Oh Christmas Tree {Part II}

I love traditions, especially the ones associated with Christmas. I find it important to build memories with my children and the bigger they get, the more they enjoy them. They are involved in every step - from picking out the tree, to decorating the tree, and helping me make Christmas cookies. You could say I'm quite the Christmas ornament collector. I have ornaments dating back 15 years that I bought myself. And every time around Christmas I add a few more. This year I added the polar bear from Anthropologie and two ceramic stars from Paper Boat Press with the kids' names on them.

I also add one new ornament for the kids' tree. The raccoon is our latest addition.I found this basket at HomeGoods at the beginning of fall and I knew it would be perfect for holding ornaments.Our lovely mix of gingerbread cookies. I think my favorite is the moose. I borrowed the gingerbread cookie recipe from my friend Jennifer.We ended the day with one of our favorite Christmas movies, a pot of hot chocolate, and some of those delicious cookies. I know they enjoyed the day as much as I did.I'm happy I finally found my gingerbread cookie recipe. You must give it a try! In the past I used to buy a mix from Williams Sonoma, but they have since discontinued it.And you could say I collect Christmas cookie cutters too. These are my favorites. This year I added the swallow bird copper cookie cutter. It was a lucky find on ebay as it's a vintage Robert Gordon of Australia cookie cutter. I also added the mini candy cane from Copper Gifts, the moose came from Ikea in a set, and the antlers are from Fancy Flours. You'll definitely be seeing more cookies in these shapes this month. I'm working with Nestle on giving my chocolate crinkle cookies a twist.