Dream a Christmas Dream

Day 74 - Dream a little dream.  When I was a wee elf I grew up in Southern California (before my family moved to the North Pole of course). Although now I realize how fabulous it is to live here, as opposed to somewhere where it's winter all year long, when I was a kid I dreamed of snow. Every Christmas Eve I prayed that somehow it would snow. This never happened, but it didn't stop me from praying the same thing the next year. Do you have a Christmas dream? Did you ever? Maybe it's time to start believing in that dream again. Crazy? Probably, but I think sometimes, and maybe a little more during Christmas time, crazy is okay.

Day 73 - Look toward the light! No, I'm not having an out of body experience. I'm just thinking about all the pretty Christmas lights that will be hung on people's trees and outside on their houses.  If at all possible, consider using LED lights. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. They require less wattage and last longer than regular light bulbs. LED lights stay cool, so imagine how much safer it is to have them on your Christmas Tree. You won't have to worry about toasting the branches, or for that matter, little curious hands. If you want to know more about LED lights check out http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/led.htm.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend so far. We're almost halfway through October. Halloween is just around the corner, and not long after that...well, you know the deal...




Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents


photo: www.iowaenergycenter.org

Sometimes I Need a Few Practice Shots

Day 75 - I know it will sound suspicious if I say that I need to practice making cookies and candy but the truth is, it's not as easy as it looks. Have you ever noticed that the cookies and other baked goods always look so beautiful in magazines and advertisements. Do your cookies ever come out like that? (If they do, I don't want to know.) Mine don't. They aren't ugly usually, but they aren't, by any means, perfect little uniform sized or shaped, and inevitably a batch or two gets burned or dropped on the floor. This being said, if I want to try out something new to give as a gift, it's not a good idea for me to wait until I actually want to give them away.
 

Case in point:  I got this really cool mold to make candy Christmas trees. Think about it, what better treat would a Living Christmas elf want to make?  The tree part is made with green colored white chocolate and then I add a big pretzel stick as the trunk. So I decided to make some this morning to take to The Workshop for a meeting we were having. First, the chocolate didn't really melt very well, then the pretzels broke, then I spilled coffee on a couple of them. They ended up lumpy, and I broke a few more "trunks" off getting them out of the fridge. Memo to me: these will have to be made well in advance, with back up pretzels on the side. The finished product wasn't too bad, although I had to trim off the excess chocolate that spread on the outside of the mold and a few of the "branches" broke off. On the upside, no one complains about having to eat the rejects. For that matter, no one complains if they aren't perfect either. Heck, unless they taste horrible (another good argument for practice) no one cares what they look like at all for the most part.

So have fun practicing your baking, and candy and treat making. Share the mistakes.  And even if the final batch isn't perfect, don't sweat it. It's a gift that comes from your kitchen and from your heart, and that will make it all the better.





What they are supposed to look like (Wilton)



And these are mine  :)

Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

Time to Party!

I know that it's still early in the season for many of you but sometimes things just must be done early. Take today's list item for example:

Day 76 - Are you having a Christmas party? Seasonal get-together? Ladies Holiday Tea? Whatever shindig you are planning, now is the time to pick a date (if you haven't already). Then make sure you give your friends and family, at the very least, a "heads up".  If at all possible send out a "save the date" email, or Facebook notification.  We all know how busy things get once we hit December and if you wait too long, everyone will have made other plans.  I know I want my little soiree to be a big splash.  Another thing you might consider is your Living Christmas tree. When will it be delivered? You'll want to show it off to all your party guests, right? I like to get mine early enough to decorate too, of course, and make sure it's in just the right place. That's one of the cool things about The Living Christmas Company. Not only will our elves and reindeer deliver your tree, but we will even try to set it where you want it! I am so happy now not to have to fit my Christmas tree into one of those stands with the water tray and all that. No matter how hard I tried, the tree was crooked, or the water spilled out, or I ended up with needles EVERYWHERE! Not fun. Believe it or not, I'm a bit allergic to pine, so the less I have to handle, the better. (By the way, as much as it might be easier to get a fake tree...I shudder...our trees are worth the ichies. Besides, I can usually get Lauren Peace to decorate, hee hee).

So, plan your festivities, rent your tree at http://livingchristmas.com/ and have a wonderful day!



Merry Merry

Care'n Presents

Is 7 Your Lucky Number? How About 77?

Let's cut to the chase. Who has time for chit chat? Okay, who am I kidding? Without chit chat, what kind of elf would I be?  Typing, on the other hand, takes time, so on that note, I better get to it. 

Day 77 - Today, I'm going to start on 
my gift list. Every year I promise myself I'm going to do my Christmas shopping early, and every year I'm out on the week before Christmas, running around like every other crazy person who is trying to do it at the last minute. You'd think I'd know better. What if Scotty Claus waited until the last minute to deliver trees? Perish the thought!! 

So...item on my list:  start another list. I may not finish it today, but this way hopefully I won't forget anyone. There are so many people that I want to somehow at least say "Thank you" to.  If I wait until the last minute, those people are the first to be crossed off for lack of time. Not this year, by golly.  

You know how they say it's the thought that counts? I believe that. I also believe that gifts should come from the heart. I wouldn't want someone to give me something out of obligation, or guilt or something silly like that. My favorite gift is one that comes out of the blue from someone who says "I saw this and I just had to get it! It made me think of you." Those are my favorite gifts to give too. I can't always find those types of things for everyone, but when all else fails, nobody seems disappointed when I give them cookies...baked with love. So like I said: I better get to it!


Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents

Getting closer!

Wow! Now that we're in October, it really seems like Christmas is around the corner. Okay, maybe not for all of you, but for us here at The Workshop, we have to be ready a few weeks before with our Living Christmas tree deliveries! Our elves and reindeer have to organize the trees and the orders so everyone gets the right tree! It's a lot of work! Scotty Claus maps out the routes so that the drivers are being as efficient as possible, and we're leaving as small a "footprint" as we can.  I try and stay out of the way by hanging out at the Farmer's Markets where I get to meet lots of people, smile all day, take even more orders, and give Scotty, the other elves, and the reindeer still more work to do. It's a really good thing we love our work, or I would not be a very popular elf. ;)

So where were we? Oh yes...

Day 80 - Breathe. I know we all do that every day, but sometimes you have to think about taking a deep breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Relax. Seriously. That guy who just cut you off on the freeway is not worth any extra stress. Breathe in. Breathe out. Have a nice day, Buddy. Hopefully you won't hurt yourself or anyone else while you weave in and out of traffic. Personally, I'd really like to be alive when I get home.

Day 79 - Go to livingchristmas.com and decide which type of tree you'd like. We have a few different kinds and they are not the same old varieties you'll find at the lots. We have pictures you can look at and find the right one for you and/or your family.

Day 78 - Face the week with a smile! I know Mondays can be a drag for some people, but if we all made an effort to smile at one person it might just make them smile and it could cause an avalanche of smiles! Who knows?


All right. So breathe, pick out a tree and smile! It's gonna' be a great week!!


Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents

Busy, Busy, Busy

I can't help it! I'm a busy little elf. What can I say? Today, however I am caught up.


Day 89 - Enjoy something green. Maybe for you it's Kermit the Frog. For me, it's a Christmas tree. Since there aren't a whole lot of Christmas trees around yet, I'll settle for any tree. Step away from your computer and go outside. Appreciate whatever nature you can find. Breathe it in.

Day 88 - Look in your closet for red and green items. I don't know about you, but being an elf, I can't very well wait until December to find something festive to wear. Granted, being an elf, most of my clothes are red and green, and some even have jingly things on them, but still, I need to make sure they are in good shape and ready to wear this season!

Day 87 - Give someone a hug. Did I say that one already? Well, you can never give out too many hugs, right?

Day 86 - Check out our Christmas ornaments on livingchristmas.com. We have some really beautiful recycled ones, and lots of Fair Trade ornaments from exotic places like Peru and Tibet.

Day 85 - While you are there, check and see what kind of tree you'd like this year, unless of course you have adopted one from last year. If you don't see your adopted tree, don't worry, and elves are working hard to get everything organized. We recently moved all our trees from one lot to another one AND The Workshop has moved too. What a year, huh?

Day 84 - Call a friend. Ask them out for a cup of coffee, or a soda, or lunch. We all say: "We have to get together!" The problem is, then we get busy with, well, life, and these things tend to be a low priority. Push it to the top. Having friends takes time, but it's well worth it.

Day 83 - Clean the house. I mean really clean. As we get closer and closer to the holidays, things get busy. wouldn't it be nice to have a fresh start on it all? Think of it as Spring Cleaning...in the Fall. :)

Day 82 - Rub your pointy ears. Wait, you don't have pointy ears? Oh, that's right. I'm just so used to most of the people I know having them...well, rub your roundy ears then. Why? I don't know. I heard that it's lucky, or something. Can't hurt.

Day 81 - TODAY!  Wow, I'm caught up (for the moment). Today I want to make up my holiday calendar. We all know that things get a little crazy during the holidays. We all schedule way too many things and get way too stressed out about everything. So I make a calendar. If there's too much, I try and figure out if I can let something go. If there's nothing I really can let go, I make sure to schedule in some restful moments in between. Going shopping all day? Decide to stop at some point for a little "me" time.  Cleaning the house? Put some fun music on and dance while you work.

Well, there you go. Wow. tomorrow it will only be 80 days until Christmas!! Part of me can't wait, the other part wants to make every moment last. This can be a great time of year. Don't let it get so busy, that it's no fun any more. Be a kid, or better yet...an elf.


Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents

 

Oops!

Well, ha ha, okay...this past week was even busier than I expected. but once again, I am prepared to catch up with my list of things to do before Christmas! I'll do half today and half tomorrow. No really, I will. Cross my pointy ears!

Day 94 -  Stores, believe it or not, are already putting out Christmas decorations. One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is to go window shopping! I love to look at all the decorations and ornaments and lights! It puts me in the mood. I don't have to buy anything,I just enjoy the view. Considering most people won't be putting up their own lights for another month and a half, this works for the time being.

Day 93 - Practice a little stress relief: Go to the "99 cent store" and get a coloring book and crayons. Then color away! It's the cheapest therapy you will ever experience, and there are no bad side affects!

Day 92 - Sing a song to yourself! It doesn't have to be a Christmas song (although, those are the best kind!) As Buddy the Elf would say: "The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear." Even if you don't sing loud, it can still make you feel good.

Day 91 - Find some old Christmas cards and find ways to recycle them: you can make new cards with them, picture frames, coasters, decorations, or gift tags for your Christmas presents!

Day 90 - Do something nice for a stranger. Open the door, help them pick up something they dropped, or just smile at them. Sometimes a smile from a stranger is just the thing that will lift someone's spirits.


The rest, with any luck, I will type up after my work is done, tomorrow.  I will be moving some ornaments and gift wrap and other fun stuff to The Workshop so they will be ready whenever someone orders them. AND...in case you are wondering you can order really super cool stuff from our website:

livingchristmas.com

Meanwhile...
Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents