Wednesday Wink 017

Wednesday Wink 017... late

This year I was in charge of class gifts, room teacher gifts, and of course my husband's office gifts! For our very special teachers, we created giving trees with tons of gift cards and little notes from the children. I think they turned out really great...

 - Tree's from Target

 - Various gift cards included: Amex, Shell, Movie Bucks, Starbucks, Target, Chilli's, and then special cards for individualized needs/wants.

 - Used glue dots to secure cards from Paper Source

With all of the sweet treats, I wanted to do something a little more salty for Bill's office! While growing up, this was my favorite time of year... in part because of my mom's "Texas Trash!" Beware, this stuff is addictive! Here is what I did for Bill's office...

Texas Trash

The Mix:

2 parts Worcestershire Sauce

1 part Soy Sauce

1 tbls garlic salt

1 tbls accent

1 stick butter - melted

Couple shakes Tabasco (more or less based on the amount of 'kick' you desire)

The goods

1/2 box rice chex or crispix

1/2 box corn chex

1/2 bag pretzels

1/2 box oatmeal squares (I like the salty/sweet combo)

1/2 box cheerios

1 bag bugles

1 bag corn nuts
1 can mix nuts
Throw in what you like! Add a twist!

Pour mix over "trash" in a large baking pan. Mix well, hands work best! Put in a 250 Degree oven and turn every 25 minutes until slightly crisp and golden. Set out to cool. Mix will harden slightly.

-holiday boxes found at Hobby Lobby

The Pickle Present...

You may have heard me talk about the Pickle ornament from time to time. We are not a competitive family at all... wink!! This is another Johnson Family Christmas morning battle ritual based on a German tradition that we continue each year... and EACH year, it is my darling brother that finds the pickle... I thought that by having 2 against 1, Bill and I could manage to win... nope. SO...this year, I have 3 against 1... Bring it on Uncle Steven! You wouldn't steal the pickle present from your only nephew now would you? Since many of our classmates have siblings, we thought we would pass on the tradition...Liam has been practicing finding the pickle already! I used plastic pickle ornaments for these 2 year olds, but Old World makes a beautiful blown glass pickle that I love! I also did this for my girl's Christmas Exchange... stay tuned to see who won and what the gift was!

As the legend goes, Christmas Eve night after all the other ornaments have been hung, the pickle ornament is hidden deep in the branches and the most observant child to find it in the morning gets a special present. Other variations is not an extra present but they are the first to get to open a present.. to cut down on the arguments... wink! If it is an adult that finds the pickle, they are to receive good luck and a special blessing throughout the year... We do the good old fashion, receive an extra gift... and it is SO MUCH FUN! Start your own pickle tradition!