christmas comes but once a year

Last night we hung ornaments on the tree and hung up our stockings.......

.......lovingly knitted by my Grandma. My foot stocking with the red toenails has been my stocking for as long as I can remember, so I forget that it's funny. It's only when people drop by and have such a big reaction to them that I remember that they are unusual. Good job, Grandma! They may not be Martha Stewart beautiful, but they always make me feel like Christmas time has arrived.

I've been feeling nostalgic and wanting to make new traditions with my kids, so last night we also made my favorite Christmas cookies ever:

Fruit-Shaped Marzipan Cookies

They're so cute and just as yummy as I remember them. The smell of the almond and cloves......aahhhhh, Christmas. Here's the recipe:

Yield: 4 dozen cookies

1 c. margarine or butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 to 1 tsp. almond extract
Food Colors

1. Mix butter and sugar in large bowl. Stir in flour and almond extract until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Divide into 3 equal parts. Tint and shape dough as directed below. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 300 F. Bake about 30 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Apples:
Mix red or green food color into part of dough. Shape into small balls. Insert small piece of cinnamon stick in top for stem end and whole clove in bottom for blossom end. Dilute red or green food color with water and brush over apples.

Apricots:
Mix red and yellow food colors into part of dough. Shape into small balls. Make crease down 1 side with a toothpick. Insert whole clove for stem end. Dilute red food color with water and brush over apricots.

Bananas:
Mix yellow food color into part of dough. Shape into 3-inch rolls, tapering ends. Slightly flatten sides to make planes of banana; curve slightly. Paint on markings with mixture of red, yellow and blue food colors diluted with water.

Oranges:
Mix red and yellow food colors into part of dough. Shape into small balls. Insert whole clove for blossom end. Prick with blunt end of toothpick for texture.

Pears:
Mix yellow food color into part of dough. Shape into small balls, then into cone shapes, rounding narrow end. Insert small piece of cinnamon stick in narrow end for stem. Dilute red food color with water and brush on "cheeks" of pears.

Strawberries:
Mix red food color into part of dough. Shape into small balls, then into heart shapes, about 3/4 inch high. Prick with blunt end of toothpick for texture. Roll in red sugar. Insert small piece of green-colored toothpick or green dough into top for stem.

An important side-note that the recipe fails to mention: eating 20 of them will make you sick. Don't do that.

Oliver + hot chocolate = that gross face and shirt. And yes, Alex is crying.
Probably about something really cry-worthy, like somebody took HIS
cookie, even though there were 5 more exactly like it. Oh the humanity!

I've also been trying to remember what books I loved as a child to give to my kids for Christmas. When I was at my mom's I found one of my favorites - The Little Old Man Who Could Not Read. I thought about just sneaking it home, but it was missing some pages, so I decided to be respectable-like and buy my own. I checked for it on Amazon and there were only used ones selling as collectibles for $100! I told my mom about this and her suggestion was, in all seriousness, "Just check it out from the library and keep it. They'll only charge you like $25." Niiiiice. Sounds like a plan, Stan.