Homemade Christmas Cards & Ham and Potato Corn Chowder

I'd rather do community service than sit and write a load of Christmas cards.

Paul O'Grady

The other day, Ninja and I were talking about presents. We share a lot of the Christmas responsibilities and for the most part we know our roles and have fun doing them. As for presents, we shop for the kids and the parents together, he buys presents for me and I do the other gifts. After so many years and so many coaches, teachers, classmates, kid’s friends, our friends, neighbours, mail carriers, clients, and secret Santa’s *gasp* I have run out of ideas!

At HBear’s party, one of the MomFriends asked me what I was getting the kid’s teachers 😳. She said she hated buying stuff that teachers get a ton of like chocolate and coffee mugs and she thought gift cards were impersonal. I agree. Over the years we have made cinnamon stick candles, hot chocolate ornaments, herb planters, Christmas scent potpourri, and Christmas shaped bird feeders. Last year we did Purdys Chocolate because the dance studio holds a Christmas fundraiser and this way I can knock 2 things off my list at the same time! This year I bought an assortment of teas, coffees and chocolate to mix and match for teachers, principal, vp, secretary and coaches.

Boring. No thought at all. Booooo. So, I thought we could make their teachers cards! I hate Christmas cards. I never understood my Mom’s need to get out cards every year. I did it once and it cost me a fortune in time and money! Now I do an ecard 😊. However, cards are a nice craft plus I had tons of buttons 😆.

The Girls loved making these and it kept them entertained for hours! Super easy all you need are buttons, a glue gun, pencil crayons and card stock!

 

 

This week on How Was Your Week, Honey? Ep. 96 Nice to Meet You, but I Like HIM More, it’s a drunken late night recording session after a night out. Topics: carolling, sugar cookie martinis, meeting Scott Neidermayer & No Means No Check it out HERE.

Today was our first snowfall! Well, we had a bit of snow a few weeks ago but it only lasted a few minutes so I don’t really count it LOL I love the snow! I just don’t like being cold! The best way to take the chill off is with a big bowl of homemade soup! Because we buy a cow and a pig, our meat tastes different than meat we would normally buy in stores. Our thick smoked bacon is nothing like a pack of fatty bacon you get from the store! Our bacon is so good that I picked a soup that would show off all of that salty, smokey, bacony goodness! This Ham and Corn Chowder is amazeballs! It’s warm and comforting but has that great corn flavour that will take you right back to the lazy days of summer.

Ham and Potato Corn Chowder

Adapted from Closet Cooking

1/2 pack of bacon
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, diced small
8 ounces ham, diced
1 cup corn

Cook the bacon in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, remove when crispy reserving the bacon grease. 

Add the onions, carrots and celery to the bacon fat and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Mix in the garlic, thyme and flour and cook until the flour is lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Slowly stir in the broth, deglazing the pan as you go, add the milk and potatoes, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Add the ham and corn, cook until heated and season with salt and pepper.

 

We did it! We are all set up for Christmas! I love how the house looks when it’s all lit up by twinkling Christmas lights! There is nothing that makes me feel happier or more safe 🎄.

 

 

 

Another gift you can add to the list are presents for HBear's Gifted class! They always end earlier than her regular school so I’m never quite prepared LOL this year we decided to bake some cookies for the class ! We used a recipe that can be adapted for any holiday, Golden Cake Cookies with Double Chocolate Chips and Sprinkles!! They are super tasty, super fun, and the kids can take them on with just a little help from an adult. I found these super cute cookie boxes at the Dollar Store and they made for adorable little classmate gifts! Plus you leave the dough in the fridge overnight so after dance class it was crazy easy to pop them into the oven so they were fresh for the next day!

I pointed out earlier that I do the shopping and then Ninja does the wrapping. He is so good at it! He measures properly and never has extra paper and everything is always lined up! I like to ribbon, bow and tag all the presents, make them all pretty! Unfortunately, I still have to wrap his 😒. Dad and Ninja went to the theatre this week to watch Creed 2 so I took advantage of the living room and got all my wrapping done now! It was so pretty to sit in front of the Christmas tree, watching Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles while wrapping and sipping on a glass of 🍷.

 

On Thursday we went to the annual Toy Drive Tots to Teens! This year it was hosted by the local secondary school and it was so well organized! We had a delicious breakfast, listened to some wonderful entertainment and made it to school in time for the bell!

That same day the Girl's school put on their annual Christmas concert! This was the first year that I did not attend the afternoon performance and the evening performance. This year, I was working and I was unable to volunteer. Dad and my FIL attended the afternoon performance while Ninja, my MIL and I attended the evening performance. Before the show started I snuck into the Girl's classrooms to catch some pictures of them before the big show. Funny enough, MBesty took pictures of me capturing the moment as well!

SBean was one of the first classes and they sang, Here Comes Santa Claus. The young ones are always so darn cute! I could hear her singing plain as day, and I was a very proud mommy ❤️.

HBear was one of the last ones and they sang You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch, that has never been one of my favourite carols but after listening to HBear rehearse it for the past 3 weeks, I have to admit some of the lyrics are actually quite cute. My favourite part of the show came at the end, as soon as their song ended the little boy, who HBear has had a little crush on for a while now, said something to her that made her get her back up LOL it was so adorable to see them get their grade 5 flirt on LOL.

After a long week of work and Christmas festivities, Ninja and I took some time out for ourselves and met for lunch at one of our favourite local restaurants, Craft Corner Kitchen! We had a delicious lunch and got to be one of the first few to try the new stout from our newest local brewery that will be opening up this spring, The Hatchery who joined forces with The Cannery to bring us this delightful new brew!

On Saturday SBean had skating lessons while HBear had duet practice. After lunch HBear went to DuetBesty's birthday party while SBean and I made our favourite Christmas treat, Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares!

 

That night my in-laws kept the girls company while Ninja, Dad and I headed out for a hockey fundraiser for LBesty's son! It was wonderful to catch up, have a few drinks, win some silent auction prizes, and I even got to meet Scott Niedermayer! His oldest son plays for the Penticton Vees and his youngest son is on the hockey team that we were fund-raising for! It was an all around great evening!

We finished our week with a fabulous ladies day in Kelowna! We had lunch at Pennies LOL as SBean calls Denny's and then went to the Rotary Arts Centre for Performing Arts to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. It was a lovely day that was made even better by joining everybody at my Grandma and Grandpa’s for the best roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, green beans, mashed potatoes, and salad dinner complete with Christmas shortbread, Naniamo Bars and butter tarts for dessert!

2 weeks until Christmas! Is everybody ready? After a fun and festive week like this, I sure am!

 

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