The Pox - Round Two

We've been having lots of fun in our preparations for the holidays.  There has been more crafting for gifts.  This bookmark will be sent out with some other goodies tomorrow.  I made these for my parents last year and they were well received (the idea came from Soulemama's book Handmade Home) and when I was asking a friend for gift ideas she reminded me of them so now my brother will have one too.

We started our holiday baking.  So far we've made our annual toffee, Nanaimo bars (also something we make once a year) and W made dough for sugar cookies (he wants to cut them out and ice them).

Hard to believe that just four ingredients could turn into something so delicious.  Recipe here in case I've tempted you and I do hope I have - it's melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

I cut some greenery from different trees to make our decorations.  A door wreath is a must-have for me and I also love to have smaller branches throughout the house and especially on the fireplace mantle.

And the boys have been busy making gifts as well.  They've been making  hand-dipped beeswax candles.

And they've been doing some woodworking too.  E has been making these simple and lovely napkin rings.  We all love gifts made of natural materials and strive to make sure all the gifts we make reflect our concern for our Earth.  I think these napkin rings are simply beautiful and am so pleased that my boys love making gifts as much as we do.

I'm glad we were able to get quite a bit done last week because now we settle into round 2 of the pox.  E showed signs of it yesterday and definitely has it this morning.   So...he and I will find some quiet things to do over the next few days until the worst is over - and I will be very grateful for audio books.