Hi Everyone!
Happy Tuesday peeps! I’m here another little glimpse into our little bungalow with holiday season, but with a special little twist. My sweet friend Jen from With Heart is hosting a very special blog hop called A Holiday With Heart. She’s invited a group of us to share more than just how we deck our halls for the holidays with décor, but also to share some of the meaning behind it. She challenged us to think about some of our favorite traditions and treasured pieces, and to share the sentimental reasons behind them. I think its such a wonderful idea and I’m so honored to be included. I just love Jen so much. She’s so genuinely kind both through her blog and in real life. I couldn’t wait to share one our all time favorite holiday traditions. If you are popping over from Marianne’s, Hello! And welcome to today’s last stop on the tour.
Today we’re stepping into the kitchen. Now most of you know we are at the tail end of a renovation in this space so this holiday season is just a tad more special for that reason alone! But I wanted to do a little something out of the ordinary for me today. Instead of sharing lots of photos of how I decorated our little space for the holiday this year, I wanted to share a special tradition my kids (particularly my son) and I divulge in every year…baking treats for our neighbors. We started this several years ago and it just kinda stuck with us. Its something we look forward to every year.
This will be our second Christmas in our little bungalow and the first that we’ve really gotten to know and come to treasure our new neighbors. Last Christmas we’d only been here about 3 months and we barely knew anyone other than our very next door neighbors. This year we couldn’t be happier to have such wonderful and amazing people in our lives. We truly have the best neighbors in the world. This tradition is so important for me to share with my kids because it teaches them the joy of giving. It shows them that its not the “things” that matter the most, but rather our actions and generosity toward others. We don’t have to be rich to give something special. And very few things are more special than homemade goodies.
Every year we make candies and sugar cookies using a few of our treasured cookie cutters and presses. We started out with tons of cutters, but over the years they’ve dwindled down to our two faithful gingerbread girl and boy, as well as two presses I got from World Market a couple years ago while we lived in our last house. My son loves these cookie cutters and this tradition wouldn’t be the same without them.
This year he’s older and pretty independent, so he asked if he could do most of the work himself. Momma wasn’t ready yall! I mean, why must our babies grow up!
Of course I had to help with the rolling, but then he got to do his favorite part..cutting and pressing!
I’m telling you that 5-7 minutes is the “looooongest ever mom!!”
The kitchen is always a mess afterwards, but I don’t care! Sharing this with him is totally worth it!!
My wish is that he never grows out of wanting to do this together. We may not always bake cookies, but I hope we can always find something special to make together to share with our neighbors and friends.
Tomorrow the tour continues with the INSANELY talented Sarah M. Dorsey. I cant wait to see what she has to share! Do you guys have any special traditions you share with your family for the holidays?
Until next time….
Xo-Shavonda
Jason Martin 