Christmas Music & Treats

We are fully into the holiday spirit! Birthdays are over and the season has begun! SBean started decorating early by dressing up her bedroom door! Using items we had around the house she made this cute Snowman Door. She then made a different version on our bedroom door and a girly version of a snowman on HBear’s bedroom door. They’re absolutely adorable and she used supplies that we already had on hand and you will probably have these things at home too! An easy and inexpensive way to brighten up your dark hallway of doors.

My Kids are hot cocoa freaks. They love hot cocoa, even in the summer months lol. During the holidays, we try to make special hot cocoa to make it different than their every day hot sipper. This year they tried Peppermint Hot Chocolate and they were a big hit! Such a big hit that they wanted to make them for their Cousins when they came over too, and everybody enjoyed these delicious hot chocolates.

A few years ago, I made this Christmas Salad Wreath with my Mom’s go to vinaigrette. This year to do something different we made this Honey Prosecco Vinaigrette and it was so good! I love finding a new vinaigrette that I can make on the fly! It was a bit of an investment to buy the Prosecco vinegar, but I will be making this dressing again and again, all year long.

The Kids are getting older and we don’t make classroom treats anymore. Enter sad face here lol. This year we made Chocolate Wreath Gifts for the Kid’s coaches, instructors, and teachers. Ninja picked up the chocolates on sale at Costco and I picked up cellophane at the Dollar Store and we had 16 cute and yummy teachers gifts done in no time flat!

Who doesn’t love a good milkshake? These adorable Snowman Milkshakes are super easy to prepare and are just so freaking cute! We made them for SBean and her Bestie and they absolutely loved them. Such a simple thing that brought a lot of joy and giggles.

I had to read a book that took place in under a week and I had heard of this author a lot so I picked Winter Street not knowing that it was a series. The Winter Street Series by Elin Hilderbrand is about the Quinn’s. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started that first book. I thought it would be a light rom-com, but actually it was a book about a family with real life problems going through stuff at Christmas, but keeping it together because they have each other. I loved the Quinns and I loved this series.

Winter Street Takes place in under a week. This is my first book by Elin Hildebrand and I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but I don’t think it was this. I thought she wrote East Coast romances and this was on the East Coast and was a love story but more of a family love story. Kelley is 63 years old and runs an inn in Nantucket with his second wife. 2 of his adult children live at the inn with them, another one lives in Boston and the son they have together is a marine that has just been deployed to Afghanistan. After disaster strikes they all end up at the Inn on Christmas Eve, including Kelley’s first wife and all their 3 kids. This book takes place over 3 days and there’s so much family chaos it is funny and relatable even though their exact situations may not be all that relatable. I can’t believe that cliffhanger though making the next book a must read.

Winter Stroll What I love about this series is just how real it is. The last time we checked in with the Quinn family was Christmas 2014, a year later not much has changed. Bart is still missing in Afghanistan, Ava is dating Scott but she’s not quite sure if he’s the one, Margaret is still seeing Drake, Mitzi is still seeing George the Santa, Patrick went to jail for his white collar crimes, Kevin and Isabelle are about to christen their baby and Kelley is still running the Inn although he ‘s in a better financial position than last year. But they have problems and that’s what I like about these books the real life problems that don’t necessarily get solved by the end of the book with a big bow. Isabelle is suffering from postpartum depression, Jennifer is losing it with her husband Patrick in jail and has become addicted to pills. Kevin’s ex is in town, Ava is stuck between a safe relationship and one that makes her heart race, Margaret has fallen in love and Mitzi is regretting her actions from last Christmas. They have to come together as a family to help each other through all these issues. As Christmas approaches the Quinns come together again for another weekend of family fun and chaos. It’s great!

Winter Storms The Quinns are back! When the book begins, it’s basically around spring break following the Christmas from the last book. We find out the Kelley has major health issues but Mitzi is back and fully in charge of his care. Patrick is about to be released from jail and has opportunities lined up for his future, his wife has developed a full blown pill addiction, Kevin and Isabel‘s daughter Genevieve is getting bigger and Bart’s platoon is still missing in Afghanistan. Margaret and Drake‘s engagement is moving along nicely but Ava has found herself fully immersed in a love triangle… square? This book is different in that it is broken up into seasons ending at Christmas. The author does something in this book that made me literally laugh out loud, one of the gifts at a bridal shower is a wedding on Nantucket novel that SHE wrote called, Beautiful Day. This book made me cry and I just know the last book in this down to earth holiday family saga is going to be very emotional.

Winter Solstice (W)inter – Title begins with “W”. Now THAT is an ending. The fourth book about the Quinn family ties up all of the storylines. This was an emotional read as things evolve for each of the Quinn children, Margaret and Drake, Mitzi and Kelley and George and Mary Rose. I was satisfied with how each storyline ended and may have balled up at least a few tissues during Kelly’s chapters. Having lost a parent to cancer, I felt the heaviness of this book, but also the love. I will miss the Quinns and their chaotic Christmases at the Winter St. Inn.