The Scent of Christmas

I thought I'd share a version of the scent of Christmas with you. This beautiful smell spreads throughout the house & gives such a lovely, warm & inviting aroma. There are many versions of this festive recipe, but this is the one I enjoy the most. It's also the easiest one for me, as I always have these ingredients in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
slices of lemon peel (you can use orange peel if you like)
whole cloves
cinnamon sticks
bay leaves
star anise
a little vanilla extract
boiled water

Add all ingredients to a saucepan & cover with boiled water (I boil my water in the kettle first, so the smell starts to spread immediately). Once the mixture starts to boil in the saucepan, reduce heat so it's down to a simmer.

Let it simmer but check it often & top up with water regularly.

I let mine simmer for about half an hour until the house is filled with the wonderful smell of Christmas, then I turn it off.

Let it cool in the saucepan.

Once it's cool, you can pour it into a jar & refrigerate it to keep it fresh, then you can use it again. 

It doesn't look very appealing but it smells divine.

I keep mine for about a week or so. After that, the ingredients don't look very fresh so I make up a new batch.

I hope you enjoy the sweet smell of Christmas.

Happy Christmas from me to you....

Christmas Tradition - Nativity Scene

Every Christmas I set up a kids' Nativity Scene, to encourage Little Miss to learn & understand the story of Christ's birth.

I bought this Fisher Price Nativity Scene from Kmart last year for about $30-$40 (I think).

Having wrapped 24 Christmas books to read throughout December, I put these in a basket & place them on the table with the Nativity Scene. I've numbered them with stickers from 1 to 24 &, although this is probably unnecessary, it's a good exercise for Little Miss to become familiar with numbers. The more she sees the numbers, the more she will recognise them.

The little notes are numbered 1 to 24 & they each have a simple quote from the bible regarding Jesus' birth. The 3 of us sit down together each night & read a quote first, then we unwrap one of the books to read.

Here are some of the quotes I've written down, some with stickers to make them interesting & easy to understand.

Little Miss seems to be enjoying the tradition. I hope we can continue it in years to come. As she gets older, I will change it around a little, to make sure I keep her interested. For now, the picture books are working & she seems to be understanding the story, which is exactly what I'm hoping for.

I hope you & your families are enjoying every moment together at this very special time of year.
Wishing you a wonderful December & a happy Christmas season.

Christmas Tradition - Reading Christmas books to Kids

It's been awhile since I've posted on my blog. With Christmas just around the corner, I was motivated to share a Christmas Tradition I started last year. I love celebrating Christmas so I hope this inspires you to start your own tradition at home.
Very simply, every night in December until Christmas Day, hubby, Little Miss (who is now aged 3) & I sit down near the Christmas Tree & read a Christmas book together. I try to make it extra special by wrapping the books as though they're gifts, so there's an element of surprise & anticipation for Little Miss. She loved unwrapping the books last year, so I hope this year will be just as exciting for her.

I store the books in a tub throughout the year.

Here are some of the books I have collected over time.
A couple of books are about Santa, but most are about the Nativity.

I wrap the books in Christmas paper, as though they're presents, & place them in a pretty basket (the basket was around $10 from Woolworths).

The books are now ready for December 1st.

Each night in December leading up to Christmas Day, before she goes to bed, Little Miss will unwrap a book & we'll read it together. It's such a simple idea, but you'd be pleasantly surprised at how much fun it is for a young child (toddler, preschooler & older primary school aged kids). As the years go by, I hope she'll continue to enjoy the absolute beauty of these small but memorable traditions.

I usually have a toy Nativity Scene set up near the books as well. As soon as I have put that together, I will share it in a separate post.

I hope this has inspired you to start a similar Christmas Tradition for your family.

Are there any Christmas Traditions you have in your home? If you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about it so please leave me a comment.