{holiday heirloom recipe collection — freebie}

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December 11, 2012 By | 7 Comments

Today’s post is dedicated to my wonderful Oma. As I mentioned at the {nifty thrifty sunday} linky party, she turned 90 this past Saturday and luckily I was able to go to Berlin to celebrate with her. We had a wonderful weekend, filled with family time and festivities.

My grandma was the one who introduced me to homemade eggnog. It has been a Holiday family tradition for as long as I can remember, and finally last year I actually gave it a shot to make it myself for the first time. Delicious and super easy to make!

My aunt and I actually made some homemade eggnog for one of the gifts to my grandma. She loved it! ;)

If you’d like the see the recipe for homemade eggnog, check out this amazing Holiday Heirloom Recipe e-Book that Gwen from The Bold Abode created. It’s filled with family heirloom recipes from 16 amazing bloggers. The recipe e-book is FREE to download!

Download it by click on the image below:

Or view it online here:

 
What’s your favorite family heirloom recipe and what makes it special to you?

Filed Under: Baking, Christmas, Cooking, Freebie, Good Eats, Holiday, Nifty, Recipes, Thrifty | 7 Comments
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{last minute advent calendar}

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November 27, 2012 By | 18 Comments

December is approaching fast and it’s time to count down the days to Christmas. There’s nothing sweeter (literally) than counting down using an advent calendar.

If you’re looking for a nifty & thrifty advent calendar, this is the one for you! ;) Chances are that you might even have all the supplies on hand.

What you’ll need:

  • card stock of the color of your choice
  • scissors
  • border punch (or crazy scissors)
  • hole punch
  • ribbon
  • washi tape
  • candy




I’m partying here! ❤

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts, DIY, Holiday, Nifty, Thrifty | 18 Comments
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{last-minute christmas tree}

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December 23, 2011 By | 11 Comments

 

Christmas is just around the corner and everybody’s busy, trying to get everything ready for the big celebrations. Are you all set yet?
If not, I have a nifty, thrifty and quick solution for a Christmas tree for you! ;)
My mom put together this one-of-a-kind Christmas tree with things she found around her home. Her house is really small and it is hard to fit in a nice-sized Christmas tree, so this idea is perfect for her cozy space. Plus, it’s portable, doesn’t shed needles and you don’t have to throw the tree out after Christmas — just find a nook and store it for next year.

 

 

A lot of the the “ornaments” are attached with memories.
. . the postcard was sent to my great-grandma by her mother in 1923
. . the metal drawing doll was my great-granpa’s — he was an illustrator and designer and practiced drawing human motions with its help

 

 

 . . the photograph is of my mom when she was two years old

 

 

 

My mom just recently started writing her own blog, in German — but she says you’re more than welcome to still take a peek and leave a comment, even if you don’t speak the language. :)
If you want to visit her, this is her cute new blog: einfallsreich (meaning inventive)

 

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts, DIY, flea market, Holiday, Nifty, Thrifty | 11 Comments
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{german eierlikör/eggnog}

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December 20, 2011 By | 18 Comments

 

Eierlikör, or “egg liqueur” in English, is a traditional German Christmas liqueur and very similar to eggnog.
My (favorite ;) ) aunt is a really big fan of this holiday goodness, so we decided to make some Eierlikör from scratch last week. It turned out really delicious and gave us a little buzz while giving it a taste (or two).

 

{german eierlikör/eggnog}

foodgawker

By Vanessa @ {nifty thrifty things} Published: December 20, 2011

  • Yield: 8 Servings
  • Prep: 10 mins

  Eierlikör, or “egg liqueur” in English, is a traditional German Christmas liqueur and very similar to eggnog. My (favorite …

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Beat the eggs and egg yolks until creamy.
  2. Sift the powdered sugar and add to the eggs, little by little.
  3. Add the alcohol and mix well.
  4. Whip the cream into semi-solid consistency and mix with the egg-sugar-alcohol mixture.
  5. Fill in a bottle and keep cold until ready to serve.

Notes

  • the Eierlikör keeps for about 2 weeks (kept cold), but it probably won’t last that long. ;)
  • we used 90 vol%/ 180 proof alcohol (I believe in the US it is sold as Everclear). If you don’t have access to such high proof alcohol, I think you are safe with Bourbon or Rum as a substitute.
  • shake well before serving.
  • boil out a glass bottle to sterilize and let cool before filling it.
  • With this recipe you get about 2 1/2 cups (20 fl. oz.) of Eierlikör (about 20 vol%/ 40 proof).

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Since we didn’t want anything go to waste, so we also made some cute snowflake meringues from the leftover egg whites.
We whipped the 2 egg whites until they got foamy and sprinkled in powdered sugar (100g/ 3/4 cup) a little at a time and kept beating the mixture until it became stiff and shiny. We then filled the mixture into a ziplock bag (we didn’t have any pastry bags on hand..), cut off a small corner and piped the snowflakes onto a baking sheet (lined with baking paper).
Now on to the waiting game: Bake the meringues for 3 hours (or until dry enough) at 140°F and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

 

Filed Under: Christmas, DIY, Handmade, Holiday, Recipes | 18 Comments
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{DIY snowflake garland}

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December 13, 2011 By | 40 Comments

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A little while ago I found a tutorial for a cute Christmas garland (source) and just had to make my own, smaller version of it!

I haven’t decorated for Winter much around our home so far. Usually I don’t get in the mood to decorate for Christmas until after my birthday (which will be on Thursday — hint, hint). This little snowflake garland is the perfect craft for me, though! It’s very nifty, thrifty  and not too Christmassy tacky. ;)

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What you’ll need:

  • paper (letter size or A4)
  • printed pattern
  • pencil
  • small sharp scissors or x-acto knife
  • glue stick
  • twine
  • optional: wood buttons for each side

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How to:

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download the PDF tutorial here

 

Filed Under: Christmas, Crafts, DIY, Holiday, Nifty, Thrifty | 40 Comments
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