Month: December 2016

The Mall Gift Swap Challenge Date Night

The Mall Gift Swap Challenge Date Night

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Around the holidays, the mall may be for gift shopping but it can also provide the backdrop to an epic date night. Get into the spirit of the holidays with this traditional and fun group game of gift swapping that can be played as a couple too! The rules for the The Mall Gift Challenge Date Night are simple: The Rules Decide on a cash amount. Put the cash in an envelope. You CAN NOT spend over that amount. Head to the mall or a local shopping center with a variety of retail stores to choose from. Split up for 30 minutes and find the best gifts possible. Bonus round: Wrap your gift before meeting. Meet at the food court or nearby restaurant for dinner and exchange your gifts. Download the free PDF printable instructions We’ve played this Christmas gift giving game with friends quite a few times before we were dating. We had so many fun memories with this game that we decided to take a throwback holiday tradition and give it a try as …

Christmas Recipes: Grandma’s Gingerbread Cookies

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The best part of marriage is creating Christmas traditions together. In a world of Christmas cookies, there are so many options to choose from. How can we possibly make a decision? We default to what we know and trust; family traditions. One of our favorite Christmas cookie recipes is my grandmother’s soft and chewy gingerbread cookies. It’s time to break out the Kitchenaid! Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.  If you are using metal cookie sheets, line with parchment paper. A candy thermometer would be useful but we have never used one. Baking is all about the love, right? Ingredients: 1 cup dark molasses ½ cup light brown sugar ½ cup white granulated sugar 4 teaspoons ground ginger 4 teaspoons ground ,cinnamon ¾ tablespoon baking soda 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp (We’ve used salted butter with no problem) 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 6 cups sifted all-purpose flour Place the molasses, sugars, ginger and cinnamon in a double boiler over medium heat. We actually don’t own a double boiler so …