My Awesome December Checklist

December means Christmas.

Christmas is awesome.

Also, Christmas is overwhelming.  Just look at my Christmas Pinterest Board!  There are not enough hours in a year, let alone a single month, to accomplish all of the cute crafts, clever DIY gifts, and fun decorating ideas that I find!

To keep from getting overwhelmed, and because I just like lists a lot, I decided to make a December Checklist, and put on there the events and activities that are my highest priority.  That way, I won't get distracted by all the other stuff.  If I just get this stuff done by December 23rd, I'll be doing great and December will be so much fun!  (I didn't include Christmas Eve/Christmas Day stuff.  That's a whole other list!)

My Awesome December Checklist

1)  Go look at Christmas lights.

Our family takes this way more serious than most.  We don't just drive around looking at lights.  We put award certificates in the mailboxes of the houses we like best.

We make up the titles as we go, and each year we love coming up with new awards like, "Best use of Marine Life in a Christmas display" or ""Most Likely to be Seen from Space."  Of course, we have the standards like, "The Santa Claus is Coming to Town Award" for a great Santa display, and "The Silent Night Award" for a beautiful nativity display.  This is one of our favorite Christmas activities, and we've been doing it for years.  We even have a facebook group that award winners can join.  It's so much fun!

2)  Make lots of cookies.

I love making Christmas cookies.  I even have a Santa Claus apron!

I did a blog post last year about some of my favorite Christmas cookies, and I'm looking forward to trying some new ones this year, too!  They make great gifts, and are always a hit at parties!

3)  Go to a walk-through nativity.

My mom's church does this every year, and it's awesome.  It's usually ridiculously cold, but it doesn't matter, 'cause we just get all bundled up.

Plus, at the end, you get cookies and hot chocolate, which is extra fun.  There are tons of churches that do this kind of thing, so if you're not near here, I'm sure you could find one online.

4)  Go to a family Christmas event.

There are tons and tons of options in this category.  We like to go to our local Zoolight Safari, where the zoo puts up over a million lights and they do special night events.  It's really fun, and since Cricket is all about lights right now, I can't wait to see her reaction!

But like I said, that's just one option.  There are parades, tree lightings, outdoor ice skating rinks, and lots of other fun family events to choose from.  Our local historic theater shows Christmas movies during December, and I know that's a lot of fun, too.

5)  Go to a Christmas concert.

Our church always does a Christmas concert night where the children's choir (adorable) and the adult choir (inspirational) perform, and then we have a huge potluck.  (I love living in the South.)  Almost every church does some kind of musical cantata or concert, and so do the symphonies and local children's choir, so it's easy to find something.  Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit like listening to Christmas music!

6)  Listen to Christmas music until I hear it in my sleep.

Speaking of Christmas music...my goal every year is to completely submerse myself in Christmas music at all waking moments to the point where I am singing them in my sleep.  In the car, in the house, when I sing to Cricket, it's gotta be Christmas music!  Look for a post about my favorite Christmas music coming soon!

7)  Read Christmas books.

Brian and I read Dickens' A Christmas Carol every year out loud together.  I cannot recommend this enough.  If you do nothing else on this list, do this.  I love this book so much.  And it's funny, because I'm not really a huge Dickens fan, but this one is just pure gold.  It's hilarious and sarcastic and witty and sweet and interesting, all in turn.  Read it!

Also, I have been slowly accumulating some Christmas books for Cricket, like The Grinch and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  She has loved having all these new and interesting books to read.

8)  Do a Christmas kids' craft.

To quell my desire to do every single Pinterest Christmas craft, I have decided to just pick one, (ok, maybe two) and have fun with it.  I got some foam stickers to do a craft with our playgroup, and I'll probably do one more just with Cricket.  Plus, we'll do one at the library storytime, so we're in no danger of missing out in the craft department.

9)  Watch Christmas movies.

We haven't really let Cricket start watching TV yet, so this is for the grownups.  I have been slowly collecting Christmas movies for ten years, now.  I have all the good ones.  The Grinch is my favorite to watch over and over, and A Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite Christmas movie ever, but it's special and we save it to watch on Christmas Eve each year.

10)  Go to at least one party.

Of course, there will be lots of parties, but I put "at least one" so that it doesn't become a weird Christmas Pokemon game of "gotta catch all the parties."  One is enough, two is great, three is fun, and much more than that becomes stressful in a hurry.  We do our big party at Halloween, so we don't try to throw one ourselves.  I try to just pick a few that my friends are throwing and really enjoy them.

11)  Stare at the lights on the tree in the dark.

This is one of my favorite things about the Christmas season.  Turning off all the lights except the Christmas lights, drinking hot chocolate, listening to Christmas music, and curling up on the couch to watch the lights.  So peaceful and beautiful.

12)  Go on a date.

It's easy to get so busy during December that you barely even speak to your family.  I know we already  have one week this month where we are out of the house five nights in a row!  I didn't want to forget to spend some time with Brian, so I included this in my list.  Our plan is to go see The Hobbit when it comes out, but even just getting coffee or window shopping would be nice.

13)  Do random acts of kindness.

It just doesn't feel like Christmas without this.  If you've never gone through a drive through and anonymously paid for the person behind you, you should try it.  It will make you downright giddy.  When we were little, my mom, my sister, and I would take hot chocolate to the guys working at the Christmas tree lot when we got our tree, because they're usually freezing out there!  I've also seen ideas on Pinterest for "ding dong ditching" your neighbors and leaving a plate of cookies or a small gift on their door step.  There are lots more ideas, but it doesn't take much to get you (and someone else) in the Christmas spirit!

14)  Pictures with Santa.

Last year we went to Bass Pro Shop to get a free picture with Santa, and it was great, but I learned something very important.  GO EARLY!  Do not wait until the Saturday before Christmas to do this.  You will wait in line for two hours and your baby will poop all over her adorable Christmas outfit.  Trust me.  (Good thing I brought a spare outfit just in case!)

15)  Do a Christmas service project.

Some of my favorite Christmas service projects are Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child, and Heifer International.  This year, we also have an opportunity through our church to man a gift wrapping table at the mall to raise money for a local girl's shelter, so that will be awesome.   Service projects are a great way to adjust my perspective and keep from getting too focused on myself.  (This goes for all months of the year, btw.)

I can think of a bajillion  more things I would like to do, but I'm trying to be realistic.  Also, I didn't put decorating the house or the tree on there because I think that's kind of a given.  So is drinking hot chocolate.  :o)

Anyway, here's a nifty graphic with my checklist on it.  What's on yours?

Awesome Christmas Party Ideas

I love throwing parties.

I absolutely love throwing Christmas parties.

As we end our week of Christmas in July here at How to Be Awesome at Everything, here are some great ideas for Christmas parties, most of which I got from Pinterest.  As usual, links are in the titles.

Christmas-Shaped Mini Pizzas

This was a big hit a few years ago.  I used cookie cutters to cut out pizza crust into Christmas shapes and baked it before hand.  

Then everyone got to put whatever toppings they wanted on their pizzas, and we threw them back in the oven for a few minutes.

The only thing I didn't like about this was that it required more "hands on" participation from me, getting pizzas in and out of the oven, than I generally prefer while hosting a party.  Still, it was super cute and everyone loved it.

Candy Cane Punch and Rimmed Glasses

This punch recipe is fantastic, 

and for one party I used gel writers (they never work on cakes anyway) around the rim of the glasses before dipping them in crushed candy cane.  Not gonna lie, that was a lot of extra effort, but it looked really cool and it was a hit, so I call it a success.  The punch has now become a tradition at my Christmas parties, although I don't usually do the glasses.

Truffles

I actually had this truffle recipe already, and it super easy.   It's just semi-sweet chocolate mixed with cream cheese for the middle, and then dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.  Yum!

Funfetti Dip

This was not as big a hit as I had hoped.  You make it using Funfetti cake mix, (I used the Christmas version so it had red and green sprinkles) and you mix it with yogurt, cream cheese, and a few other things.  

I liked it, but it gets old after a while, and people who don't like yogurt won't like it at all.  Plus, you use like, three Tablespoons of Funfetti mix, and then what are you supposed to do with the rest of it?

Yup.  You eat it with a spoon.  That's what I thought.

Hot Chocolate Bar

Last year, our Halloween party theme was "Party at the North Pole," so a lot of the things we did there would work great for a Christmas party, too.  We set up a hot chocolate bar with peppermint marshmallows, candy cane stir sticks, and cool whip.  We also had coffee, tea, and cider.

Plus, I found these adorable snowman marshmallows at Walmart!

Doughnut Snowmen

These were awesome because who doesn't like powdered doughnuts?  They weren't hard to make (it's just doughnuts, icing, and candy corn) and they looked super cute.

Frito Taco Salads

We labeled the Frito bags as "reindeer feed bags" and let everyone put whatever taco toppings they wanted into the bag.  They could dump the bags onto a plate or just eat straight out of the bag!  

You can see in the picture that we also did a "Christmas tree" stack of sandwich wraps, white cheddar cheese puffs as "snowballs" and some fruit, cheese, and nuts as more "reindeer food."

Cookies and Milk

I've already talked about how awesome Christmas cookies are, and everyone loves them at a party.  We just put a pitcher in a big bowl of ice, filled the pitcher with milk, and had a "cookies and milk" station.   Easy and fun!

Game

We played this game at our last party and it was a lot of fun.  Simple, easy, and hilarious.  People basically follow directions to draw a "Christmas scene" on a paper plate, but the plate is on top of their head.  Points are based on how accurate the pictures are (the stocking can't touch the fire because that's a hazard!).  It's cute and fun.

Decorations

Usually, the normal Christmas decorations are enough for us, but last year when we did our North Pole Halloween party, we cranked it up a little bit.  We were still on a budget, so even though it looks like we went all-out, it was actually very cheap to do.

This was our "photo op" area.  A "North Pole" made out of a piece of PVC pipe and some red duct tape, our Christmas tree, of course, and an igloo made out of a tent frame and some white sheets.  We hung a white sheet behind it and a banner from Walmart.

We hung snowflakes from the ceiling, used some of my school bulletin board cut outs on the walls, and covered everything with white sheets and/or fake snow.

We made the Aurora Borealis in the hallway using cut-up plastic table cloths and colored Christmas tree lights.  Also, we hung coats, scarves, gloves, etc. on hooks down the hall.

Brian made an awesome sign for the kitchen.

Of course, you don't have to decorate quite so extensively for your Christmas party.  Just remember to light a cozy fire in the fireplace and welcome your guests with a smile.

Have a Merry Christmas in July, y'all.

Click here for Part 1:  DIY Christmas Presents

Click here for Part 2:  Awesome Christmas Cookies

How to Be Awesome at Patriotic Desserts: Part 2

Two years ago, I did this post about awesome patriotic desserts.  I love making desserts for the Fourth of July because they are always for fun, festive occasions with friends and family.  They are always pretty primary colors, and they always taste amazing!  So here are some more ideas for awesome treats you can take with you to wherever you're going this July 4th.

You can never go wrong with a classic layered dessert.

It combines the colors of Independence Day with the fresh fruit and light cool sweetness of summer.  I just bought an angel food cake already made, tore it up, and layered it with berries and Cool Whip.  So easy, and yet, delicious.

If you want something a little less "healthy" and a little more "ice cream-y," try this one.

I didn't originally make this one for the Fourth of July, but all you need to do is change the color of the sprinkles and it would fit right in at the barbecue!  This is a semi-homemade ice cream cake, and it is way easier than you think.  The recipe is here.

Basically, it is layers of stacked ice cream sandwiches with a hot fudge layer in the middle, frosted with Cool Whip, and drizzled with more hot fudge and sprinkles.

Stop it.  You're drooling on your keyboard.

It's super easy to make, though, and would be a hit for a Fourth of July Party.

Last but not least, here's another one that is also way easier than it seems.

Here's the recipe.  It is a "cake" made out of layers of Graham crackers, Cool Whip, and strawberries, with chocolate chips or melted chocolate drizzled on top.  When you let it sit for a while, the Graham crackers absorb the moisture and it has the consistency of cake. Throw some blueberries on top and it's as all-American as a baked bald eagle!

So what are you making this Fourth of July?

*UPDATE*  Here is a picture of the strawberry Graham cracker cake, this time with patriotic decorations!  I thought about just sprinkling the berries around, but I can't NOT make a flag!

How to Be Awesome at Decorating a Cake

A while ago, I asked my very talented sister-in-law to teach me how to decorate a cake.  She makes really pretty ones, and I was on a Cake Wrecks binge at the time, so it seemed like a fun thing to try.  I had a Halloween party coming up, so we decided that I would learn by working with her on a cake for our party!

The party was an "Under the Sea" theme, so I found some pictures online of cool cakes with sea creatures on them.  I liked the ones that kind of had a cartoon-type feel, like this one.

Source

I used it as a model, but I also got a few ideas from other pictures I found.

We got together to make the decorations out of fondant.  If you don't know what fondant is, it's what makes all those super-decorated cakes look so amazing.  I also happen to think it is delicious, but I only know one or two other people who agree with me, so apparently that's weird.

We used white fondant that comes in packages.  You can make your own, but we didn't this time.  The first thing we had to do is color it, which you do by putting drops of food coloring in the middle of your blob and kneading it with your hands until it is mixed.

Once the colors were mixed, the fun began!  Turns out, making fondant decorations is pretty much like playing with play dough, except your hands don't get as salty, and if you eat it, you don't gag.  That makes it pretty awesome.

My only problem was that I have the artistic abilities of a four-year-old, so my fondant decorations looked like something actually made out of play dough.

He is kinda cute, though.

With Melissa's help, I was able to make several sea creatures and decorations, including a creepy disembodied octopus head that we would attach to its arms when we got it on the cake.

See that picture?  You see those ones that look way better than the other ones?  She did those.

I had to leave early that day, so she did a bunch more on her own that actually look like something you would pay money for and not something made in a Fun Factory.

Check out that fish!  So cool!

The day before the party, we finally put it all together on an actual cake.  Melissa also taught me some tips for icing the cake to make it look prettier, like using a wet knife to smooth out the frosting, making the frosting look like waves using a big icing knife.  It was neat!

We put brown sugar around the bottom edge to look like sand, which turned out to be as cute as I'd hoped.  Look at that little crab guy.  He looks so happy in his natural habitat!

All in all, it turned out pretty well.

Front

Back

We offset the top layer by pushing it to the back of the bottom layer so we would have room for some of the decorations to sit.  My parts still look a little amateur to me, but mixed in with hers, it looks like it might even have been on purpose.  Awesome by association!  I'll take it!

More recently, I decided to make the smash cake for Cricket's first birthday.  Here is the picture I found on Pinterest to use as my inspiration.

Source

...and here's how it turned out.

Yeah.  I've still got a ways to go.