Baking my first batch of Christmas cookies for this season, Almond Wafers with lots of green food coloring and sprinkles and red sugar. The Christmas music baking playlist includes Relient K, MercyMe, Third Day, and Owl City.

Merry Christmas!

SnowAngel

I like to start decorating the day after Thanksgiving, a mix of colored and white lights, we don't have a tree at all because we have 6 cats(but when we did, I preferred real trees), I like to listen to Celtic Woman's Home For Christmas and John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album, as well as watch the two Red Green Christmas episodes. One of the traditions that was started with Christmas with my dad's family is that we get to open one present on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas Day. I tried making WAAAAAAAAAAY too many goodies last year and it was kind of a disaster. Three or four kinds of cookies, which all required different baking temps and times, homemade candied orange peel(which is a 3 day process or so), and I can't remember if I even attempted my usual fudge. And trying to find places to decorate and then store all the cookies was another nightmare. So this year I'm just sticking to my candy cane fudge. Can't go wrong with fudge

Oh and we don't usually celebrate Advent, and my favorite food is whatever I don't have to cook or clean up after.

Beings that you live a farming life, you probably don't have this option Kalta, but a few years ago when I went on Holiday baking sprees, I'd just send all of the extra goodies into work with my husband. Now that I have kids though, the option of making insane amounts of goodies is no longer there. But we did make our first batch of Christmas cookies the other day. It was a chocolate cookie with mint and chocolate chips. Pretty tasty!

I think we're the only people in the world that decorate in tiny steps. We did get our outdoor lights up this year (I don't think we managed that last year), and our tree is up and has lights on it. But that's as far as we've gotten. I still need to get my Nativity up, which is my favorite decoration. The angel is the tree topper. And we should probably put more stuff on the tree as it's looking a bit bare.

We only have one cat right now, but of all the cats that have come and gone, we've never had any bother our tree. But we did rearrange the furniture in the living room as a blockade so the baby can't get into it.

The last thing I still want to do is get the kids advent story going. We're several days behind, but that's ok because the first several days just talk about the animals in the stable but I can't find the story. So I just have the felt figurines. I guess I'll just have to make it up as I go.

Our cats when Kingskid and I were younger often got into the tree (to the point my parents had to tie it to the wall with fishing line). But our current cat, Pumpkin, prefers hiding beneath the tree and has never tried climbing it that we're aware of.

Not so much Christmas cookies as birthday cookies, but I did bake some classic chocolate chip cookies the other day for my wife's birthday. I had the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack playing in the background while I worked, and I felt very festive.

My new favorite Christmas album is Josh Garrels' The Light Came Down. He has the whole thing up on his YouTube channel, and I've listened to it a lot this year. I need to purchase a copy sometime.

We traditionally decorate on the day after Thanksgiving - partly because if we don't do it then, it doesn't really get done in any sort of timely manner or at all. As it is, we meant to put more ornaments on the tree this year but ran out of time that day, so it remains a bit barren. We usually put up a tree and then string up some lights or garlands or whatever else we find in the boxes (and then festoon whatever is around). We've done pretty well these past few years finding a nativity to put out - even if the camel's head is missing and several other animals are less drastically disfigured.

Sadly, I haven't made any Christmas cookies so far. But one of my coworkers is doing a "Twelve Days of Christmas Treats" - she's been bringing in a new tasty treat every day this week and plans to continue through her last twelve working days before Christmas. One of my coworkers joked that it more like the "Twelve Pounds of Christmas", but no one is complaining.

My usual Christmas trappings are largely absent this year - a real tree, my box of decorations that date back to my parents' 1950s ones and a nice collection from various places and times, plenty of Christmas carols and songs played from CDs on my stereo or in the car, and planning at least one meal at my home - preferably out on the deck on the outdoor furniture, with a sun umbrella up. I get to visit friends, enjoy special events, and especially take part in special Christmas services at church.

This year I am in the north of England, do not have my own home trappings, not even any Christmas music, and it is cold, dark between 4pm and 8 am, and I can't travel across town easily because I haven't got a car here.
I am appreciating emailed newsletters and daily devotionals from the local church, another set from the Bible Society, and living in a Christian's home.
I am starting to enjoy spotting decorations and fun little Christmas gifts that I can share with workmates and friends here.

I have been waiting for this thread since before Thanksgiving, I love Christmas and everything about the season.

Tell Me What You Want For Christmas? Splinter Cell: Conviction and Call of Duty 1 for the Xbox 360, 1 TB portable hard drive, more BRCC everything , colored ultra fine Sharpies, Keep Holding On by Melissa Tagg, and every book by Ronie Kendig that I don't already own.

Do you celebrate Advent? Definitely. We don't have a tradition Advent wreath with candles this year, instead the candles are in a row down the middle of the dining room table. Our felt Advent calender is in the hallway and the younger kids couldn't wait for it to go up on the first of December. The calender has certainly seen better days, but we still love it. We also have a book for Advent, but I forgot what the name of it is.

When do you decorate? The day after Thanksgiving: the Christmas village goes in the family room, greenery all over on the bookcases and fireplace mantle, mini trees with lights in a couple of the bedrooms, and the Christmas tree in the living room decorated top to bottom. The Christmas tree is the last thing we decorate and we follow it with making fudge with nuts on top.

Favorite songs? Too many, but my very favorite favorites are What Child Is This?, O Holy Night, Born In Bethlehem (by Third Day), and Immanuel (by Michael Card).

Favorite music album? Top three in order: Christmas Offerings by Third Day, The Promise by Michael Card, and Christmas: God With Us by Jeremy Camp

Favorite movies? The Nativity Story, We're No Angels, Stalag 17, Miracle on 34th Street, It's Wonderful Life, The Toy That Saved Christmas (Veggietales), and more recently Finding Father Christmas and Engaging Father Christmas.

Favorite books? One Shenandoah Winter by Davis Bunn, Pony Express Christmas by Sigmund Brouwer, and of course The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Favorite traditions? The Advent calender, making fudge after all the decorating is done, making sugar cookies, starting Christmas music in October.... Oh, and a big chocolate bar in our stockings. We have the cutest picture of one of my brothers with his chocolate bar on Christmas morning, so happy and messy.

Favorite foods or recipes? Sugar cookies! And fudge! My sister found a new fudge recipe that's actually healthy and tastes good.

Colored or white lights? I loved colored lights, but since last year the tree lights were colored, this year they're white.

Real or fake Christmas tree? Sadly it's fake, but for a fake tree it does look pretty good and it will be up into the new year.

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? One gift on Christmas Eve, usually something to wear on Christmas Day, and the rest of the gifts are Christmas morning starting with the stockings.

I'm almost done with my Christmas gift shopping and all the gifts I have already I wrapped today.

Way back in the day there were 25 questions in the Christmas thread, does anyone remember what the other questions were?

SnowAngel

Well, tonight we went to the women's Advent by Candlelight event the Catholic church in our area puts on every year. I know what an Advent wreath is now

Oh and I didn't notice the "what you want for Christmas" question, it was in red and the others were in purple(almost like Advent candles if the red were lighter). I also would like another 1TB external storage drive, my current one is just about full. Also gift certificates to Lehman's, Baker Creek, Raintree Nursery, Territorial Seed, Vermont Country Store, Steam(gaming store), a ravioli rolling pin, a clean kitchen, and for a real winter with plenty of snow.

Yesterday I baked Christmas Sugar cookies and my siblings and parents decorated them. I had planned to bake on Monday, but after I had everything prepped and the butter in the mixer I discovered there was less than a cup of white sugar in the whole house. Hard to bake cookies without white sugar. We had a lot of fun, used a ton of sprinkles or at least I used a ton of sprinkles, enjoyed drinking BRCC Just Decaf coffee, and listening to my Christmas playlist.

SnowAngel

Oh, I've been there too many times to count...start trying to cook something, then realize...um, wait...where is (missing ingredient)?

Haven't we all? And the worst time is Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Day because the stores are CLOSED! Ahhhh!

This year, my husband and I are doing something silly... we're trying out a couple "classic" Christmas recipes, just for fun. I suspect there's a reason they've gone by the wayside, but I'm making Figgy Pudding and he's making Fruit Cake. I'll let you all know if anybody eats either of them.

On a much more serious cooking note, I also plan to make my stuffing again, even though I don't think anybody is making turkey...it's just that good. And then also some Chocolate Peppermint Cream pies. Anything Chocolate and Peppermint = the holiday season in my book.

This week begins my giftwrapping frenzy. I've got a couple things wrapped for my husband already so he doesn't accidentally run across his gift, but there's still everything else to go. Going to be a busy week, but I don't have anything else going on besides one Christmas party tomorrow night.

What made the lack of white sugar even "funnier", my parents were out of town for a couple of days and my older sister and I were babysitting the younger siblings, I kept thinking of the part in Farmer Boy when Almanzo's parents left and they ate all the white sugar. Only we didn't actually eat the white sugar, we hadn't gotten it on the last grocery list.

Tomorrow, one of my younger sisters is planning to make gingerbread, never made it before. It will interesting to see how it turns out.

Mmmm, Chocolate and Peppermint, two of my favorite flavors. I really want to try peppermint wafers and dipped them in chocolate for some totally over the top cookies. I have made this wafer recipe ( https://bakingamoment.com/homemade-vanilla-wafers/ ) twice with almond flavoring (not don't have vanilla right now) with great success.

There are gifts everywhere at our house, I am currently sitting at my desk and I have several wrapped gifts stacked on the top of the desk. It's very festive, and this way no one can try to peek at them. Not that anyone in my family would try to peek at an already wrapped gift.

SnowAngel

Chocolate Peppermint Cream pies? Ooooooooooooooooooooooo.....

I do a chocolate cream pie in a chocolate graham crust and peppermint whipped cream. Oh, and I sprinkle andes mint on top.