We hope and pray you are all having a blessed holiday season. This post is a little later than I had wanted due to some computer glitches. Thankfully, the problem has been remedied, and I can share some of our Polar Express updates with you.
Once we got to St. Nicholas Day, we got the tree up… it is a little smaller and simpler than usual, but it works perfectly for us right now. Then it was time for us to focus on the upcoming Polar Express Party, our Bethlehem dinner, Christmas Eve dinner with our traditional eggnog making party, and then Christmas Dinner, and planning for our family that will be visiting.
We had our Polar Express Party on the 2nd Saturday of December, as this seems to work out best for most people. We did not have as many people as we had expected, but it was a lot of fun. This has been an annual tradition that we try to keep for our friends and family, and some were able to experience it for the first time this year.
There was a lot of prep to get ready for the event, but it was so worth it! Things have been quite a bit different in our home this year, but we were able to overcome a lot of challenges and still make this a success. We did cut back on some of the decorations and kept things a little bit simpler… we also had a lot of help with the cookie making. It was nice to have everyone bring their favorite cookies to share, and we all enjoyed sampling them!
Here are links to a few of the goodies we made:
- Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Butter Pecan Fudge
- Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies
- Milk Chocolate Fudge (Christmas Fudge)
- Molasses Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – I used dried cranberries as the kids had eaten all of the raisins
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- Peppermint Bark
- Pizzelles
- Easy Thumbprint Cookies – I used the leftover Rosella Sauce
We also had a bit to eat… here is some of what we made:
- Candy Cane Meat and Cheese Platter
- Snowman Veggie Platter
- Fruit Tray with cream cheese dip
- Ham and Cheese Sliders on Sweet Rolls
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Potato Salad
- Boxed Pasta Salad
Almost everything was prepped ahead of time and then just brought out or warmed up as we needed it. I also remembered to pull out the brown paper to write the names of the dishes on and it helped so much with clean up!
I had cut back on the games, but more were requested, so I was able to quickly print some off from the games we had made last year… so much fun! The older kids enjoyed the word games, and the younger ones learned to play Tic-Tac-Toe! Everyone had a chance to guess how many kisses were in the jar, and the winner took the whole jar full of candy home with them!
Reindeer Games
After the games, we watched the Polar Express movie… I’ve still NEVER watched the entire movie from start to finish, so I always see something new! I pulled out the popcorn maker, movie boxes, candies, and the supplies for hot cocoa. The girls put together some cookie trays for the train ride, and my sister was in charge of the light show… we use remotes to make things so much easier! The ‘Northern Lights’ projector was AMAZING… I’ll link all the supplies below!
No one went home empty-handed, as we had a ton of party favors for everyone. The kids had some fun little scratch-off books, hot cocoa packets, a special Christmas cup, and a few candies, as well as some toys from our treasure box stash and other goodies. The grown-ups got to choose between face masks/lotions and pocket-sized tools, as well as pocket calendars for everyone! We also had lots of yummy treats and breads for everyone to take home.
Here are the links to some of the breads we made:
As soon as the party was over, we started putting away some of the decorations, and we had to prepare for a trip to South Carolina, as my oldest daughter was graduating from college. We were so blessed to have everything come together so that we could attend that special event.
Now we have finished up most of the prep for the remainder of the year, and just trying to keep things running smoothly here at home. We have a lot of projects lined up for the beginning of the year and there will be more after we finish those projects, as we have had a lot of unexpected changes here this year, but we trust that GOD will see us through everything and HE will provide us with all that we need.
We pray that you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a very HAPPY & BLESSED NEW YEAR! We do ask that you keep our family in your thoughts and prayers, and we will always have each of you in our thoughts and prayers!
May GOD Bless You!
We do have a wishlist on AMAZON, if you ever want to check it out… Pollywog’s Place Wish List
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We don’t buy everything at once but I do try to break it all up into smaller chunks. I usually put the AMAZON items in my cart and wait for a sale. This year I added the Northern Lights when they went on sale for Black Friday… such a deal and they were a great addition!
Leyndo 70 Pcs 5ft 144 LED Wall Christmas Tree with Lights
50 PCS Christmas Artificial Pine Needles
Divided Caddies (I got mine at Dollar Tree many years ago!)
Northern Lights Projector – watch for it to go on sale as it is a little pricey!
Snowflake Projector – this will go on sale too!
Party Favors: these were all on sale when I bought them so they may be a little pricier now
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