It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!  It’s the Holiday Season and there is just so much to be celebrated during this time of year!  

Our family celebrates Christmas and with 3 small girls, you can imagine it’s busy-busy around our house.  Decorating the house, moving the elf (Lord help me with the elf!), exchanging secret Santa, lots and lots of holiday parties and more!  

To be honest, while I love this time of the year for so many reasons, I don’t love how much “extra” stuff it adds to my already full to-do list.  Buying the presents, shipping the presents, moving the elf (really?? EVERY night??), getting all of the goodies for the class parties, making sure each #gaargoyle has the perfect outfit for said Christmas party, and more…

But what I DO love about this season are the traditions!  I love tradition (probably because I love scheduling, planning, and order but I digress…).  Some of our Gaar family traditions include: We always watch “Christmas Vacation” while we put up our tree, we always put up 2 nativity sets (we have 2 because 1 is missing a wise man that our dog ate one year!), and our elf always brings the #gaargoyles Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve to wear to bed.

One of my very very favorite traditions is baking with my mom and my girls!  Every year we spend a whole day baking and decorating treat baskets and then we put it all in a wagon and deliver holiday cheer to our neighbors!  I am so careful every year to plan this date way in advance so my mom and I can both completely disconnect from work and enjoy the time with the girls!  We have cute aprons, lots of decorations and way too much sugar!  

On the blog today, I’m sharing 3 of my favorite recipes that always make the cut for our Holiday Baking Marathon!  These are not recipes I’ve created so I’ve linked directly to the site we use to grab them each year.  

Crinkle Cookies – Um….these are like puffy sweet clouds that melt in your mouth and they are SO easy for the kids to make!  Plus, they’re super festive! Just 5 ingredients, a few bowls and a cookie sheet and you’re good to go! Pro tip: Parchment paper and wax paper are NOT the same things.  Trust me!

https://breadboozebacon.com/christmas-crinkle-cool-whip-cookies/

Pumpkin Mini Loaves – This recipe is so so delicious!  The warmth of pumpkin is so welcoming during this season and these little loaves are the perfect way to say “Merry Christmas” to your friends and neighbors.  https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/best-pumpkin-cake/ 

My husband prefers a cinnamon glaze so instead of the cream cheese frosting, I make the below glaze and pour it on top.  It seeps into the cake and makes it moist and delicious!

2 c. Powdered Sugar

¼ c. Milk

½ tsp. Cinnamon

Reindeer Cupcakes – These are so easy and fun for the kids and they look adorable in the treat baskets!  The recipe is for a scratch cake but you can use a simple boxed mix (we use red velvet) and let the kids add the decorations!  https://www.yourcupofcake.com/reindeer-cupcakes/

What are some of your favorite traditions??  I’d love to hear how you make family memories during the holiday season!