It's beginning to look a lot like.......

Christmas?
Well, not really but I do have Christmas on my mind. Christmas baking that is.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love preparing for Christmas.

Despite the presence of calenders in my home, I will still make my own monthly calenders complete with pictures (Autumn, Winter, Christmas) to post on my fridge.

From that point I will continually write down my thoughts throughout the various months as I anticipate entertaining guests over the season.

For example:

candy to be bought

a visit to the pumpkin patch

& subsequent apples purchased.

Pepper jellies & antipasto to be made.

Christmas cakes to bake.

Presents bought & wrapped & hid (or I will give them early) ( I am worse than the kids)

Decorating the house,

decorating the tree.

Sewing stockings

Christmas cards made,

cards bought,

& cards mailed.

And last but not least...

Christmas cookies to be baked.

In short, I love all things Christmas.

I will pour through magazines of Christmas season past & present. I look online for recipes. And I will also go to the library in hopes of finding just one more great recipe to try.

I go back and forth in my thoughts.....chocolate bark this year? Maybe some homemade Almond Roca.

Gingerbread or gingersnaps. I prefer gingersnaps because I roll them in the colored sugar.

Shortbread, decorated sugar cookies in the shapes of trees, stars and snowmen, snowballs and my favorite, thimble cookies with jam in the center.

You know I am not much of a baker at least it is not my favorite thing to do but when Christmas rolls around....something happens to me. It's like I turn into Martha Stewart and I bake, bake, bake. Or maybe Mrs. Claus.

The thing with Christmas baking is that it takes time, but it is a labour of love for me.

Christmas fruit needs to marinate overnight. Cherries, raisins and nuts sit in their rum bath.

Cookies baked one day sit overnight to be decorated the next day. It's all in the planning and it's all written down on my homemade calenders.

And in the end, it's all worth it.

It is worth it just to see the delighted, smiling faces as the children try to decide which cookie to choose. And that goes for the adults as well.