Christmas Countdown

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Do you want to know exactly how many days, hours, minutes and seconds there are until Christmas?

There is this fun, FREE website where you can see how much longer until this magnificent holiday.

The blog is HERE...

or you can just memorize this easy website: http://www.xmasclock.com/

Hope you have an amazing Christmas with your family!!

~ Gracie

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Cookies

Here is a great recipe for fun Christmas cookies!


here's what you need:

• 1
  cup butter, softened
• 1/2
  cup powdered sugar
• 1
  teaspoon vanilla
• 2
  cups all-purpose flour
   
  Optional: 
• 1
  cup finely chopped dried cranberries*
• 2
  teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
   
   
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
   Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in cranberries, lemon peel, and any remaining flour (use your hands to work in flour, if mixture seems crumbly).

  2. Shape mixture into 1/2-, 3/4-,or 1-inch balls. Roll dough balls in nonpareils. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets.

  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes for about 1/2-inch balls, 13 minutes for 3/4-inch balls, or 15 minutes for 1-inch balls, or until bottoms of cookies are light brown. Transfer to wire racks and let cool. 

  
  

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

  
  

  Something extra you can also do with the cookies:

  
  

  Roll them (when you make them into balls) into powdered sugar, hot cocoa powder, nuts, oats, chopped fruit, almost anything!

  
  

  Please ask for permission though, or else you will get into trouble!

  
  

  Alia

  :)

  :)

  <3

  <3   

A Nice Christmas Poem

Here is a nice poem to really show the meaning of Christmas:

Sweet Little Baby

By Linda Hoffman Kimball

Sweet little Baby

Resting in the hay,

Do You know why shepherds come

To worship You today?

Sweet little Baby,

While Mary hummed to Thee,

Angels sang out "Gloria!"'

O'er flock and field and tree.

Sweet little Baby

Peaceful in the night, 

Shepherds ran here breathless

To see this wondrous sight.

Sweet little Baby

Smiling at these men,

In time, You'll be their Shephers

To guide them home again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! isn't that nice?  I really like it, and I hope you do too!

This is just for the start of Christmas, but it is great to start off with the most important things!

         

Love,

Alia :)

PS: This was from a magazine called the Friend.