Christmas Crafts

This year we started so many new traditions for the holiday season! We have really enjoyed focusing on advent and studying both the old and new testament scriptures. We have also incorporated some new crafts and other things to pass the time in the cold weather. Ainsley has taken some art classes at our local art museum and we have focused a lot on baking.

Here is our first gingerbread house ever! (Mom's too!) We thought this would be so much fun and it really was. It did take significantly longer than we had planned but it made a great centerpiece for our table throughout the season!

Here Ainsley is hard at work. I piped the icing on and she decorated. Her skills were clearly better than mine.

From Rankin Family

We are almost done. Ainsley is creating a fence with our leftover gum drops.

From Rankin Family

Finished product! The gingerbread house is next to our other craft project, a shrinky dink Christmas tree. I made an advent calendar for her filled with shrinky dink ornaments. Each morning, Ainsley would color and bake a new addition for her tree. It was a lot of fun and a non-candy way to go through the Advent season.

From Rankin Family

Here are some of Ainsley's baking goodies. We went through the cookie magazines again this year and Ainsley picked out quite a few. We made it through all of them on her list except one.

From Rankin Family

Continuing on from last year, a Happy Birthday Jesus cake. Ainsley asked to make it this year, which warmed my heart. She drew the picture she wanted on it and picked out the flavor. This year's creation was a mint chocolate cake with mint frosting.

From Rankin Family