Christmas and Strawberry Snowballs

It's been a whirlwind couple of days as we squeeze the entire Christmas season into about 48 hours. We finally got home from Europe around 1:30am early Monday morning (I'll post final thoughts and recaps on the last day of the race soon). When we walked in the door, we were greeted with a cute little Christmas tree already decorated with lights! Such a fun surprise after an incredibly long day of traveling. After a few hours of sleep, it was time to get up and get ready the house ready for Christmas!

Even though we had just gotten back, Dave and I were hosting Christmas Eve dinner for his mom, sister, and grandma Lolly - the Christmas Tree culprits. I love hosting dinner parties, especially for holidays. Unfortunately with the limited time we had to get ready, I had to simplify things a bit, but there was still time for a few fun and easy touches.

I knew I wanted to incorporate some fruit into the meal somehow. We went a full 2 weeks without fruit and hardly any veggies while we were in Europe, so I was really craving some fresh produce. While we were at Costco I stumbled across some gorgeous strawberries and knew immediately what I wanted to make -- Strawberry Snowballs!

With the limited time I had to get everything ready, these were the perfect dessert to satisfy my fruit craving and of course, who doesn't love things dipped in chocolate!

Amazingly fresh and delicious strawberries!

You can pick these up at Michaels Craft Store

The "snow" for the snowballs!

These were a big hit with just the right touch of whimsy, and made me feel like I had at least done something a little festive since I didn't have time for a full on baking marathon.

Strawberry Snowballs

You'll need:
- 1 large box of fresh strawberries (rinsed and patted dry)
- 1 package of White Chocolate Candy Melts
- White sparking sugar sprinkles (sanding sugar also works)
- Double boiler
- Parchment paper

Directions:
1) Melt the white chocolate candy in a heatproof bowl or pan over a pot of lightly simmering water. Keep an eye on the chocolate and stir occasionally.

2) Once the chocolate is melted, set the pot aside for a min or two to allow the chocolate to cool slightly.

3) Dip one strawberry at a time in to the melted chocolate, leaving the green end out.

4)  Place the chocolate covered strawberry on a sheet of parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle the sparking sugar sprinkles over the chocolate so they'll stick.

5) Allow the strawberries to cool at room temperature before sticking in the fridge to keep fresh until the party.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday spent with friends and family! Hard to believe it's time to get ready for New Years!