Category: Christmas

Showstopping Christmas Cake Recipes

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

Showstopping Christmas Cake Recipes

My Tuesday evening Bible study had their Christmas party last night. We had a wonderful time! It was a potluck. Now, when I host a potluck, I never assign dishes to anyone, nor do I have anyone sign up to bring something, carefully listing the items they intend to share. I know how life often gets in the way. You sign up to bring one thing & then something comes up suddenly & you don’t have time to make your favorite dish, the one you SWORE you were going to bring! Nope. None of that for MY potlucks. Instead, I just tell everyone to bring whatever they want & if we end up with all desserts, YAY! I have never had an event where we end up with only salads, nor have I had an event where we end up with only desserts (BOO!)

Last night worked out great. We had an excellent mixture of food from casseroles to appetizers to veggies & salads. And we had CAKE! (You knew there was a reason I was telling you this, didn’t you?) Jan brought 2 cakes and they were FABULOUS! One was angel food topped with a frosting made with Cool Whip & pineapple. The second was the one I had. It was yellow cake frosted with a delicious topping made from Cool Whip, pudding & egg nog. Yum! And guess who was lucky enough to bring the rest of the cake home with her! 🙂

Jan shared her easy recipes for both cakes with us last night. Today, I am share cake recipes from Southern Living. Every celebration deserves a cake! Enjoy!

Christmas Cakes

12 Easy Make-Ahead Ideas for Christmas

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

12 Easy Make-Ahead Ideas for Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, as the song says. Christmas also goes by in a blur. Time seems to speed up, leaving us gasping & wondering how we are going to get it ALL done! Betty Crocker to the rescue with a selection of recipes you can make ahead. Being able to prepare dishes ahead of time calms me. I feel a bit more in control of the situation, whether or not I really am. So take a breath & take moment to decide which of these delicious recipes might give you more time to celebrate Christmas! Enjoy!

Make Ahead

11 Unique (and Totally Fun!) Holiday Traditions

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

11 Unique (and Totally Fun!) Holiday Traditions

Christmas is a time for traditions. The things you do with your family through the years make an impression we may not see until our children are grown. Growing up, I made cookies with my mother each year. After she passed, I continued to share our favorite cookies with family & friends each year. When The Child came along, WE began making cookies together. Oh, we made some changes as life got busier. Some years, we only baked the cookies that come in rolls from the store but we baked! Then, one year, I came home late from work to find a huge stack of chocolate chip cookies on the counter. The note on the stack said “DO NOT EAT!” The next day, Katy wrapped dozens of stacks of cookies & handed them out to her friends! A tradition that continues.

Good Housekeeping offers you & your family some new traditions to add to your Christmas season. Whatever you do, the things you do together stay with you & your children all your lives. And THAT’S a Simple Joy money can’t buy! Enjoy!

Holiday Traditions

16 Winter Drinks To Sip Around the Fireplace This Christmas

~ jeanannduck ~ 1 Comment

16 Winter Drinks To Sip Around the Fireplace This Christmas

Here in SoCal today, it is very rainy & cooler than normal. The thought of sitting by a cozy fire with a Holiday beverage appeals to me! With the weekend just a few hours away, it might be the perfect time for YOU to enjoy one of the tasty treats from Country Living. They may be just the thing to chase away the winter chill!

Winter Drinks

90+ Best Christmas Decoration Ideas for the Merriest Home on the Block

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

There are almost as many different ways to decorate your home for Christmas as there are ornaments for your tree. You are no longer forced to stick with the tried & true. Instead, you can go with a decorating scheme that suits your tastes, style & home.

You don’t even have to stick to just one style! You can go contemporary in  the living room, elegant in the dining room, country in the kitchen, eclectic in the family room & rustic in the bedroom! Why stick with just one style when so many of them are available & so much fun!

You also don’t have to spend a fortune to spread the Christmas cheer throughout your home. You can make many of your decorations. You can buy $ store decorations & transform them into something more fabulous. You can even shop thrift stores & repurpose your finds into beautiful displays!

Country Living has created a display of 76, YES, 76 decorating ideas! If this doesn’t get your Christmas creative juices flowing, you need to have a little egg nog & watch Charlie Brown again!

Christmas Decorating Ideas

37 Ideas to Trim Your Christmas Tree

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

37 Ideas to Trim Your Christmas Tree

I know all of you haven’t decorated for Christmas yet. Some families wait until it’s closer to Christmas before putting up their tree. For all of you who still need to trim your tree or perhaps you want to make a few changes to the tree that is already decorated, Country Living offers a wonderful selection of decorating ideas. I LOVE the simple, primitive look given to the tree & room in the photo.

It’s always a Simple Joy to add new touches to your Holiday Home. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree

66 Festive Christmas Cookie Recipes for the Best Cookie Swap Ever

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

f5b4052a1a4cae64ed6ff494ffe29209.jpg

I LOVE making Christmas cookies. Sometimes, however, I get a bit tired of the same old cookies. How wonderful that Country Living has come up with such an extensive list of recipes for Christmas cookies. This should keep me busy for awhile! And inspire you to begin your baking! Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies

Speedy Christmas Decorating

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

Speedy Christmas Decorating

Not everyone has the time to deck ALL the halls during Christmas. Not everyone has the space to deck all those hall either. Time, space & money can all be factors when trying to decide how much is too much. You want everything to look festive but there are limits. Or perhaps you are having a Holiday party & want to add a few more simple touches to your event that can be easily removed, or simply moved, when the party is over. What to do?

BHG to the rescue with these quick & easy ways to decorate for Christmas. I LOVE the vintage ornaments on the candlesticks. You can find all the candlesticks you want at the $ Store along with tubes of ornaments that can be used. I used these ornaments all over the house. They come in different sizes & colors. They are also easy to paint & glitter should you need them in colors that are different than the ones offered.

Avoid Christmas stress with simple ideas like these & put the JOY back into Christmas!

Speedy Decorating

6 Santa Cookie Creations

~ jeanannduck ~ Leave a comment

6 Santa Cookie Creations

Kids LOVE making Christmas cookies. Making cookies with my mom is one of my favorite Christmas memories. I always made cookies with The Child when she was growing up to continue the tradition. Both Katy & I share our creations with friends during the Holidays, passing the joy of baking along!

Betty Crocker shares her baking traditions with these darling Santa cookies. Your kids are going to enjoy making each of these sweet treats. Start your own tradition this year or continue an ongoing one when add these cookies to your Holiday baking schedule!

Santa Baby