The Joy of Giving & Merry Christmas 2013!

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you all had a most wonderful day yesterday. I had a great time celebrating Christmas 3 times! We began the morning at my husband’s mother’s house, the afternoon with my immediate family at my sister’s house, and the evening with my extended family at my aunt’s house. Festivities from morning ’til night – that’s how I roll!

As cliche as it is, I find that the joy of Christmas comes from giving, not receiving. For weeks or even months, I look forward to watching someone open a gift I carefully selected or handmade. It brings me such joy! Here are some of the gifts I made this year that I couldn’t wait to give:

Paw Print Ornaments (c) Kristen DembroskiPaw print ornaments for my mother and sister of our 3 dogs: Tyger, Ruffy, & Rocket. If you want to make your own, these are the wonderful ornament directions I followed (I added nail polish for flair).

Canvas Print (c) Kristen DembroskiMy sister and I ordered a canvas print for my mother of a family photo session we had done this fall. She plans to hang it over her fireplace. She was SO excited! We ordered from CanvasonDemand.com

My Animals Coloring Book (c) Kristen Dembroski

My Animals Coloring Book (c) Kristen DembroskiI made coloring books for all of my nieces and nephews for Christmas. They were a hit! (P.S. If you want to purchase a copy for yourself, you canย click here).

Donating Blood for the Holidays (c) Kristen Dembroski

I really wanted to give back this year, and I thought I had picked the perfect way to do so. I am O negative, which is the universal blood donor. I went in to the Wisconsin Blood Center the day before Christmas and donated a pint of blood. The problem was that when I went to leave, I blacked out. I came to with a team hovering over me, covering me in icepacks, palpating my feet and legs, and holding a fan on my face. What?! Woops.

Paleo Christmas Cookies (c) Kristen DembroskiPaleo Christmas Dinner (c) Kristen Dembroski

Of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have some wonderful food to cook/bake for the holidays. I made a plate of Paleo Christmas Cookies, Mashed Cauliflower, and Coconut Almond Green Beans. The cookies are Cutouts (my personal favorite), Chocolate Peppermint Macaroons dipped in Godiva Dark Chocolate, Cardamom Thumbprint Cookies, and Energy Bitesย (my second favorite). I had 2 helpings of the Mashed Cauliflower because I thought it tasted aMAzing! I didn’t tell my family it was cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes, and most of them couldn’t even tell!!!

 

Today, we are enjoying the leftovers and relaxing. The dogs are pooped!

Rocket & Ruffy (c) Kristen Dembroski

Have a wonderful day!

 

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2 Comments on The Joy of Giving & Merry Christmas 2013!

  1. Sara
    December 27, 2013 at 1:03 pm (10 years ago)

    Ohh is your pup a yorkie?? He looks just like mine! I’ve been meaning to make those paw print ornaments for a while now, but never seem to remember to do it during the holiday season. Thanks for the link!

    Sara ๐Ÿ™‚
    The Colorful Apple

    Reply
    • kdembro
      December 28, 2013 at 4:46 pm (10 years ago)

      Hi Sara! Yes our Yorkie is an adorable, high-maintenance love bug ๐Ÿ™‚ Go for the paw print ornaments, and I promise you won’t regret it! Just make sure to wait a day or two between all of the steps so everything dries thoroughly. I made about 1 good one for every 4 bad ones, so patience is also key. Good luck!!

      Reply

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