Ornaments, Needle Felted Elf & Golden Brownies

The children are finally out of school for Christmas break, and I am very glad, now we will have time to watch our favorite Christmas shows and make cookies. We have done lots of Christmas projects over the last couple of days. First I would like to share about our tree.

I love ornaments, and have been saving them since I was a child. My grandma would add one to my collection every year, and I would also pick one out as well. Over the years I have had many tree styles, when I was first married I had all Victorian looking ornaments, later I had a rustic tree, then a Scandinavian tree, then mid-century modern, and the last few years we have even added modern Hallmark ornaments (we just couldn't pass up on original Star Trek ornaments, like Tribbles falling on Capt. Kirk, or the transporter that has a working "beam") So what we have now is the very definition of an "eclectic" tree- and somehow it all works together to be both fun and very pretty, and we all love looking at our ornaments during Christmas time.

Here is a box of ornaments that my mother passed down to me- these were the ornaments that hung on my tree as a child.  We carefully hung each ornament, and I would sit and stare at that tree every evening, I loved these ornaments.

I loved the way the lights would shine off the center of the ornaments with the indented center- so pretty- every year I hang a couple of these ornaments on the tree, I hope one day to pass these on to my children.

This is the oldest ornament on our tree- this little angel was passed to my mother from her Grandma, my great grandma, and my kids great-great grandma- it is very delicate, and I am amazed that the string has held all these years, every year we place this on one of the top branches.

Yep, our Star Trek transporter, with light up and sound beam up- very fun, and everyone who visits loves to give it a try.  We are all fans of classic sci-fi and really enjoy this ornament.

Here is a pile of my ornaments waiting to find a spot on the tree- I had a little carol book ornament like this on my childhood tree, and it was one of the first ornaments me and hubby bought for our first tree.

Here at the top of the tree, along with the angel, is my wooden violin ornament with a wind up music box, and the glass ball next to it was made by an art glass artist at a Christmas tree stand we went to one year, we all enjoyed watching him blow these pretty glass balls then roll them in multicolored glass pieces- each one turned out so pretty.

Here's the whole tree, we have colored twinkle lights, and I love the way this tree looks all lit up.  The whole family decorates this tree together every year, it is so fun remembering the story behind each ornament.  My children already have a very nice collection of their own ornaments, and will have a nice starter collection when they have their own first tree.

Tonight I did a little holiday baking, and made some snacks for my husband and son's bible study group- they had Christmas themed ice cream sundaes with peppermint and egg nog, ginger bread, and vanilla ice cream and lots and lots of topping choices, I also made a pan of crsipy rice squares dyed green with green sprinkles, and a pan of Golden Brownies.

My Mom found the Nestle's Toll House Golden Brownies recipe when I was a child- they are delicious and an easy recipe that turns out great every time.  Golden Brownies are a family favorite, they are not as dense as a chocolate chip pan cookie, and lighter than your typical fudge brownie, very delicious.  I found the same recipe I use at Cooks.com, here is the link to Golden Brownies Recipe .  Very yummy treat!

Here are the golden brownies right out of the oven.

Golden Brownie Squares and Festive Crispy Rice Treats all ready to serve!

While the men and boys were doing their bible study, my daughter was off at her teen girl bible study, and I had the evening to myself, so I got out my red wool that arrived this week, and finished needle felting my little Elf, if I have time I would like to make some tiny elves as well. I also repaired a needle felted tree that my lab puppy thought was a chew toy, and decided to make the tree a Christmas tree.  Here they sit next to some of our Christmas books.

Speaking of Christmas books- one of my favorite Christmas book creators is Robert Sabuda- Robert Sabuda makes the most wonderful Pop-Up books you can find.  I started collecting his Christmas books when the children were little- I then went on to collect his other books as well- they are all so fun to look through.  Robert Sabuda is an amazing paper artist, I have even given his Christmas books as gifts- they are wonderful even for adults.

Here's a look inside a few of my Robert Sabuda Christmas Books.

Here are my Christmas Robert Sabuda books on the book shelf. Such fun books to look through, I enjoy them all!

Here are my Amazon Affiliate links to some of these wonderful Christmas books.

Winter's Tale is probably my favorite of his Christmas books.


These two books are mini Sabuda Christmas books- perfect Stocking stuffer size, and a good little gift.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend- Do you have a special heirloom ornament on your tree? I love hearing ornament stories. :)