Tuesday, December 8, 2009

One Craft, Some Cookies and a Ton of Lights!

This past weekend was filled with fun times! I decided to share it with you all in one post (with a ton of pictures)...you ready?

My friend Lyndsey and her mom host a cookie party every year and I think they are so sweet to do that. This year I made them each a little gift as a thank you. I got the idea for this craft from my Stampin Up! demo Lisa and then found the tutorial here.

It's a little magazine holder that holds gift cards.

Inside each holder I put four little 3x3 gift cards that they can use when they give gifts. Can I just tell you that I love Designer Paper and how it coordinates with the cardstock by SU!

Lyndsey and her mom really go all out for their cookie party.

Chicken Club Wrap...yum.

Hummus, veggies, and pita chips.

Cheeseball...one of my favorites.

Festive drinks. Have you tried the sparkling drinks from Trader Joe's...very good.

Everyone enjoying the good food.

Lyndsey and her mom even have door prizes. How fun is that?!

And of course...the cookies. There was a very nice variety.

Here are the chocolate chip cookies that I made. Simple, yet oh so delicious. I just used the Nestle Toll house recipe (do any of you remember that Friends episode?), only I substituted the butter with butter Crisco .

Sunday we went with a group of people to see the lights at our local zoo.

Jamison was super excited...

...Caleb, not so much at first.

Here's my friend Tonya's daughter...all bundled and ready to go.

The gang.

More of the gang.

Despite the cold temperatures the kids really had a great time.

In the reptile house there was a snake you could touch. Notice I am BEHIND the camera. No snakes for me.

Whoa baby!!!!

One of my favorite parts about our zoo is the manatee exhibit. This isn't the best picture, sorry.

The lights were amazing! My pictures do not do them justice, you just had to be there. This year all of the lights were LED.

This was the display right outside of the aquarium.

This is the display around the lake in the zoo. At certain points in the evening they play music and the lights "dance" to the music. It was really neat.

Me and my homie Tonya.

Are you still there? How was your weekend?

16 comments:

Joanna said...

It looks like y'all have been busy and having a lot of fun! All bundled up! I want it to be that cold here!! Love all those cookies...wished our zoo did the Christmas lights here, it's too small of a zoo. Or maybe they do them and I have just never been, maybe I'll call them today!

Emily said...

Looks like you have been having a blast this Christmas season! All that food looks YUMMY!

Anonymous said...

My weekend was not as exciting as yours, lol! I just LOVE your blog...you are such an awesome person! Hugs and Happy Tuesday!

Kelli W said...

First, I love the Friends reference! So much fun! Second, I am still a little jealous of you SUPER fun cookie swap! The zoo looks like a ton of fun. That last picture has some amazing lights in it!

Sugarplum Creations Blog said...

Okay, where do I start? The food at the cookie party looks delicious! YUM! And those card holders are adorable! Looks like you had so much fun at the zoo lights. We've never been to ours, but maybe we should make that a priority! :)

Unknown said...

What a fun weekend! Love the cards! I could eat a cheese ball all by myself :)

Have a great day!

Carrie

Unknown said...

Looks like you are having some fun this holiday season!!!

~Becca

Bobbi & Noe said...

My cookie swap is next week. Thanks for some great ideas. I'm going to check out that chicken club recipe right now!

Xazmin said...

Looks like so much busy fun! I LOVE That Friends episode! I was just telling Tanielle about it the other day!

Love the gorgeous lights too. Hope you guys are enjoying your holiday season!

Amy said...

Love the zoo lights! Our zoo in Phoenix does the same thing. We went last year, but it was unseasonably cold and REALLY crowded so the kids didn't enjoy it. Maybe we'll try again this year...

jennykate77 said...

Looks like so much fun!!! I love the lights at the zoo!

The Cookie Party sounds like a fabulous holiday tradition! I'm thinking I may have to copy that. They had an awesome spread...looks so yummy!

Carrie said...

Beautiful pictures! I could've looked at even a few more, haha! What a fun gift you made, you are are so thoughtful! That looked like a great party, yum! I love Jamison's smile! so cute!

J.J. said...

OK...you can take the pic of the snake out ;) I loved all the lights!!!! And that food looked soooo yummy!!!!!

Miller Racing Family said...

Looks like you all have been keeping busy. I loved all the photos of the zoo Christmas, well besides the snake photos. Looks like the party was a huge hit.
Hope you have a great day!

Meredith said...

Looks like SO much fun!! I haven't been by in awhile and see you're reading captivating... how do you like it?? Put a smile on my face being able to sit here and catch up with all your happenings!

Katie said...

Wow what a fantastic party! I love your hostess gifts, I am going to look into that tutorial right away!

And are guys brave for heading to the zoo! We have a membership but normally chicken out and don't got in the winter. Too cold!