I’m not one to leave our Christmas decorations up until New Year’s Day. In fact, I really like to begin taking them down the day after if at all possible. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Scrooge; I love Christmas.

As with autumn decorations, I like my Christmas stuff up early. Usually, I start putting it out the Friday after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy it for as long as possible. And once all of the holiday baking and festivities get going, there’s not much time for decorating anyway.

This year was all about simplicity at our house. Instead of the all glitz, sparkle and glamour, I went with simple, live garlands, wreaths and table decor. My friends and neighbors were somewhat surprised, but I loved it. It just seemed like the time was right for a change and having the live greenery around not only meant we enjoyed that lovely, fresh scent, it also meant that by the time Christmas Day rolled around, it was pretty dry.

But I can’t show you. Because, by the time I was down to taking off the last ornament on the tree, I realized I had not taken one photo of ANY of this year’s decorations. No, not even one.

The perfect ones and I made cookies and goodies, played lots of games and created some special gifts for their parents. Making those memories is far more important than fancy decorations, isn’t it?

One of the treats we enjoyed making was the White Chocolate Crispy Rice Balls with Cranberries and Pecans that was prepared for Riceland’s recipe blog. Since Perfect Boy is allergic to nuts, we eliminated the pecans for him and substituted mini chocolate covered candies. Mini chocolate chips would work just as well.

I think you can easily adapt this recipe to fit the seasons. Dried cherries and toasted almonds for Valentines, dried citron and pistachios for Easter — let your imagination go wild and let me know what you created.

Best wishes for a blessed and lovely 2016.

Disclaimer: I am a Riceland Foods brand ambassador and was compensated for my post published on their blog.