The Spirit of Christmas Award

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.  ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Joy, peace, hope, faith, love, charity, celebration, family - all important aspects of the Spirit of Christmas. 

I have been awarded the Spirit of Christmas Award and I must say I am really delighted about this.  Thanks so much to Mandy of The Old Dairy.  I do really enjoy Christmas. It is a very special time of year. I have loved it as a child and now I love it more as a mother of two beautiful girls.

Here are the rules for this award. You must be a true Christmas lover to receive this award. The person whom you give this award to must also be a lover of Christmas. Link back to the person who you received this award from. List 5 things you love about Christmas and pass this award on to as many people as you like from 1 to 45. But please pass on to at least one person to keep this award going...

I never thought I would be good at receiving and passing on awards but I want to participate in this one.

Five things I love about Christmas are:

1. The celebration of a precious gift in the birth of a special baby years ago and also the celebration of my first baby - a personal precious gift just 5 years ago. 

2. The opportunity to create special projects - food, decorations, gifts etc. together as a family for a greater communal purpose.

3. Time to move away from the regular routine of work and Kindy etc. to reflect and enjoy being together with family.

4. Singing special Christmas carols together and celebrating the gift and joy of music.

5. Building anticipation in children as we create a special environment for them enjoy the wonder of surprise.

I'd like to award the Spirit of Christmas Award to two women who have helped with inspiration as we countdown to Christmas and enjoy festive preparations together.

Thanks Mel you are such an inspiration to me and my family.  Mel has given us 30 days of Handmade Christmas to date at Day to Day with ideas for gifts, decorations and more - for children and adults alike.

Also thanks to Tamar at Tarisota who has given us 20 days of Christmas recipes to date.  Some of these look absolutely delicious.  We made these Christmas cupcakes today with a bit of a twist as they are for Ess's fifth birthday tomorrow.  They are absolutely delicious straight from the oven with a beautifully crisp top and delicious soft centre.   As is my usual practice I substituted the S.R. flour for our spelt flour with Bicarb soda and Cream of Tartar and the results are fantastic.  The iced and decorated versions will be uploaded tomorrow.