Christmas Cookies are a MUST

Every year, around this time, the little boy will start reminding me that we need to get into The Cookie Frame of Mind.

This year, we made cookies TWICE.  The first time, I tried to make it completely from scratch using Stevia instead of sugar, and didn't use Royal Icing.  Well, it was fun while it lasted, but everything kind of melted on themselves, and we had to start over with a Store Bought Mix.

Anyway, here was our first attempt.  It was pretty, though. Before they decided to do a Wicked Witch of the West on me.

I had a very handy and willing helper.

Things were going relatively well, until I decided to do Something Different.

I thought I could do a pretty Glass Stained Cookie thingy I had seen on Pinterest,

Alas, only ONE turned out okay.  As for the rest of them,  the cookies got done before the candy could melt, and so I had to pick them out again.  And by now, the cookies were now stained by a multitude of Candy Colors.

Nevertheless, the little boy loved decorating them, and making Christmas Trees and Gingerbread Men come to life.

The second time around, I gave up trying to be all "from scratch", and went the Semi Homemade route instead.

Once again, the little boy went at it with such gusto.  This time, I went with a Royal Icing recipe from Alton Brown himself.

I had bought these little pretzel bits in anticipation of trying these little Rudolph cookies. 

And we finally deployed the Cookie Writer pens that had been languishing for a while in the Cookie Decoration Kit.

Tada!

Breakfast with Santa 2017

We couldn't miss Breakfast with Santa, could we?  And the little boy wanted to go in his PJs again this year, so, oh well.

He loves to do crafts so much that he didn't even notice the line of people waiting for Pancakes, and went straight for the first craft table he saw.

I was waiting along & accompanying him, so I took a gander at one of those scratch off thingies :)

By the time we got there, the party was in full swing.

The line for pancakes and sausages may have looked long, but it was moving along briskly.

We met up with Cindy there, and I think the little boy was more interested in the different craft stations than his pancakes, but he sure didn't mind them :)

Meanwhile, Santa was seeing all kinds of action.

The first station we hit at Breakfast with Santa is always the "Make Your Own Sack" station.

Someone should request sacks with handles next time,

because honestly, the parents end up going about with their kids, pinching those sacks between their thumb and forefinger through EVERY STATION.  And when I say parents, I mean ME.

Next came probably the most popular station of all.
The DECORATE-YOUR-OWN-COOKIE station.

I think I saw some adults hanging around to decorate some cookies themselves.

It sure seems from this photo that the little boy are in such a deep convo over making Christmas Hats with the lady right there.

These little bean bag games are also something the little boy loves, and he went back to this lady over and over :)

Of course, the hat went straight onto his head and followed him all the way till the end of the  morning.

There was a station where the kids had to use pipe cleaners and a little cardboard doughnut to make mini wreaths,

and Mommy and Daddy couldn't help but extend a helping had.
We have to stop being such helicopter parents.

Otherwise, he did excellently at every craft.

There hadn't been a Story Nook in a while, but this year, it came back with a BANG.
There was a Wise Man enticing people into the Story Tent,

which made for a captive audience. :P

Next : Temporary Tattoos.

Tattoo Choice : Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
I don't blame him. Rudolph is awfully cute.

The, we had to make a frame for when we took a photo with Santa. It is always difficult for the little boy, when he finally reaches THIS station, to find the A, O and N in his name. I think he improvised with an upside down V, a sideways Z, and an upside down M for W.

THEN, we were finally ready to go have our picture made with Santa.

Of course, there is always Goofing Around while we wait :)

When it finally got to be his turn, he asked for Snow this year, for Christmas :)
Santa said that he would try his best.

Because we usually are one of the last in line for a photo with Santa, we have to wait FOREVER for our photos.  This year, it was surprisingly fast.

PLUS, we could download our photos from the church's DropBox link.

Until we see you in a few days, Santa.

Till then, the little boy is trying to fill in for the Big Guy :)

HEB Feast of Sharing 2017

Before you knew it, ( actually, a week later ) we were back at the Civic Center.  This time it was for HEB's annual Feast of Sharing for the Christmas Season.  It has been held for over a dozen years and sometimes I can't believe we were at the very first one here in Abilene and have attended just about every one.

We met up with Cindy ( who ended up waiting for Walter at the foyer ), and the lines were LONG.  It was a good thing there were plenty of things to see along the way though :)

Nevertheless, it moved rather briskly, and before we knew it, we were at the main doors into the auditorium.

( side note: It started last year, I believe, but it is still a little disconcerting to see armed men in the balcony area guarding the place. )

Ah, the familiar wavy design on the ceiling with the red and green lights, and the rows of paper place mats on the tables.

This is such a sweet photo, but someone took a picture with a flash just at the moment that I snapped a photo and made this weird artifact in the shot.

I know, I shouldn't be taking photos of people eating, but blame it on the Asian camera trigger happiness. :P

There was live entertainment, and it brought back memories of the year when the little boy was overwhelmed by all the loud music and noise, and was almost in tears.  Daddy had to bring him to a different room away from all the hustle and bustle to peacefully have his dinner.

The little boy enjoyed his dinner so much, he had a second helping of ham :)

As did Cousin Walter , the goof. :)

After a good dinner, we went to the back for the Artsy Craftsy part of the night.

It was awesome for the little boy who really enjoys these kind of things.

He stopped at just about every single station that had some sort of craft to offer.

Mommy ended up holding on to the sack of crafts AND this ooey gooey marshmallow snowman.

I love how this photo captures the glee in the little boy's face and the twinkle in Cindy's eyes.

The Pop Up Snowman was a no-show, but at least the little boy got to meet Santa :)