Holiday Cheer, 12 Weeks Until Christmas is Here!

“The holidays are right around the corner”, she said!  This was the craft store clerk’s reply to my lamenting about the time consuming, navigation through the abundance of Christmas “cheer” littering the store.  My immediate mission…to find the perfect Halloween candy bowl.  Her next statement put it all in perspective, “Christmas is only 12 weekends away”!  It made me think of how busy the last week before Christmas (or almost any holiday) gets and I realized, there aren’t as many “stay at home” moms as there used to be.  Mother’s in the workforce now means leaving the bulk of holiday preparations for the weekends for more and more families.  So keeping with that string of lights, I thought I would start spreading some of my own holiday cheer in hopes of making your weekend holiday preparations a little easier!  Maybe I’ll call it “The 12 WEEKS before Christmas”…hope you enjoy!  J

Our favorite holiday appetizers!!

Mom’s Crab Dip

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz Monterey Jack & Colby cheese grated

8 oz Hellman’s mayonnaise

8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms

8 oz crabmeat blend

Crackers for dipping

Mix first three ingredients until well blended and smooth.  Add crab and mushrooms and gently fold in.

Bake at 350⁰ for 30 minutes or until bubbly in a 9x13 pan.

Chicken Artichoke Dip

2 cans chicken – drained

2 jars artichoke hearts – drained and chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic – minced

Crackers or tortilla chips for dipping

Bake at 400⁰ in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan for 20 minutes