Santa Hat Cookies

Simple cute cookies that are perfect for the Christmas Season

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury™ ready-to-bake sugar cookies

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon red gel food color

48 miniature marshmallows

White candy sprinkles

Step 1) Heat oven to 350°F. Cut each cookie in half. Roll each half into a ball. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Step 2) Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

Step 3) To make frosting, in large bowl, beat marshmallow crème and softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Add food color, and beat until well combined.

Step 4) Place frosting in resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut off 1 tiny corner of bag. Pipe frosting, piling up in hat shape, on top of each cookie.

Step 5) Top each hat with miniature marshmallow. Gently press sprinkles around bottom edge of each hat so they stick to frosting.

Enjoy!

Post By: Melissa K.

Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas!

With Christmas day right around the corner, we are headed full speed down the home stretch. Whether you are a last minute shopper or not, do not give off that impression. With these easy DIY Christmas gift wrapping, you can wow your family and friends. After all, it is the thought that counts.

With the help of kids, this is an easy and fun way to deck up brown paper bags as cute reindeer's.

Make your gifts stand out underneath the tree with beautiful embellishments from your arts and crafts supply box.

Instead of name tags, add photos of the recipient to give it that extra personalized touch. To add some mystery and fun, try drawing them and have them guess which gift is theirs.

Wrap kids gifts with crayons. This is especially useful for big Christmas parties, where kids have to wait to open their presents.

Use popsicle sticks as name tags to give it that rustic feel for a snowy white Christmas. 

Post by: Mai Y.

References:

http://www.craftionary.net/diy-gift-wrapping-ideas-christmas-holidays/ 
http://www.shelterness.com/11-diy-last-minute-christmas-gift-wrapping-ideas/

Tips for a Stress(less) Christmas

Every year I tell myself that I am going to buy gifts earlier then December and that I am going to get the decorating done right after Thanksgiving. Well I can tell you that it’s December 18th and I still have to finish Christmas shopping and there are no lights outside my house right now. I can’t believe how quick Christmas seems to be coming this year. I have spoken to friends and family on both sides of the spectrum and it seems some are totally ready for Christmas while others are stressing about getting things done. Now it might be too late for me, but these are some things that may be helpful to you and that I plan to keep in mind for Christmas next year….I hope!

1. Start Saving! I started my Christmas club with HCCU 2 years ago and this has help so much with our Christmas budget. I put away $25 per pay check and come October I have around $650 saved. I can’t imagine where I would have pulled that money from if I hadn’t been saving all year long. Christmas gifts get expensive so save your money to save you the stress.

2. Start decorating after Thanksgiving! I usually end up working the day after Thanksgiving and in the past I always ended up decorating the Saturday after Christmas. I don’t know what my procrastination was this year, but I didn’t get my decorations up until 2 weeks ago. Decorate early so that you have time to pick up decorations that you may need to replace or update It also allows you to enjoy your decoration efforts for a lot longer.

3. Start shopping early! My mom used to always start shopping after Christmas. She said that is when you get the best deals. I used to work in retail so I know that this is true especially when it comes to Christmas items. Some Christmas clearance starts at 70% on December 26th. Think about how much you can get done if you do not have to shop in December. You also won’t have to deal with crowds and trying to figure out what people want. Try to keep in mind when you hear your friends and family talking about things they want throughout the year and pick those items up right away. Again, whatever you can get done early will make you less stressed.

4. Don’t try to please everyone! My boyfriend has divorced parents so we are bound to at least 3 Christmases each year. Add in Christmas with our extended families and that can be a lot! We tell ourselves each year that our immediate family comes first. We always make it to my parent’s house each year, his mom’s house and his dads. If we can fit our extended families in as well we do, but we don’t go to every party that we get invited to. This allows us to enjoy Christmas and not feel like all we are doing is traveling all day long.

5. Limit your spending! Each year it feels like we are spending more and more on Christmas gifts. Each year I tell myself that we are going to cut back and it seems like we continue to buy more. While our families always come first I decided this year to cut back on buying all of our friend’s gifts. Instead of buying gifts we decided to go out and have a nice dinner. Each couple ends up spending $100 on gifts, that money can pay for a really nice dinner and then you are not buying things that your friends could go out and buy themselves.

So there you have it. These are some great tips on how you can make the holidays a bit less stressful. I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say that they don’t like Christmas because of all the work that they need to do. Keep these tips in mind and you may just have a Merry Christmas after all!

Written By: Katie B.