gingerbread houses & homemade apple cider

I’m really behind in posting this but for good reason. I went offline during all of last week to be intentionally present with the family. Prepping for Christmas and guests was more than enough for my plate, but I still wanted to share with you the fun night we had before the guests came.

I love having family traditions and creating memories with the kids. Making gingerbread houses and homemade cider each year is one of them. Making Christmas special and as magical as possible is something I love to do. When my kids are older and gone I want them to remember these days and look back on them with joyful hearts, and I hope they recreate them when they have families of their own.

We put on our favorite Christmas music and our home smelled incredible with the apples and cinnamon and cloves! I love having evenings just to ourselves, and spending uninterrupted time together with nowhere else to go.

We brought out the leftover Halloween candy to add more to our houses and make them more colorful.

(These photos are so grainy because of the dark lighting…but I wanted to share them anyway, so forgive me!)

Is anyone else in shock that Christmas is already over? Despite our best efforts to slow down time, I’m still surprised it’s over! We had all of Kate’s Nutcracker excitement (I’ll post those pics soon too!!! She was absolutely lovely and we had the best time watching her face light up!), had family in town for six days, family and neighbors over for Christmas Day and now are preparing to reset before more family and more friends come to visit. There is still so much to celebrate!

One of Kate’s presents this year from her Aunt Mindy is tickets to the LA Nutcracker this coming Friday! We’ll plan to get all dressed up, go out to eat beforehand and the rest of the girls in our fam are coming too. Kate is so excited to actually see a show instead of be in it. This will be her first “real” ballet she’s ever been to and I cannot wait to take her.

It’s not too late to make homemade cider! We’ve had some colder days here lately and I hope to make it again soon too. Here’s the recipe we used. It’ll make your house smell amazing and it’s tastes like a warm hug. Merry Christmas everyone!

Cider recipe: 

• 1 large (2 quarts) apple juice
• 1 apple (cut in half)
• 1 orange (cut in slices)
• cinnamon sticks
• whole cloves
• all spice

Pour the apple juice into a pot over low/medium heat.

Slice the apples and oranges.

Press the whole cloves into the oranges and apples (about 7-8)

Add 2-3 cinnamon sticks, all spice (to desired flavor).

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to let simmer for approx 30 minutes.

Serve warm! Enjoy!