15 Days til’ Christmas Countdown: Colder weather means chapped lips and dry skin, you can make your own peppermint body and facial scrub at home with a few simple steps.

What You’ll Need: 

• granulated sugar
• peppermint essential oil
• grapeseed oil or jojoba oil
• 80% isopropyl rubbing alcohol
• 6 or 8 oz mason or glass jars
• Note: I don’t recommend using coconut oil as the smell of the coconut may overpower the smell of the peppermint. 

In a bowl, add 1 cup of granulated sugar, 10 – 15 drops of peppermint essential oil, about 1/3 cup of grapeseed or jojoba oil, 1 tbsp of rubbing alcohol and mix together.

If the scrub is too liquidy add more grapeseed or jojoba oil, if the mixture is too dry add more sugar. Adding the rubbing alcohol helps preserve the scrub so that it lasts longer. Add a personal touch to the jars by decorating them with a red or gold ribbon.

This is for a single serving of peppermint sugar scrub but use these portions to make several jars. If you are handing out as homemade gifts for family and friends, add a little card with the ingredients and instructions so they can make it for themselves!

16 Days til’ Christmas Countdown: Looking to bring something sweet to holiday party or baking cookies as gift this year? A festive and easy to make cookie recipe are peppermint kiss christmas sugar cookies!

What You’ll need: 

• 1 cup room-temperature butter
• 1 bag of candy cane Hershey kisses
• 1/4 cup of finely crushed peppermint candies (about 10 pieces)
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar for rolling the dough in

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the butter and peppermint extract. Beat in the crushed peppermint candies. Gently mix in a few pieces of the candy cane Hersey kisses if you want.

Add the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt; stir well. Chill for 30-60 minutes. The dough should be soft but firm enough to mold and shape into 1 inch balls, then roll in sugar.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet spaced evenly a part as they will spread out as they bake. Bake for about 12 minutes. Immediately after removing them from the oven, press a kiss in the middle of each cookie. Allow your candy cane cookie creations to cool for several minutes on the pan before removing to cooling racks!

17 days til’ Christmas Countdown: Looking to get a gift for a friend or family members home but having trouble deciding? Below are great holiday gift ideas that are functional, attractive and will enhance their space!

Portable Fire Pit – The Manta Ray Fire Pit is a portable fire pit that can be used all year around. Used outdoors its has a protective coating keeping it safe from the elements. It will last a long time and is excellent for staying warm outdoors during the colder months. It’s beautiful winged shape gives the flame a rippling effect as the wood burns and its stylish brass plates fit well in a variety of exterior settings.

Artistic Wine Racks – The Mid Century Wall Wine Rack is perfect for anyone who enjoys a combination of fine wine and modern artwork. The rack is made of a strong black wire frame that mounts to the wall and has several holders where wine bottles can be securely kept. Its neutral color will look nice in a variety of different settings and its overlapping geometric design, inspired by famous abstract artist Piet Mondrian, serves as multipurpose decor item.

Elegant Candle Holders – The Zen Master Candle Holder makes a stylish centerpiece for a dining table or as a display item on a mantle or shelving unit in your living room decor. Made of solid iron and finished in a black bronze color, it complements a variety of design styles. Enhance this gift by pairing it with 5 beeswax or soy candles, as they are known to last longer and be better for the environment.

Modern Vases – The Tube Vase I is a lovely glass vase with an elegant curve shape resembling the piston of a flower. It’s beautifully textured, jewel tone colored base adds a contemporary twist to its already captivating appeal. A wonderful choice for nature and flower lovers to be used as a decoration or as a functional design piece.

18 Days til’ Christmas Countdown: Want to create an amazing musical light show this year using your christmas lights? You can do this fairly easy in a few simple steps.

You’ll want to purchase a light control box with an audio-in port (and synchronization programming in case you want to use your own music at another time) and a wireless FM radio transmitter in order to sync your christmas lights to a broadcast. The idea is when someone tunes into your channel, the light show seen will be in sync with the music being played on their radio.

1. Decorate your house with christmas lights in an assortment of colors, different patterns or in any display you find attractive, make sure all of your lights are attached to one another
2. Plug your christmas lights into the power outlet on the light control box. You can also use a power strip with a surge protector (for larger displays) and plug this into the power outlet on the light control box.
3. Plug the light control box into a wall outlet, turn the light control box switch on
4. Plug your wireless FM transmitter’s audio connector into the “Audio In” port on the light control box. Switch on the FM transmitter’s power switch. There should be multiple position switch or a toggle switch for the audio options on the light control box.
5. Set your FM transmitter frequency with the radio frequency you wish to use. Stations in the lower numbers work best. Match the radio’s FM frequency with the FM transmitter’s frequency. Check the instructions on your device for assistance with tuning.
6. Test it for yourself!

Sometimes it can be a little challenging to match the frequencies perfectly so the quality of the sound may come in a little fuzzy or distorted but several factors come into play such as those tuning in, the device being used or the surrounding environment. Some solutions may be removing obstructions and testing different spots to place the equipment. Also using the right equipment and finding the right channel plus a little time and patience you can create an amazing light show that will dazzle the whole neighborhood!

21 Days til’ Christmas Countdown:

Most families that celebrate Christmas have their traditional Christmas dinner each year. We know Uncle Pete is bringing the baked ham, Mom is bringing the casserole, Grandma is making the creamy mushroom soup, aunt Susie is bringing her famous snickerdoodle cookies for dessert and you’ll be making whatever delicious dish you make every year. We look forward to these dishes every year and there is no reason they can’t still be a part of the menu, but a great way to add variety to the meal and explore making and eating different foods from around the world is through a little game called Multicultural Christmas. It’s really quite simple.

Multicultural Christmas Game: On individual folded pieces of paper write the name of a different country specifically of countries whose cuisine sparks your curious taste buds. Next, add the folded paper to a basket, bowl or hat and have each family member pick one out. Once every one has chosen, each person can read aloud the country they selected or you guys can choose to keep it a secret until Christmas dinner. Whichever country you won, make one or two dishes indigenous to that particular culture or region.

For example, my family and I did this last year for Thanksgiving, we did things a littler differently because we chose one country / region and then we each made different dishes pertaining to only that one place. The winner drawn from the basket was Andean Cuisine. I made ceviche, my mother made flan and my sister and her husband made an array of dishes from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

This activity is a fun way to explore other cultures, to expand your cooking and baking abilities and shakes up the same old cuisine every year for the holidays!

20 Days til’ Christmas Countdown: Our countdown to Christmas begins today! Everyday I will be posting different fun activities, yummy recipes and creative ways to celebrate leading up to Christmas day!

Ever wonder what to do with all of those plastic bags left over from grocery shopping? Well aside from turning them into bathroom trash can bags or simply throwing them away, you can turn them into amazing holiday wreaths in a few easy steps:

What You’ll Need:

• Plastic Bags (start with 30 bags, you may need more to complete the wreath)
• 12′ inch wire wreath frame
• scissors

How to Make Recycled Plastic Bag Wreath:

1. Lay your plastic bags flat and cut off the ends of the bags
2. cut into 1 – 2 inch thick strips length wise in one batch
3. Double knot the plastic bags around the wire frame and push them together, so they are bunched
4. Keep knotting and bunching until your wreath is complete, decorate with ornaments, ribbons or bows

You can use different colored plastic bags to create a a multi-colored look or you can leave completely white like a winter snow. The best part is, you are turning junk into a creative activity and transforming into something new and lovely!