I love decorating my Christmas tree! It is a fun and sometimes bittersweet trip down memory lane as I pull out keepsake ornaments (one from my grammy, my dad and aunt, all whom have passed away; and ones from my girls that are homemade or in the year of their births). 
One of my favorite homemade gift are these Cinnamon Ornaments! They are so easy to make and smell amazing. I made some three years ago, and they still smell great on my tree. This is a great activity for kids to help with and gives them the pride of knowing they did most of the work.
Ingredients:
1 cup ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. white school glue
3/4-1 c. water
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment or wax paper. In a large bowl add the cinnamon and glue. Add 3/4 c. water to start with. Mix well until there is no more dry cinnamon. If you need to use the remainder 1/4 c. of water, mix in a little at a time. The mixture will feel spongy … remember FLOAM? That is the consistency your are looking for. Roll mixture out onto a piece of parchment or wax paper and use your favorite cookie cutters to create fun shapes. After placing these on your baking sheets, use a skewer or tooth pick to make a good size hole near the top, being careful not to be too harsh or it can break apart the shape. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. These will start to curl slightly while baking, so I always flip them 1/2 way through. This also gives you a chance to inspect the holes – you may need to use your skewer/toothpick again to help the holes stay open. You want to make sure you bake these for the full two hours so that they don’t break once hung on the tree. Once baked, let them cool before adding ornament hooks, ribbon or string. I have in years past added raisins to the gingerbread cutout for eyes and buttons, and we have used metallic Sharpies to decorate them as well. I even brought some into work to put on my mini tree near my desk. The possibilities are endless! I can’t tell you enough how great these smell – my house currently smells like a giant cinnamon bun, and they will bring a smile to anyone who receives them as a gift.
Merry Christmas!
Most people associate this recipe with the holidays. Actually, I feel that a lot of people associate homemade baked goods with the holidays in general. Whether it be that holidays are special so people make homemade treats to spoil their loved ones or that we take a little more time around the holidays to do special things – like bake from scratch. This recipe is definitely in the top 15 of “What My Grandma Use To Make.”
and am I ever glad I did! This is such a quick and easy recipe. Six ingredients for this version – S-I-X! This and the fact that I almost always have these items in the house make it deadly, but I know how addicting it is … so I most likely share it each time I make it.
My oldest turned 12 a few days ago. After talking about Christmas and trying to make present wish lists, we got on the topic of how much stuff we really have and how a lot of it doesn’t get used. We are those parents that have in years past gone through all the girls things and gotten rid of stuff to make room for all the birthday and Christmas presents that would make their way into our home. So, long story short, my oldest daughter decided for her birthday she wanted to have friends come over and watch a movie, play, eat popcorn, candy and cake (of course it had to look like a box of popcorn!), and just have a fun time. She also decided that she didn’t want her family and friends to give her gifts for her birthday. She wanted them to give her money, that she would then purchase gifts for The Angel Tree at our local Walmart. So she called her grandparents and told her request for her birthday and we made sure on all her invitations for her friends to let them know she didn’t want presents, but for them to help her in making her birthday wish a reality.
After one busy day preparing, one evening full of laughter and giggles, she came away with $280 graciously given by family and friends to spend on others for Christmas.
The next day we put out the invite to join us shopping for The Angel Tree and thankfully one of her friends was able to go! She and her friend picked out several tags and we went on the hunt to find the items. The first tag the girls saw I think really make an impact on them – it was for a Christmas dinner for a family of four. My daughter was so saddened that a child’s wish for Christmas – instead of cool toy – was merely a family dinner. They each grabbed one. They were able to purchase cologne, many toys, a car seat, a children’s play kitchen, two gift certificates for Christmas dinners and a child’s “couch” that unfolds to become “bed.” The entire time we were in the store, not once did they look at other toys on the shelves or make comments about items that they would like or want. The mission was clear – give to others.
At the register Kailee was proud to pay for all the items in their very full cart. I realized at check out that I had forgotten to throw a roll of tape in my purse so that we could attach the tags to each gift. I asked they clerk if she thought the service desk would lend us tape and was assured they would. As we stood in line at customer service a clerk came over and asked if we had a few items for the Angel Tree because she could help us with them. Her mouth dropped when she was told that the entire cart was for The Angel Tree and Kailee explained about her birthday request. The clerk immediately gave Kailee a big hug and thanked her and her friend, Olivia, for being so kind-hearted. We then went to pick up a few groceries and while we were in line paying for my items, the same clerk came up and asked to borrow the girls. They followed her back to the service desk where they were praised for their good deed by several employees – it truly was a group effort that made this possible!
Have Sweets, Will Share. 