ADVENT CALENDAR IDEAS

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December is almost among us friends! In our family, we’ve done advent calendars for years. Mostly chocolate but sometimes toy ones. This year we decided to do our Advent Calendar with acts of kindness + fun Christmas activities. We want our kids to be reminded to look for ways to be a blessing to others. And of course, I will add some chocolate to it as well :)

This year I created a new document with 30 ideas you can choose from. Feel free to download it and be sure to tag me on IG if you use it!

ADVENT CALENDAR IDEAS

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And just like that it’s December 1st! Is your family into Advent Calendars? We’ve been doing them for a number of years but instead of just chocolate, we add some Christmas activities and acts of kindness. We got our calendar from Joures. Use code LAURA15 for 15% off your purchase over $50.

This year I created a document with ideas to put in your advent calendar. Feel free to download it here!

SOME THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS

Christmas tends to bring a mixed bag of feelings to people. for some, Christmas is filled with high levels of anticipation and excitement as one looks forward to family dinners, church services, baking, decorations, lights, etc… for others Christmas time tends to be filled with anxiety, stress, and depression. the days are shorter. the weather is colder. the family is non-existent… 

i tend to relate more to the former. i get excited to bake and decorate and buy gifts for people. i get caught up in watching Christmas specials and eat way too many sweets. but i also have some not so fond Christmas memories…fights with siblings. that family member continually commenting on my second helping of dinner. the first Christmas after my parents separated…

if i’m not careful, i can either find myself being consumed with commercialistic Christmas or caught up in dark moments of Christmas past…

neither of these perspectives are healthy. i’m thankful for God’s truth that brings us into a clear perspective. i stumbled upon this beautiful verse a few summers ago. it sheds some serious light on the true meaning of Christmas.

it’s a prophetic word proclaimed by John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah. John the Baptist had just been born (which was a miracle in itself because his parents were old and had been trying for a looong time!) and Zechariah starts praising God and prophesying (by the way, he hadn’t been able to speak, so him speaking was a miracle as well… just go and read Luke 1!!) i can just picture Zechariah holding and smiling down at his long awaited son…

"And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.

 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

                              -Luke 1:78-79 

Jesus coming to earth is what Christmas is about. He came to give LIGHT to those who sit in darkness and guide us all to the path of PEACE. now that is what Christmas is about. hope and peace and JESUS. isn’t it wonderful that Jesus came for both those who are caught up in Christmas craziness and those who want to push it all away? He came to bring you peace. He came to bring light to your dark situation. 

my prayer is that for a few moments this Christmas season, you would push aside the eggnog lattes, the gifts, the baking, the dwelling on Christmases past, the negativity, the loneliness and grab your Bible and sit. read Luke 1 and let verses 78-79 sink into your soul. allow God’s truth to wash over you. let His light come into the darkest parts of your mind. let His peace fill every single part of you. and then read luke 2 and be in awe of God’s great gift for you.

xoxo,

s.s.♥.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES W/ CREAM CHEESE ICING

it’s only december 11th and i have a christmas cookie hangover. like that perma full, i better have tea instead of coffee because i can’t even handle cream kinda cookie hangover. last night i was up until midnight making brown butter chocolate chip, nutella stuffed cookies (I KNOW) for a baking exchange at my house tonight. we’re only exchanging half dozens because me and 7 dozens of cookies could get a little cray…

on saturday two of my lovely sisters came over for a baking session. the recipe claimed it would only make 16 cookies per batch. we decided to triple it and but we ended up with 90 cookies instead of the 48 cookies promised. thankfully we all have husbands with major sweet tooths. 

funny story about this recipe…because we tripled the recipe, there was no way the whole thing could fit into my kitchen aid. we halved the molasses mixture and then added half the flour…or so we thought… we ended up with two different cookies. the first batch had the extra molasses, so very flat and molassesey and chewy and extremely delicious.

i was a bit weary of the second batch, but upon tasting i realized it was an ok mistake. the second batch was just as delicious, a little less soft but spicier tasting more like a fall cookie than a gingerbread. 

two cookies for the price of one…boooyah. 

both were smothered in white chocolate cream cheese icing which fyi, will cover a multitude of baking mistakes…

gingerbread cookies with cream cheese icing

makes two dozen cookies

ingredients needed:

cookies:

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1⁄4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1⁄2 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

3⁄4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄4 cup cookie molasses

icing:

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tbsp unsalted butter, (room temperature)

3 oz white chocolate, chopped and melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups icing sugar

directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.

3. in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until smooth. add in the egg and vanilla extract. mix until well combined. add in the molasses and mix until combined.

4. with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture. mix until flour disappears.

5. form the dough into tablespoon sized balls. place the cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.

6. bake for 10-12 minutes. allow cookies to cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

7. melt the white chocolate in the microwave or a double broiler. if using a microwave, add a splash of milk and only melt for 30 seconds at a time, pausing to stir in between.

8. in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. next add the melted white chocolate and vanilla extract. beat until it’s smooth. reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar until smooth.

9. frost the cookies with frosting and then devour!

slightly adapted from two peas and their pod

and if you have a cat who loves cookies, do try to keep her away from devouring them!!!

happy wednesday :)

s.s.♥.