One Haven Maven

Beautiful, happy homes, one day at a time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Breads
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Healthy
    • Holiday
  • Family
    • Family Fun Night
    • Parenting
    • Holiday Traditions
  • DIY
    • Tutorial
    • Decor
    • Gifts
  • Faith
    • Family Home Evening
  • Contact

Dec 13

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE

Dec 13

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

Each time I’ve sat down to post another one of these Christmas Breakfast Series posts I think, this one’s my favorite. Then, I write the next one and think the same thing. What it comes down to is that I love breakfast! I do have a special place in my stomach heart for crepes though. If you like crepes, you’ll love todays recipe for ham, egg and asparagus crepes with hollandaise sauce. It’a a pretty awesome combo, if I do say so myself.

I recall my parents making crepes at him a few times, but really my love of crepes comes from my favorite childhood restaurant-Daniels. So, here’s the quick side story: my parents liked to eat at nice restaurants from time to time and took me to Daniels for the first time when I was about 10 years old. Big mistake. I requested going to Daniels for my birthday every year after that until I went to college. On one of those occasions, I ordered these lobster and spinach crepes with hollandaise. It was official-I was in love with crepes.

Ok, I know you’re saying, Lauren get on with the recipe so I can enjoy crepes too. Crepes-coming up!

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.  There’s a picture for you to drool over while you’re cooking

If you’ve never made crepes before, be prepared to spend a little time. They’re not hard to make, just a little time consuming. You may want to make these a few days ahead and freeze or refrigerate them to save time on Christmas morning.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

Crepes are made with very simple ingredients; flour, salt, milk, eggs and milk. Maybe that’s what makes them so tasty.

untitled-design-4

I used to mix the batter for the crepes with a whisk, but I always had tiny lumps. It didn’t affect the taste or texture, but they didn’t look as pretty. The blender is the key to making a smooth batter. So, take all your crepe batter ingredients and put them in the blender and blend on medium-low for about 10-15 seconds or until smooth. untitled-design-5

Set a small frying pan over medium-low heat and add a little bit of butter. No, I didn’t measure it, ’cause it’s just a little, but if I had to guess, it was probably about 1/4 teaspoon. Let it melt and swirl it around the pan.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

Grab yourself a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Fill it a scant 1/4 cup, so probably about 3 tablespoons. Next comes the only tricky part about making crepes. Take your pan off the heat and hold it up. Then, pour your batter in the middle all at once and swirl it around the pan to form a thin, even layer.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast. When it gets little tiny bubbles like this, it’s time to flip it, which happens around the 1 1/2 to 2 minute mark. Using a spatula, carefully lift the edges all the way around and then flip the crepe. Cook it for 30 seconds more on the other side. Once it’s done, place it on a foil-lined plate and continue with the rest of the batter.

*Note: the cooking time for the crepes depends on your stovetop. My gas burner cooks it much faster (probably about 30 seconds each side) than my current electric glass cooktop. This is not the kind of recipe where yo can walk away while it’s cooking.

If you’re making these ahead of time, wait till they cool and then wrap the crepes in plastic wrap and place in a gallon zip top bag. You can refrigerate them or freeze them until needed, as long as they lay flat.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

While the last of the crepes are cooking, line a baking sheet with foil. Wash and trim the woody ends off a bunch of asparagus. No, I mean, like a bunch. I’m not being vague;) Drizzle the asparagus with 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and lightly salt and pepper it. Pop it in under the broiler for 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time. Yum.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

For the ham, I bought a ham steak. However, leftover ham or even lunchmeat ham would work here. Whichever ham you buy, cut it into small cubes and let it hang out for a minute while you make the hollandaise and scramble some eggs.

(picture of hollandaise)

Have you had hollandaise sauce before? If not, you haven’t lived-promise. It’s a creamy, lemony-butter sauce that is good on pretty much everything. I doubled this recipe from Allrecipes.com to make my hollandaise. It turned out great, but I would add that if you’re using an electric stove, use medium heat not low or else you’ll be waiting all day for this baby to thicken.

Finally, scramble 1-2 eggs per person. I ate two crepes and 1 egg was enough.

Then comes the fun part-you grab a crepe, put two pieces of asparagus in first, then add the ham and the eggs. Roll it up and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately. This is the kind of breakfast that gets cold fast, so you want everyone at the table when you serve it.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE. Perfect for an elegant and tasty Christmas morning breakfast.

Mmmm. So good. The lemony-butter flavor of the hollandaise is the perfect compliment to the fresh, crisp taste of the asparagus and the richness of the eggs and ham.

Save Print
CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY FOUR-HAM, EGG & ASPARAGUS CREPES WITH HOLLANDAISE
Author: Lauren Manning
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  1 hour 20 mins
Total time:  1 hour 30 mins
 
Ingredients
  • CREPE BATTER
  • 4 eggs
  • 1⅓ c milk
  • 2 T melted butter
  • 1 c flour
  • ½ t salt
  • 1½ lb ham, cubed
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • ½ T olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ¼ c cold water
  • 2 T lemon juice
  • ½ c cold butter, cubed
  • ¼ t dry mustard
  • Dash cayenne pepper
  • salt to taste
Instructions
  1. CREPE BATTER
  2. Make the crepe batter ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate made crepes.
  3. Add all crepe ingredients to blender and blender on low for 10-15 seconds or until smooth.
  4. Heat small frying pan over medium-low heat and add a dab of butter until melted.
  5. Using a scant ¼ c batter, lift pan off heat, pour in batter and swirl until it covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.
  6. Cook for 1-2 min or until small bubbles appear. Flip and cook 30 seconds more.
  7. Once crepes are cool, wrap in plastic, put in zip top bag and then refrigerate or freeze until use.
  8. Preheat oven to broil.
  9. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  10. Wash and trim asparagus and place on tray. Then drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
  11. Broil on high for 10 min, turning halfway through cook time.
  12. HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
  13. Fill small pot halfway with water and place on medium heat.
  14. Set small metal mixing bowl on top of pot and whisk together egg yolks, water, lemon juice, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper.
  15. Add butter cubes and whisk continually until butter is melted and mixture thickens (about 5-7 minutes) Don't be alarmed if the mixture looks like it's separating at first. Just keep whisking.
  16. Cube ham and set aside.
  17. Scramble eggs according to your preference.
  18. TO ASSEMBLE CREPES:
  19. Lay crepe on plate, place two asparagus spears on bottom.
  20. Top with ham and eggs.
  21. Fold both sides of the crepe up toward the middle.
  22. Drizzle with desired amount of hollandaise.
  23. Serves 5-6
3.5.3226

Enjoy! Also, don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the last recipe in the Christmas Breakfast Series.

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Breakfast, Holiday, Recipes Tagged: asparagus, christmas, crepes

Dec 10

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP

Dec 10

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

Day three. I’m kind of loving making all these breakfast recipes, because I get to eat them. My kids have been pretty happy about it too 😉 Todays recipe is probably the most requested birthday breakfast by my kids and Mr. Maven-Puffy oven pancakes with buttermilk syrup. Yum and yum. One of the things I love so much about these pancakes is how impressive they look right when you take them out of the oven. Wanna see? Ok, let’s get rolling.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

The cast of 5 ingredients: eggs, milk, flour, sugar and butter. A match made in heaven. Just wait till you taste it.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

Throw them all in a bowl and whisk them good. (This is usually how my recipe cards are worded) But really though, melt the butter in the 9×13 pan in the preheating oven first. Then, whisk all the ingredients together and add melted butter and whisk some more. Easy peasy.

Pour the batter into a 9×13 pan (with lightly greased sides) and bake at 400F for 22 minutes, or until they look like this:

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

Cool, right? I think they’re fun to bake and fun to eat. Oh, but it gets better…

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

While those yummy eggy pancakes are baking, you’re going to be making this liquid gold to top them off. Buttermilk syrup. If you haven’t had it before, you probably won’t like me very much after you try it. This will be because you won’t be able to stop drinking eating it. I know because I’ve experienced the draw of the syrup. My friend Alisa gave me this recipe years ago and I love, love, love it.

It’s super-simple to make. You put all the ingredients in the pot and cook it over medium-high heat with continual stirring for 15 min. The syrup will become all bubbly and caramel-y looking when it’s almost done.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP. Melt in your mouth good.

Serve the pancakes and syrup right away. They’re good cold actually, but they’re puffier when they’re hot out of the oven. If you want to be really naughty, serve these babies with sausages. In my opinion, puffy oven pancakes with buttermilk syrup and sausage is the perfect way to start (or end) Christmas morning.

Save Print
CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY THREE-PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES WITH BUTTERMILK SYRUP
Author: Lauren Manning
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:  5 mins
Cook time:  22 mins
Total time:  27 mins
 
Ingredients
  • PUFFY OVEN PANCAKES
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 c flour
  • 1 c milk
  • ¼ c butter
  • ¼ c sugar
  • BUTTERMILK SYRUP
  • ½ c buttermilk (or milk with 1 T lemon juice)
  • ½ c butter
  • ½ t baking soda
  • 1 c sugar
  • 1 T corn syrup
  • 1 t vanilla
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly spray sides of 9x13 pan.
  2. Put ¼ c butter in 9x13 pan and set in oven until butter is melted.
  3. In medium size mixing bowl, beat flour, eggs, milk and sugar together until well mixed (there may be a few small flour lumps and this is ok. However, feel free to sift the flour first if you want)
  4. Pour melted butter from pan into batter and mix well. Pour back in greased pan.
  5. Bake 22 minutes or until all puffy.
  6. While pancakes are baking, put all syrup ingredients, except vanilla, in a 2 quart saucepan over med-high heat.
  7. Stir constantly until mixture is a caramel color and thickened and bubbly (about 10-15 min)
  8. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.
  9. Serve syrup over pancakes.
  10. Serves 4-6 people.
3.5.3226

Enjoy! Also, make sure you come back tomorrow for day four of my Christmas breakfast series.

(*Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little kickback if you buy something through that link. No cost to you, but it does help me to be able to continue creating awesome posts)

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Breakfast, Holiday, Recipes Tagged: christmas, pancakes, syrup

Dec 07

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS

Dec 07

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.

Day two of my Christmas Breakfast Series is the most amazing, fluffy cloud biscuits. I’ve been using this recipe for about 20-ish years now and every time I have to restrain myself from eating too many. When we were first married, I’d often buy Pillsbury Grands Biscuits in the can when I had coupons for them. Honestly, I enjoyed them then…Until I started making these and realized I had been missing out. Now I won’t touch Pillsbury rolls with a ten foot pole. (sorry, Pillsbury)

These fluffy cloud biscuits are easy to make, have real ingredients and taste incredible straight from the oven to your plate (if they make it that long). I’ve served them with stews, soups, as egg muffins and best of all, for breakfast with scrambled eggs and fruit. They’re a huge hit with anyone I serve them to, especially my own family.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast. Find it here.

You’re going to start with the basics: flour, a little sugar, salt and baking powder. Mix it all up and then you’re going to add what makes these fluffy cloud biscuits taste like heaven. You see it in the picture, don’t you?! Butter, of course. Butter makes everything better. No, really. It does. Promise.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast. Find it here.

You’re going to take those two sticks of yummy butter and cut them into your flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter if you have one (I need a new one. I like the look of this one), but if not, two butter knives work well too. It should look like this when you’re done. Crumbly with butter/flour balls the size of peas. Yes, that’s the technical term, if you were wondering.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.

Add the milk into the flour/butter mixture and mix well. Form dough into a ball. Flatten it out into a 1/2″ thick circle on a lightly floured surface. Use a biscuit cutter if you have one. I don’t, so I use a cup that has about a 3-4″ diameter opening and flip it upside down.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast. Find it here.

I usually get about 14 biscuits out of this dough. This time I got 15, which is 1 more than normal. Not sure why because I’ve made this recipe a gazillion times-but hey, I’m not complaining. An extra biscuit to eat!

Now, try not to eat the dough. It doesn’t taste as good as it looks before its baked. Unless you’re a raw dough eater…which I’m not. Unless it’s cookie dough and my safety-conscious husband isn’t looking 😉

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast.

Golden-baked goodness at 400F for 20 min. That’s all it takes. My kids were practically drooling while I was taking pictures of these babies. They kept asking me when they could eat one. I think they had three each.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast.

This is making me hungry just writing this post and it’s 10 o’clock at night so you better bet I’m not eating right now. Look at all of those fluffy cloud biscuits just begging to be slathered with butter and honey. Yum-a-licious!CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast.

Fluffy, buttery layers

Save Print
CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS
Author: Lauren Manning
Recipe type: Breakfast
Prep time:  15 mins
Cook time:  20 mins
Total time:  35 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 4 c flour
  • 2 T baking powder
  • 2 t sugar
  • 1 c butter
  • 1 t salt
  • 1¾ c milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Mix 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together with a fork.
  3. Cut butter into dry mixture until it resembles pea size crumbles.
  4. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and mix.
  5. Add milk and stir well. (It's ok if it's a little lumpy)
  6. Form dough into a ball and turn out on lightly floured surface.
  7. Gently roll or press dough into ½" thick circle and cut out biscuits with cup of 3-4" diameter or biscuit cutter.
  8. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 20 min or until golden.
  9. Serve with butter and honey or jam.
3.5.3226

These fluffy cloud biscuits served with fruit and scrambled eggs would make the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY TWO-FLUFFY CLOUD BISCUITS. Look no further for the perfect Christmas breakfast.

Are you enjoying this Christmas Breakfast Series? If you’d like to read more series posts like this in the future, please let me know. Oh, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the next Christmas breakfast idea.

Enjoy!

(*Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little kickback if you buy something through that link. No cost to you, but it does help me to be able to continue creating awesome posts)

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Breakfast, Holiday, Recipes Tagged: butter, christmas

Dec 06

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES-DAY ONE: CARAMEL-APPLE FRENCH TOAST

Dec 06

CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES: DAY ONE-CARAMEL-APPLE FRENCH TOAST WITH VANILLA-WHIPPED CREAM. To die for. Look no further for Christmas morning breakfast.

One of the things that makes Christmas special (or any holiday, really) is the food we eat. We look forward to the tastes and smells of the season and associate them with wonderful memories. Christmas breakfast is a pretty big deal. I bet most of you out there either have a standby dish that your family raves about or you spend hours scouring Pinterest for the perfect Christmasy breakfast to serve. Well, I want to help you save time because I know especially at Christmas, time is so valuable. So, I’ve created a series just for you titled: Christmas Breakfast Series. (catchy title, isn’t it?) For the next 5 days, I’ll be posting a delicious, new Christmas breakfast recipe each day. Beginning with…caramel-apple french toast with vanilla whipped cream. Heaven.

We have a tradition in our house that while we open our stockings on Christmas morning, we enjoy an oven-toasted croissant with strawberry jam, berries and hot chocolate. Frequently though, we end up having breakfast #2 at about 10 o’clock and this caramel-apple french toast is one of our all-time favorites. Are you ready for this? I don’t know if you are, because people are going to be hounding you for this recipe. It’s ok, go ahead and share on Pinterest, Facebook or email the link to a friend. I love it when you share!

Christmas Breakfast Series-Day One: Caramel-Apple French Toast with Vanilla-Whipped Cream. This post is part of a 5 day series.

The first thing you need to know before you start making this is that it needs to soak overnight in the fridge. So, plan ahead!

Ok..on to the good part. You start with a caramel-y concoction of brown sugar, butter and water, which you may have to restrain yourself from eating straight from the pot. (Don’t do it. You’ll burn your mouth. Just trust me) Then you lay the apples on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Christmas Breakfast Series-Day One: Caramel-Apple French Toast with Vanilla-Whipped Cream. This post is part of a 5 day series.

Next, you place the bread on top of the apples. Whisk up the eggy mixture together and pour it evenly over the bread and sprinkle with nutmeg. Then, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, you’ll bake it for about 45 minutes and it will come out all toasty and brown on the top and bubbly and caramel-y on the bottom. Whip up your cream with your mixer (I love my KitchenAid) and serve. Then wait. For the oohs and the ahhs.

Christmas Breakfast Series-Day One: Caramel-Apple French Toast with Vanilla-Whipped Cream. This post is part of a 5 day series.

Seeing this picture kind of makes me wanna run up stairs and have more. But, I won’t. Well, maybe. At least not right this second.

Save Print
CARAMEL-APPLE FRENCH TOAST WITH VANILLA-WHIPPED CREAM
Author: Lauren Manning
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cook time:  45 mins
Total time:  45 mins
 
Ingredients
  • FRENCH TOAST
  • ¼ c butter
  • 1¼ c brown sugar
  • 1 T water
  • 3 medium granny smith apples
  • 1 t cinnamon
  • 7-8 slices of bread, cut into ½" slices
  • 1½ c milk
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 t vanilla
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • VANILLA-WHIPPED CREAM
  • ½ c heavy whipping cream
  • 1½ t vanilla
  • ¼ c powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. Combine butter, brown sugar and water in small pot and cook over medium until bubbly. Stirring often.
  2. Pour into 9x13" pan and let cool 10 min.
  3. Peel, core and slice apples into ¼" slices and arrange on top of caramel sauce, so the apples are just touching.
  4. Sprinkle apples with cinnamon.
  5. Slightly overlap bread on top of apples.
  6. Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over bread evenly.
  7. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cover with plastic wrap.
  8. Refrigerate overnight.
  9. Preheat oven to 350F, remove plastic wrap and bake, uncovered for 45 min.
  10. During the last 10 min of baking, pour cream into mixer and beat until fluffy and whipped.
  11. Add vanilla and sugar to whipping cream and beat for 20 seconds more.
  12. Serve upside-down so the apples are on top and add a dollop of vanilla-whipped cream.
  13. Serves 6-8
3.5.3226

Christmas Breakfast Series: Day One-Caramel-Apple French Toast with Vanilla-Whipped Cream.

I know this is going to become one of your favorites. I can’t wait for you to try it. Let me know how it turns out for you and make sure to come back tomorrow for the next installment of my Christmas breakfast series.

Enjoy!

(*Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little kickback if you buy something through that link. No cost to you, but it does help me to be able to continue creating awesome posts)

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Breakfast, Holiday, Recipes Tagged: apples, breakfast, christmas

Dec 06

HOW TO HAVE A CHRIST-CENTERED CHRISTMAS

Dec 06

If you're looking to focus more on the Savior this Christmas, then this post is for you!
Merry Christmas! I get so filled with excitement and happiness around this time of year.  For our family, the reason its such a joy-inducing season is not just because we have the chance to spend a lot of time together, but because we’re focused on HIM. Our kids are now 12, 11 and 8, but when they were toddler age we realized that we really wanted to place less emphasis on Santa and have a more Christ-centered Christmas.

Santa is fun and we enjoy that tradition. We still put out cookies and milk for Santa. He still brings a special gift for each of our children and fills their stockings. However, Christ was the first gift we were ever given and the one we should be the most excited about. Together, Mr. Maven and I brainstormed ways we could help our kids (and us) spend more time thinking about the gifts that Jesus Christ has given us and how we can share those gifts with others.

White Stocking

Here are some easy ideas for how to have a Christ-centered Christmas this year.This particular tradition began a few years after we decided to have a more Christ-centered Christmas, but it starts the earliest in the season, so I’m listing it first. A friend gave me a little white felt stocking to hang on the tree for Jesus. We decided to use that stocking for more than just decoration. Instead, each year on December 1st begins our month of giving. Strips of paper and pens sit under our Christmas tree. Each time one of us does something kind as the Savior would, we anonymously write it down on a strip of paper, fold it up and put it in the stocking. Our goal is to fill the stocking with good deeds by December 24th. On Christmas day, we read all of the ways we showed Christ-like love and kindness that month. It’s a continual reminder of who we are as God’s children and the kindness and love shown to us by God and his Son.

Sibling Gift Exchange

How to Have a Christ-Centered ChristmasFor children, Christmas is often all about presents and what gifts they’ll be receiving. We really wanted our kids to understand that Christmas is about giving and not getting. So each December, we take our kids to a local thrift store and let them pick out a gift for their siblings. At first, we were paying for the gifts, but now they use their allowance to choose something small, but meaningful for their brother or sister. They look forward to sneaking through the store, trying to make sure the others don’t see what they’re choosing. Often, they choose things like games, puzzles, books or yarn. Then on Christmas morning, Mr. Maven has them give the gifts they’ve chosen to their siblings first before they open their own gifts, so they can experience the joy that comes from giving. This is my favorite! Is it sappy that I’m getting teary just thinking about this moment?

Act Out the Nativity

Easy ideas for having a Christ-centered ChristmasNow, I realize this isn’t something unique to us. I know a lot of Christian families do this. It’s always kind of hectic getting all of the “costumes” together after our special Christmas Eve dinner (more about this in a future post). I put costumes in quotes because they consist of bathrobes and sheets and whatever usually the dog is the donkey 😉 So, we read the christmas story as found in Luke 2 and act out the birth of the Savior…and have a few laughs along the way.

Watch the Nativity

Here are some easy ideas for how to have a Christ-centered Christmas this year.Before we open any gifts at all or read the good deeds from the white stocking, we set the mood for the day. Our church put out a short video years ago called The Nativity which re-enacts the journey to Bethlehem and the birth of the Savior. We gather around and watch this video. The first time we did this, all of our children (including our dog) sat and watched intently and reverently as the joyful event unfolded on the screen. If you want the spirit of God to be in your home on Christmas morning, watch this seven and a half minute video. After the video, we’re lead to the next item on the list.

Opening the Gift

We have a Little People Nativity set that we bought years ago and though my kids are getting older, they still insist we put it out every year. I wrap up the baby Jesus from this set and place Him in the tree. After watching The Nativity on Christmas morning, we open the baby Jesus and put Him in the manger. A simple, but effective reminder that He was the first and most important gift.

Birthday Cake for Jesus

Looking for ways to focus more on the Savior this Christmas? Look no further. This post has simple ways to accomplish this very thing.

After a nice Christmas dinner, the kids help me make a birthday cake for the Savior. We usually don’t have time to make it fancy, but it’s always yummy. We serve it as a regular birthday cake, complete with candles and the “Happy Birthday” song. The kids blow out the candles together and then enjoy tasting their treat.

These simple little additions to our Christmas season have helped us to grow closer together as a family and build our faith. They help remind us that the colorful, wrapped packages, plates of goodies and decorations are lovely and fun, but what matters most is finding peace and happiness through celebrating His birth and living like Him.

My hope for you is that you can feel that peace and joy this Christmas season and enjoy every wonderful, memory-making moment with your family.

How to Have a Christ-centered Christmas

Is there something special that you do to focus on the Savior at this time of year? Please share! I’d love to hear about it.

(*Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little kickback if you buy something through that link. No cost to you, but it does help me to be able to continue creating awesome posts)

Posted by Lauren Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Faith, Holiday Traditions Tagged: christmas, family, Jesus

I’m Lauren, the wife, mother of three and homemaker behind One Haven Maven. I love dark chocolate, old movies and all things pretty! Stick around for a while and enjoy mouth-watering recipes, ideas to help you strengthen your family and discover some easy ways to make your house a home.
Read More…

Day in the Life Vlog: Laundry+Cleaning+Cupcakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9zN8RXPYHI&t=1s
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Disclosure
  • Comment Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2016 ONE HAVEN MAVEN