Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of family, friends, fun, and lots of delicious food!
#tbt to when it was actually snowy
Merry Christmas
Month: December 2015
Last minute gift idea for your creative friends and family
I’m sure you guys are all super on top of your holiday shopping, and I’m sure none of you have any last minute gifts to buy. But if you’re like me, you’ve finally remembered how to Christmas shop and finally (one week before Christmas) you’re getting into the groove of it!
I find that one of the most fun things to give is something you made. Every year, I like to make my presents unique in one way. I like to make unique gift tags every year. One year I used paint chips and made small snowy chalk drawings on each one. It’s fun because you can make each one different. This is what I made last year. I thought they came out great! And I may just have to make more of our ugly sweater gift tags this year.
If you’re like me and have friends and family who also like to be crafty and creative with their gifts this DIY is sure to be a hit for the holidays. I came up with this holiday gift tag gift based on what I gave my mom last year as a gift. And mom, if you’re reading this, just send me a quick text if you want me to gift you the DIY from this post!
Since gift tags are so fun for everyone, I thought why not grab a bunch of craft paper in fun prints for birthdays and holidays and neutral or solid prints and cut it into the classic gift tag shape.
What you’ll need:
- fun printed craft paper
- a single hole punch
- string (I particularly like baker’s twine, but we didn’t have any)
- optional: washi tape, stamps
After you’ve cut out the gift tag shape, punch a hole in the top, and stick on hole reinforces if you like. Tie a cute string through the hole by doubling the string over and sticking the looped end through the hole. Then feed the two loose ends through the loop so that your present receiver can tie the loose ends of the string to their gift. If you’re feeling really inspired, you could make a few of our ugly sweater to add to the gift as well :). Use some washi to outline some of the tags if you want! Also, if you have stamps, you could stamp “to / from” on some or whatever you want, but personally, I think blank will get the most use out of it. Package that up in a cute box with tissue paper, throw in a few rolls of washi tape and maybe a cute jell pen or two, and there’s the perfect gift! My mom would love it (right mom?) and I’m sure your friends and family would too!
Tell us – are you all set for the holidays are do you have some last minute scrambling to do like us? Do you put gift tags on your presents?
White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn Bark
I always love a good popcorn and chocolate mixture. I mean hello, we are Popcorn AND Chocolate. Although, I have to admit these days we have been heavy on the pop front with less choc. But, have no fear, we are fixing that right now by giving you this delicious chocolatey recipe perfect for the holidays! We give you white chocolate peppermint popcorn bark. Say that 3 times fast… and then go make this delicious bark and eat it 3 times fast. No, actually, bad advice, please do not eat this super fast. We want you to savor it and enjoy it. Plus, we don’t want any liability issues with chocking hazards.
Okay now that we have established you are going to savor this recipe, we should probably tell you what is in it. Well, you have all your main snacking options (popcorn and chocolate) and to give it a fun festive flair we added some big ol’ chunks of candy canes.
This white chocolate peppermint popcorn bark is full of flavor. The smooth white chocolate melts in your mouth while the popcorn and peppermint add a nice crunch that makes you go back for more and more and more. Plus, look how festive and pretty it is! Plus, plus, it is super easy to make. So go make some right now!
No seriously, what are you waiting for? Oh yeah, you probably need the recipe first.
Ingredients:
- White chocolate bar
- 1 candy cane
- A big handful of popcorn
Directions:
- Put some parchment paper onto a baking sheet or a flat surface you can transfer to the freezer.
- Melt your chocolate – you can either do this in the microwave or using a double broiler. We stuck to the easy microwave method.
- Once all your chocolate is melted pour it onto the parchment paper. Use a spoon to make it into one even layer.
- Smash the candy cane in a plastic bag so you get candy cane crumbles.
- Sprinkle the candy cane crumbles onto the chocolate layer. Break apart your popcorn and then add that on top.
- Stick your bark into the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes to harden. Once hardened, you can either eat it all then or store in an airtight container.
This holiday bark is so festive and easy to make you have no excuse not to whip some up right now!
Ugly Christmas Sweater Garland & Gift Tags
It doesn’t quite feel like Christmas until you see your first ugly Christmas sweater. They have been out in full force this year. 
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good ugly sweater. In fact I’ve always wanted to throw an ugly Christmas sweater party just so I have an excuse to buy one (like this one or this one or this). 
What’s not to love? Tinsel, pom-poms, bells, Christmas sayings! Give me all of it! The tackier the better. 
In order to get a little ugly into our holiday we created this ugly Christmas sweater garland, which also can work as funny gift tags for your presents. It’s probably even more fun than just going out and buying a Christmas sweater because you get to fill your own sweater with whatever tacky items your heart desires. 
To make these sweaters, you will need to rummage through your craft supplies and pull out any random bits and bobs that you have, such as pipe cleaners, bells, ribbon, felt, string, anything! You will also need craft paper. 
We found a stencil online by just Google searching sweater outline and then traced that onto white paper and cut it out. Next, we traced our stencil on some grey cardstock. We did this a couple of times to get the number of sweaters we wanted. 
Now is the fun part – to decorate! Each of our sweaters have different decorations on them. For some we outlined the sweaters with patterned scrapbook paper. Others, we traced a Santa or Reindeer image from online and then colored them in on the sweaters. For the wreath we used a silver pipe cleaner and glued it to the center of the sweater and added a bow to it. We also stamped on some of the sweaters. It is really up to you how ugly you want to make your sweater! 
We also made some smaller ugly sweaters using the same process for gift tags. 
These gift tags add a fun and festive flare to any present! Plus they are super easy and enjoyable to make. Once we started, we couldn’t stop making them and are still having ideas on what would be silly to add to them!
Bonus points – bring an ugly Christmas sweater gift tag to your next ugly Christmas sweater party! 
Now tell us – have you gone to an ugly Christmas sweater party? Do you like ugly sweaters or are you over it? What would you decorate your ugly sweater with?
DIY Christmas Sign
You know that section of Target right when you walk in that has little gems for $1 or $3? Welp, that section is my downfall. I cannot resist picking up a fun holiday decoration and, well if it’s only $3, what harm does it do?? Fast forward a couple of years of always picking up that $3 item, and somehow you start to realize you might not want to put that item in your cart this time. This sign was based off of something we saw in said section. However, instead of paying for it, we decided to use our crafty little brains and DIY our own sign. 
To make this fun little sign all you need is some foam poster board (cardboard works too), some letter stencils or vinyl letters (which is what we used), and paint! Cute reindeer to hang beside the sign are optional, although highly recommended. We got these cuties at T.J.Maxx… another store I can’t resist!
First we outlined an arrow shape onto poster board and cut it out using an x-acto knife. Next we laid down our vinyl letter stickers to spell out santa, reindeer, and elves on each of the arrows. Now time to paint! We painted two coats over each of the arrows.
As a bonus step that isn’t necessary, we outline the letters once they were completely dry with a thin sharpie so they would stand out more. Finally, peel off the letter stencils to reveal your beautiful sign!
To hang the sign we taped string to the backs of the arrows, but you could also hang them individually or even put them on a festive pole! 
Which way should I go? 
Tell us – do you have any holiday decorations up? Do you get sucked into the $1/$3 bin at Target or is it just us?
Winter Fun List
Hello December! I can’t believe it is already December, but then again I can’t believe it is any month at any given time so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised anymore. I was long waiting for December to approach as winter is my favorite season. We might have already put up some holiday decor, which has heightened my much anticipated arrival of winter. Since we over in the Popcorn and Chocolate household are all about the holidays and enjoying each season to the fullest, we thought we would share a little fun winter checklist. It’s got all the things we love to do to get us in the holiday spirit. We also thought we would share it a wee bit before winter for any of you who are already bursting to watch Christmas movies and bake gingerbread just like us.
Let us know what your favorite thing to do in the winter is in the comments below! We would love to know!
Pomegranate Moscow Mule
Now that Thanksgiving is over it’s time to charge full speed ahead into the next holiday season, which happens to be my favorite time of year. I might get a few unsubscribes for admitting this but I cannot wait for it to snow! There is nothing like watching snowflakes slowly fall from the sky on a cool evening. It is just so magical. Sorry for anyone who hates winter and is dreading the snow.
I have a feeling this holiday season is going to be full of lots of laughs, extra cozy sweaters, much fun with friends and family, and of course good food and lots of alcohol. As a cheers to the good times coming, we have crafted this lovely pomegranate Moscow mule. It is the perfect drink to share with friends and family this winter.
I love a good mule. They are simple to make and delicious to drink. Plus, they come in the cutest, most festive mugs. Although, admittedly, the mugs were a pain in my behind when taking these pictures. I’ll forgive them because just look how cute!
Anyway… back to this delicious drink I know you are dying to try. The pomegranate adds a fun, festive flare to the traditional Moscow mule. We crushed up pomegranate using a mortar and pestle and added the juice to the mule. It couldn’t be any simpler!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup pomegranates
- 1/2 cup ginger beer
- 1 shot of vodka
- 1-1 lime wedges
- Dash of sugar (we used raw turbinado sugar)
Directions:
- Start by crushing the pomegranates. We used a mortar and pestle to do this. Note – you could also buy pomegranate juice instead of using fresh pomegranate seeds.
- Add the juice from the pomegranates to your cup and then pour the ginger beer and vodka in as well.
- Squeeze the juice from the wedge of the lime into the drink and then add a dash of sugar to sweeten. Garnish with fresh pomegranates and another lime wedge if desired.
Well, there you have it folks, a simple drink to celebrate the upcoming season. We’ve been making these pomegranate mules every weekend. They pair perfectly with a little bit of popcorn and your favorite Christmas movie.
Let us know what your favorite drink for the holidays is!