Our Favorite Christmas Books 2020

With my oldest daughter, we started the tradition of letting her open a new Christmas book on Christmas Eve to read before she goes to bed. Between the books from my childhood and some I kept from my elementary classroom, we have quite a collection of Christmas books over here! And thankfully, my girls love them as much as I do. Today, I'm sharing the books my girls are loving this Christmas. Many of these are heavily discounted right now. You still have time to grab one if you need it for Christmas Eve!

Click on any title or picture to be directed to the book!

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Avery - 14 months old

Elmo's Christmas Hugs - We are big into all things Elmo right now, so to say that she loves this book is an understatement! Make Elmo decorate trees, play the piano, and give his friends a hug. It's CUTE. 

Christmas Surprise - We're at the stage where any book with flaps is an instant hit. I love this one because it has real pictures of Christmas objects and answers questions in complete sentences...great for language development! It also has a handle at the top to make it easy for toddler traveling all over the house, ha!

Babies Love Christmas - I mean, it's in the title! More flaps, more fun Christmas things. My baby loves it, I'm sure yours will, too!

Christmas in the Manger - I really love this illustrator, Felicia Bond! Her books are always so kid friendly and cute. This little rhyming book introduces all the characters in the nativity story. Somehow we got our hands on this book in July and we've been reading it ever since, ha!

The Itsy Bitsy Angel - It's what it sounds like - a Christmas remake of the Itsy Bitsy Spider but with an angel. It's about a little angel discovering the nativity story. It's really cute and catchy!

Ella Mae- 4 years old

Clifford's Christmas - I feel like Clifford will always be a classic! (P.S.....all the shows are on Amazon Prime Video!) She adores Clifford and we've read this no less than 85 times already this season. 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell - She thinks the "Old Lady" series is hilarious! She giggles and giggles and talks about how silly it all is. It's also a short read which is a plus, ha!

Pete the Cat's 12 Groovy Days of Christmas - If you have a Pete the Cat lover in your house, you need to order this ASAP! My big girl has asked almost every grown up that has been in her house to read this to her and sing along, so be prepared for that! 

Merry Christmas, Curious George - Another classic character we are obsessed with. We love all the movies, shows, and books! Your George loving kid will ask for this book on repeat. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - ahh, a classic!! I'm so glad she loves this one as much as I do! She loves all 3 versions of The Grinch movies. She loves to see Grinch decorations. She HATES to see the Grinch in person, ha! I think this story will always be a favorite in her heart, though. 

Are your kids loving any of these this year? Which one is your favorite?

Christmas Crunch

 

WARNING: this stuff is addicting!!!

It's easy. 

It's delicious.

It's great for a crowd. 

It's great to bag up and give as gifts.

It's great to eat a whole bowl on the couch during movie night......oops. 

I promise you'll want to make this ASAP!

Yummmmmmm. Here's the step-by-step:

Go ahead and start melting your vanilla almond bark in the microwave. About 9 squares will do. Start with 60 seconds, stir, and then melt in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. 

While the vanilla almond bark is melting, mix together your cereal, marshmallows, and pretzels in a large bowl.

Once the vanilla almond bark is melted and smooth, combine it with the cereal mixture and lay on wax paper on a rimmed cookie sheet. Add the sprinkles on top. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then, break into smaller pieces.

In a gallon sealable bag, pour in half the cereal mixture and half the powdered sugar and give it a good shake. Add it into a bowl/container, and then repeat with the other half of the cereal mixture and powdered sugar. 

Mix in the holiday M&Ms and it's good to go!

Find the original recipe from Chex HERE

Christmas Crunch

• 6 cups Chex cereal
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup mini pretzels
• 15 oz vanilla almond bark (about 9 squares)
• 3 tbsp holiday sprinkles
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1 cup holiday M&Ms

1. Line large rimmed cookie sheet with waxed paper. In large bowl, mix cereal, marshmallows and pretzels.
2. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave almond bark uncovered on high 60-90 seconds, stir, and then heat in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir until smooth. Pour onto cereal mixture; mix well.
3. Spread mixture on the cookie sheet; cover with holiday sprinkles and cool completely, about 15 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces.
4. In a gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag, add half of the coated cereal pieces and powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake to coat. Remove from bag and repeat with the other half of the cereal and powdered sugar.
5. In large serving bowl, mix coated cereal mixture and chocolate candies.

Fall Snack Mix

 

I have made this on repeat for the past 2 months. 

Literally. 

If you have seen me or had me deliver anything to you, theres a 99.9% chance you got a bag of this stuff. 

It's easy. 

It's delicious.

It makes A LOT. 

It's pretty and fun to share. :)

It's a hit with the kids and the adults. #winning

First, you're gonna mix together the Rice Chex cereal, mini pretzels, and Bugles in a large bowl. After making the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla mixture, pour it over the bowl slowly. I like to pour a little, mix a little, pour a little, mix a little......and repeat until it's nice and covered in the yummy butter sauce. Once mixed together, cover two sheet pans with parchment paper and spread out the mixture between both of the pans. Pop them in the oven at 275 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring the mixtures every 15 minutes. 

After they've had a few minutes to cool down, mix in the candy corn, Reese's pieces, and caramel popcorn. It's ready to be bagged up for treats or thrown into a big bowl for a crowd!

Our favorite festive snack bowl for Halloween :) 

You can also add in the candy corn pumpkins to the mix if you're a big fan of candy corn! One year, I was able to find football shaped pretzels which was super fun for football games. However you make it, you're gonna love it! 

Original recipe from One Little Project.

Fall Snack Mix

Sauce:

3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp. vanilla

Mix:

1 box Rice Chex mix (12 oz.)

1 bag Bugles (7 oz.)

4 cups mini pretzels

1 box Crunch n Munch caramel popcorn (6 oz.)

1 cup candy corn

1 cup Reese's pieces

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 275°F.
• Melt the butter on the stovetop. Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract and whisk well until combined and dissolved.
• In a VERY large bowl, add the Chex cereal, pretzels and Bugles.
• Pour the sauce over the cereal mixture and toss gently until evenly coated.
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide mixture on the two baking sheets and spread in even layers.
• Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool. Sprinkle on the candy corn, popcorn, and Reese's Pieces.

Easy Egg Salad

 In August, my husband and I started 21 Day Fix by Beachbody for the first time. Neither one of us had ever done a program like this before, so it was quite an adjustment that first week to figure out what food would look like to us from then on. 

I found this post about 21 Day Fix Egg Salad on Pinterest when looking for recipes, and thought it would be simple enough for me to try, ha! After a few adjustments, it's become one of my weekly staples! We usually hard boil several eggs at the beginning of the week to use for this or salads, so it's really easy to grab one out of the fridge to whip up quickly. If you're a fan of deviled eggs, you're gonna love this one!

1. Mash up one hard boiled egg with a fork in a bowl.

2. Mix in 1 tsp. mayo and 1/2 tsp. mustard. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

3. I like my egg salad on toast :)

4. Spread evenly

5. Sprinkle a little bit of paprika on top for added flavor! (and pretty color)

This pairs well with a side of fruit. My go-to is usually grapes or strawberries!

Breakfast, snack, lunch....there's really not a bad time to enjoy this. 

Not only does it taste great, but I also love how I can fix it quickly while the baby is having her food in the high chair. Low prep, few ingredients, less dishes. I usually just eat mine on a paper towel while standing at the kitchen counter, ha! My husband will eat this as a sandwich if he packs it for lunch (you might want to double the recipe if you make it as a sandwich!). 

Easy Egg Salad 

21 Day Fix containers: 1/2 red, 1 tsp. (if on toast, add 1 yellow)

This is for a single serving!

Ingredients:

• 1 hard boiled egg
• 1 tsp. mayo
• 1/2 tsp. mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Mash up one hard boiled egg with a fork in a bowl.

2. Mix in 1 tsp. mayo and 1/2 tsp. mustard. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

3. Spread on toast or sandwich bread and sprinkle with paprika.

This recipe can be easily doubled for a sandwich!

Avery's 1st Birthday!

This past weekend, we celebrated ONE whole year with Avery!

She will forever be my squishy baby. She is a snuggler and is really just the happiest girl.

Her smash cake came from Publix. We love the taste of their cakes and cupcakes, and they can usually take any vision I have for a design become a reality.

She's a fan, obviously.

Our immediate family came to celebrate with us (and to watch the first Alabama football game of the season......eeeeeeeekk!!)

Big sister is always close by to help :)

Since we all know I'm a fall enthusiast, pink and gold pumpkins it was for the theme! I painted paper mache letters from Hobby Lobby to make the ONE letters.

My sweet sister made these delicious pumpkin spice cookies! (@sweetnlo_cookieco)

And a shoutout to my neighbor Mallorie for helping me make these cupcake toppers with her Cricut!!

Avery had the best day being the center of attention. It's so easy to celebrate you, Avery girl!