To think that I am writing this in November, just before Thanksgiving, Is crazy!! This year has flown by. Growing up, our family lived close to each other. So the holiday tradition for Thanksgiving/Christmas Dinner was to meet at someone’s place. Each family would be in charge of a food category. Me and my mom always did the dessert and the homemade rolls. I would always be so mad, because my brother and my sister would be playing the PlayStation or outside, while I was in the kitchen baking and stuff. And when it came time to decorate the cookies, they would come running. Christmas morning, we open gifts then go have dinner. There is ALWAYS laughter at my family get-togethers.
Fast forward to me now being 35 and a mom. I now tell my mom that I am thankful for her making me stay in the kitchen with her. Because out of the 3 kids, I am the only one who cooks and bakes. So it kind of worked out. I have made my own traditions now. I share my 3 boys with their dad during the holiday season. On Thanksgiving, we don’t plan for much, because we have them every other year. But at Christmastime we definitely have our own traditions now.
-We go to Brother Benos in Oceanside and volunteer to make placemats and other things for the homeless people who go there for holiday dinners. My kids absolutely love doing it. We volunteer every month to do something.
-Me and hubby start our Christmas tree discussion around this time, and what to get the kids. They have asked for gift cards and games this year. YESSSS, they just made life easy for us again. Lol. Our Christmas Tree theme this year will be food. We are foodies, and Michaels has the ornaments we love. We all decorate the tree together when we get it.
-Three days before Christmas, we are baking cookies. Thank goodness for the 101 Cookie Cutter set. I bought mine at Winco. But I am sure you can find it at other places. Once the baking is done, then it is time to decorate. We wait until hubby is home so he can help. My kids LOVE to help bake them.
-Christmas Eve is pretty much a day of excitement getting ready for the next day. And before going to sleep, my kids have to make sure that their rooms are clean.
– Christmas morning, I wake up around 4AM and start a crockpot hot chocolate drink (I have made this for the past 10 years). It is AMAZING!!!
Ingredients:
1.5 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
6 cups of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 cups of milk chocolate chips
Stir together the whipping cream, milks, vanilla and chocolate chips in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, until the chips are melted. And when done, grab some marshmallows and top off your personal cups.
-After I throw the hot chocolate together, I get my oven breakfast meal together. I change the meal every year, so I haven’t figured out what I am making this year. Then I go back to sleep to get a couple more hours of z’s.
-Once the kids are up, I put the breakfast in the oven, we get out mugs of hot chocolate, and they can add as many marshmallows as they want. We do our yearly pic of the mugs together, and the pic in front of the tree. They open gifts and clean up the mess. And eat breakfast, then go to my mom’s house. And normally after that, my boys leave to go to their dad’s house.
