Last week my friend Nina and I set up a table at the Embassy Holiday Bazaar. I was pretty skeptical that we would sell much but we went into it knowing that at least we would have an afternoon out of the house to chat! A couple of months ago I was trying to get all crafty to sell crafts, it was fun but about 10 unfinished crafts into it I decided I should just focus my energies on baked goods and stocking stuffers. I thought I would include all of the recipes I used in case anyone is looking for some holiday treats or super cheap stocking stuffers!!

For the stocking stuffers I made homemade playdough…to give them a holiday twist I made 3 kinds-Cinnamon Spice, Peppermint and hot chocolate.  I used this recipe that I have shared before and I added to it food coloring (red for the cinnamon and green for peppermint) and spice or extract, cinnamon or peppermint respectively. For the cocoa playdough I used this recipe. The cocoa does the work of coloring and adding scent so no need to add anything else! I threw in a few sprinkles while I was cooking it to give it some holiday bling!

I bought a few silicone molds and made red and green sidewalk chalk…Easy, peasy and kids love it! I used this recipe for the homemade chalk.

For the baked goods I made Cranberry Orange Bread. You can find the recipe here.

And Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. You can find the recipe here. I loved this recipe because it yielded 3 loaves and with the smaller foil pans I was able to get 4 out of one recipe!

For cookies I chose to use this recipe for Pumpkin Gingersnaps that I posted earlier in the fall. I think the name is a bit decieving…they are more like pumpkin snickerdoodles.

And to top off the sweets I made Mint Oreo Truffles and regular Oreo Truffles. I used this recipe but I know there are lots out there. I actually never got to try one but they sold out first and people kept coming looking for them.

I sold out and only wished I had made more!!  And for those of you that may be rolling your eyes thinking I must be overloaded with free time…I am not!  My baking day happened to be the day I took my grandmother to the airport. We got stuck in Zurich far longer than expected and when I did get to baking Owen cheerfully stripped the bottom half of the Christmas tree and cleaned the bathroom with the toilet bowl brush.  It was a comical scene around here! So roll up your sleeves and make something festive. It’s good for the soul…even if it isn’t good for the Christmas tree!!

As excited as we are to go home I was a bit sad to miss out on the coziness and charm of Bern Christmas. The Swiss do a wonderful job with the lights, decorations and Christmas markets! I love all of fresh greenery and white lights. Last weekend we spent Saturday morning with our friends Nick and Kima at the Basel Christmas market. We didn’t buy a thing other than lunch but we enjoyed visiting and eating lunch at the market.

GIANT pretzels

Stolen!! (this picture is for my mom)

Crepes and Waffles was the name of a restaurant where we met Nick and Kima for ice cream many a Sunday afternoon…fun to see a Swiss version! Fun memories.

A couple of days ago Seth was working in a nearby town, Murten. The boys and I drove and met up with him to check out the Christmas market there.  It was much smaller than the Basel market but the setting was beautiful.

When given a choice of riding a pony or riding this piece of plastic Jackson will all conviction picked the plane. He can’t say his daddy never offered a pony ride!

We still hope to do a quick walk through of the Bern market but time is tight!

Cookie decorating this year was a family affair. Come to think of it I don’t know if Seth has ever iced cookies in our whole married life. He even got to wear an apron this yr per Jackson’s instruction! My mom was able to whip up 6 kinds of cookies when I was growing up. For us this year it is just one kind! Classic sugar cookies with bright icing and sprinkles! We have tried lots of recipes over the years but I think “The Joy of Cooking’s” Rich Rolled cookies are the best!  And this is how it went….

There was laughing and crying, messing and cleaning, and lots of sugary cookies!

ps- I am off to the Embassy bazaar to sell some baked goods and stocking stuffers!! I will let you know how it goes! My sweet friend is coming to play with the boys so I am actually going ALONE!!!  Haven’t done that in a while.

As I mentioned in my previous post about Christmas, I kept our decorations simple this year. We are going home this year to Texas (YIPEEEEEEE!) so I knew we shouldn’t do a fresh tree and knowing that I will be coming back a week into January I was hesitant to create a ton of work for myself on return!  I also wanted  the kids to catch the simplicity of it and not get distracted by chaos. We are spending time after dinner each night doing our advent calendar. Each night the boys pull a small book out of the calendar. The books are each about part of the nativity story. They also normally find a little treat whether it be a clementine or a chocolate. It’s fun having both boys old enough this year to work on developing some traditions that they will remember.

We are keeping gifts really simple this year. Each boy is getting a few things and we will probably let them pick out a gift for their brother. Most of our shopping this year was done via the internet. We have saved a few things to pick out for the boys when we are live in the US of A but most have been bought and shipped without touching them.  If you haven’t checked out Zulily.com I highly recommend it for kids and mom gifts! They carry daily deals with great markdowns and normally boutique quality! Check out my friend’s blog too if you are looking for a unique gift. She makes super cute signs on old hardwood flooring.  Confession, I bought one of Jennifer’s signs a few months ago thinking it would make a great gift. Turns out the sign loves my kitchen and makes me smile so I had to keep it! I wanted to do a post and properly introduce Jennifer…and hope to still do so…but in the meantime I wanted you to know about her signs!! Here is a peek at the one I got….I love it because it doesn’t say this is the perfect life, or the calmest, or the easiest, it says it’s “the finest kind of life”. Despite life’s ups and downs we are blessed.

A few weeks ago I realized that I wasn’t as stressed about shopping as I normally am. Seth and decided this year that instead of gifts we would spend an overnight in Dallas going back to our favorite places where we met, fell in love and spent our first year as a married couple!  I am so looking forward to our time together and I have to admit I am relieved to not be obsessing about the best gift for Seth.

Well, I am guessing you have all gotten your dose of random from me for the day! Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!