Favorite Gifts from 2022

I had to laugh because I found this post in my ‘DRAFTS’ and I don’t think I ever published it or if I did I guess it didn’t go through… these have been some of our favorites throughout the year and may give you some gift ideas for this year.

It’s been a few weeks since Christmas and I thought I’d ask everyone about what their favorite gifts from Christmas were… this can help give me a better idea for future gifts and also let me know which things they may not have cared for at all. This past Christmas we were able to scale back quite a bit… the increased prices on everything helped with that as well!

We found that by putting together a Wish List on Amazon we were able to help get the items they have been asking for and it helped others buy what the kiddos really wanted… this truly made the gift buying a little easier. We have decided that all of our family members should create a wish list of some sort so we can access it for birthdays, anniversaries, special holidays, Christmas, or ‘just because’ gifts… the lists help to narrow down what everyone really wants or needs so that we aren’t just throwing money away on something they can’t or won’t use.

Here are a few of the answers I received:

  • Life ** The kids had been relentless in asking for this game
  • Lego Klutz sets ** What is there not to love about Legos? — maybe stepping on them but other than that they are always a hit with everyone
  • Clue Jr and the Clue Disney Villains ** We got the Clue Jr for our home and big sister got the Villains but we played while she was here
  • Battleship ** The older kids loved this game and they bought it for their younger siblings who now love it just as much!
  • Cash Flow Game ** One of the older kids bought this and it has been a bit tricky to learn but everyone loves it — the junior version may be easier to start with and there is an online version as well
  • Ticket to Ride ** We have seen this on several different videos and the kids really wanted to try it out, it was one that was a little tricky to learn but it does have expansion packs but we haven’t quite figured out how they work yet

Can you tell that they really love board games? Some of these were games that we had never heard of so the learning curve has been a bit hectic but they love playing them all!

Everyone also loved their new blanket throws that they got from Granny!

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Getting organized a little at a time … January 7, 2023

Whew! It’s been a busy first week of the year but our house is finally ‘undecorated’ all except for the inflatables which are hanging over the back porch railings as they need to dry out.

Yesterday we had our first dance of the New Year at a new location. I tried not to do too much work as I didn’t want to be completely exhausted before the dance… I tried but with my arm, in the condition it is in right now, it doesn’t take much to wear me out at all. I went to one of our sheds to dig out a couple of outfits and then had to go back to find my dance shoes. While we were out in the shed I remembered that someone had mentioned they needed some little boy clothes so I found a tote of clothes our kiddos have outgrown and brought that to the house with us.

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She’s Walking!

Polar Express 2022

Our Polar Express Party was a huge hit thanks to all the help from our amazing family and friends! I’m so glad that we decided to give it a go even though we don’t really have our house set up the way we want it yet… its better to work with what you have right now and not keep putting things off until everything is ‘ready’ or ‘just right’ because that day may never come!

The kids had a fun time and are already making plans for next year! I’ll share some photos of the setup.

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It’s Just About Fudgin’ Time!

It’s just about that time of year when I need to get started on my Christmas Fudge. I definitely need to get it made before the Polar Express Party so we can share it with our family and friends who may come to visit.

Here are the recipe links for the fudge flavors that we have made in the past:

The Milk Chocolate Fudge has several flavor variations to try.

Butter Pecan Fudge

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

Milk Chocolate Fudge (Christmas Fudge) — several flavor variations!

Peanut Butter Fudge

Peppermint Bark

Red Velvet Fudge

I am hoping to try a couple of new flavors this year… maybe even an egg nog flavor! It’s always fun trying out new flavors and sometimes we have great success while others are total flops but we have fun trying!

Here are some of the other candies that we make around this time of year as well:

Caramel Pecan Candies

Chocolate Covered Eggs (updated with more flavors!) (shape into balls for Christmas Candy)

Chocolate-Dipped Goodies

Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters aka Reindeer Poop

Haystacks aka Noodle Cookies (2 versions here) 

We hope you find these recipes easy to use and we pray that you have a blessed holiday season!

Let us know in the comments what your favorite Christmas Candy is!