Lightening Online

We received a catalogue in our mailbox recently that had me scratching my head and laughing at the same time.

I mean, who buys this stuff????

A Nose Shower Gel Dispenser?  Complete with green gel!!!!  Ewwww……

After Dinner Arguments - because divorce rates are so healthy we all need a little “kick along” to end our marriages????  I mean, who needs help in the argument department???  Sounds like fun…NOT!!! 

Apparently “Best served after all throwable objects have been removed from the table….”

Or buy this for your wife (and you’ll not NEED the above game!!!!):

Perhaps you could buy her this as well (although you’d also have to read AND apply for it to work…):

I wouldn’t buy it for your husband though.  Might not go down too well.

And what’s the go with this????

Is nobody spontaneous anymore???? 

Here’s a hint fellas, try vacuuming the floor and see what happens.  You aint gonna need no date planner.  There’s nothing more sexy than a guy cleaning, believe me!!!! 

Okay, this one actually is kinda funny…

As long as you give it to somebody that doesn’t live with you!!!

The nuclear doorbell.  It carry’s on with sirens and all sorts when you ring the doorbell.

But this one is nasty!!!

Merry Christmas, here’s a chocolate bar you can’t actually EAT!!!

It’s a chocolate bar mouse.

Way to tease a girl!!!

Well, someone obviously buys this stuff or why would they make it?

So tell me, what’s the weirdest Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

My sister in law is due to have twins very soon.

When I saw these in our local post office, I just could not resist:

Cute aren’t they? 

Our Christmas season has once again kicked off this year with the Credit Union Christmas Pageant (on TV) followed by placing our own Santa in the front paddock. 

Each year it seems to get harder and harder trying to decide how we are going to present Santa.

However, this year we had plenty of material to choose from.  We wanted to represent something from our “big trip”.

On Saturday we got busy and began making some props to go with our chosen scene:

It’s been a while since we have had any paints out, so the kids thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to do some painting:

It was the perfect way to spend a hot day:

It was also a great refresher of some of what we learnt while on our trip.

Today, it was time for the assembling. Santa and the kids were loaded on the back of the ute:

And….

Ta Da…..

Can you tell where he is????

The kids re-enact some of their Great Barrier Reef swimming:

You can’t see their fish very well but they did an amazing job of replicating the shapes and colours of the fish we saw in Northern Queensland.

We had a lot of fun putting this together.  Wonder how many people going past will guess where he’s meant to be?

If you’ve missed our Santa’s from the past:

2008 Santa Up a Gum Tree

2007 Santa Kicking Back Relaxing with a Cold Drink

2006  Santa In The Old Firetruck

2005 On an old bull-dog tractor (no blog post for this one)

Wonder where Santa will be next year?

I know some of you will cringe at the mention of the word “Christmas”.

I’m one of those “pro” Christmas, get all excited, kind of people.

Usually.

And I’m sure I will again this year….eventually.

It’s not uncommon for me to have already planned most of what the kids will be getting as early as BEFORE the Christmas before.

Of course, as they get older, it becomes harder to choose what I want to give them.  They have definite ideas of their own.  Well, some of my kids do.

Anyway, this year with the big trip, I really haven’t given Christmas too much thought yet.

You might think I have plenty of time but we have a couple of challenges out here when it comes to Christmas shopping and preparation:

1.  We don’t live near shops so if I want something specific, I need to plan early in order to give myself a chance to actually find it.

2.  Harvest is a flat out time of year and often clashes with the lead up to Christmas.  In the last few years, we’ve been busy in November and not so busy in December.  This year it looks like being a busy December.  The thing is, it’s an unknown and there are never any guarantees that once harvest starts, you’ll have time or opportunity for much Christmas shopping before Christmas.

So, yesterday I went with Farmboy to a town that isn’t our local town (not that much further away but in the opposite direction).  I was browsing around the shops while he went to an appointment and I bought a present for Singstar Princess!!!!

That means I can officially say I’ve started my Christmas shopping!!!!  LOL.

It’s so unlike me to see something and just grab it on the spot too.  Usually I like to look around, compare prices, think about it.

This time I just went, yep, she’ll love that.

And I’m kind of glad I did because the more I think about it, the more I think she’ll enjoy it.

Now to work out what we’re doing about the rest of Christmas.

It does feel strange to not really have made too many plans or purchases yet.

What about you?  Are you in the “mega organised” category or the “haven’t even started yet” category.  Or maybe somewhere in between?  Do you use a set formula or vary what you do from year to year?

Wishing you all a blessed, safe and happy Christmas. I hope you can find the time to relax amongst all the hustle and bustle of the season and the true Spirit of Christmas may shine through.

May we all be thankful for the things that we do have rather than focusing on what we don’t have. Most of us are blessed beyond comprehension and it can be easy to get disgruntled rather than being thankful.

The following clip is a great reminder of the true spirit of Christmas:

Thank you for your friendship and support this year and for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Blessings.

My baking for Christmas is finally done. Here is what we’ve made for treats this year:

Cheesecake Oreo Balls

These are always a hit but quite time consuming to make so they are usually a Christmas treat only. They’re easy to do - it just takes a while rolling them all and then rolling them all in chocolate. I get the kids to do the initial rolling of the recipe which spreads the load a bit.

Click here for Cheesecake Oreo Balls Recipe.

Christmas Tree Biscuits

These are just a basic sugar cookie. It came in a pack with the mix, a couple of cookie cutters and a large pack of Christmas sprinkles. I bought the pack for the sprinkles mainly. We iced them with peppermint icing and they sure smell good! The kids had a great time icing and decorating them.

Lemon Slice

A family favourite and I had all the ingredients so I ended up making 2 double batches of this. My brothers are getting some for christmas (we don’t “do” presents so I’ve just done them a small container of homemade goodies since I was cooking anyway and we’ll be seeing them the day after Christmas). Some will be for Christmas Day and some for when we head down the beach with Farmboys family.

Click here for Lemon Slice recipe.

I tend to use 1/2-3/4 the amount of coconut mentioned in the original recipe. This happened one time because I didn’t have enough and we quite enjoyed the softer, doughier texture that it made.

Shortbread

Shortbread is another recipe I tend to only make at Christmas. Again, it’s not difficult, just time consuming. Usually I make Christmas stars which I then drop into castor sugar to coat. They are very more-ish.

This year I made most of them round and drizzled chocolate over them.

They’re also very more-ish.

Click here for Lightening’s Shortbread Recipe.

Christmas Chocolates

Each year the kids ask if they can make Christmas chocolates. It’s an easy activity to keep them occupied with and they really don’t need my help (other than melting the chocolate).

We made many more than in the image above. They’re just a few that haven’t been packed away ready yet (I hadn’t tipped them out of their moulds yesterday).

And that’s as far as we got with our Christmas baking this year. No fudge or popcorn balls or peanut clusters. It’ll be plenty though and I’m pretty happy I made it this far given how busy we’ve been.

Image by Stéfan via FlickrEvery year, our local paper publishes Letters to Santa written by some of the local school children in Reception (and sometimes year 1). It’s always interesting to see what the children write (even more so when my own children are involved - quite a revelation in fact).

Here are a few that were published this year:

Dear Father Christmas, I like you. I only want a DVD of Beverley Hills Chihuahua. We watched this movie in Adelaide. We are going to Clare for Christmas. The house is a greeny sort of colour and my name is F*******. My brother is M**, my sister is A****. We have some baby kittens. We could give some, if you would like one.

How cute is that????

****

I love you Father Christmas. Can you bring me a motorbike because I have been good lots of times and K**** has been good lots of times too. Why don’t you give my Mum and Dad presents? Merry Christmas Father Christmas.

****

Dear Santa, I hope you have a happy day. I have tried my hardest to be good. I hope I get some presents. I want a new bike.

I love the “tried my hardest to be good”. So honest.

****

Dear Santa, Merry Christmas. Ho! Ho! Ho! I want a shotgun to shoot the emus.

*snort* I wonder if he’s a farm kid? These are published with full names under them - wonder if they’ll get a visit from some animal loving organisation?

****

Dear Santa Claus, for Christmas can I please have a remote control care and a surfboard and a book full of monsters, trucks and cars, a little cup of gold like the year 4/5/6 and pencils and textas in a pencil case. I hope you get this letter.

I wonder why some kids have a nice long list and others have 1 (or maybe not even anything) on their “wishlist” for Santa? Perhaps it’s a personality thing. I have 1 who could write a list of “wants” on request and 1 that hardly ever knows what they want (and 1 that’s too young to tell yet).

****

Dear Santa, Please can I have a book about Spencer

Who or What is Spencer? There’s one I haven’t heard of.

****

Dear Santa, you are special to us and we are special to you. Thank you for last years present. I like everything you got for me. I want an iPod and anything else that you give me. Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas.

I love those that have included a thank you for what they received last year.

Kids really make Christmas special don’t they?

Farmboy, in an effort to cheer me up the other day, made a comment along the lines of “only 7 more sleeps to Christmas”.

You see, it’s common for me to get VERY excited as Christmas draws near. I’m a HUGE fan of Christmas.

I turned to him and said “shut up”.

He looked like I had slapped him in the face.

It was an unusual response for me and a bit of a wake up call that I had really lost my way in the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. Life has been too busy of late and that’s just not how I want to approach this very special time of year.

So, today I want to focus on some of the things about Christmas that make me smile.

Seeing our Santa up a Gum Tree every time we come home (and the toots from motorists when they drive past):

Our imperfectly decorated Christmas Tree which reminds me that Christmas doesn’t need to be perfect in order to make people smile (and in fact, perhaps it’s better if it isn’t):

The fun of buying and wrapping gifts for others and the hope that what you give them will make them smile:

Taking time out for family with a very simple Christmas fare:

Our Sunday School nativity, reminding us of the true reason for the season:

My little Fairy in our local Christmas pageant (where the kids also got a small gift from Santa and the town put on a free movie):

There are plenty of reasons to smile in this Christmas Season. I invite you to join me in reflecting on what has made you smile in the lead up to Christmas. It really makes a difference to take a moment from the hustle and bustle and appreciate all the wonderful things this season represents.

If you’re new to Smiley Saturday, please read my Smiley Saturday page before adding your link to the Mr Linky below. Anyone is welcome to join at anytime but please link directly to your Smiley Saturday post and not to your blogs homepage.

You might also enjoy browsing some of the Christmas Crazy posts linked at Magnetoboldtoo. I’m sure there’ll be quite a few smiles and laughs amongst those.

Happy Smiley Saturday! I hope you’re all able to find your smiles amongst the busy-ness and craziness of this festive season.

When our children were younger, we felt a lot of pressure from extended family to “share” them at Christmas time. For a while they were the only children (particularly on Farmboy’s side of the family) and everyone wanted to spend Christmas with them. Being the people pleaser that I am, I always tried to accommodate, even though at times it went against what we’d have really liked to have done as a family. Not because we don’t enjoy spending Christmas with extended family but because we rarely got the chance to spend some quiet moments with our young children on Christmas Day.

So we began our own Christmas tradition of sharing a hot meal together at some point in the week leading up to Christmas. I’m not a big fan of cooking a hot meal on Christmas day. I prefer to prepare the meal so that there isn’t as much work to do on the actual day. But we all enjoy a hot turkey dinner (well, one of those rolled turkey breasts you buy in the freezer section) so it’s become somewhat of a tradition to do this as an immediate family tradition on a day other than Christmas Day.

It’s a simple affair. The way I’d personally LOVE Christmas Day to be. A $2 pack of bon bons, a Christmas tablecloth, a $1 bottle of Ginger Beer and a Sarah Lee cheesecake with cream for dessert.

Lleyton was great this year and really got into setting the table and serving the food to each person. He even followed it up with clearing plates from the table!!!!

If it’s a year where we’re travelling for Christmas, we’ll sometimes do our family gift on this occasion as well, particularly if it’s something that won’t travel well (or won’t fit).

While we normally hold this Family Christmas Dinner Christmas Eve or in the last few days before Christmas, this year we decided to do it early.

We splashed out a little (okay a lot) this year on a family present and we can’t take it with us when we go away at Christmas and we’re going to be away intermittently through January so we decided to hold our Traditional family dinner early and give the kids the gift early as well. That way they can play with it this week and early next week. It seemed cruel to give it to them and then they not be able to use it.

So, what is “IT”?

Even though we bought about the cheapest we could find (and yes, a chinese import I’m afraid), this was still more than we usually spend on our entire Christmas budget.

What the kids don’t know (yet) is that we have an ulterior motive. This will enable them to help out with the sheep work around the farm. Checking troughs and moving sheep around.

They’re pretty stoked with it!

Remind me next year that I MUST be ready for Christmas by December 1st.

On November 30th I felt I was doing really well with how far along I was in my organisation for Christmas. Nearly a month to go and I was *almost* ready.

I’m not sure almost was quite enough!

December kicked in and I’ve yet to find time to draw a breath.

It doesn’t help that we added in a surprise 60th, a 5th birthday party, a wedding and a dinner for my MIL’s birthday in that insane final week of school (which was last week here).

I thought I’d be right if I managed to survive last week.

This week was “recover week” and a chance to catch up on some housework (run in and out for 9 days straight and the house is wrecked and in desperate need of a clean) and get presents wrapped, along with some Christmas baking with the kids.

No problem!

Or maybe…..

Turns out I’m out every day this week, I’m tired and still most of my presents need wrapping.

Talk about the silly season!!!!

Well, all I can do is take 1 day at a time and hope that I’m not frantically trying to wrap presents the night before we head away for Christmas.

I feel like I need a “to do” list but I’m too scared to write one in case it freaks me out how long it is.