Second Night of Hanukkah 2020

Dear Sis,

William asked if he could open his gift for the day mid-morning.

He got tempra paint sticks. He is always asking to paint when I am way too busy to assist with such ventures. Now I never have to say no. He has a paint option he can do completely independently!

Naturally, Charlotte needed to open a present too. She got a hand crank music box. It took her a while to get the hang of it, but our little music lover mastered it before day’s end.

After nap, we made a library run to pick up all our Hanukkah reading materials. Then we stopped at a local park to take a walk and collect sticks for a craft we will be making at book club at the end of the month. Can you believe it was 60 degrees?!

William wanted his picture by the painted rock face we found on the trail!

Book of the Night

Each night after lighting the menorah, we listed to some Hanukkah music. It’s an easy festive thing to do that both of my kids really enjoy! We also read a Hanukkah book each night before bed. Tonight’s selection:

Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tail by Gloria Koster

This is an enjoyable twist on the classic tail of Little Red Riding Hood. This clever girl out-foxes the wolf and manages to uphold Hanukkah tradition with her Grandmother. A fun read!

Happy Hanukkah!

Love,

First Night of Hanukkah 2020

Dear Sis,

Notice how clean our menorah is?! It isn’t new this year, but we learned how to de-wax it. It was simple. We just soaked it in a sink of hot water and it wiped off. Take care to catch the wax in a sink strainer when draining the water. You don’t want that stuff in your pipes!

As a special treat for William and his class, we picked up doughnuts to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. This picture is from after dinner. A few doughnuts were left from earlier in the day, and William wanted one for dessert:)

This year Carter’s Hanukkah pajamas sold out before November, so I ended up getting some from Children’s Place.

I also got the kids a book to share:

The Miracle of Hanukkah by Seymour Chwast.

Happy Hanukkah!

Love,

Amelia Bedelia’s Sheet Cake

Dear Sis,

We read Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off by Herman Parish. William is just starting to be familiar enough with language to catch the humor in books like this. There was a recipe in the back of the book, so naturally we needed to make it:)

Chocolate Frosting: We melted a stick of salted butter, stirring in 1/4 c of cocoa powder, and added 2 1/2 or 3 cups of powdered sugar, thinning with 1 T heavy cream when the stirring got too hard:) It is the best chocolate cake I’ve had in years!!! What a pleasant surprise!

Love,

Trimming the Tree

Dear Sis,

I’m very traditional in my tree decor. We only have a half dozen ornaments we keep from year to year. The rest we throw away and make again next year. Mostly because they are perishable!

Candy Canes

I pick up a box each year from the dollar store to hang on the tree.

Dried Oranges Ornaments

This year I dried orange slices for the first time. It is simple and I plan to add it to my yearly tradition. Slice an orange or two as thinly as possible, while keeping a full ring of skin around the outside of the slice. Place on lined baking sheets and pop them in the oven at 250 for an hour and half. Check every 20 minutes after that, to turn the oranges, and remove the ones that are completely dry. Add an ornament wires and decorate:) I really enjoy the way the light shines through the oranges!

Gingerbread Ornaments

I use a bamboo skewer to make a hole in the top of each cookie before it bakes, then thread an ornament wire through the baked cookies.

Popcorn & Cranberry Garland

We bought an air popper, because we find the popcorn keeps better without butter or oil on it. I string a 5 popcorn, and 1 cranberry pattern on lengths of thread. I takes me the better part of the week to get enough yardage for our small tree, but we really enjoy it as an evening activity around the popcorn bowl:) I find that all-purpose thread and a small blunt ended tapestry needle work well.

Our tree is wonky at the bottom this year because Charlotte keeps picking things off, bending the branches, and unwrapping the presents. Yesterday, she took a gingerbread man off and ate half of him before she brought it to me! LOL. At least, my ornaments are edible:)

Happy Holidays!

Love,

Added December 17th

See what I mean!

Popcorn Thief Movie

Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Dear Sis,

I’ve been hunting for the perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe for a long time. Today, I found it!!!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Margin Making Mom

Print Recipe

Servings 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter soft
1 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 t vanilla extract
3/4 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 c old fashion oats
2 c unbleached flour
2 c raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in raisins.
Drop spoonful onto cookie sheets and bake 10 minutes. Cool on sheets a few minutes before cooling completely on wire racks.

Josh was hesitant to try them. He loves oatmeal raisin cookies, but historically not mine! He wasn’t sure if he could take the pain of another disappointment:) I’m so glad to have another kind of cookie in the bag!

Love,

Other Perfect Cookies

Butter Cookies (Cut-outs)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies (Cut-outs)

Sugar Cookies/Snickerdoodles