The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.597: Advent at the Farmhouse // Our Gaudete Sunday Tradition & a Recipe Too

We are just days from the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as Gaudete Sunday.  We symbolize this midway point with the rose candle on the Advent wreath as well as a day of celebration: the Lord’s coming is near!  In our family, the tradition has always been to have our annual gingerbread decorating afternoon after Mass.  We play Christmas carols, decorate and eat ourselves silly with cookies and candy decorations, and completely ruin our dinner.  Sometimes I pre-bake the cookies and sometimes I hurry through the process when we get home.  Each year is a little different, but we love the tradition all the same.

Below is our go-to recipe:

Download your copy of the Gingerbread Cookie Recipe here!

P.S. Our favorite book to read on this day is Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.  Also, if you’re in the market for cookie cutters, take a look at these and these and these! (affiliate links)

No.596: Advent at the Farmhouse // A Dried Orange Garland for the Kitchen

Today I’m back with another easy and homemade decoration, perfect for the kitchen: dried orange slices!  This year, I used my dehydrator (affiliate link) and it didn’t go according to plan.  It took forever for them to dry!  I think it’s because I didn’t remove the excess moisture with a paper towel before placing them on the trays.  Oh well, you live and learn!

Last year, I dried them in the oven and it was also super easy.  You just place the sliced oranges on parchment (be sure to dab off the extra juice!) and bake at 200° for one hour.  Flip the slices over, then continue baking for another hour.  The exact time will vary depending on how thick your slices are.  Be sure to check every so often to avoid burning.

Once my slices are fully dried, I’ll be stringing them and adding them to the garland on my kitchen window.  I’ll have to update this post when it’s done, but here’s how I used them last year:

UPDATE!  I decided to string the oranges a different way and then wrap them around the garland.  Love how it turned out!

No.594: Advent at the Farmhouse // Potato Stamped Wrapping Paper

Oh man, I couldn’t have come up with a more frugal project if I tried, ha!  The idea came to me after we received a package in the mail with gobs and gobs of kraft paper packaging.  The paper wasn’t crumbled tightly and I thought I could reuse it for gifts.  Fast forward a few hours, when I discovered that a handful of potatoes had the dreaded green sheen, and the potato stamped wrapping paper project was born!

My daughter and I followed this tutorial to make the stamps and then used washable paint (affiliate link) we already had in the school room.  Zero dollars spent and it turned out adorable!  My favorite frugal accomplishment of the month so far.

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