YOU ARE NEVER TO OLD FOR SANTA

My sweet great niece is almost 11 years old.  When we were at the mall she didn't want to go sit on Santa's lap and have her picture taken.

She said she is to old to believe in Santa.  WHAT!  I quickly explained one can never be to old to believe in Santa.

Well after a bit of a discussion and even a tiny bit of bribery, she agreed to go in for pictures.

As they were getting ready with taking the order and getting paid, I turned and saw Trinity and Santa were having a conversation.  So I started to click away.

I love this picture.  It isn't posed.  It isn't forced.  It's just natural.  No one knew I was taking the picture. 

It's just a girl having a chat with Santa.

Then they turned and noticed I was there.  So, the conversation stopped and they posed for a picture.

I'm not sure what they were talking about but, Santa was in a jolly mood and kept laughing.

Trinity wouldn't tell anyone what they were talking about and of course Santa wasn't going to spill the beans.

Then, I got tapped on the shoulder.  I was told it was time for them to take their professional photo.  I had to move out of the way.

I'm not sure what happened that night.  But, I think Trinity finally believed me that you really are never to old to sit and have a chat with Santa.

THE PARTY WAS LOTS OF FUN

I love to throw parties for my girl scout troop.  So, Christmas time was a perfect reason to throw a party. 

Last year our theme was Gingerbread.  This year I went with Christmas Penguins. 

It wasn't that easy to find cute Christmas Penguin table decor.  So, I went to Etsy.  I found Frog Prince Paperie and lots of cute items to download.

The table was set and looked cute.  I didn't go overboard like I often like to do.  We only had a short time together so I kept it simple.

This guy was our little mascot. 

We ate dinner that we had brought in from a wonderful family owned restaurant.

After eating the girls made some darling ornaments to hang on their tree at home.

The girls in my troop love to do crafts so the ornaments was a lot of fun for them to do.

After crafts they did a gift exchange with each other.

I brought gifts for the girls and put them in these darling felt sacks.  I was going to send them home with the girls but they really wanted to open them up at the party.  Of course, I gave in and let them have them.

The sacks were full of cute little things.  All with the Christmas penguin theme.

For dessert, we had cupcakes, peppermint ice cream and a star shaped sugar cookie.

The girls went home, full, happy and loaded down with gifts. 

It was a fun time and lots of memories were made.  Now I need to decide what next years theme will be.  Any ideas?

YOU BETTER BE GOOD OR YOU WILL GET COAL FOR CHRISTMAS

Growing up I was always told that you had to be good or Santa would bring you nothing but Coal.

Well that was enough to scare any little kid into being good.  So, for years and years, I would be on my best behavior out of fear of getting coal rather then toys from Santa.

Well, the other day, my sister came over and brought me a bag of "coal" saying she thought I was being naughty and Santa asked her to give this to me.

My heart skipped a beat.  What!  Santa really did give coal to naughty girls and boys.

I sat the bag aside.  I didn't want to be reminded that I was not as good as I thought I had been.

Then I thought I should face the music and check out just what this coal is all about. 

Well, I noticed you could unwrap the coal.  So, I did.  Low and behold, it was yummy candy inside. 

So yummy in fact that I'm now going out of my way to be a bit naughty so Santa will bring me more.

I no longer have any fears of getting "coal" for Christmas...in fact, I look forward to it.

IT WAS A COOKIE AND FUDGE KIND OF DAY

Every year I do a lot of baking for Christmas.  This year, I got started today.  My sister came over and we spent hours baking cookies and making fudge.  It was so fun.

We made Hershey's Peanut butter Blossoms.  I'm not a fan of anything peanut butter, except peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I don't like peanut butter cookies, peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter candy or anything.

But, my great niece loves peanut butter and asked if we would make these for her so we did.

They are very easy to make.  I just googled Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossoms and got the recipe.  We ended up making several batches.

Chocolate Fudge is something we always make.  It's great to give as gifts.  I like to wrap it up in cute containers and give it to my friends and neighbors.

I love nuts.  So, my fudge always has walnuts in it...unless someone requests that I leave them out.

I use the recipe on the back of Marshmallow Fluff jars.  I use 1 package milk chocolate chips and 1/2 of a bag of semi sweet chips. 

We also made several batches of Snowball cookies.  These are my favorite.  The ones shown have received their first coating of powdered sugar.  They still need the 2nd coat they get once they are completely warm.

I don't know why I never bake these at any other time but Christmas time. 

Do you have certain things you bake only for the Holidays?  I guess by not making them other times of the years it keeps them special for Christmas.

I still will bake lots more before Christmas actual is here.  What are some of your favorite cookies to make?

CHRISTMAS PENGUIN PARTY

Most of you know I'm a Girl Scout leader.  I love it.  I have the best group of girls.  They are all so fun and well behaved.

At our next meeting we are going to have our Christmas party.  Evey year we have a different theme. 

This year our theme is Christmas penguins.  I've been collecting things for this party for a year now.  Last year I already knew what I wanted to do. 

The good thing about planning early is you can stock up and buy things when you find them and you are not out rushing around trying to find stuff. 

The bad thing about planning early was, I now have more girls then I did last year.  So, I had not bought enough.  That meant I was out driving around town trying to find more of things I bought before.

Well, that didn't always work because some of the things were no longer sold in the stores.  I finally had to accept that I could either buy all new items or I could buy other items and the girls could end up with slightly different things.  Which is what I did.

It all started when I was at a thrift store last year and found the Christmas Penguin cookie jar.  I thought that would be a cute start for the table center piece.  Then I found the plates and napkins on line.  They were discontinues so I got a great deal. 

The little toys, candy and note books I found at Michael's this year.  I love the little packs of tissue.

The little stuffed animals came from Target.  The cute slipper socks were a real find at Big Lots.  I should have gotten me a pair.  What was I thinking?

I got the little penguin bowl at the Dollar Tree and the little foil wrapped pigeons at Target.

Every year I get the girls an ornament and write on the back the year and Girl Scouts so they will remember the theme of our party.  I got the ornaments at Michael's also.

The darling little snow globes came from Dollar Tree.  I bought them last year and then I was so lucky that they sold them again this year so I could get all the girls the same one.  I'll use these on the table and they can take them home afterwards.

We will do crafts, have dinner, do a gift exchange and have a lot of fun.  I'm looking forward to it. 

IS IT A TRUNK OR A PIECE OF FURNITURE???

While out shopping at the mall this week, I made a stop at Restoration Hardware.  I love that shop.  They have such beautiful items and they are always on the cutting edge of design.

I couldn't help but notice that several of the new items are designed to look like the old travel trunks from days gone by.

Like this desk.  I love it!

Plus, when you are not using it, you can close it up and it just looks like a large trunk is in the room.

They also have a coffee table.  This would be great for lots of storage in those places where every bit of space is valuable.

They even have side tables.  I don't think these open all the way up.  They just have drawers.  However, there is still a lot of storage space in them. 

Here is another style of a desk.  I think I like the other one better. 

What do you think?  Is this a style you like?

A VERY UNIQUE CHRISTMAS TREE

I love seeing the trees all decorated at the malls.  They are so big and have beautiful ornaments and lights.

However, the tree over at South Coast Plaza on the side that used to be known as Crystal Court, is different then any other mall tree I've ever seen. 

It's very big!  Over three stories tall.

At the top of the tree is a large snow globe.

Just below the snow globe area is where all the different types of Santa, Father Christmas and St. Nicks from all over the world can be found.

As you move further down the tree, you will find a very large Santa hanging ornaments on the tree above him.

Then even further down, you will find a village of houses.  All decked out for Christmas and very detailed.

I would love to live in one of these little homes.

If you look close you can even see some shadows of people inside the houses.

Finally at the very bottom you will find a train running on a track that goes around and even through the large tree trunk.

This is a tree that you can't just glance at and see everything.  You must take some time to see all the hidden treasures.  Like the white bunnies hiding in the snow.

The tree looks totally different from every floor on the mall too.  It is so fun to go on the different levels and see what you can find.

This tree can suck you in and make you feel like you have entered a fairy tale.  It's also fun to watch the faces on the children's faces (and adults) as they walk around finding more and more cute hidden things.

This tree has been at this location for years and years.  At first I didn't like it.  It was to different.  But, as the years go on and I discover more and more about this tree, I find it becoming one of my favorite trees.

Do you have a favorite tree you go see every year?