Last year I saw this adorable snowman pancake idea from a Kroger ad. My kids went bananas over it.

Another Christmas craft that I keep going back to is using Trader Joe’s bags for wrapping paper. 

Trader Joe’s is great because at least for the past 3 years they have seasonal brown paper bags with different Christmasy patterns on them. 

Although, you can still achieve a similar look using the plain side of any paper grocery bag or kraft paper. A lot of wrapping paper uses rolled up kraft paper instead of a tube when you reach the end of a roll. This year I even used that for wrapping a couple presents. No waste whatsoever!

One thing I should warn is that the paper is really stiff so it doesn’t work well in all situations. If your gift is an odd shape I would recommend using a gift box. Or in my case, given that my gift recipients know me and know how frugal I am, I do not shy away from using everything from a cereal box, to a Pringles container to put the present in before I wrap it. It actually brings back childhood memories for me because my parents did this with our difficult-to-wrap-presents. Mom and dad would always jokingly exclaim “It’s a toaster!” or “We thought you’d want a box of diapers! Ha ha” and we’d all laugh as we hurriedly opened the box to find what was really inside. 

Anyway, once you have your box wrapped you are going to want to dress it up a bit. 

I have already shown these Trader Joe’s wrapped presents adorned with twine, greenery, and photo gift tags.

This year I changed it up with my first ever attempt at crafting with duct tape. I must admit, I think I’m hooked. 

I used this tutorial for the bow and just modified it by adding ribbons at the end. 

I also used the photo gift tags again. The ones that I shared about last week. 

Side note. I was thrilled to get see this message on Facebook today that said “Thanks for the great gift tag idea! Love your blog 🙂 ” 

I love whipped cream. I would go as far as to say that I am notorious for my love of whipped cream. I am the kind of girl that will send a drink a drink back if it is lacking this garnish. I am timid and apologetic when I do so, but I will step out of my comfort zone and take action in every instance that this topping is missing. It embarrasses my husband, but I am that passionate about it.

A few years ago when I first started Pinterest I saw this idea to freeze cool whip and then use cookie cutters to create shapes to plop on top of your hot cocoa. I thought it was a fabulous way to add a little flare to something I already adored. It’s really easy to do and kids love it! My only complaint is that it takes up a lot of freezer space so be prepared for that if you want to give this thing a shot.

All you need is a tub of cool whip and some cookie cutters that are the desired shaped AND small enough to fit in a coffee mug.

First off you will spread the cool whip about 2 inches thick along a cookie sheet. Then cover it with saran wrap and place it in the freezer until completely frozen solid (preferably over night).
Once that’s done you just cut the shapes out like cookies and place it in your hot chocolate or drink of choice.

Take a photo because that’s the only thing that is going to last with this little embellishment. Much like the snow cream recipe I shared yesterday, the cool whip melts fast so you have to be ready to complete the whole process quickly once you get going.

Lastly, I recommended adding a candy cane as a stir stick because it’s cute and it adds nice flavor to the beverage.

That’s all there is to it. It doesn’t have to be a Christmas treat, but it is nice to try around this time of year because it is so festive. If you are looking to show off to friends at a party, entertain kids over Christmas break, or even just treat yourself to a cup of cheer, this cookie cutter whipped topping is sure to do the trick.

Snow days rank VERY high as one of my favorite moments of childhood. I didn’t even discover snow cream until middle school when I lived in Atlanta. My best friend’s grandmother made it for us on one of those rare Georgia snow days. It was love at first taste for me! I had kind of forgotten about the tradition after spending many of the following years in Texas where snow was even more rare. However since moving to Ohio I get to experience the joy of snow days again . Only now I watch my children light up at the idea of an impromptu day off of school due to the fun weather conditions. That’s when it hit me that I had to introduce them to the magic of ice cream made of snow!

I know some of you are thinking. Uh, snow? Like from the outside world? That’s gross. I am not eating that? Well, the idea is to get fresh fallen snow inches off of the ground, not some stuff that’s been around all day and starting to get the muddy grey hue. If you still can’t handle that, fine. No snow cream for you!

Anyway, here is the recipe.

You will need:
8 cups of snow
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Gather approximately 8 cups of freshly fallen snow.

Add milk, sugar, vanilla extract (or any other flavor from mint, to almond, to orange), and snow to a large bowl. 

Mix gently until the flavors are blended.

Work swiftly, but gently, and do not over mix because it will melt or turn to slush! In fact if you are more concerned with consistency over flavor pack on more snow. That’s how I was able to achieve the double scoop. Ta Da!

 Finally, garnish with the toppings of choice and enjoy! 

We’ve made it in bowls with sprinkles

or put it into little ice cream cones.

We’ve used vanilla, or almond extract and there has definitely been whipped topping involved on occasion. I know it’s just sugary ice mixture, but it’s SNOW! It’s magical. Seriously, what could be more fun than eating an limited edition ice cream delivered from the sky? It makes me think of that scene from cloudy with a chance of meatballs.

Maybe my children will someday look back on the memory of their mom going out in her clunky boots with a measuring cup and a giant mixing bowl to gather freshly fallen snow in front of the whole neighborhood. Maybe they’ll think that I was crazy, but either way I hope they’ll think of snow days with same kind of nostalgia I do. I hope it always makes them smile.

For day 1 of my 12 pinnacle days of Christmas I am sharing my favorite Christmas cookie. 
Everyone needs to try this recipe! 

Their photo is so much prettier than mine. Sorry, I didn’t have time to pull out my SLR and arrange a photo session this time. 

I first discovered it from Six Sisters’ Stuff via pinterest. They are so easy to make. I have the recipe memorized because it only takes 4 ingredients. 

Immediately place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie and spread it around as the mint melts. 

* I tried using Godiva chocolate squares and that was really delicious too. I even used the kind with raspberry filling, so if mint isn’t your thing you can modify with just about any chocolate candy. 

I have also made these cookies using Andes Holiday Squares, which I found at the grocery store.

 It just made the cookies that much more festive. 

You can use the holiday candy version to create the chocolate frosting, shown on the left in the photo below. Or if wait and let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes then you can place the chocolate on top and just push it down on the sides with a spoon to leave the decorative design shown on the right.

I have brought these cookies to parties, given them away as gifts with recipe included (that was a hit), and just made them for myself, because why not? 

That’s my favorite Christmas Cookie recipe, and you can also find it over at GraceTable.org for the virtual Christmas Cookie exchange.  

What’s your favorite Christmas Cookie? 

Remember when I threw together this 4th of July e-card at the last minute?