My Top 10 Christmas Movies!

Since I reviewed my top 10 Christmas albums last week, I figured that I'd better do my top 10 Christmas movies for Tuesday Top 10! Here they are. . . the Christmas movies I try to re-watch every year!

*1: A Christmas Story- Of course I love this one! It's the ultimate Christmas classic!

*2: The Muppet Christmas Carol- This is such a well-done movie! I love the songs and all the characters, and Kirsten really likes it this year too.

*3: Disney's Small One- Most people have never heard of this featurette (it's about a half hour long), but I absolutely adore it! I watch it every year on Christmas Eve and the ending never fails to bring tears to my eyes. It's the sweetest story ever about a little boy who has to sell his beloved donkey. I was so thrilled when they released it on DVD! You can find it on 'Classic Holiday Stories' and I would recommend it to everyone.

*4: Home Alone 2- The original Home Alone is great as well, but I find Home Alone 2 to be funnier and just more entertaining in general. I watch this one every year for sure!

*5: The Santa Clause- The original really IS my favorite when it comes to this one. It's funny every year!

*6: Elf- What can I say about this one? Everyone loves it and I do too!

*7: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- I never watched this one until I met Stephen, believe it or not. But he introduced me to it and now I watch it with him every year. It's just hilarious!

*8: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer- I grew up watching this TV classic and I still love it! You can't have Christmas without Rudolph!

*9: It's a Wonderful Life- I may not watch this one every single year, but I think the message is amazing and it's a terrific movie.

*10: Mickey's Christmas Carol- Another one I grew up watching. It's such a cute version of the Christmas Carol story! My second-favorite one, after the Muppets.

Bonus: Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. My family has this recorded on an old VHS tape, and me and my brother loved it. It's cute, funny, and has some really great songs on it. I didn't think this was out on DVD, but I just found out today that I was wrong! I ordered it, and Kirsten will love it!

What's on your Christmas must-watch list?

Let It SNOW. . . and the Best of Christmases Past!!!

Baby it's cold outside! And I'm not kidding. . . with temperatures in the 20's and 30's, it hasn't been this cold in Seattle in December since the 1950's!

It snowed on Saturday night! Big, gorgeous flakes that turned the Seattle area into a snowy winter wonderland. The first snow of the winter! Typically, the snow in Seattle is all melted and gone by the next day. But it's been a few days now and the snow is still on the ground and the roads are still icy. It reminds me of Utah winters!
I haven't been able to get outside much to enjoy the snow. With the frigid temperatures and the cough that Kirsten is fighting, I haven't wanted to take her out in it. But this California girl loves the snow! This picture is from my freshman year in college. . . the first time it snowed when I was at BYU!

But I've got to say. . . I'll be glad to get away from these freezing temperatures. Good thing I'm heading to San Diego for Christmas vacation on Thursday! Perfect timing!

So, this year we discovered that Kirsten + Santa's lap = Crying.

Oh well. At least we got a really cute picture LAST year!

And what's better than one picture from Christmases past? More pictures, of course!!! Last year was Kirsten's first Christmas, she was 7 months old, and we got lots of cute pictures. Here are some of my other favorites:

Kirsten and my cousin Caleb, sporting Santa hats!

Kirsten in her Christmas tree costume!

Surrounded by presents on Christmas morning!

The Elf Baby!

Here's me and Stephen, celebrating Christmas in San Diego after we had just gotten engaged! This was in 2004.

Going back a little further. . . I was decorating "dorm-style" by putting up a string of colored lights in our Heritage Halls dorm at BYU.

And way back! I love this picture of my Dad helping me put the angel on top of our Christmas tree. I don't even know what year this was!

Cute little reindeer family! Me, my mom, and my brother Jakob.

I'm glad my tree-decorating skills have improved since then!

My fashion sense, however, is pretty much the same. I'd still love to go around wearing a tree skirt, Santa hat, and a Christmas count-down chain!

And check out Stephen's cute family Christmas portrait! He's the older brother, with his sister and baby brother. I think these pictures are adorable!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Time for me to go snuggle up by the fire and enjoy being warm and cozy inside by the Christmas tree!

Homemade Eggnog!

Here it is by popular request. . . the recipe for the world's BEST Homemade Eggnog! Anyone who has ever tasted my Mom's eggnog recipe knows that it's nothing like the store-bought kind. I've never liked the store-bought kind at all, since I've been so spoiled by the good stuff. Stephen requests it all the time, and I know your family will love it just as much! So go make some eggnog! It's wonderful anytime in December, but especially perfect for Christmas Eve!

Here's how you make the magic: (I almost always double this recipe)

2 eggs, well beaten
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 qt. whole milk
1 c. heavy cream, whipped
Grated nutmeg (fresh!)
Combine eggs, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt. Gradually beat in milk. Gently fold in whipped cream. Sprinkle nutmeg on top (fresh grated from whole nutmegs is much better than grated from the jar). Chill several hours.

I like to serve mine in fun Christmas mugs, and I always grate a little extra nutmeg over the top of each glass before I serve. Enjoy!!

*Note: If you're pregnant, or if anyone who will be drinking it is pregnant, you'll want to use pasteurized eggs so it will be safe for the baby. I can never find any already pasteurized at the store, but luckily it's really easy to do it yourself! Just heat some water on the stove until it reaches 140 degrees. Use a candy thermometer that attaches to the side of the pan so you don't get it too hot. Let the eggs sit in a bowl of warm water while you heat the water on the stove. When the water reaches 140 degrees, turn off the heat and put the eggs into the hot water. Let them sit that way for 3 minutes. Take them out, and you're done!

Eggnog is awesome by itself, but I love to serve it with homemade cookies or anything chocolatey. I'm really craving some eggnog with any of these treats right NOW!

Merry Christmas! I really want to know who tries this recipe and what you thought!

Decorating Our Christmas Tree!

I LOVE real Christmas trees! I know that tons of people have fake trees, but I grew up going to get a real Christmas tree every single year, and now I just can't live without a real tree! It's so exciting to go to a Christmas tree lot and find the perfect tree. I love having a tree every year that's a little different than the one the year before. We always get a Noble Fir, but no two trees are exactly the same! They smell so heavenly too!

So the weekend after Thanksgiving, we went and got a 6-foot Noble Fir tree. It's full and gorgeous and I was REALLY excited to get the lights on it and pull out all my ornaments! As soon as Stephen started to put the lights on it, Kirsten made a beeline for them. She is obsessed with lights, so she of course had to "help" Daddy with the Christmas lights. The Christmas lights just make her SO happy!

Stephen has been a good sport as I've taught him to put lights on the tree the way my Dad does it. I just don't like lights strung around the tree. They have to be weaved in and out through the branches, infusing the whole tree with light! It really is worth the extra effort! And I love putting colored lights on the tree, and white lights on the garland on our mantle.

Every year I get SO excited to open up my ornament boxes and put ALL my favorites up on the tree! My mom had a really awesome tradition of giving my brother and me an ornament every year, so that when we grew up and left home we'd have a bunch of ornaments with memories attached to all of them. I am definitely continuing that tradition on for my kids! I've also kept on collecting ornaments for myself too. I always try to find Christmas ornaments when I travel, and collect them from everywhere I can!

This one is from our honeymoon in St. Thomas! I smile every time I see that Santa Clause riding a dolphin!

I have way too many amazing ornaments to post pictures of them all. But among of my favorites are the blown glass balls I bought in Venice. They are gorgeous!

Guess who else loves my ornaments? The kitties! Herbie and Tigger go crazy, batting at all the ornaments and even carrying them up the stairs if they can get them.

This is Kirsten's ornament for this year. I got it at Disneyland!

Of course Kirsten loves the tree. She goes over to it at least 15 times a day, pointing at all the ornaments and sometimes pulling them off the tree. She can reach higher up than I thought she could too! Her favorite ornaments are the sparkly, glittery ones. Sometimes she'll go straight to the tree and say, "No, no!" since she's so used to me saying that when she reaches for certain ornaments. :)

She also enjoys grabbing the Christmas tree skirt and pulling it across the floor away from the tree, scattering pine needles everywhere and chanting "No, no!" while she does it.

When I turn the Christmas tree lights on every night, she goes nuts! She squeals and shouts and races to the tree so she can touch the lights and marvel at them.

Our beautiful Christmas tree!

It'll be a sad day for everyone in our house when we have to take the tree down, that's for sure!

Tuesday Top Ten!

Welcome to the first edition of Tuesday Top Ten! I'm about to reveal. . . (drumroll please). . . my Top Ten Christmas Albums!

#1- The Carpenters Christmas Portrait- I adore this album! I think it has so much variety in it and I just love their arrangements of all these wonderful songs.
Best songs: Hard to choose, but I'd have to say 'Merry Christmas Darling' and 'Christmas Waltz'
#2- Let It Snow! by Michael Buble- I don't actually own this album (it's too short, only 6 songs!) but I have downloaded all these songs and love each one! His voice is perfect for Christmas music.
Best song: All of them!

#3- The Christmas Collection by Frank Sinatra- Classic! I love Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole's songs as well, but if I'm going to listen to a whole album by any one of them I'll choose Frank Sinatra any day.

#4- Noel by Josh Groban- I was looking forward to this Christmas album long before it came out. I love his voice!
Best song: Little Drummer Boy

#5- The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack- These are just the cutest Christmas songs! It makes me happy to listen to them.
Best songs: One More Sleep 'Til Christmas, It Feels Like Christmas, and Bless Us All

#6- The Christmas Collection by Amy Grant- Her Christmas songs are all SO well-done. Nobody ever listens to her 80's music anymore, but at Christmastime she's all over the radio, and with good reason!
Best songs: A Christmas To Remember, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and Breath of Heaven (that one gives me tingles all over! It's so beautiful!)

#7- Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan- This is just a gorgeous album!
Best songs: I'll Be Home For Christmas and Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

#8- Christmas Is. . . by Percy Faith and His Orchestra- I've been listening to this album ever since I was old enough to know what Christmas is. Listening to it brings me right back to decorating the tree with my family. I love every song!
Best songs: Christmas Is and White Christmas

#9- The Christmas Collection by Il Divo- Their Christmas songs are soooooo unbelievably beautiful. Their version of O Holy Night especially is the best I've ever heard!
Best songs: O Holy Night, When a Child Is Born, and White Christmas

#10- The Wonder of Christmas by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir- It's hard to pick just one of their Christmas albums to include on this list, but I think this is the one I listen to the most often. I love the songs!
Best songs: The First Noel, Winter Wonderland, Carol of the Bells, and Sleigh Ride

Bonus- A Fresh Aire Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller- Out of all their albums, this one has got to be my favorite!
Best songs: O Come O Come Emmanuel, Greensleeves, and O Holy Night

I think I'm going to have to go put one of these on right now! I love Christmas music SO much. Which albums have I left out? I'd love to hear your favorite Christmas albums too!