wake. kids. work. shop. sleep. repeat.
That’s pretty much how we’ve rolled for the past couple of weeks. I know every family is the same – the fun but endless array of school and kindy concerts, end of year parties and get to-gethers. All lovely once you’re there but all requiring some level of organisation and a plate that preferrably didn’t come from Woolies. Add five or six photobooths per weekend and I have been found frequently rocking in my corner.
Because I’m un-hinged, I get inspired to make things at this time of year. I can’t help it. I get an idea in my head or get inspired from some of the arty/crafty/cooky blogs I read and I can’t relax until I’ve given it a whirl. I just love having the excuse to do something completely removed from everything else and I feel calm when I’m working on something. It’s my happy place.
Earlier this year I was inspired from Bakerella’s amazing blog to make these cookie jars as gifts. They were so easy and I love how they turned out. I had the kids help me with no disasters! Due to Mars not selling red and green themed M&M bags this year, you have to get the kids to sort through normal bags and pick out the red and green ones for you. Funnily enough when they’re done, there’s not a lot of the other colours left over either…
Teachers’ presents: check!
Doing the kids’ Christmas cards for school and kindy. Always a bit of an epic.
Conversation with Cassidy goes like this.
“Mum how do you spell ‘Zoe’
“Z…”
“What’s Z?”
(I pause what I’m doing to draw the letter ‘Z’ in the air).
“Pardon?”
I draw it again in the air to demonstrate.
“Okay, now what?”
Each letter exchange takes approximately 15 seconds. Multiply this by 28 kindy friends with an average of six letters in each name and you get my drift. I get excited if there’s a C, A, S, I, D or Y in a kid’s name because I know it will be over quicker.
I’ve also been looking forward to end of year things so I could practise my iced cookies. Through all this, Steve said I was on drugs. I choose to ignore his heinous comments and strike them from the record.
I’ve been stocking up on Christmas cutters whenever I see them…it’s an untreatable obsession. If you want a cookie cutter that makes a complete replica of Santa’s workshop with working parts, it’s probably in my drawer somewhere. I find the worst obsessions are the ones that only cost you a few dollars each – they’re the most dangerous. I found some the other day that make cookies that stand up. As in 3D. Help me now.
For Isaac’s friends we made Reindeer treats. I think I saw this idea somewhere about three years ago and finally found a carrot cutter one day in my travels. I was excited. So was Isaac. He said his friends came and asked was it okay for them to eat them or were they just for the reindeers. Bless 
For Cassa-dass we made Christmas trees on sticks. Cassidy did all the sprinkles and just about had kittens with excitement when she handed them out to her friends. I had plans for some fancier icing attempts but Cassidy doesn’t like the fondant icing. Last time I went all out and made her cakes with fondant icing she sighed and told me she guessed they would have to do. Tough crowd. (In actual fact, I don’t like fondant either. It’s just it looks so prrreeeetttyyyy…..).
Here she is with her trees before kindy looking suspiciously like nobody owns her, or at the very least, doesn’t own a hairbrush.
Isaac is very sweet when he gets presents and often gets quite overwhelmed with it all. He always reads the cards and takes his time.
Cassidy is Chief Organiser and Gestapo Of All Things Christmas. I have to bring things into the house under the cover of darkness so I don’t get the spanish inquistion. If we had a fireplace, she’d be at the bottom of it tapping her watch at Santa saying “try to keep better time next year, there’s a good chap”.
