Eleanora's Caramel Corn (THE BEST)

This Caramel Corn recipe comes from the kitchen of my Grandmother.
It's a great fall treat and memorable as a Christmas gift or for your household.


26 +/- 35 c popped popcorn
Optional: a couple handfuls of shelled peanuts/almonds/other nuts
Note: 1/4 c kernels microwaved in a brown paper bag for +/- 2 minutes yields +/- 4.5 c popped corn


Melt 2 c margarine in large pot
+ add the following and bring to a boil
4 c brown sugar
1 c corn syrup
1t salt
Note: boil until a drop of sauce turns into a ball when dropped into a cup of very cold water


+ Remove from heat and stir in 1 t baking soda + 2 t vanilla


Pour caramel sauce over popcorn mixture, layer by layer, stir to combine

Dump onto cookie sheet, bake at 200' for 45 min - 1hour, turning every 15 minutes.


Store in airtight container.

Grandma's Caramel Corn in Our Kitchen - Mmmmmm

Sausage Wreath? It's not what you're thinking...

Or is it!? How's this for a fun party appetizer! Pass the mustard...

From here.

Christmas Crafts

To get you in the Christmas spirit, here are some nice crafts for little and big kids to do together. Fun!

Thumbprint reindeer cards, here.

Christmas with baby, here

DIY snow globes (secret ingredient is glycerine), here.

So sweet! Santa hand ornaments out of salt dough (including recipe), here.

A felt Christmas tree for a toddler to decorate over and over again, here.

Santa's Beard Advent Calendar

Kid's love to glue and tape...so when I saw this Santa Advent Calendar, from here, I though, how cute!

I did not want to go buy scrap booking supplies to construct this version but I liked the idea so much I "borrowed-ish" it. In the Christmas spirit I though I'd share it with whoever wants to print and stick 24 cotton puffs to some paper...and call it a day.

My version (with a slightly modified poem) is two 8.5" x 11" prints that you can download and print it from here. They look like this:

Disclaimer: I have no idea if 24 cotton puffs will fit on Santa's beard.
You may have to transplant some to his eyebrows. Good luck!

Elf Chocolate Hunt

Our three daughter had SO much fun searching for Easter Eggs last year that she still talks about it.
Well, I had an idea the other day, why not hide chocolate kisses on Christmas morning "from Santa's Elves"? I think it's gonna be a big hit...and it's another way to get my husband involved in the fun and tradition - he can be the one to hide the chocolates on Christmas Eve :)

Mom, is it Christmas?

Our 3 year old daughter has asked if it's Christmas the last 3 days in a row! I think it may be because the neighbours have done up their yard Christmas style and we've got the best view from across the street. 

I love it. I love it. I love it. 

I love Christmas (my favorite holiday) and I love that I've got another champion for the holidays in my house - go us! It doesn't bother me that the stores may be pumping Christmas music (I may feel differently if I worked in the mall though...), I like the outdoor lights turned on right after Halloween and I'm already looking forward to putting up our Christmas tree on December 1. All the warm fuzzies that come with the holiday and the good will that (most) people feel towards each other make me super duper snowflakes and hot chocolate happy! Christmas everyday isn't realistic, and would loose it's candy cane luster pretty quickly...but today I'll take it...

41 days until Christmas - countdown here...

Angel Wing Chair Covers

These are the most poetic "chair covers" I've ever seen. Seriously. If this interests you go to Stephanie's blog to read her story. P.S. She was on Oprah.

Photo from here.

Handmade Christmas Ornaments

These handmade ornaments are cute and not too time consuming or tricky. Would also be cute as monogramed initials attached to gift tags. From here. Merry Christmas!. All the best & see you after the holidays!

Candy Cane Sign Post

I love this craft! I think it would be neat to make one of those road signs that points to places in all directions - where family & friends live, where we've traveled and where we'd like to go.

From here.

Family Tree Skirt

I love this Family Tree Skirt so much it almost brought a tear to my eye! From here.

Elf Entrance

This Elf Entrance is hilarious. It reminds me of the leprechaun door my aunt and uncle have at their Irish pub in Saskatoon called O'Sheas (if you're in Saskatoon go check it out). From here.

Curly Paper Christmas Wreath

A little labour intensive (cutting & curling) but if you're crafty and like to keep you hands busy this may be the craft of the season for you! Scroll down for the helpful How To video. From here.

Card Catalog Display and Storage

This is a cute way to display and store holiday (or birthday, or anniversary, etc.) cards you receive. I wish I would have know of this sooner! From here.

Santa Handprint Craft

Another cute handprint card from here.

Reindeer Craft - Child's Feet and Hand Prints

This is a cute craft my daughter brought home from daycare. It's a great keepsake for the holidays and I would never have thought of doing something like this :)

Santa's Belly Christmas Ornament

From here.

Felt Tree Bottle Holder

This is a nice host/hostess gift for sure, but I'd suggest one modification, be sure to make the base of the tree big enough so the opportunity arises for someone to wear it on their head after the bottle has been polished off (!) From here.

Candy Cane Mice

From here. I think these would be just as sweet made in paper versus felt. A lot easier and kid friendly. Just draw faces on with marker & and glue ears to the body instead of threading them through. Instead of mice you could also make paper ornaments (even easier - cut out a circle/other shape, colour and/or glitter it up) and hang them on the tree via the candy cane hook. Voila! Take that Martha.

Christmas is Coming!

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday, by far.

So yes, I admit it. I've been perusing the web looking for cute holiday crafts to share with you. Here's the first one I've really liked - from here:

Nice hey? But something was missing for me. It's pretty, yes, but looks like you could buy it anywhere. Here are my thoughts on how to personalize this kind of wreath:

1. Use the front covers of holiday cards from last year
2. Use photos of family and friends from past holiday celebrations
3. Instead of the word Joy, replace it with your family's last name, or another word that sums of the spirit of the holiday season
4. Use pages from an old dictionary as paper with words you love 
5. Use pages from your favorite catalogue and compose a wreath of all the gifts you'd like your husband to get for you this year (I'm joking but I know you're imagining what your wreath would look like - I did!)

If the wreath shape just doesn't do it for you try stringing the circles (or squares, or rhombus) along a straight line and prop it up on your mantle. There's no need to discriminate here - we celebrate Christmas but I think this style of craft would be fabulous for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and any other holidays that you love to celebrate in your home! 

Oh man. I've just realized that we haven't even passed Halloween yet - who cares?!