Naughty or Nice, you get cookies

Neighbor gifts are something my mother insists are a must.  Not for everyone mind you just for the nice neighbors.  I could never figure out which neighbors would make my mother's nice list each year so at our house we operate a little differently.  If I can see your house from mine you are a neighbor and you get cookies whether your dog poopies on our front lawn all summer or you are sweet enough to snow blow our sidewalk before we roll out of bed on the morning a big blizzard hits.  This year I decided to do Forgotten Cookies and Ginger Bread Men.  The bug and I had a wonderful time making and decorating our Ginger Bread Men and oh my were they tasty!

The Forgotten Cookies are a family recipe I got from my mother-in-law and they are super easy.  Try some!

Forgotten Cookies


2 Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2tsp Vanilla
2 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease well.
2. Froth Egg Whites.
3. Add Salt and Cream of Tartar, beat until stiff.
4. Add Sugar slowly while continuing to beat.  Continue beating until mixture turns glossy.
5. Mix in Vanilla well.  Then fold in Chocolate Chips.
6. Drop cookies onto cookie sheet.  They wont expand so pack them in!
7. Put cookie sheet into preheated oven and immediately turn oven off.  Do not open for at least 5 hours!

We made our cookies in the evening and left them over night in the oven.  I had totally forgotten about them by morning.  My hubby reminded me they were there when he asked if I had tried one yet :)

A Christmas Disconnect

So we are decorating the Christmas tree last week and the bug starts talking about the Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear book (I love reading her stories about the upcoming holidays!) The bug wants to know what Sister Bear is getting for her birthday this year.
Me: huh?
The bug explains that Sister Bear wants a pony in the story and she gets one for Christmas so it must mean that Sister Bear's birthday is Christmas.
Me: ah!
So I explain to the bug that Christmas is a celebration of baby Jesus' birthday and that we exchange gifts with loved ones to celebrate His birth.  Knowing, as she does, that Jesus lived and died a long time ago she could not quite wrap her head around the idea that we exchange gifts without the birthday boy.  We abandoned tree trimming for a moment to locate the Nativity Scene grandma gave the bug last year.

I am a HUGE believer in hands on learning for kids and this Nativity Scene is perfect for teaching little ones about Jesus' birth and subsequently the first Christmas presents given by the Three Kings.  Grandma did make one change she used plastic (you can buy at craft stores by the sheet) for the bases in anticipation that it would get wet at some point whether from washing or baby drool, I think the directions say cardboard :)