The Gluten-Free Homemaker

I feel pretty bad that it's December 15 and the only decorating I've done is putting up the Christmas tree. I would have done some over the weekend, but our puppy was spayed on Thursday and her recovery has been time consuming, tiring, and interesting. I think she's healing well enough, but she's been fearful, especially at night. She has also developed a new way of expressing herself--howling. She now howls at a number of things. Do you think it has to do with the full moon we had the other night? Anyway, back to Christmas.

I haven't gotten out our nativity set which is usually what I put up after the tree. It's not really anything special as far as nativity sets go, but it's special to us. Even though I can't show you a picture, I thought I would tell you where it came from. My mother-in-law had a tradition of giving a nativity set to each of her children the first Christmas they were married. I enjoy the decoration not only because it reminds us of the reason for Christmas, but also because it reminds us of my mother-in-law. It's even more special now that she is gone. I hope it is a tradition that we will follow with our kids.

Earlier, I wrote about our Christmas tree, and why we use an artificial tree. In this picture you can't see the variety of ornaments we have on the tree, but you can see the red balls. I put those on to help tie it together and I always like the way it looks. The balls are not glass, but are covered in satiny fibers. They look pretty and shiny and don't break if they fall on the floor!



Now, how would you like to have some warm fruit punch? I got this recipe from my mom years ago. People always enjoy it, adults and kids. This recipe uses the crockpot, but I'm sure you could adapt it to the stove top.

Warm Fruit Punch

Ingredients
8 c. water
12 oz. frozen cran-raspberry juice concentrate, thawed
12 oz. frozen orange juice, thawed
6 oz. frozen lemonade, thawed
1/4 c. sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp. cloves
orange slices

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Heat on high for 3 hours, then turn to low. Remove the spices. (I use a tea ball for the cloves.) Garnish with orange slices. If you have a keep warm setting that would be perfect for serving the punch. It's so easy!

Labels: gluten-free recipes