christmas sweets & a snack for rudolph

Why is it, that when the snow starts falling and my hands start feeling perpetually cold, that I feel the absolute freedom to eat all things sweet and sugary and delicious?  Comfort food.  It can be a tender pot roast… or a plate of chocolate chip cookies….  We have compiled our favorite Christmas sweets in hopes to make them all (or one or two) this Christmas season.

I love anything sweet and anything salty.  So making reindeer sticks for the holidays was a perfect snack for my kids and I to make and enjoy together.

• We started an assembly line, first crushing our candy canes in double bags.  John and May always love using our meat tenderizer — so they took their job very seriously.

• John and May were involved in every step of the process of making our treats.  Next, we melted the chocolate — I had to explain how the milk will emusify into the fat of the chocolate and make it a thinner and smoother consistency.  The kids took turns very carefully stirring.

• Then we got to dip our pretzels in the chocolate and crushed peppermint candy canes!(we chose the medium size, but large or tiny would work too).  Some of the chocolate ended up in the candy cane bowl, so we ended up having to do a second round of candy-cane-crushing, which was just fine with all of us :)

A perfect sweet treat to make for Christmas time :)  And to set out for Rudolph on Christmas Eve…. :)  (More to come on my Santa Claus conversion soon….)

Now I want to share some of the other sweet Christmas treats I’ve been wanting to make this season!!  All of these recipes are amazing!!

Gingerbread cookies are a delicious and spicy way to introduce your children to sweet new flavors, love the Gingerbread Men from Glorious Treats.

Snowman Oreo Balls from The Girl Who Ate Everything look so adorable I don’t know if I’d be able to eat them — this technique is brilliant and I would never have thought of it!!!

Six Sisters Stuff has Sweet & Salty Christmas Popcorn that looks so incredible for a Charlie Brown Christmas night :)

Making your own Christmas Rock Candy would be a fun way to incorporate candy into your child’s holiday, but with knowing what ingredients they are sticking in their mouths, from Serendipity Mommy.

A cocoa crispy treat for chocolate lovers: Cocoa Krispies Reindeers from Mommy Savers.

The amazingly simple Candy Cane Cookies from Elise Joy have inspired a whole new love for peppermint for me!!

Aren’t the Reindeer Marshmallow Pops so adorable from Somewhat Simple?

A Rice Krispie Tree Treat is perfect for the gluten free child in your home, from Toddler Approved.

And I know my children would love to eat Santa Claus Pancakes from Inspired by Family.

And many healthy Christmas treat options for babies and toddlers — why not try making vegetables look like delicious sweets — from Disney Baby.

What are your favorite Christmas treats to make, or wish you could make??