Reindeer and Gingerbread Men ~

Hello there! I hope this monday morning finds you warm and well. I do believe we are getting over all our sickness around here. :o) We stayed warm and cozy by the fire this weekend and watched all the christmas movies on t.v. that we could find. It was relaxing and great. The kids and i got out some paint and made some christmas memories. I love making things with my kids hand and foot prints. We make cards, ornaments, paintings, coffee mugs and t-shirts or pretty much anything i can think of to put their precious prints on. This year i wanted some canvas paintings to hang around the house for christmas time. And what perfect way to paint reindeer using feet and hands. :o) They turned out so cute. Feet for the head...hands for the antlers and thumb print for their red noses. Little girl was so proud of her reindeer. And i am too. I will have this to look at and remember their sweet little hands for years to come. I also wrote their names and ages under each deer but i took this picture before i did that.


Next up we baked up some gingerbread men ornaments.

I used a simple salt dough recipe. And hung them up on the dinning room table tree.

And yes...i'm still having to tell little girl that these are ornaments....not REAL cookies. But i still find her on the table several times a day trying her hardest to eat them. If you have never made salt dough ornaments....here is the recipe.....

SALT DOUGH ORNAMENTS

What you need:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Straw

Varnish (found at hobby lobby)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.Mix flour and salt well. Gradually add water, stirring with a large spoon. Finish mixing with hands. Knead until soft and pliable.
3.Roll out on floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheets. With a toothpick make a hole in the top of the ornament for threading string. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) until hard, about 1 hour. Decorate with paint and varnish to preserve.

Now i substituted 1 cup of flour and used 1 cup of cocoa. Why cocoa? Cause i wanted them to be brown gingerbread men and i didn't have a cup of Cinnamon to use so i used cocoa. It worked great and the house smelled like chocolate! If you have a cup of Cinnamon and want to use
it....just substitute for 1 cup of flour.

This is probably the last post i will have before the holidays. Just to much going on for the next few weeks. I have several things to get ready for. Christmas, Our 11 year anniversary, New Years and little girls 3rd Birthday party! WHEW! So i just want to wish everyone SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! Fill your bellies with good food and egg nog...enjoy your family and relax.

xoxoxo