Scene of a birthday baker

There has been a considerable lack of crafty blogging happening around here lately; with travel, the garden and my appetite for baking, I’ve granted my sewing machine and knitting needles on sabbatical. However, with the holidays right around the corner, I have a feeling their respite will be brief. I’ve got the holiday spreadsheet completed and a lengthy list of projects to match the stack of JoAnn’s coupons in my pocketbook. I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving in Tucson and Christmas in Denver. I will be able to spend more time with my family in that three week period than I have all year.

Cream cheese frosting, whipped

I am learning the sweetest gift of the holidays is time with my loved ones. I can’t wait. We have some traditions traveling with us to Cody’s house in Denver, including stockings filled with fruit and sticky buns first thing Christmas morning. I’ve got some holiday traditions I look forward to starting with my own brood one day, including caroling, handing out baked goods to the neighbors and baking a birthday cake for Christ on Christmas day. To bring some of these into being this year, I’m organizing a giant community dinner where we’ll go caroling afterward and am working on my neighborhood baked good plan.

ET had it right.

Where I live, many of the residents are temporary. Some are college students or retired folk. Very few of us seem to live in the same spot year-round. I’d like to go by door-to-door with little loaves of bread and wish families a happy holiday and introduce myself, but I feel a bit funny doing so. Suggestions? I’ve also thought about gifting them with small tags that read something like, “With the economy down, it’s time to come together. Bread shared among neighbors makes friends. Wishing you a happy holiday season.” It is pretty cheesy, right?

Chocolate joy
Birthday cupcakes
Who's turning 29?

What would you say? I want to be sincere without being ridiculously sentimental. Send me what you’d say on your bread-for-neighbors tag and I’ll make you a stack of handstamped gift tags for your holiday season. {One person will be selected from comments. Woot!}

~K

* Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and Reece’s Pieces topping for Ryan’s 29th birthday. I was in a rush and didn’t let these cool long enough; the result was icing that had slid off by the time I reached the party. Lesson learned!