Brownie Points

 Whether I'm short on time or not, I always turn to boxed brownies. You can spend all day making your grandmother's recipe, but the boxed ones are still less expensive and just as good! For game day, I made dark chocolate brownies with a homemade orange glaze for our orange and black alma mater.

Start by mixing one batch of brownies and pouring brownie batter into 8" by 8" square pan.

Mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar with 3 tablespoons nonfat milk until glaze is formed. Food coloring is optional.

Pour glaze into a small plastic sandwich bag, and cut a small corner of the bag to make a pastry bag. Drizzle the glaze on the uncooked brownie batter like the picture below.

Using a regular kitchen knife, cut through the uncooked brownie batter, perpendicular to the lines of the glaze.

Repeat about every 2 inches throughout the width of the pan.

Cook by following the rest of the directions on the brownie package as usual.Wa-lah! Major brownie points!

Christmasize Your Arrangements

Get into the Christmas spirit, even if you're short on time and money this year! You can use a lot of the things you already have throughout the year, just Christmasize it! You can get these little snowflakes for $1/pack, and insert them into your flower arrangements.

 Put garland at the base of an arrangement you already have. I bought this garland after Christmas last year for about a dollar.

 Insert feathers, sparkles, and metallic twigs into your arrangements to make it instantly glam!

 You can even Christmasize your faux fruit by adding glitz and sparkle! To make your own, spray the fruit with spray adhesive, and roll in a plastic disposable plate covered with a 1/4" high mixture of Epsom salts and white, iridescent glitter. You can find both at your local craft store. Shake off the excess and Wah-la!

Use a vase you already own, and some extra ornaments for an instant Christmas arrangement! I bought the trees pictured at the dollar tree, but you can make your own by taking and 8 1/2" by 11" piece of paper and rolling it into a cone. Cut the bottom off straight across so it stands up straight on its own, and add sparkle with the same spray adhesive and glitter you used for the fruit!

Altogether, it took about $4 to Christmasize all my arrangements, and everyone thinks they're seasonal decorations! Low cost + low storage = happy husband!

The Cookie Exchange: Part 1-Sugar Cookies

Do you have a cookie exchange this holiday season? Insert some *umph* into your cookies! Stick with a theme and don't be afraid to decorate the plate!

There are a couple options for ornament cookies: "Hang" the ornaments by drawing string with frosting from the ornament to the top of the plate! Or, outline the plate in the shape of a Christmas tree with green frosting!

Ornaments

Arrange Christmas tree cookies to look like a forest. Overlap a few and put dallops of frosting "snow" at the base of the trees.

Trees

Play Up Your Place Cards!

I received these place card holders as a gift, but usually don't hold parties formal enough to need place cards. My solution was to put reindeer names on each so the table setting looked formal, but was still fun!

Another fun option for place cards is to create a mystery game out of it! I found this website that lets you type in the first and last name of your guests and it will give you their elf name! http://www.jokesunlimited.com/christmas_elf_name.php Mine is Snappy Tum-Tums and my husband is Bijou Tum-Tums!!!

 

 

Decorate Your Christmas Tree Like a Professional!

Everyone has decorated a Christmas tree before. Whether you enjoy it or dread it, there are simple ways to make it beautiful. Turn some music on, dim the lights and get in the spirit of Christmas!

Start decorating your Christmas tree with lights. It's easiest to string the lights up and down the tree in a straight line, rather than wrapping them around the tree over and over like most people are taught. Secure the Christmas lights by wrapping it once around random branches about every 2 feet. All white lights look the best against colored ornaments, and colored lights looks great with all white or silver ornaments!

Next, wrap your Christmas tree with ribbon. Choose a ribbon in the main color you would like your tree to be, and make sure the color is compatible the majority of your ornaments. A deep red goes with most decor, and is festive and beautiful. Choosing ribbon that is slightly transparent and shines with a metallic or glitter accent will make your Christmas tree glow with magic. Insert sprigs of natural or faux elements to add interest to the branches.

Start decorating your Christmas tree with your largest ornaments first. I store all my Christmas ornaments by size and label the boxes so I know which boxes to start with. Insert your largest ornaments inside the tree, and arrange them to they hang naturally down, not obstructed by another branch. By putting them deeper into the tree, you are creating depth and color, without looking like you're overloading on ornaments.

Next, Place your brightest, most prominent mid-sized ornaments. Space them strategically so you have bright color evenly spread throughout the tree, and follow with mid-sized, more neutral ornaments such as gold and silver.

Lastly, place your smallest Christmas ornaments like crystals and icicles on the outer-most parts of the tree, as if the tree were dripping diamonds. (I love thinking that actually happens, like raining shoes.)

Something is still missing......

Bam.

Dress Up Your Desserts!

You've spent hours on creating(or buying) your masterpiece and can't wait to serve it! But how do you get the most "UMPH" out of your hard work? Impress your guests with these simple ways to spice up your sweets!

1. Embellish your desserts with molded chocolates!

Dove Discoveries

2. Embellish pies with these pie crust cutters!

Williams-Sonoma

3. Display your mousse or pudding in these chocolate cups!



Sugar Craft



4. Dress up your cake with truffles! This is the perfect option if you're low on time, creativity, or motivation!



Dove Discoveries



5. Don't under-estimate the drizzle! Drizzling desserts has to be the easiest, most impressive way to dress up your desserts. Drizzle with chocolate, caramel, butterscotch, berry, you name it! Want to really impress? Add words or designs to the plate.



Country Living



Design Your Season

I just LOVE Christmas! I would start my Christmas decor in October if it wasn't frowned upon! My husband thought I was crazy at first with all my Christmas decor, but he soon realized how happy it really made me. All week he has been tightening raindeer bolts, pulling things out of storage and hanging snowflakes(I think he secretly loves it ;) ). I just love discovering ornaments we bought on fun trips together, things we've made over the years, and those things with the fun stories attached to them that you will never forget!

I know I've said this before, but it's so important-

Decorating for the Holidays is not about changing your whole home, just making it a little more magical. Small additions here and there will transform a space into a magical wonderland! Here are some sneak peaks of my Christmas decor this year with a few pointers for your own space :)

Shimmer with silver, crystal and glass.

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Create a glow with dramatic lighting.

Feel the spirit of Santa.

Sparkle with glitter.

Add a little winter in your Wonderland.

Add naturally formal elements such as feathers and fur.

If the kids would like to help.....

Let the kids help :)

Keep you current decor, just add to it!

Christmas is all about addition. Add family, add food, add sparkle, add tradition, add joy!