Lisa Marie Mary
I love this video! You will, too - I promise!!
Your kids have been asked to bring Christmas treats to their class. Need some tips?
Here are some delicious Christmas treats to send to your kid’s class.
• Homemade gingerbread cookies
• Homemade Christmas cookies, decorated with color icing
• Homemade peanut butter cookies
• Homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
• Bags of homemade meringue cookies, tied with color cellophane and a bow
• Homemade chocolate brownies
• Homemade chocolate fudge
• Homemade chocolate chip cookies
• Homemade chocolate chip cookies with M&M’s
• Homemade Christmas cupcakes decorated with a smiley face
• A homemade Christmas devil’s food cake, decorated with candy canes
• A homemade angel food cake, with vanilla icing and decorated with an angel ornament in the center
• A chocolate cake, with chocolate icing and gummy bears on top
• Bags of candy, wrapped in color cellophane and tied with a bow
• Jelly apples, wrapped in color cellophane and tied with a bow
• A Christmas tin filled with three flavors of popcorn
• A large basket filled with apples, oranges, and different colored lollipops
• Mini black and white cakes (you can find these in most bakeries)
• Muffins, of any kind, placed in a large basket
• A large Christmas can filled with mini boxes of raisins
• Mix Oreo cookies, ginger snaps, and homemade meringue cookies; put the cookies in a Christmas tin.
If you’re really ambitious you can make a gingerbread house, using ingredients and decorations which can be eaten, and surprise your kid’s class with this unique treat.
Combine any of the cookies and candies above as a Christmas treat. Simply put them into a tin or basket and deliver the goodies to school. Or set them on a brightly colored plate and wrap it in cellophane. You could even purchase little stockings, plastic cups or tins for each child and put a handful of treats in each.
There is no denying that kids love treats. Whether the treats are cookies, candies or chocolate, you will put a big smile on their faces with any treat you choose.
Christmas means so many different things to all of us, and this lovely book called, "Christmas Is..." explores many of those things. Go ahead - take a look! This is what's called a Looky Book! Click on it! Really!
We were having a bit of a difficult night tonight - homework struggles and whatnot, when I heard a ruckus outside. And then the doorbell rang, and guess who it was!
CAROLERS! They completely made my night - took all my 'grump' away! It was really sweet!
And they just adored Lucky, as you can see in this next photo - he was getting right up in the middle of them, begging to be a part of the group! Haha!
He even tried to leave with them when they left! Silly dog! You can't sing!
THANK YOU, CAROLERS! You sure cheered this mama up!!
We had so much fun the other night at the Christmas Parade and I wanted to share with you my picture of Santa on the firetruck:
Doesn't he look great? All of my pictures are pretty dark - I think I need to learn about night photography! I got some pretty good ones, though. I'll try to share more with you here, but, they may all just go up on Hippie Spelunker - H2. I want to make sure my family sees them - and I don't know if they come here!
My sweet son, Shawn, decorated our dining room table (I use the term loosely... *sigh*) yesterday morning before he left for school! It was so sweet of him. He used his Santa's and his little Christmas tree that he bought last year at the school store! Last year, he wanted to keep them in his room on his dresser, to have his room be festive. So I thought it was really nice of him to bring them out here for everyone to enjoy!
Aren't those Santa's so adorable? I just love them! Sammie wanted to separate them, but, I think they look neat together. And Shawn wanted to keep them together - so together they stayed. And they look so pretty with Sammie's flowers, too!
And here is his mini Christmas tree:
I love that he wanted a Christmas tree for himself - I think that is so cool! And that ornament on top is from the coolest Aunt on the planet! My sister-in-law/best friend Tracy! She was so excited for him when she found it, because, we can never find stuff with his name on it - or if we do, it's spelled the Irish way. We find all kinds of stuff for the other two - Patrick and Samantha - those two names are easy. Shawn - surprisingly, is not so easy.
He was so excited after he put that stuff out, running into my office to tell me, "Mom! I decorated the table!" Awesome!
And then, later that evening - my husband got out all the rest of the decorations and Sammie put a bunch of those out and about while Mark and I sat here working on our computers. It was really sweet - I'll have some pics for you when we get those fixed up just right.
Oh! And we've got our Insta-Snow to use for my Christmas Village - totally awesome! We got it from Vat19.com - totally awesome online store! But it comes from SteveSpanglerScience.com - totally awesome science guy!!! The Insta-Snow is going to add the perfect touch to my Village!
I'm swiping this from my new blog-buddy, Domestic Chicky. A Christmas meme - how fun, right?
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both
2. Real tree or artificial? Real
3. When do you put up the tree? A week or two before Christmas
4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January
5. Do you like eggnog? I do - sans alcohol, please
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Three-story Barbie dream house
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes - we have about five of them. One is from my childhood, and others we have collected since we've been married. Two of them are tiny, though.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Husband - hands down!
9. Easiest person to buy for? My dad - book store gift certificate - every time - the man eats books for breakfast!
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A watch - that I thought was going to be an engagement ring.
11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Neither - became overwhelmed and gave up on sending them a few years ago.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I don't - hubby does it.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Oh sure!!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mother's stuffing and my mother's cheese ring.
16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
18 Travel at Christmas or stay home? Mostly stay at home, although, when I was seventeen, we went skiing, and we actually skied on Christmas day and it was awesome!!!
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Nope.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel!! Although, I am saving a star with tinsel and lights from my childhood.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Lack of money, grumpy men.
23. Favorite Christmas tradition? Believing in Santa Claus!!
24. Up early or sleeping in? Early!!!
25. Who hands out the gifts? Take turns.
26. Does Santa wrap your gifts? When I was a kid, yes. For my kids - no.
27. Do you tell the Christmas story? Some years we do.
28. Do you leave cookies for Santa? Yes, of course!
Alrighty, then. Let’s hear all about Christmas at YOUR house. Tag. You’re it!
I just love making Christmas crafts with kids and I can't wait to get started! Now that Halloween is over, I'm sure we'll do a few Thanksgiving crafts here and there, but, I'm really ready to start working on some Christmas crafts! Get out all of your red and green construction paper and let's decorate the house in joy and love!
Using tin foil as wrapping paper is a great idea. Take a gift and wrap it in aluminum foil, which you can purchase at any supermarket. I think I would probably use the commercial grade, to prevent my clumsy rips. You can decorate the wrapped gift in several ways. Attach a Christmas card or cut out pictures. Or gather together some Christmas stickers and place the stickers you have on the box.
Another idea is to take fabric, and use it as wrapping paper. This is ideal for a small gift. Simply wrap the fabric around the gift and close the top with a ribbon. I think this would be so cute!
Make wrapping paper from your Sunday newspaper. The newspaper is filled with full color inserts and Christmas ads, which are usually two to four page store specials. The Sunday paper also contains comics in color that would be great for this. Select some pages and pull out the pages that you choose. Take some scotch tape and tape the pages together so that you have enough paper to wrap the gift. Attach a bright ribbon to match the colors in the paper. This is a unique and fun way to wrap a gift.
Kids love to show off their artwork. Why not wrap the gift in plain newsprint or a paper bag and encourage your child to decorate it? Your child may be more excited about their artwork than presenting the gift itself. Simply present your child with the standard tools – crayons, markers, rubber stamps, stickers -- and let them go crazy with it.
If you don’t have paper bags or newsprint, you can take the artwork that your children bring home from school to create gift wrap. Simply take several pieces of their existing art and help them use it to wrap the gift. Just make sure it isn’t their “most special favorite” artwork before you begin.
While most people are deciding on what wrapping paper to buy, making wrapping paper with kids can be so much more enjoyable, and easy to do. Whether you use tin foil, ribbons, ornaments, drawings, or goodies – these original ideas will make gift wrapping a pleasure for you and your kids - and a sweet surprise for the recipient!
Ready to decorate for Christmas? You and the children can try these simple ways to add some Christmas spirit to your home this holiday season.
Use Bows - Pretty Bows add a special touch to any decoration. Choose your color scheme this year, then buy matching ribbon and make lots of bows to add around your house. You can even find color-coordinated pre-made bows in the Christmas section to match your tree decorations.
Indoor Lights - Use clear, white lights to decorate inside this year. If you have indoor trees or greenery, add a small string of clear lights to them. You can add lights just about anywhere. Placing a string of white lights in an oversized vase or bowl will make a festive modern statement. String some lights on your mantelpiece for a more traditional feel.
Special Family-made Wreath - Instead of buying a wreath to hang on your door this year, let your kids make one. Buy a plain, undecorated wreath and a nice variety of miniature tree decorations. Let them show you where to place the decorations on the wreath, and you use the hot glue gun to help the kids create a special wreath for your family’s front door.
Nature Centerpiece - Do you have pine and oak trees in your front and back yard? Gather pine cones, acorns and colorful leaves. Create a beautiful nature centerpiece for your holiday dining table. Make holiday swags with sprigs of green pine needles, complete with a red bow in the center.
Holiday Scented Candle - Stock up on holiday scented candles. Keep several candles lit in a few safe spots, out of reach of the little ones, while entertaining. Some popular holiday scents are gingerbread cookies, French vanilla, cinnamon sticks, and eggnog. Check your local department stores or specialty candle stores for more fun holiday scents.
There is something special about walking into a room and seeing the Christmas tree. It instantly makes you feel happy. Kids especially love to see the tree all lit up and sparkly. The ornaments, lights and sparkle hold them in awe for hours. Here are some tips for making tree decorating a fun family tradition.
Have Fun - First and foremost make this occasion fun. If decorating the tree isn’t fun for you, it won’t be fun for your family. So relax and enjoy it, even if little Emma isn’t putting the crystal ornament exactly where it should go. If there are some ornaments that are precious keep them in a separate box up high so that the adults can add them to the tree and make sure you have lots of fun wooden or non-fragile decorations for the kids to put up.
Theme - Before you get started decorating, choose a theme. What kind of tree would you like? Do you want a traditional green and red tree? Or does your family want something funky and different? Get together, brainstorm and decide how you want your tree to look.
Lights - Does your family like white lights, or do they prefer colorful bulbs? Choose lights that your whole family will like to see on the Christmas tree. There are tons of options out there, from single color strands to lights that play Christmas music as they blink.
Handmade Ornaments - A really fun tradition for your family is to have everyone make ornaments. Set aside a special day just for this - a day when every family member will be able to pitch in with their creativity. Use cookie cutters, colorful paint and beads to create an assortment of unique ornaments. You can also buy ribbon and wire in the Christmas department and make tons of bows to decorate your tree.
Store-Bought Ornaments - Add some sparkle and shine to your tree with things like tinsel, icicles and garland. Or, if your family isn’t crafty and does not want to make ornaments, go together as a family and pick out ornaments for the tree.
Make it Special - Make the tree decorating day a special time. Play Christmas music, put out fresh baked cookies and chocolate with tiny marshmallows. Gather a group of close family and friends around and make it a really festive affair.
Once you decorate your tree go on a Christmas walk around the neighborhood and take in all the sights and lights around you. Then bring everyone back to your place for a hot Christmas stew or casserole… you’ll be creating a family tradition for years to come.
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