Note: An ‘anecdote’ is a short, real and amusing story about an incident or person.

Anecdote #1: I was six, and it was Thanksgiving and I was so excited! My mom invited her friends over and said that I can as well. I invited two of my closest friends, I was so excited that I started jumping! I noticed glasses on the floor, but didn’t pay to much attention to them. I accidentally jumped on them, and I got glass all over my face, hands and legs.   -Kim, Alberta

Anecdote #2: It was Christmas and I believe I was 6. My grandma gave me a present, but I can’t quite remember what it was. But I didn’t like it, therefore I had a tantrum. Now that I look back at that day, I should’ve been grateful that I even got a present. – Anonymous

Anecdote #3:  It was Christmas break, so I decided to go by my cousins. We were merrily playing a game until my little cousin picked up a broomstick and chased us around the house. It was all fun and games, but she started hitting us with it. There is a nearby pond so my other cousin and I ran down there. We realized that we were trapped. We started to scream. People thought we were being attacked by crocodiles. Two men bolted to rescue us, only to realize that we were being chased by our little cousin…with a broomstick. They looked at us with disdain and returned from whence they came. I got sent home, and I couldn’t see them until the next day.  – Anonymous

Anecdote #4: “One summer, my family and I went to Disney World and my parents thought that they lost my sister in a crowd. They started panicking and calling her name only to realize that she was sitting on my dad’s shoulders.”   –  @mklafavers on Twitter

Anecdote #5: Once, my mother and I were baking chocolate fudge cookies for Thanksgiving. We read the instructions and said to ourselves “Ten minutes in the oven!?” After 10 minutes we decided that they were way to soft, so we put them back in for another 10 minutes. When we took them out, they were rock-solid. Moral of the Story: Follow the recipe, especially if you aren’t a chef. – Kassidy, Alberta

Anecdote #6: For Christmas I was making a cake, I reached for the ‘sugar’, and dumped a lot in. Later on, while tasting the completed cake, I realized that something was off. It was way to salty! Oops! I put salt instead of sugar.- Anonymous

As we near the holiday season, people start to stress about saving money during this time. And as a fourteen year old, buying presents for people is hard since I don’t quite make my own money yet. With the help of a few people, I’ve managed to make a list of a few ways to save money this holiday season.

1.  The easiest of course, is baking things. Everyone loves getting cookies and little cakes, so I think that holiday treats are honestly the best way to go. Yes, you might have to spend a little on ingredients for whatever it is you decide to bake, but all together, you end up saving money as well.
2.  Going with the theme of baking, making homemade crafts is a fun way to save money. You get to make adorable little gifts for people, and the actual activity is quite fun as well!
3.  Lots of people love to do go out to do activities with their friends and family, and often times those cost money. So maybe, this year try doing something that’s free and outside, such as skating or sledding.
4.  A good place to shop for gifts is, surprisingly, thrift stores. They’re always full of adorable little things, and you never know what you might find. You could end up with a unique gift for someone, at a pretty reasonable price might I add.
5.  Doing a Secret Santa is also a fantastic way to not buy tons of costly gifts. You only have to buy one present and you can make it as personal as you’d like. And besides, there’s always the added fun of playing the game of who got who.
6.  Try making your decorations this year. I know how expensive it can be to go out and buy decoration after decoration, so have some fun with some arts and crafts! It’s a great activity that you can do with friends, and you end up with some pretty cute original decorations.

These are just a few ideas I’ve found, I’d love to hear of some more! Happy Holidays!

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The holidays can be a stressful time of year for everyone, and it’s important to find ways to relax. Some people do this by taking a bath, or watching a movie, or baking! If you’re someone who finds baking relaxing, here’s a great sugar cookie recipe for you! Cookies are also a great small gift for family and friends at any time of year.

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup softened butter

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Any decorations you want to add!

This recipe gives around 48 cookies, so if you had a smaller batch in mind, here’s a recipe converter you can use: https://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/recipe-conversion-calculator.html

Before you start, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly and put on an apron if you’re worried about your clothes. If your oven takes a while to preheat, now is a good time to start preheating to 375 degrees, but if your oven is pretty quick, I would recommend waiting until your ingredients are fully combined to start preheating.

The first step is to combine the dry ingredients into a bowl, so this would be your 2 ¾ cups of flour, your 1 teaspoon baking soda, and your ½ teaspoon baking powder. Lightly mix the ingredients together, and then put your bowl to the side for a moment.

Next, take a mixing bowl (or, if you don’t have one, a large bowl and a whisk) and cream together the 1 cup of butter and the 1 ½ cups of sugar, then mix in the egg and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Once that’s done, you want to slowly mix in your dry ingredients a little bit at a time until they’re all smoothly combined.

At this point, if your oven isn’t preheating, now is a good time to turn it on. Get out a baking sheet and some parchment paper or nonstick cooking spray and set that out in a convenient place. If you just want round cookies, roll the dough into a circle about the size of a teaspoon and place them onto the sheet.

If you want shapes, clean your counter, thoroughly dry it, and then sprinkle a generous amount of flour over it to prevent the cookie dough from sticking to the counter. Set out your dough for the first round of cookies, and bring out a rolling pin. You should also coat the rolling pin and the top of the dough with flour to prevent sticking. Now, roll out your dough to your desired thickness, and stamp out all the shapes you want with cookie cutters.

Carefully peel away the unused dough and stick it back into the bowl. If you have one available, using a spatula or a butter knife to lift the cookies will help protect them against separating into different pieces. Lay them all out on your tray, being sure to leave a good amount of room between each cookie, and if you wanted to add any oven-safe decorations, now is the time.

Now, place the tray in the oven for around 8 to 10 minutes, being sure to check on them often. Once you’re happy with them, take them out and leave them to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool entirely. Once they’re completely cool, you can add frosting, sprinkles, or any other toppings you want. And they’re done! Enjoy them yourself or with family and friends, and have a great holiday season!

Alex

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