A lot of HO HO HO!

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.  

Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known…...

ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

On another note……we made and I can honestly say WE….

made a lot of candy and gift baskets to take to neighbors and friends on Saturday…it was so much fun…and so much work!

Huhoney was very careful and did such a great job making pretzel clusters.  He actually makes them better than me! I am such a slob when I cook! 

 

 

 

He laid them out ever so carefully and sprinkled just the right amount of red and green on them!

 

 

 

I made lots and lots of cashew peanut brittle, roasted peanut brittle, and yummy delicious (a whole 1 lb. of butter) for one batch of English Toffee…oh so good! You can’t just eat ONE PIECE!

It is all very SINFUL stuff here folks.  I also did 4 batches of white chocolate covered popcorn!  OHHHH so good, forgot to take a pic of that…

and ohhh yes, least we not forget the fudge.  Lots and lots of fudge!

 

 

Ummm here…have a bite!

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t believe the mess I made and on Monday after I came home from work, the house was SPIT SPOT clean!  Boy I am a lucky girl!

What in the world are you doing Huhoney? “Oh I just had to water down the grass and shrubs, I put some special stuff on them…” hmm is that why the grass is so green and beautiful in Dec?  He never stops!  Did I happen to mention I am a lucky girl???

Huhoney even put the treats in little cute Christmas bags then filled the baskets with oranges and apples.

Forgot to take a pic of them too LOL.  PHEW well that’s done until next Christmas…it sure was fun!

Did I mention I was a lucky girl….Nah

BLESSED!

Hats, hats, and more hats….

I haven’t felt very productive this Christmas.  I don’t know why because after laying these cutie pie hats out on a table, I have been productive, just not in the traditional sort of way and making all the candy I usually do.  Maybe this weekend.  My sisters daughter about a month or so ago mentioned she was going to crochet hats…well that gave me an idea and pretty soon one hat became A LOT OF HATS, three of which not shown already sold. ($7) YES I am crazy……after checking Target and Wal-Mart I am crazy, and these are sooo much more adorable! now I can’t stop!  When I am sitting at night on the couch watching a little tv and relaxing, I have to be crocheting or I feel like I am wasting precious time doing nothing!  So this is what has been happening…I can usually do a hat a night.  Each one is a little different and although most of them are already spoken for, I am going to have to start making duplicates because I LOVE THEM ALL and don’t want to give them up! LOL CRAZY HUH!  so…if ever you are in need of a hat, just ask the HAT CRAZY LADY!  I think I will continue making them until I am completely SICK of doing so and maybe by next year…I will have like a HUNDRED of them.  Maybe I will make a little extra Christmas stash cash!

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I love this white one, because the yarn is so soft and sparkly!

then there is the brown and peach another favorite and the white and purple and black and red and brown and pink!

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The black and red is also a favorite but the last one I make for my teenage granddaughter the 2nd on of the last bunch is so cute! It looks red but it is a dark cranberry color. ummm so cute!

YES I have been busy I guess, now for the CANDY! another favorite thing to do!  I will have to blast the house with Christmas music on Saturday and get BUSY!

Done

The halls are decked the tree is up, Huhoney went way out of his way this year to bring back the sparkle that has been missing in the Higgins (Griswald's) house for the past 2 years. I use to call him “my Sparky” when we lived in the country. You could see our house from miles away because the sky would be lit up hehehe. He told me the other day that we actually had 7 THOUSAND lights on our house at one time folks. There may not be 7 thousand lights on this house, but there is always next year! YEP, “Sparky” knows how to light up my life! I have a feeling he misses it too, so Huhoney brought back the lights.

I love my tree this year! We gave away our little 6 foot tree and replaced it with a 9 foot tree, then I HAD to go out and get MORE ornaments and filler and “stuff”! The tree was soooo….empty!

But it looks beautiful now, thanks to good ole “Michaels” and “Ti-Pan Trading”.

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Huhoney went a hunting one day and found some OLD barn wood and built me a wonderful OLD looking manger to set my nativity in. I put little tiny lights in it and tiny bales of hay and now it looks, more like a nativity…. I just wish my camera could capture how pretty it really is, but each shot came out blurry. (sigh) I love the nativity I got several years ago from a book store, I have never had a nativity before, only as a child and it was a cut out paper nativity….

See the wooden shepherd carrying the lamb, Camille brought me this back from Jerusalem when she studied there. I can’t wait to share my poem that I wrote. There is a great story behind the writing of it too.

I count my blessing EVERY DAY. I just LOVE this time of year.

The snow globes are on display, many Santa’s that I have collected over the years as well as my mother-in-laws Christmas village.

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Snow men are my favorite! Well actually everything Christmas is my favorite! Nutcrackers, moose, and….

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This silly ole gal who brings a smile on my face each year when I bring her out….

I have replaced the southwestern plates on the wall with Christmas plates and even set the table with the Christmas dishes that Camille (my daughter-in-law) gave me several years ago. Yes, my home is back to the home that brings smiles on visitors faces when they come a calling.

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see how blurry my camera is at night, no matter what setting I put it on it will not take clear pics. Ya think it is the photographer? NAH! Even the cactus got a few lights. It will be interesting to see Huhoney take those lights off the cactus LOL.

I found these beautiful crystal candle holders at Michael’s for 50% off. I think next week they will be putting up Valentines stuff, they are moving around all the Christmas things now…sad huh….but I will be there the day after to pick up pretty sparkly things for next year! To me it is better than BLACK FRIDAY!

Yes, I very much am into the true meaning of Christmas. It is just that I LOVE how the lights the music and pretty sparkly things make me feel. Isn’t that what it is about too? How we feel?

I JUST LOVE CHRISTMAS

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree around the world

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., is decorated with 3,000 ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren. Encircling evergreens in the 'Pathway of Peace' represent the 50 U.S. states.

 

 

The world's largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy's Umbria region. Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire, the 'tree' is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

 

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo's nighttime neon display is projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

 

 

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague's Old Town Square, and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava mountains in the southern Czech Republic.

  Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox calendar on Jan. 7. For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with festivities in anticipation of Father Frost's arrival on his magical troika with the Snow Maiden.  He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall) can be found in the Pra�a do Com�rcio in Lisbon, Portugal.  Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

'Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree': Even in its humblest attire, aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany's Karwendel mountains, a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

 

 

 

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris, even the Christmas trees are chic. With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and high fashion, it's no surprise this show-stopping department store draws more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower

 

In addition to the Vatican's heavenly evergreen, St. Peter's Square in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

 

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol is dressed for a party. Madrid's two-week celebration makes millionaires along with merrymakers. On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world's biggest lottery.

 

 

 

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer, Frankfurt's city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

 

 

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

I would love to say that I have visited all of these places and taken all of these pictures but……

that would be…..fibbing

It is wonderful to see how Christmas trees are all so different and decorated so differently all around the world.

One thing they all have in common is

No matter where they are standing, the meaning is the same….

my tree….is up….and adorned too….I love it!