Still Woods Farmhouse

Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, I love everything about Christmas! The baking, the sappy-sweet Christmas movies, the twinkling lights, the glittering tree, packages wrapped with love and care, our Christmas Village, red bows, and especially the nativity. It's all so beautiful! I find it a special treasure to sit with a warm cup of coffee, in the early morning hours before the house has awakened, and just soak it all in as I sip my coffee. It also gives me time to do some mental planning...what do I plan to do different next year... what were my favorite moments of this season... what do I want to purchase during the online after Christmas sales... what new recipe do I want to try next year? But I mostly sit and daydream while enjoying the wonder in all that is Christmas. We typically leave most of our Christmas up until Three Kings Day. We are blessed to have our boys home until after New Years and the temptation is strong to use their muscles to help us haul all our Christmas boxes to th

 Christmas is my favorite time for a warm mug of hot cocoa. I'm not sure why we don't enjoy the flavors all year long, but it seems you hear more about hot cocoa during the Christmas season. I am not a chocolate lover, but I love hot cocoa. My dad is the hot cocoa maker in our family and I use his recipe.  We always opened gifts with a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a present in the other! Dad adapted his recipe from an old Hershey cookbook.  It's similar to the one you see on the side of the Hershey's Cocoa can, but with a few twists. No package mixes and hot water at our house!  This is a perfect hot cocoa to prepare and place in a coffee dispenser or a big crock pot as part of a Hot Cocoa Bar.  I love pouring it into my insulated pump dispenser and placing all the delicious toppings in mason jars.  Add some greenery and twinkling fairy lights and your Hot Cocoa Bar is not only delicious, but magical! It's cold and wet here today, so this is a perfect day to mak