245 F, you know that you only need to cook it to 235 F.

black licorice caramels

1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup corn syrup
1 15-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp anise oil (sometimes called extract)
1/2 tsp black food coloring paste - optional


Melt butter in a heavy 3 quart saucepan. Add the sugar, salt, corn syrup, and condensed milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir. And stir. And stir some more. At some point in the stirring clip your invaluable thermometer onto the side of your pan so that you know when you have gotten to the firm ball stage (245 F). It may take a while - or it may not be more than 12-15 minutes. (You can see the advantage of the thermometer, right? When you have a bit of experience making caramels it is easy to see from the color of the cooking candy, and the thickness of the syrup that you are close to where you want to be - but as I say, experience is the critical thing here.)


Remove the pan from heat and stir in the anise oil and food coloring if you are using it. Pour into a well- buttered 9x13-inch pan. Cool.


When thoroughly cooled, turn the candy out onto a cutting board and cut into squares using a large sharp knife. Wrap in 4" squares of waxed paper.


And December 15th has flown by. 

kokeshi nativity

When I was a child I was fascinated with the tiny figures of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Really, what child does not want to play with such adorable dolls? Factor in the wonderful story and they become absolutely irresistible - at least they were to me. When I became the person in charge of Christmas whatnots I therefore determined that any nativity figures in our home would be able to withstand touching and as much as possible be totally play-worthy - it hurt my heart to look and not touch the delicate figures.

These beautiful Japanese kokeshi dolls fill the requirement. I must admit that I don't really encourage play with them but I do allow touching. When we left Tokyo in 2007 one of my dearest friends knew that I had fallen in love with this set and sent them to me as a gift the first Christmas we were back in Canada.  I love them - special on several levels. Satin-smooth to touch, traditionally made, reminiscent of much that I love about Japan, a token of friendship - these special tiny figures.

One more day marked off the calendar.

excitement

Excitement is a HUGE part of the Christmas fun. When I was a child I would be so excited that I really could not sleep on Christmas Eve. I must admit that my extreme excitement was entirely selfish - the anticipation for what was in the packages under the tree and what Santa might have included in his sleigh for me.....well, it was just too much for my self-centered little self. Happily, I can honestly say that although I still find Christmas full of excitement it has been many years since that was motivated by what I might be receiving and is completely focused on my hope of the gifts I give conveying the love I feel.

Today I am very excited because the second issue of KINFOLK magazine is available. And Eden is one of the contributors!!!! I am so proud of her. Really. You cannot imagine how thrilled I am. I think it is even better (way better in fact) than if I had been the one involved in the publication. Another one of the perks of being the mom of a wonderfully talented and wonderfully wonderful woman.

If you have an iPad (and a moment) you can check it out online. Otherwise you can order a hard copy and patiently wait.

kinfolkmag.com

Another day closer to Christmas! and December 12 is counted.

(As is December 9, 10, and 11. The weekend passed in a flurry of snow, shopping, church, music, and wrapping - great Christmas-y things all! )

heirloom quilt snowman

Some of my earliest and dearest memories are of my grandmother's house. I loved to be there. It seems that it was always bustling with happy people and fun. There were cousins to play with and beds to jump on (not allowed but shamelessly done) And quilts galore to make forts with. Often there was a quilt "on" (a frame to be quilted) and that meant even better fun when we were allowed to play under the work being done by busy hands above. The products of those quilting bees covered the beds in our home and warmed me at night. I was shocked when I became aware that not everybody had quilts - what did they sleep under then?! 

My Aunt Carma made this wonderful snowman out of the tattered remains of my Grandma Bradshaw's wedding quilt - the quilt that was made for her when she was a new bride in 1931. It is one of my most treasured Christmas decorations and a very special keepsake. The fabric in the quilt is threadbare and fragile. I was one of the lucky few to get a snowman because there was so little usable material. Every year when I unwrap the tissue paper from her (it must be a her because what respectable snowman wears pink? and it is from my grandmother) I think it is such a cool thing to have made with that well-loved and much used quilt, and I am grateful that Aunt Carma thought to do so instead of discarding it as a used up old thing. Every stitch on her is by hand - the old and the newer. My snowman's hat comes off, and her twig arms come out (one has gone missing). She is adored by my grandkids and treasured by me.

Even if you don't have an heirloom or vintage quilt to use, it would be a simple and fun project to make.

December 8 is counted down with this sweet treasure.

the music

As I bake and make and plan and play there is a soundtrack to the Christmas fun and games. On December 1st (and not before) I pull out and dust off the cd's and playlists of my favourite Christmas music. The songs of Christmas go way back - when I was a child in grade school there was carol singing in the gym before school every morning for those who wanted to come early, and you can be sure I didn't miss a morning even though I don't sing well. As I learned to play the piano, playing carols was a huge motivator to practise and I loved to play them while the family stood around the piano and we all sang together. 


Jonathon always had a special love for music - when he was three years old the only item on his Christmas Wish List was a music stand (so he could pretend to lead a choir or orchestra), when he was four the item was a trumpet (toy trumpet that is), and when he was seventeen I was overwhelmed when he sang "O Holy Night" and "I Wonder As I Wander". He has been blessed with more than a love of music - he has a beautiful singing voice and the willingness to share it. From the first time I heard "OHoly Night" as a child - and I do remember the occasion well - the song touched my heart. When Jonathon started singing it it became an even more tender and very special part of each Christmas for me. Now he is a man and sadly he rarely sings publicly anymore. It has been a few years since I have heard him sing that special Christmas song but still whenever I hear it, I think of him singing - and it makes my heart happy.


This year I am loving the new Michael Buble "Christmas" album as well as my old friends. A few old favourites:
Harry Connick Jr "When My Heart Finds Christmas"
Handel's "Messiah"
Nat King Cole "The Christmas Song"
Jewel "Joy: A Holiday Tradition"
Michael MacLean "The Forgotten Carols"


and of course Tchaichovsky's "The Nutcracker".


December 5th is counted down with music in the background.

pumpkin cranberry bundt cake

I think the world of sweet-lovers can easily be divided into two camps - those who will choose chocolate, hands down, anytime, and those who will choose cinnamon. When it comes to dessert or anything sweet I will always go for the cinnamon. Don't get me wrong - I love chocolate and anyone who knows me at all can vouch for that. But when there is a choice, cinnamon wins the day every time. 


This cake is so delicious that we (all of us) find as many excuses to eat it as possible. It shows up pretty frequently any time after the leaves turn in the fall (pumpkin= fall, right?), fits right in with Thanksgiving (pumpkin and cranberries), and is perfectly in tune with Christmas-y food. The warm spices are wonderfully inviting and the sharp tang of the cranberries is the perfect counter-point to that warmth.


With the fresh snow that fell (and fell and fell) last night and the smell of this cake baking, it feels like Christmas! 

pumpkin cranberry bundt cake
(a recipe from my sweet sister-in-law Sonja)


2 1/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup chopped fresh (or frozen) cranberries


Mix dry ingredients together. Add eggs, oil, pumpkin, and cranberries. Mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Bake in a buttered and floured bundt pan for 50 minutes at 350 F. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving. (whipped cream is perfect with this)


Notes: I used coconut oil as my oil for this cake today. And fresh cranberries are a little easier to chop than frozen but both tend to hop around. Since that is the hardest part of making this cake I consider it well worth the minor frustration.


The smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves marks December 4.

the tree

The tree is decorated. We don't have a decorator kind of tree. It doesn't make a design statement or have a theme. It is just filled with tiny little pretty things that hold precious happy memories and somehow it all works and feels just right in my home. I love it.


The little rocking unicorn joined our collection when we lived in Osaka in 1991. It is pretty and delicate - hand blown, one of a kind. When I unwrap it each year I remember five sweet fresh little faces, just the way they were that year. It survived the disaster of the falling tree (at about 3:00 AM one year there was an awful crash - the tree just....fell over. What a mess!!!), magically our little unicorn was unscathed. It is such a Japanese Christmas decoration but we love it more because of that. Why Japanese? A rocking-horse is a reasonably typical Christmas theme but honestly, do you think unicorn and Christmas in the same breath? and then rockers on it? There you go! 


December 3rd is marked by the memories I take out as I decorate the tree.

helping

I had planned to decorate our Christmas tree this morning. I started last night but due to my ridiculousness it takes hours (yes hours with an 's') to just get the lights on the tree. A pre-lit tree would save tons of time but I love our tree and so every year, despite swearing each previous year that I will not be so weird about the lights ever again, I find myself (with no-one but myself to blame) wrapping each branch carefully with lights so the cords are as invisible as I can contrive. I am a prisoner of my own obsession but finally last night, after trying to convince myself that it would be just fine to walk around the tree stringing lights in my wake, I have decided to embrace my weirdness (re: lights at any rate) and I actually enjoyed the process. That still left me with all the rest of the beauty to bestow on our Christmas tree this morning.

Sadly - for my tree-decorating plans - David had a flat tire on his way home last night. He was obliged to do the entire changing-of-the-tire-in-a-business-suit routine at the side of a busy artery in glaggy, ugly, traffic-y slush. Poor guy. And this morning greeted him with a heavy list of things that had to be done asap. But the tire needed to be fixed or at least attended to. That is where these two stories meet.


The concept of reaching out to others at Christmas is pretty embedded in the season. After all, we are celebrating the birth of Christ. As those who profess to follow Him it should really be all about what we give rather than lists of what we hope to receive. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of making lists of shopping to do (for the gifts we want to give), wrapping, baking, parties, decorating, making, and whatever else makes up Christmas for us. And in that trap forgetting (or turning a blind eye) to simply help others. To perform small acts of service that will make life a little better for someone around us. Sometimes we even do something big or bigger - the gift to charity (which is wonderful to be sure), the trip to the homeless shelter to help prepare or serve a meal - but charity does not need to be something that can be quantified on a tax return or signed up for somewhere. Most significantly it occurs where it is all too often harder to give. At home. There are always small acts of kindness that can be offered. Little sacrifices that can be made. Often at such an insignificant cost to the giver that it seems churlish not to give. But it does require a desire to love unselfishly and a willingness to put aside personal agendas for a moment or two. That is something that I am always reminded of at Christmas time - a yearly prompting to recommit to being a better, more loving, genuinely kind person. To be Christ-like as much as I can be.


So, my tree is still un-decorated but the tire issue is taken care of. I hope it helped relieve a little of the load for David - I know it helped me. On the 2nd day of December, my advent activity was just a little loving help. A good part of Christmas.

advent calendaring

The summer that Eden was a year old (go ahead, do the math, and yes it was a long time ago) I saw a pattern for an advent calendar in the Vogue Pattern Catalogue. I saw it and knew that I had to make it. I burned to have one for my little family. I do not exaggerate my desire. As David was still in university (read: we were poor students) I had to cut a few corners and be a bit creative on a couple of fronts in order to accomplish my goal but I did it. I drew my own version because I just could not afford a piece of felt large enough for Vogue's true vision but I tried to make up for that by embellishing the ornaments that count down the days with sequins and beads - something that Vogue's designers had somehow overlooked. Every afternoon during the precious hour or so of nap-time for my two toddlers I would pull the bag of felt and bits out and sew, then hastily stuff it back in the bag and under the sofa when I heard the first stirring child. It took months of hand-stitching - every stitch sewn with love and the anticipation of how much my kids were going to enjoy this special tradition. I don't think I could have ever guessed how well-loved this advent calendar would be. If I were to die tomorrow, this could well be the most ardently desired item.  

Since that time I have wished that I had used white felt instead of red for the background, occasionally decided that perhaps we could use another idea for an advent calendar (always vetoed), have backed the original with supporting fabric to prolong it's sagging life, lost and found ornaments that have been squirrelled away by tiny hands, and refereed more squabbles than I can count over exactly who's turn it is to put up the ornament for the day. (With five kids it was always a race since everyone wanted to do it every day. lol)

I have made several other advent calendars in an attempt to give more hands an opportunity to mark off the day. They have each been lovely, or cool, or fun, but none has reached the status of the calendar.

Counting down the days to Christmas Day is something that I have always loved. We did not have an advent calendar in our home when I was growing up but I always drew my own version and religiously marked off each day with mounting excitement. Now that there are no little ones running to mark the passing days with my (now nearly vintage) calendar a lot of the fun is lost but I still find myself drawn to the concept of this activity. I have intruded myself on my kid's families and made sure that they each have an advent calendar of some sort (whether they want one or not) and would probably make a new one for each family every year if I only could get myself organized early enough to do so! (somehow I never think about starting it in August anymore.) The red calendar goes up on December 1st here - even though I am now a bit embarrassed by some of the work on it - because of the sweet memories it stores. 

For my personal countdown this year, I am planning hoping to mark each day from now to Christmas by sharing something here. Something that I love about, or do, every Christmas. Seems like a fun way to count the days of this wonderful season.

elf stuff

The last day of November! Tomorrow the Christmas fun begins in earnest - and toward that end I present my version of the 'elf on a shelf'. It is truly not that I think I need to one-up the book and packaged elf (does that sound patronizing? hope not) but I just kind of like a handmade product over a mass-produced one. And I like to make things. Hopefully our littles will be enchanted with these elves - one for each family - and have just as much fun with the tradition as many others have.

Years ago David used to tell his little brother Reid stories about Greeny the Elf. Greeny kept an eagle-eye on Reid during December and truth be told (from the stories I have heard) I think poor little Reid was a bit afraid of Greeny. But it was a lot of fun for David, and Reid was a very good little boy for at least a month. Clearly the concept for an elf on a shelf has been around and waiting for ages.

Elf on a Shelf is a cute story and has garnered quite a following. If you google 'elf on a shelf ideas' you can find long lists of elf activities, from simple to elaborate. Many of them way more elaborate than I would be willing to undertake but if that's your thing, that's your thing. Me? I just like to make elves.

These little guys were very simple, fast and fun. I used some old wooden spools, some lovely wool felt, a sharpie to draw the eyes and nose, and a bit of wool I pirated off a fluffy/curly wool pillow that sits in my sewing room. One short seam to sew up the hat and a line of fabric glue to secure the "clothes" and ta-da! done! (Since the elves are not to be touched by childish hands - a rule of the tradition - they don't need to be terribly tough child-proof. Makes making one a lot simpler.)

I printed a set of "Rules" to go with each Elf Scout along with some suggested activities for parental eyes only. Can't wait to deliver these little guys and watch the fun!

(to give credit where credit is due I was inspired by a simple craft idea in Canadian Living magazine. Their elves were made with toilet paper roles and filled with candies or small toys. 24 of the little guys and you have an adorable advent calendar. I found them totally charming and since I had already determined to make my own elf on a shelf, I just tweaked the idea a tad and had a blast.)