A New Look for Candy Day

We did candy day a little differently this year. Rather than attempt a marathon of candy making with 5 small children, we decided just to get together to eat food, celebrate Dylan's birthday, and eat candy we'd made separately. The granddaughters all got their annual Christmas pjs, and we watched a Christmas movie together. It was fun, but the night would have been just a little sweeter with the smell of caramel cooking on the stove.
Oh, and did I mention the frosting and candy coated Christmas trees?!?!

Candy Day 2012

We had our annual candy making day at the Palte house this year. With four kids to play with and distracted adults, we had a couple batches fail and didn't produce as much candy as we have in the past, but we had lots of fun!

 Callie started things out right by enjoying marshmallow fluff leftover in the jar while a batch of fudge was on the stove.

 

 She then humored me by posing for a marshmallow face picture by the tree.

 
Chris was good about following the candy rules, and buttered his pan before starting a batch.

In all the excitement, Addie had a hard time keeping her pants on, so she got a Hello Kitty duct tape belt for the evening.

Ummm, yea, Britney, that toffee isn't looking like toffee.

Addison had plenty of Annalea snuggle time.

Making candy with the brohas. Good times.

Then DeeDee decided it was time for a bath. (DeeDee just can't resist the splashing good times that come with a bath!) And then we had three crazy hyper (but clean!) kiddos running around, waiting to open their Christmas pjs.

It's been a Christmas tradition since before I was born: a pair of pjs for the kids on Christmas Eve. My mom's grandma used to get pajamas for her and her siblings, and then I grew up with the tradition, too. Dylan and I usually got to unwrap two presents on Christmas Eve: our new pajamas and a calendar for the new year. It's quite a special feeling to wake up on Christmas morning in brand new Christmas pajamas.

This year, DeeDee got coordinating pajamas for all four granddaughters. Being the oldest, Callie got to be Santa, with Emily, Addison, and Annalea as her elves. Since the Paltes would be in Michigan for Christmas Eve this year, we decided to open pjs early on candy day. It was so fun having new Christmas pjs to wear all through December that we might even do it again next year!

 

 

Does it get much cuter than this?

DeeDee and her crew from Santa's workshop.

Sisters looking quite precious by the tree...

...and Addison decides to photo bomb!

And what must follow all that fun? A Dance Party, of course! 

After all the little elves went to bed, Santa and the adults gathered round the tv for a special viewing of A White Christmas.  While the story and singing brought some eye rolls from the younger generation, DeeDee was overjoyed to finally watch one of her Christmas favorites with her kids, and she and Callie had a great time dancing during the many musical interludes.

The movie was briefly interrupted around 9pm, when the doorbell rang. The doorbell? We were all so confused, but when we went to the door the confusion quickly turned to excitement when we realized there was a float of carolers coming down the street, followed by Santa Claus handing out candy canes. What a special night!

Candy Day

Every year, we make candy using recipes from my Great Grandma Cullen. My mom always lays out the rules: have all your ingredients ready before you start, butter your pan FIRST, slow stirring to avoid splashing the side of the pan, constant stirring for perfect candy. All these rules keep a candy maker glued to the stovetop while the candy is cooking. Good thing Grandma Nicoll was there to play with the babies so we could get our candy making on!

We arrived at DeeDee's after the Darling Doubles Christmas party, and had to take a pic with the tree

Lovin' all the Christmas red!

Callie gave a wonderful dance performance while the adults sang Jingle Bells

Check out those dance moves!

Emily and her Great Grandma