12 Days of Home for the Holidays: Katrina Kennedy

Katrina Kennedy is a photographer, teacher, author, and a mom.  She is passionate about documenting the
everyday moments of  her life.  Katrina has helped 100′s of people improve their camera skills. She started CaptureYour365.com for inspiration+ideas+support for people taking everyday photos.

Welcome Katrina!

Katrina Kennedy


I love the holiday season. We fill the month of December with as many events as we can, balancing quiet time together as a family.

Each year we plan visits to light displays, usually multiple trips so I can play with my camera and check off my December photo list. We drink hot chocolate, watch our Capitol's Christmas tree lighting, and try a little ice skating. My try usually consists of watching from the side lines. That still counts, right?

No holiday would be complete without food though. Gingerbread cookies have become a family tradition. My son and I get our trusty gingerbread recipe and mix ingredients together. Despite his protests, we wrap the dough up, place it in the fridge, and wait the recommended chill time. Imagine him asking every ten minutes if they are ready and you've got a complete picture of the tradition.

With excitement we grab the dough out of the refrigerator, roll out half, and cut out gingerbread boy after gingerbread boy. We almost always use one of our smallest cookie cutters for the perfect bite sized boys to adorn our holiday plates and pop in our mouths, guilt free. 

Sometimes we decorate them. Sometimes they go directly from the tray to our tummies.

The remainder of the dough waits its moment in the refrigerator. When guests arrive we are able to grab a bit from the fridge, roll, cut it, and have fresh baked boys. Our house smells wonderful and we can offer treats to our guests.

It wouldn't be the Holidays without our gingerbread boys.

Giveaway
Katrina is offering Give It Your Best Shot: Lights to two lucky readers. This ebook tutorial is not available anywhere else.  Leave Katrina a comment and I'll draw two winners tomorrow via Random.org.

Thanks Katrina.  Now I'm wanting to snack on some Gingerbread.  Tomorrow's guest is Tiffany Windsor.

Comments

  1. Katrina - love the cookies - care to share the recipe. I too love taking pictures of the lights and decorations and we have a family tradition of a hay ride through the neighborhood with the kids on Christmas Eve. We have hot chocolate and cookies to take on the ride along with blankets (if cool enough in FL). Thanks for sharing and a chance to win. Merry Christmas

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  2. Great post and the cookies look super good. I love making the fake (salt dough) ginger breads and use them as ornaments!!! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Fabulous pictures!!! :)

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  4. I love, love, love that idea about the ginger boys! Thanks for sharing, Katrina!

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  5. Here's the recipe!

    http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2005/12/gingerbread-vegans.html

    Thanks for the kind comments!

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  6. Thanks for sharing! I went to your blog and checked out the photography section. I loved the article about scrapbookers making good photographers. I am going to think aaboaut writing a caption everytime a take a photo this month!

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  7. This is the third year I have made a ginger bread house from scratch. We usually have enough ginger bread to make some shaped cookies. Fast becoming a tradition in our family too.

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  8. I love how tiny the little gingerbread men are! That's such a clever idea, keeping the dough in the fridge to bake as needed. I'm afraid we'd decide we'd need them right now in our house. :)

    I'm a bit behind on my email, so I just now saw your invitation for the 12 days event, because I'd wondered how I'd lost touch with Deb's blog...it didn't disappear, it just got bigger and better! :) I signed up to get posts in my mailbox from now on, so you're stuck with me!

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  9. Karen G11:37 PM

    Those are the cutest little gingerbread men!! I am having our church friends over next week for a Christmas dinner. These would be great for everyone....especially the kids!

    I have bookmarked your site. I can't wait to look around. I am finally going to be getting my first "real" camera and not a cheapie. I have asked for money from my parents to go with what hubby is giving me so that I can buy a nice camera. Any suggestions on what would be a good camera to start with?

    I'm really excited about doing some real photos. I hope it doesn't take me too long to learn how to take some amazing photos!!

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  10. Love the smell of gingerbread at Xmas. I do not bake much anymore but love the traditions of Xmas baking. I'm going to try some of your lighting tips from your on-line class. I hope you'll be doing a photo walk in Sacramento again in the not too distant future. Would love to do that.

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  11. Gingerbread is the ultimate holiday smell. I used to always make them as a kid. I really didn't enjoy the taste of the cookies, but I loved decorated them with my mom.

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  12. WE always go and look at lights too. Your gingerbread men are adorable and i can smell them here. Amazing how memories have smells!

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