Making Homemade Gifts

I remember growing up and making all of my own Christmas gifts to give to family and friends. I would spend hours working on my list (which was quite extensive) and then hours making the items. I use to listen to Adventures in Oddesey, watch Anne of Green Gables, I Love Lucy and the Waltons to keep myself occupied and busy. I found such a simple joy in these times. And the best part? Giving the gifts away. I had put a lot of myself into those gifts, my time and energy. I'd imagine what the recipient would say when they opened their gift. Such pure joy! As I've gotten older, Christmas' sometimes feel like going through motions. I miss having the time to pour into making homemade gifts. I keep telling myself I just gosta get back into it. All of my craft stuff is shoved into closets right now. Who knows, maybe next year! But this year, having Cheyenne made me want to try making some homemade things. I thought it would be fun for both of us to do together. My friend Steph told me about how she made these applesauce cinnamon ornaments. I remembered making something similar when I was little. She said just do like 2 cups applesauce to 2 cups cinnamon. And then you bake them at like 175 degree oven for 4 hours. My goodness the house smelled sooo yummy and cozy; perfect for winter days inside. Cheyenne and I had fun cutting out different shapes. The dough was somewhat difficult to work with and I think I should have greased my regular baking sheets because I couldn't pull those off too easily! But the ones we baked on my Pampered Chef stones came out better.

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