Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day2...Christmas Breakfasts

We go to Church on Christmas morning, so any breakfast that we have needs to be fairly quick and easy, but still a sit down special meal. Every year I try to think of something new, my kiddies are fussy. Here are the 4 things that I am tossing up between and tomorrow the kids will get to choose which one they would like. If you are looking for some idea's, click on the link and they will take you to the recipe's. 

French Toast Bake

Reindeer Pancakes

Christmas Shaped Pancakes

Christmas Tree Waffles

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 3... Free printable Christmas gift tags

If you doing some last minute gift wrapping and are still in need of some gift tags, then here are a bunch of gorgeous free printable gift tags. To print, click on the link below each photo.

These tags from I Heart Nap Time can be printed in Black or Red & White

Paper Trail Design

Lia Griffith

Thirty Handmade Days

Mommy by day Crafter by night

Enjoy,

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 4...Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookie

This is the last cookie recipe that I am trialing for this this Christmas Season. And I'm so glad that I did, because they are yummy. They are crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. I also love how festive they look. They are definitely worth cooking. This recipe has been slightly adapted from recipegirl.com

RED VELVET GOOEY BUTTER COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 cups white sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

225g cream cheese, softened

57g butter, softened

1 large egg

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1/2 cup powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl to combine.

2. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the egg and food coloring.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until the dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 2 hours.

4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.

5. Roll the dough into balls (about 1 tablespoon each). Roll the dough balls in the powdered sugar, then place on the baking sheets at least 3 inches apart. Bake until the edges of the cookies are set, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Enjoy, 

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 5...Christmas Kindness paper chatterbox free printable

I went to my friend's house the other night and on her glass kitchen splashback, she had written (in whiteboard marker) "Let's be kind! And let's have fun!

Straight away I asked " have your kid's been fighting too?"

School holidays...I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love having my babies home and I love not having to do the whole school/lunches routine, but when they start fighting....arrggghhh i just want to pull my hair out! And 7 weeks of them together all day everyday, is a struggle. 

I saw this free printout on pinterest and I love it. 

You can print it out in colour or in black and white and then colour it in yourself.
Photo cred: brendid.com

Christmas is a time where it is easy for kid's to think about themselves and what they want, but this printable places the focus on being kind to others. Kid's love making paper chatteboxes, so why not have one that focus on lovely, kind acts that they can do for others. We have printed & cut our's out , so now I'm hoping my kids will forget about the fighting for a while and focus on being kind to one another. The free printable from "Bren did and you can too" can be found Here.

Enjoy, 

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 6...Mint Choc chip fudge

This delicious recipe for mint choc chip fudge is from Chocolate, Chocolate and more ! This fudge is so creamy & delicious and a perfect desert for you to make this Christmas. It is so delicious that I will officially be adding to my list of things to bake every Christmas. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups white chocolate melts

2 Tbls butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp mint or peppermint extract

green food colouring 

1 cup dark choc chips

Instructions

1. In a microwave safe bowl, place white chocolate and butter and place in microwave for 1 minute. 

Stir and place back in microwave for another minute if required.

2. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and mint/peppermint extract. Add food colouring to desired      colour. Once completely incorporated, let cool for a few minutes then fold in 1/2 of the choc chips.

3. Press in to a lined 8x8 tin and sprinkle remaining choc chips over the top of the fudge.

4. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to set before cutting into squares.

5. Store in an airtight container.  

Enjoy, 

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 7...Christmas Crack Toffee

This recipe from ' I Heart Naptime' is truely amazing!!!! So quick and easy and absolutely delicious. Love that I stumbled across this recipe!! You really should try it. Here's how to make it....

Ingredients:

45 saltine crackers

228g butter, cubed

1 cup light brown sugar

2 cups chocolate melts

1/2 to 1 cup of Christmas sprinkles/ M&M's/chopped nuts 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160°C.

2. Line a large baking dish with baking paper. Then line the pan with saltine crackers.

3. Place the butter and sugar in a medium sized pot over low- medium heat. Stir until the butter is melted. Once the butter has melted, bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Stir constantly.

4. Once it's nice and bubbly, remove pan from heat and pour evenly over saltine crackers. Spread mixture with a knife... however it doesn't have to be perfect. Try to move fast during this part so the toffee doesn't harden.

5. Place pan in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes. The mixture will spread evenly over the crackers as it bakes.

6. Place the chocolate melts in a microwave safe dish and place in microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir. If the chocolate is not completely melted, place in microwave for another 20 seconds. 

7.  Remove the baking dish from the oven. Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee and spread evenly with a spatula.

8. Sprinkle the Christmas sprinkles / M&M's / nuts on top and then place in the freezer for 30 minutes. 

9. Once chocolate has hardened, break pieces off and serve.

 It will stay fresh for 1 - 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.

(Recipe adapted slightly from http://www.iheartnaptime.net/christmas-crack/)

Enjoy, 

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 8...Christmas Bingo

I printed this game out and shared it last year, but thought i would share it again. It is a great game to play with a variety of aged kids and was perfect for us to bring out today with 6 kids aged between 2-9. We played with Christmas M&M's and then the kids got to eat them after we finished playing. Bingo with M&M's seems so much more exciting to the kid's! 

If you want to print out this bingo game for yourself, just follow this Link

Enjoy,

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 9...My fav free Christmas Printables

There are so many wonderful free Christmas printables on Pinterest. This year I have a thing for plaid and reindeers. And every year I'm ready to celebrate the real Reason for the Season, Jesus. So here are my favourite 5 printables this year. Please note that these lovely ladies put these out for personal use only.

The Domestic Heart

Penelope poppy

Yellow Bliss Road

How to nest for less

The Jacobs Clan

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 10...Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Cookies!! We love cookies at the best of times, but we love Christmas cookies even more. We have been trying so many different cookies this year. Today we cooked these and they were a  winner. So here is the recipe if you would like too try them.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

  Recipe from Two Sisters Crafting

Ingredients

2 cups Flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/4 cups white sugar

225g salted butter, softened

3 large eggs

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag of dark chocolate melts

Christmas Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Set oven for 175 degrees Celsius 

2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. 

3. In a seperate bowl, with an electric mixture, blend white sugar, brown sugar & butter and mix to form grainy paste.

4. Add in eggs, peanut butter and vanilla and mix at medium speed till fluffy. 

5. Add flour mixture to the bowl. 

6. Take a spoonful of cookie dough, roll it into a ball and place it on a lined baking tray.

7. Gently press down on the ball a bit to flatten it slightly.

8. Bake cookies for 8-10 mins

9. Once the cookies have completely cooled, melt the chocolate melts in the microwave for 1-2 min, until completely smooth. 

10. Dip half of the cookie in the chocolate, smoothing over with a spoon and then sprinkle the christmas sprinkle over the top of the chocolate.

11. Lay on a lined tray and leave them out till they set. If it is a hot day, place them in the fridge for 10 minutes. 

12. If storing, place them in an airtight container, with baking paper in between each layer.

Enjoy making these.

 Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 11...Free Christmas sights to see in Sydney

We just got back from 2 days in the city in Sydney. We planned this little trip so that we could soak up all the Christmas loveliness. I love love love Christmas and there are so many things that are worth going to see and cost you $0! I had no idea that they were all there every Christmas. If you can get a chance to go and see them, they are totally worth it.

David Jones has a row of Christmas display windows that you can walk past. The kids loved them!

St Mary's Cathedral has a light show every Christmas. It is beautiful! This year it featured the Nutcracker. Photo's do not do this justice.

The Nativity scene outside St Mary's Cathedral...After all Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

 Christmas tree at St Mary's Cathedral.

St Martain's place has a sleigh made completely out of lego. If you go at certain times of the day/night, it is open to sit in and take photo's.

It would not be an Aussie Christmas if there weren't lego elves playing cricket.

There was so much more that I didn't get photo's of. The Christmas tree in the QVB was spectacular! And shopping in Pitt Street mall with Christmas lights lining the whole street and some young artists busking the night away. 

Hope you get a chance to experience the beauty of the Sydney CBD. If not this year, then be sure to put it on your list for next year.

Kylie xx

Frugal Countdown to Christmas...Day 12...Cinnamon Honey Butter

This is one of my favourite recipes that I tried out and shared with you guys last year. It is cinnamon honey butter...yum...yum...yum!! I just made some more and it is delicious, so I thought i would share the recipe again. It would make a perfect neighbour gift, or whip up a batch just for yourself to enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

1 stick of butter 

1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp cinnamon.

(Recipe courtesy of "http://thefoodcharlatan.com/2014/11/24/cinnamon-honey-butter-recipe/"
I halved the recipe)

Throw it all in a mixer and mix till soft. 

Store in a container in the fridge and spread on hot toast, fresh bread or whatever else you can think of.

And most of all, enjoy every bit of it!!!

Kylie xx