Goodbye Lola

I'm back with some more Lola pictures I've taken over the recent days!

I'm glad she's a well behaved elf and we've enjoyed having her visit our home this year.

 She loved the Gingerbread house we made. I think she thought it was just for her.

 She brought Ariana a new Christmas book.

 One morning we found her hiding in our Santa countdown calendar.

Lola got into our homemade cookies our friends made for us! She was nibbling on a christmas tree cookie one day.

Lola was found covered in bows and hanging out among the presents one morning.

 Lola had a movie night. We found her watching Elf and sipping on some syrup! Ariana thought that was funny but told her that egg nog would have been better!

 Lola was excited to announce there was only 2 days left until Christmas. She was sitting in the bowl of cotton balls we used to add to Santa's beard and count down the days.

And finally it's Christmas Eve today. This morning we found that she brought Ariana some goodies and a sweet note saying how much she enjoyed being here and that she was going back to the North Pole, she'll be back next year! Tonight Santa comes!!!!!

In case you missed it, here are the other things Lola our elf got into.

Hope everyone has a happy holidays with family and friends this year!

Christmas Creations

Here is a peek into some of the things we've been creating for Christmas. Crafts, cookies and more!

 We saw some similar reindeer cookies on pinterest and made these for Ariana's school bake sale.

We counted down the days until Christmas by filling in Santa's beard with cotton balls.

 We melted plastic beads and made a pretty "stained glass" looking heart ornament.

 We painted her hands and made Christmas mittens. She did all the cutting herself and glued cotton balls on the  cuff to finish them.

 We made oranges with cloves and gingerbread men and trees. She calls these "gingers" it's pretty darn funny!

I made a wreath to put on our table. We dried orange slices, and attached fake apples, cinnamon, raffia and gold stars. A yummy yankee candle goes in the middle.

We've made other ornaments, cookies, bread and other goodies but I didn't take photos of them. It's been a fun holiday season though.

Christmas in Germany!

Christmas is upon us and with it brings one of my favorite things. It's probably my favorite part of living in Germany, Christmas Markets! I just love these outdoor street markets. Little shops, and food stalls are set up in most cities here in Germany. They have lots of gluhwein (spiced mulled wine) wooden handmade goods, ornaments, decorations for your house, crocheted and knitted delights, knick knacks, all kinds of food, little rides, and some even have ice skating. 

All with twinkling lights against the beautiful German buildings, churches and the occasional castle! What is there not to love! This year we've been going to lots of different markets: Trier, Saarbrucken, Kaiserslautern, Heidelberg, Landstuhl and Bernkastel-Kues. Each one has it's own unique feel. With only a week left until Christmas, we are hoping to sneak in one last trip before they are gone for another year.

For me I love having hot kartoffelpuffer (fried potato cakes served with applesauce) and gluhwein is a must. Eeirpunsch  (egg punch) is not like the egg nog that we are used to.

And most places have their own mugs made for each year. They are collectable so of course I have one from each place! We really enjoyed Saarbrucken, it's a nice big market and they even decorate the trash cans. Heidelberg is one of my favorites though. I love that city!

Seriously my favorite! These photos were taken at the various markets. I hope this gave you a good feel of the market atmosphere!

Our Elf Lola

We jumped on the craze of the Elf on a Shelf this year and it's been pretty fun. Ariana named our elf Lola and she's a pretty shy tame elf compared to these other mischievous elves people have. Here is what she's been up to since we got her.

 She came one day while Ariana was at preschool and hid in our tree.

 We found out she was pretty shy the day we found her hiding by Santa. We think she was missing the North Pole.

 Lola started liking being with us us and brought us a special breakfast from the North Pole as well as a little wooden tree for Ariana to decorate for her room.

 With Ariana being so good we found Lola measuring her stocking one morning to see how many goodies Santa could fit in there.

 Lola was hanging out upside down in the kitchen.

 She got bored one night and started doing one of Ariana's puzzles.

Lola took a stroll in a barbie car. Ariana loved that and pushed her around in it.

 She got into my Christmas M&M's one night and practiced writing her name.

 She was found reading Christmas books by Ariana's nightlight one morning.

 Lola likes snow, since she's from the North Pole and Ariana found her hiding in her snow boot by the backdoor.

 She made a bed, or ball pit (we're still not sure) one night in the bathroom sink using the cotton balls. Ariana did not like this.

 Hiding in Mommy's apron pocket one morning.

Lola got busy one night making lots of tiny paper snowflakes.

I'll share more of Lola's antics on Christmas Eve. She's a silly one and the first thing Ariana says when she wakes up is "Let's go find Lola!"

Christmas Q and A (last post of 2011)

here

Tomorrow I'll be driving to Frankfurt to pick my Mom and Sister up from the airport! I may not be back on the blog until after the new year. Busy with family and all! This is their first trip to see us here in Germany and I'm excited to show them around, take them to Christmas Markets, maybe even Paris! So, I'm leaving you with a little Christmas Q and A that I've seen floating around and warm wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!


Egg nog or hot chocolate?  Dang, how can I get stumped on the first question. I'm a lover of both, depends on my mood. I've been wanting more hot chocolate this year though.

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa sits them on her blanket

Colored or White lights? white, I think colored lights are kinda tacky

Do you hang mistletoe? Nope, but I would if I had some!

When do you put up your decorations? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving but this year we waited until December 1st.

What is your favorite holiday dish? STUFFING!

Do you remember your favorite gift? my Nikon from my sweet hubs last year. I use it everyday!

What is your favorite holiday tradition? I love decorating the tree, with Christmas music playing and getting out all the old ornaments and talking about them before putting them on the tree. Oh and of course playing my fireplace DVD!

Whats on top of your tree? a gold star

Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Who doesn't love getting gifts? I really love giving them though, I especially love when I've found something that the person is really going to love!

Candy canes yum or yuck? yum!

Favorite Christmas movie? The good old classic A Christmas Story, Prancer and Mixed Nuts, it's a funny wacky Christmas movie but I love it!

Favorite Christmas song? Baby It's Cold Outside, White Christmas, Let it Snow

DIY Amaretto Hot Cocoa Mix

This is a perfect (super easy) last minute gift for teachers/friends/coworkers, or make a batch for the family on Christmas morning to sip while opening presents!

Amaretto Hot Cocoa

8 cups dry milk (10oz)

1, 1 lb box confectioners sugar 

1, 16 oz can of Amaretto flavored coffee creamer 

1, 8 oz box Hershey's Cocoa (natural unsweetened)

1/2 tsp. salt

This makes about 20 cups so be prepared to give a lot to friends or cut the recipe down. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Store in an airtight container.

To serve: stir 3 heaping tablespoons of mix into about 6 oz of hot water. Top with mini marshmallows if desired. Enjoy!

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We made this to give to the teachers at Ariana's preschool and we made cute little labels for them and topped the jars with fabric, twine and a candy cane.

Here is the label we made. Feel free to save and print them for your cocoa too!

Want more Christmas recipes? 

You might like Candy Coal,  Egg Nog Cake, or  Candy Cane Cupcakes

I'm linking up with Holiday Bokeh Party!