Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com

In two weeks, my sister flies in from Chicago. In two weeks and one day, my other sister will make her drive down. And then Christmas time can really begin.

I love this time of year for all sorts of reasons, but one that ranks right up at the top of my list is that my sisters are in town and we’re all together. Since we’re all together but a couple of times a year, we do our very best to spend as much time as possible together. Almost all of my favorite memories with my sisters are when we’ve decided not to go out but to just stay home, drink some wine, play some games and have a good old girls’ night in.

Last year, with budgets tight for us as well as our extended families, we decided to try something new for our girls’ night in. We spent weeks trading emails with recipes, coordinating ingredient lists, ideas for craft projects and other items we’d contribute to making gift baskets for our extended family members. {I even designed us a logo for labels…yes, I’m aware that I’m a total nerd}

Armed with copious amounts of wine and two Kitchen-Aid Mixers, we got to work.

Before it was her bedtime, even Ry was able to get in on the action!

We had quite the set-up and completely took over my kitchen and dining room. It was awesome.

{By the way, did you know that wax paper and parchment paper are not in fact the same thing? I did not know this. Good thing my sisters did because things could have turned out very differently.}

At some point we’d been non-stop baking for so long, we may have gotten a little delirious…

And slightly inappropriate…

After multiple bottles glasses of wine, laughing until our bellies hurt, one good dance party and who-knows-how-many hours of baking later, we emerged victorious with 6 gift baskets, full of treats both sweet and savory, to show for it, plus so many extras!

That girls’ night in was just what I needed, and I can’t wait to do it again this year!

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective