Life Lately and Elf Antics

Hey!…or should I say, “Ho, ho, ho?! because we’ve been having lots of festive fun over here. This post is basically a “Weekend Wrap Up,” but I’m going with “Life Lately: Holiday Fun Edition” as well as a glimpse of what our elf has been up to lately.

Friday:

Friday at 2:45 kicked off Winter Break for us, so I decided to plan a fun outside Christmas activity. In Millersburg, not too far from here, is a place called Mustard Seed Hill. I’ve seen people post about the lights and displays at this historic home, so I thought we’d check it out. The tickets were free, but we had to purchase tickets online beforehand to enter. I did so early in the week, and the whole weekend did end up being sold out by Friday. I appreciate that they were limited numbers due to Covid, and the security officer was turning people away who didn’t have proof of ticket.

We parked on the street, and Mustard Seed Hill was easy to find!

I did pay $5 per person in advance to see the gingerbread house display. We had a time frame of 6-7 to look at the houses. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and these displays were from a competition. I thought maybe there would be houses created by professionals, but instead there were displays of categories (teen, family , businesses, etc). That being said, there were so really cool houses on display! Considering the ones we do at home usually end up imploding, I was amazed at these creations.

We did end up going in the house. Again, I wasn’t sure what we were in line to see, but there was a really sweet greeter at the door who let only a few people in and out and shared the history of the home. Once we were inside, we just toured the main level, and then stopped to listen to another volunteer who shared more history about the family. Hayden loves this kind of stuff!

On the back porch of the home…

There was a little line to see this huge ornament, and it was the perfect spot for people to take photos….so, of course that’s what we did.

Hadley really wanted to have her photo taken in the glowing carriage!

Then, we stopped by the outdoor market for a treat. Everyone got hot chocolate, and both kids got a cookie. Mid-bite, I saw Hayden laughing, and asked him what was so funny. Travis had asked Hayden what he got to eat…Travis heard, “Big a$$ cookie,” when Hayden said, “Big iced cookie.” His mask must have muffled his response! 😂

Then, we headed home. We were probably there a little over an hour. The property was beautiful, and apparently this is only the second year they’ve put on this display. While it may not be a yearly tradition, I’m glad that we checked it out!

We got home a little after 8:00, got carry out for dinner, and I started break off with a glass of wine in festive cups I got from @cupsoncochran.

Saturday:

We had a low key Saturday morning, and then Hadley and some friends volunteered at dance for the Christmas Tea Party for the younger dancers. She had a lot of fun.

After that, Hadley and I stopped by our friend’s house who was hosting an outdoor hot chocolate bar for her daughters and friends. It was nice to see some friends, enjoy the hot chocolate, and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

My friend had so many toppings and different flavors of whipped cream. We also brought a gift to take a gift, and girls always love to do those kinds of things. Hadley came home with some pretty bracelets.

We were there for about an hour and everyone wore their masks which actually came in handy in the cold weather!

Saturday night Travis and I watched Safety with Hayden. It was a really inspiring movie, and fun to watch.

Sunday:

On Sunday, we baked cookies…lots of cookies!

Hayden said he wanted to help with the peanut butter blossoms, and Hadley helped me with the rest of the cookies.

We made sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, chocolate crinkle cookies (my fave) and peppermint chocolate chip cookies which came from a Trader Joe’s mix.

I know we can have sugar cookies anytime during the year, but we usually make them at Christmas because we have fun decorating them…even Travis!

Finished products!

For dinner Sunday night, I made Amy’s potato soup. It was so delish!

We wrapped up the weekend by watching my favorite Christmas movie…Home Alone.

Elf Antics:

Going along with festive fun and holiday traditions…Red has been very busy while visiting from the North Pole.

He’s made a gingerbread house…

taken a marshmallow bath with a couple of friends, gotten stuck, and hidden 12 candy canes.

He also made (burnt) toast for breakfast one morning…

wore festive socks and put Santa hats on the kids’ heads in my favorite Santa photo.

He even got Santa to take a photo with them (and Homer!)

Speaking of Homer, he got a hold of Red. Red was still struggling from being #homered last year, but this time was even worse.

Y’all, Red is most definitely the 2020 version of an elf. It may be time for him to stay at the North Pole.

The kids were so upset with Homer…and I was too.

Red also brought cocoa bombs and kisses.

as well as some Pez candy. Then, per tradition, he took a selfie on the mantle and put it in one of our favorite frames .

I can’t believe Christmas is only a few days away. I feel like we’ve had to embrace this season more than ever with some traditions and fun to help make this year have some sense of normalcy.

I hope your week is off to a great start.

Take care,