Christmas Countdown, Day 10, 17 days left

Wow!! It's already the 9th!! How many people have heard the song, We wish you a merry Christmas when they say
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer
Well, two years ago I wanted to make a fancy dessert for Christmas and I ended up making Figgy Pudding...
12 plump dried Calymyrna figs, snipped into small pieces
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dark rum
1/3 cup cognac or brandy
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 (packed) cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (made from about 8 inches of baguette)
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup brandy, cognac or rum, to flame the pudding (optional)

Well, actually I don't know why it's called pudding, it's actually more of a bread!! It requires SO many strange ingredients that it is really quite expensive and since it has spirits in it probably is not something you would make with a child in mind...however last year I made homemade donuts and "reindeer poop" and I can say that I liked those two things SOOO much better!!!  Have you guys ever tried any of those desserts? What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Christmas Countdown, Day 9, 18 days left!!

What would you ask Santa if you could interview him?? Email me your answer to:addy@addelynn.com and I will post them on my blog!! Or maybe a letter to Santa?? Also, through my blog I want to try to start an editorial called Dear Addy! If you have a question, same thing: email it to me!! Or, if you have a special Christmas tradition or anyting related to Christmas during the Countdown...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know!! Or any ideas or posts that you would like to see on my blog just let me know!! Because this IS a reader's blog;-)
Today, my Christmas List:

iTunes gift card
Watch

Locket

Insulated Water bottle from Scheels

Slammers things!

Slippers

Socks

Wall iPod charger

Under armour items

A hawkeye sweatshirt(I cant believe I dont have 1!!!)

A pretty flash drive!

Beyonce Documentary

Barnes n' noble gift card

TOMS

 

 

Whats your Christmas List or hanukkah List? Or just something in general that you would like to get??

 

NOTE: I did not post my list because I am asking you to get me anything:-P

Christmas Countdown: Day 9, 19 days left!

To continue my tradition of lists...I have realized that Christmas trees can be SO pretty!! So here is my list of the top 10 most prettiest Christmas trees!
 





(The annual D.C. Christmas tree. Each state makes an ornament to put on the tree. One year I made a couple ornaments for Iowa to put on it!)










    I SOOO WANT TO CELBRATE CHRISTMAS THERE!!!!

Which tree is your favorite??

Christmas Countdown: Day 8, 20 days left!

So, the biggest part of the holiday season is of course, the songs!! Today, I bring you some of the most popular songs sung by some of my favorite celebs!
Josh Groban, I'll be Home for Christmas

What I like about this song is that it is dedicated to military families and at the end of his usual song(I don't know if it is on here) but he has a couple of soldiers say their names and infantry and what not. I think that is SO cool!


But of course! My Grandma got run over by a Reindeer
Love this song!(don't take that the wrong way Grandma!!)

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus

This is another funny X-mas song! Seems to go along with the song above. Now they just need to have a Christmas song with a)A dad b)an aunt or c)a grandpa!

Feliz Navidad     How many of you have seen the Taco Bell commercials where they sing this song? I started watching those when I was four and I would go to preschool and sing it ALL day!! Love!

This is Bing Crosby's White Christmas. I would say that this song is probably my favorite Christmas song non-traditional! Very pretty!

This is THE #1 song you will hear on the radio during Christmas time! I don't know why it's so popular...but it is!

The one line in this song that I remember is "So hurry down the Chimney tonight!"

Please comment below with you're favorite Christmas song!! I will also have a poll that you can vote on too! Only 20 days left folks!! Btw- DON'T DON'T DON'T forget to feed my fishies!!! They are very hungry because all day they have to stare at my post of the Christmas cookies and cupcakes!!

Christmas Countdown: Day 7, 21 days left!

How's everybody doing on the challenge?? Are you looking for a way to maybe bribe Santa this Christmas? Well you're in luck!!  Here are the most beautiful and crafty Christmas cookies! If you want to thank me for giving you inspiration on your Christmas cookies....I would LOVE to sample one as well;-)

 And if you're sick of tradition, I am sure Santa wouldn't mind of you left him these gorgeous cupcakes!!

Christmas Countdown: Day 6, 22 days left!! CHALLENGE

OKay folks!! This is SO much different then what I have EVER done on my blog!! I am assigning a CHALLENGE!!! You have until December 20th to memorize the first four paragraphs of The Night Before Christmas poem:Twas the Night before Christmas Poem

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

When you are done memorizing it, get a video of it and either send it to me(via email:addy@addelynn.com) or recite it to me in person(maybe at school) and I will get a video of it.

THE WINNER: The person who can memorize these four paragraphs and recite them to me will get a full post on my blog about how great they are!;-) BONUS: If you are really competitve and want to go for the extra oomph that might make you win you can 1. Memorize more of the poem or 2. get it done BEFORE the deadline!!! I wish everybody luck and I want to see those videos start to roll in!!!

Christmas Countdown: Day 5, 23 days left

So yesterday we talked about traditions! One of my MOST FAVORITE traditions is to read Christmas books! One time I remember I went to the public library to check out ALL of their books on Santa! Another time on Christmas cooking! Every year another one of my family traditions is to read a christmas fiction book starting on December 1st!! We usually never finish the book and falter out with reading it on the 12th but it still is fun! Some titles that we have read are: A season of gifts; By Richard Peck, Diary of a wimpy kid; Cabin fever;By Jeff Kinney, and The White House, White out(A to Z mysteries); By Ron Roy. So I decided to share with you some of the great books about Christmas and other holidays at The Lemme Library and the Iowa City Public Library!

1. African American holiday celebrations and traditions : celebrating with passion, style, and grace
Broussard, Antoinette.
Summary:Holidays are a time when people put differences aside and join together in celebration. Christmas especially brings celebrants home to family and to their own personal history, convictions, and deepest connections. Other days are meaningful, too: Kwanzaa, Ramadan, and New Year's.
2. Celebration games : physical activities for every month / Barb Wnek
Make every day a cause for celebration with Celebration Games! This book provides a calendar year's worth of fun games and activities—all designed to get 5- to 12-year-olds excited about physical activity. Included are 68 physical fitness activities, skills, games, and rhythm and dance activities, each based on a specific holiday or seasonal theme.
Whether it's Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, or Kwanzaa, every occasion offers a new opportunity to build a child's knowledge of health and wellness. Innovative yet easy to implement, the activities use common equipment and supplies and may be adapted easily to various grade or skill levels. In addition to teaching kids important health concepts, you'll also uncover opportunities to tie in lessons on history and diversity. Ideas for family events are also included to get everyone involved.
For more than 25 years, author Barb Wnek has strived to foster healthy attitudes in children. Now, she brings you the same creative ideas that won her acclaim as one of Dole's Creative 5 A Day Teachers of the Year. Based on decades of testing in summer camps and public schools, Celebration Games makes teaching fun for both you and your kids by turning every activity into a special event.

3.  Religious holidays and calendars : an encyclopedic handbook / edited by Karen Bellenir.



4.   Hanukkah


AND....


5.A Season of Gifts


Summary:  The return of one of children's literature's most memorable characters is a gift indeed.

The eccentric, forceful, big-hearted Grandma Dowdel is the star of the Newbery Medal-winning A Year Down Yonder and Newbery Honor-winning A Long Way from Chicago. And it turns out that her story isn't over - not even close.

It is now 1958, and a new family has moved in next door to Mrs. Dowdel: a Methodist minister and his wife and kids. Soon Mrs. Dowdel will work her particular brand of charm - or medicine, depending on who you're asking - on all of them: ten-yearold Bob, who is shy on courage in a town full of bullies; his two fascinating sisters; and even Bob's two parents, who are amazed to discover that the last house in town might also be the most vital.

As Christmas rolls around, the Barnhart family realizes that they've found a true home - and a neighbor who gives gifts that will last a lifetime.





6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever 

I personally read this book myself yesterday and I was really surprised at how funny it was! I mean it IS a Diary of a Wimpy kid book...but I thought since it was Jeff Kinney's 6th book it wouldn't be funny! But boy, did he prove me wrong!!! Check it out, makes for a great Christmas present!

7.The White-House White out(A to Z mysteries)
IT’S A SNOWY December in Washington, D.C., and Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose are there to see the sights. While they’re admiring the White House, they meet the president’s stepdaughter, KC, and her friend, Marshall. Soon, in the confusion of all the people decorating the White House for Christmas, the president’s dog, Natasha, goes missing! The kids set out to find her, but it’s not going to be easy. The area is still crowded with decorators, it’s getting dark, and all five of them risk getting caught in a monster snowstorm!

That's all for now, folks! See ya tomorrow for more Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: Day 4, 25 days left!! Happy 1st!

Today is the annual start to my family's advent "calendar"(it's more of a box). A tradition in our house is to do this advent(let's just call it a box) from December 1st-24th. What we do: My mom(or dad) puts a clue in the box of the day that it is(i.e. today would be box 1) and us kids read the clue and figure out where the clue is having us go to...once we do that we go to the room(obviously) and in the room is our "present of the day". Sometimes the present is a "share" present meaning that the present is for all of us. But sometimes we have ones to ourselves, some yearly presents are the homemade gift from mom(years past: quilts, shower tote...those are the two I can remember.) every year we get socks, a book and just some things that we might've asked for! It is a ton of fun and is making memories, it is something to pass down the generations!! Do you guys have any holiday traditions? Btw- thought I would share this pic!