Good morning friends, Merry Christmas eve. How are you? I hope that you have enjoyed the last month of Christmas prep. I know it goes without say that things are different and to be honest the month went by in a blur of flour and sugar for me. I have enjoyed every minute of the last 25 days watching Christmas movies and singing along to my favorite songs. I’ve spent weeks in the kitchen baking cookies and candy so that I could send a piece of my heart to my family and friends. And I’ve ended every evening reading by the lights of my Christmas tree, and awaking to the lights of another.
The Christmas kitchen has now closed but before it does, I wanted to share a few of my favorite things that I baked just in case your kitchen is still open.
Fleur de Sel Truffles, easy and delicious.
Spicy Pretzels , perfect for snacking and gifting.
Chocolate Almond Dragees, almonds covered in crystalized sugar, then melted chocolate and finally dusted with cocoa powder.
Homemade Marshmallows, these soft pillowy sweet treats are perfect as is, covered in chocolate or plopped in your hot chocolate.
Candy and Cookie Board, no baking required!
Christmas Pudding Brownies Bites, basically a brownie rolled in a ball covered in chocolate, delicious and cute too.
Dark Chocolate Caramelized Almond Bark, my favorite chocolate treat that I make.
And a 14th for good measure, Gingerbread Cupcakes.
I have many more sweet and savory treats on the blog of these do not appeal to you or you can check out my Pinterest page.
As for NORAD, they are celebrating 65 years of tracking Santa!
It began in 1955 when a local department store misprinted a telephone number to speak to Santa and track his progress on Christmas Eve. Instead the children were calling CONAD, the predecessor to NORAD( the North American Aerospace Defense Command).
Luckily Colonel Harry Shoup was in command because he ordered that each child who called be told the exact coordinates of Santa, and to this day the tradition continues. Just in case you are wondering, this is paid for by corporate sponsors and all the phones are manned by volunteers.
You can follow this link to the website in case your children or grand-children want to follow Santa on his journey around the world starting this morning.
Merry Christmas my friends. Have a wonderful day.
Friday Favorites No. 551 from Camille Styles, The Endless Meal, Eleanor Rose Home and More
Athena Calderone, Jules Buono, Lessons in Chemistry and more on Weekend Meanderings. 
Friday Favorites No. 550 from Half Baked Harvest, Nutmeg Nanny, Honestly Yum and More
Summer Salad with Beet Greens, Blueberries, Greens and More
The treats look good.
Merry Christmas to you.