Sweets for Santa

I can't believe Christmas is almost here.  Where has the time gone?  I feel like I just put all the decorations up.  Today and tomorrow, I'll be busy baking but I wanted to share a really cute cookie recipe.  You can find the recipe here at the cutest little things blog.

Aren't they cute?  It's a really good recipe too because the cookies didn't spread.  However, I used silpat liners and chilled them prior to baking.  Tint the dough in different colors and mold them into ear muffs, scarves, and hats with your hands.  To make the hair, push a small clump of dough through a clean garlic press and then place it on the unbaked cookie.  After baking, you add the eyes and rosy cheeks.

I love their little faces!  Mix a drop of red food coloring with water to dilute and brush the cheeks with a new paintbrush.  Instant charm!

Allie loves to bake and help out in the kitchen so I wasn't surprised when she wanted to enter the gingerbread house contest at school.  I couldn't help her at all with the decorating; it had to be her concept completely.  It warmed my heart to see her rolling out the fondant and cutting out little shapes all by herself.  She piped royal icing to glue it together and used lots of little candies to decorate.

Here she is at the table with her certificate of participation.  I'm so proud of my little first grader!

I hope everyone is having fun making last minute preparations.  Thank you for stopping by and have a Merry Christmas.

Linking to:

•           The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

Christmas House Tour

Welcome!  I'm linking up with Kelly for her tour of Christmas houses.  I can't wait to see all the homes decked out for Christmas.  It's the most beautiful time of year!

Let me start off with our living room area.

 And here is the closeup of the arrangement I did for the dining room table.

Here is the kitchen and family room area decorated for Christmas.

 This is our hutch that holds my collection of teapots and cookie jars.

 And our small Christmas village.  This year, we added the train.

Our mantel in the family room.

Upstairs, we have a tree in our loft area which we use as a playroom for the kids.

And all of the bedrooms are decorated as well.  This is our master bedroom.

The girls' bedroom with a white tree.  It's decorated with gingerbread houses, candy pieces, nativity sets.

 And the boys' surf room.

I hope you enjoyed the tour and I look forward to visiting your home's as well.  Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Christmas in the Living Room

Here are some pictures of our dining/living room.  I made a new centerpiece for our dining room table.  Last year, I found the sleigh and reindeer at Michael's at great prices.  This year, I got Santa!

 I thought he was so cute and he fit in the sleigh perfectly.  I used up all of my leftovers;  extra picks, some garland, and ornaments to add more sparkle.

I hung lit garlands above the windows.  I used two types to bulk it up a bit, one with glittery leaves and the other a simple green one.  We always get a real tree for this room and this year we got a frasier fir instead of our usual noble fir tree.  I wish the smell lasted longer.

I love this plaque with the lion and the lamb.  I got it at church bookstore and I bring it out each Christmas and Easter.

 Here's our coffee table.  Once again, I used items I had on hand to make a small arrangement.

Have a wonderful week!

Linking to:

• The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays

And the stockings were hung...

...by the chimney with care.  I wanted to share some photos of the family room fireplace.  Our family room is brown and aqua so the mantel has all the colors of the room.  The garland has mini white lights and looks beautiful at night.  I love that everything is on a time so I don't have to plug each cord in at night.  They are great time savers!

I made the stocking a few years back but they still look new.

  I love my nutcrackers!  My sister bought this one for me a while back.  I wanted to pick up some for the mantel but there is so much going on, I thought they'd get lost in the faux flowers.

And, this is the mantel in my room.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the other Christmas decorations out there.  We've been so busy lately that I haven't been on the computer much and I can't wait to see all the Christmas decor.  This week, I'm linking up with:

• The Lettered Cottage