Christmas is coming!

Post number 2, here it goes.

I find it hard to focus my thoughts sometimes when I sit down to write my posts. I have so many topics swirling in my head and it is very hard to pick just one. I think today I will talk about getting ready for Christmas. I'll be honest when I say the end of November, start of December is my least favourite time of the year.
NOT beacause I don't love Christmas! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas, but I HATE Christmas shopping, I hate busy malls and I hate figuring out what to give someone.

This year I've decided to make a lot of my gifts (I can't say what they are incase family and friends are reading this) but that has certainly cut down on the amount of time I've spent in the mall........actually I haven't spent any time in the malls (yet). And the reason for this is online shopping! What a wonderful tool the internet is!

Anyways my Christmas shopping is almost done (WOOT!) and I'm almost into my favourite part of the season, getting ready for Christmas!

Growing up, decorating and baking for Christmas was a pleasure. My Mom puts up a Christmas village every year, and although the 4 hours it takes to do it is a time commitment, it is a wonderful time for my family and I to get into the Christmas spirit. We would always play classic Christmas music such as Boney M., Roger Whittaker, A Rosie Christmas and Celine Dion. My Mom and I know all the words to our favourites and always sign along (much to my brother's dismay). Unfortunetly because of the bad weather this year I couldn't make it to Mom's to help with any decorating, it seems strange to not participate in that tradition.

Another Christmas tradition in Mom's house is the baking. We always make gingerbread men, sugar cookies, shortbread and many others! This tradition is on my mind today because last night I made Christmas cookies in my own home for the first time. I made gingerbread and sugar cookies, both turned out wonderfully. I will share the gingerbread recipe with you at the bottom because it turned out so good! I of course sang all the favourite songs while baking (much to my husband's dismay :) )

Having just started a business a few months ago with holidays season so close has presented it's own set of difficulties. This is definitely the busiest retail time of the year! The beauty of Christmas is that it gives you the opportunity to bring new and fresh products into your store. For my shop, Scrubxury, that meant 5 new flavors (pumpkin pie, eggnog, gingerbread, Christmas memories, and hot chocolate) and a completely new line of body butter! I must say I may just keep the Christmas scents all year round, they have been such a hit! If you are starting a retail business, a few months before Christmas is an excellent time to start. It forces your to dive right in and means you will get lots of people looking at your shop.


Last post I mentioned that I didn't know where this blog would go, I believe after the second post I am starting to see a path. This blog is my public journal, a place to discuss what is on my mind and share what I have recently learnt. I hope that you as the reader will be able to relate to my experiences and maybe even learn something.

And now the recipe as promised...

Gingerbread Recipe
(originally pinned from http://theparsimoniousprincess.blogspot.ca/2010/12/only-in-december-best-gingerbread.html?m=1, check her blog out, it's GREAT!)

1 1/2 cups of butter (3 sticks), softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ginger
5 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.

Add molasses. Mmmmmm....the smell reminds me of Christmas (and my dad, who loves old-fashioned molasses candy). Mix. 

In a separate bowl, combine the soda, salt, spices, and flour.  Add to the wet mixture. Mix until smooth. 

Before you roll out the dough, you need to let the dough chill for a couple hours.  Before I put my dough in the fridge, I like to split it up, flatten it on a piece of plastic wrap, wrap it up, and stick it the fridge. This makes rolling out the chilled dough a little easier because it's ready to go.

Once your dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured countertop until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes.  While you're doing this, you should also be preheating your oven to 350 degrees. 

On a lined or greased baking sheet, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. It can be a little tricky to tell when they're done (wait until they're golden brown?). Just mess up one of the uglier cut-outs to test for doneness.

Let the cookies cool and then decorate with frosting, candy, and/or sprinkles. 



Thanks for reading!