Homemade Christmas Garland

With the upcoming holidays and the cold weather, now is a great time to have fun making Christmas crafts with your family.  My kids decided they wanted to have more of a say in how our Christmas tree looks.  So, I thought what better way for them to decorate our tree than with their own creations.  First things first, Christmas garland for the tree and more.  I hit the keyboard and found some fun ideas of garland that I can make with my kids.  Here are my top four:

• Dot Garlands
• Sweet Countdown
• Newly Minted
• Cranberry-Popcorn Garland

You can make these crafts your own by tweaking some details.  Replace the button thread with a colorful yarn for your Dot Garland.  Instead of using mints for a garland, maybe try gold wrapped candies to reflect your Christmas tree lights.  The possibilities are endless.  Remember, get creative and have fun! 

Check out my posts below for more Christmas Craft fun:

• Homemade Holiday Decorations
• Christmas Snacks, Crafts and Printables

Winter Fun for Kids

With the winter weather in full force and snow storms closing schools, I have had a house full of board kids.  Sure they can play video games and watch TV but, why not do something fun and creative as a family.  I found a few websites with great craft ideas to do during these cold indoor days at home.

Kaboose.com

Crafts

• Winter Crafts
• Cold Weather Crafts
• Winter Crafts for Children



FamilyFun.go.com



For more indoor fun, here are some fun indoor games and activities to play with the kids this winter.

Games and Activities

• Winter Games & Activities for Kids
• Winter Classroom Activities
• Winter Fun & Games
• Winter Games and Puzzles

The Best Christmas Music

I love listening to Christmas during the holiday season.  My top two favorite Christmas song performers are the Celtic Woman group and Bing Crosby.  Below are some videos of Celtic Woman Christmas performances and video clips from my all-time favorite Christmas movie, "White Christmas".  They are perfect for getting you and your family into the Christmas spirit.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Video Message From Santa Claus

Do you want to help a child get into the Christmas spirit?  Visit the Portable North Pole to create a special message from Santa to be delivered to a lucky little boy or girl.  It just takes a few minutes to enter information about them.  My kids love it and get a kick out of receiving their own special video email from Santa.  I'm sure your children will love it too.  Merry Christmas!

Candied Sweet Potatoes/Yams with Marshmallows

Here is a great recipe for the holiday season!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (29 ounce) can sweet potatoes/yams
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• cinnamon (to taste)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Drain sweet potatoes and then put in a medium baking dish.  Coarsely chop or mash if you like.  Then distribute butter pieces evenly over the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Top with a layer of miniature marshmallows.
3. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed with non-stick spray and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes to brown marshmallows.

Last Minute Christmas Card Pictures

Each year I like to send out Christmas cards with a photo of our kids.  I prefer to take the pictures myself at home but, having three kids makes it difficult to get a picture of all them looking nice at once.  Also, as usually, I was running late on getting my Christmas cards sent out.  So, I needed to find a way to get several pictures on one 4x6 sheet and I needed them really fast. 

I found my solution on Walmart.com!  They have Gifts Ready in 1-hour including 1-Hour Collage Prints.  It was perfect!  You can choose 8x10's, 5x7's and 4x6's.  They have several color options for your border, as well as thin, medium and thick widths.  A title can be added to the top or the bottom if you want with your choice of font.  You have the option to print it in a portrait or landscape orientation and you can use up to 20 photos!  The best part is, not only can you get them in 1 hour but they start at only 19 CENTS each!  It was just what I needed to help me spread the holiday cheer to my friends and family.  Happy Holidays!

Coping with the Loss of a Loved One During the Holidays

This year we lost my father-in-law to cancer after he bravely fought it for over two years.  Although we knew it was coming, it has still hit the family very hard.  With the holiday season in full swing, everyone has been keeping to themselves and not said much about him.  In my attempt to help my husband and extended family, I sought out some aide from the Internet.  There is some great advice out there and here are some points I found to be helpful:

1. Decide For Yourself - You decide how you want to handle the holidays. 
• Cut back on Christmas cards or don't send any at all.
• Have the family gather at someone else's home.
2. Decorate! - If it is difficult for you to decorate, ask someone to do it for you or to help.  You may find the decor helpful to cheering you up and putting you in the holiday spirit.  If you have children in your family, they are missing your loved one too.  Kids always love Christmas decorations!
3. Change Tradition - My mother-in-law actually requested that we have a "Dirty Santa" Christmas this year.  After some hesitation everyone agreed and I think we are all glad we had.  Usually we each pile up our gifts and take turns opening them.  It would be difficult to see a pile of gifts missing.
4. Remember - Do something special to remember your loved one. 
• You can light a candle in their memory or put a picture of your loved one out during family gatherings.  
• Leave an empty seat for them and place a flower on it. 
• You could also put a bowl, pen and paper out for people to write down memories of your loved one and put it in the bowl.  Although others to read them or keep them for yourself. 

Links

• Holidays After the Death of a Loved One
• How to Manage Grief at Christmas
• Surviving the Holidays After the Loss of a Loved One
• Coping with Holidays and Family Celebrations

Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is right for you.  And remember, your family is there for support and a shoulder if needed.

Homemade Holiday Decorations

If you are like most of us, you are trying to make most of your holiday decorations this season.  On the verge of endless Christmas parties and the kids winter break, think about making your own Christmas decorations that your children can help you with. 

The website:  How to Make Free Holiday Decorations From Your Garden eHow.com has some great ideas on how to use free resources you have on hand and may not even know it.

And here are some helpful links on craft ideas for you to do with the kids.  These crafts will surely deck your halls.

Links

• Christmas Crafts For Kids
• Christmas Ornaments
• Homemade Christmas Ornaments

The crafts that your children make would make great gifts for family and friends too!  Have fun and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Snacks, Crafts and Printables

'Tis the season for indoor playdates, family gatherings and holiday parties.  With so many events coming up, I had to do some searching for some fun Christmas snacks and activities fast!  After looking all day, I have finally narrowed it down to a few sites I really like.  Below, you will find lots of ideas to get you and your family ready for the holiday party surge.  Happy Holidays and enjoy!

Snacks

• Top Holiday Appetizers And Snacks
• Christmas Snacks And Goodies To Make With The Kids
• Bright Ideas
• Healthy Christmas Snacks For Kids

Crafts

• All Crafts Merry And Bright
• Christmas Crafts
• Kids Christmas Crafts

Printables

• Printable Christmas Decorations
• Christmas Printables
• More Christmas Printables

Family Christmas Movies

One of our most favorite things to do as a family during the holidays is to snuggle up and watch Christmas movies together.  We lay blankets and pillows on the floor and have a "movie picnic" with hot chocolate, popcorn and cookies.  Here are the movies we love to watch with our kids:

Great Family Christmas Movies

• Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas

• Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas
• The Santa Clause, The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3 (with Tim Allen)
• Polar Express
• Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

If you don't want to buy or rent movies, there are wonderful Christmas movies on TV.  The ABC Family Channel airs some of the movies mentioned above and many more during their 25 Days of Christmas holiday event, which runs Dec 1st - 25th.  To download the schedule click here:  ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule.

Cyber Monday 2010

Are you kicking your Christmas shopping off today on the internet?  Looking for the great Cyber Monday deals?  Below you'll find links to websites with lists of today's best deals: 

• Best Cyber Monday Sales
• Cyber Monday
• Cyber Monday Deals 2010
• cybermonday.net

Have fun shopping everyone and Happy Holidays!  =)

Dirty Santa - The Gift Giving Game

This year our family is changing things up with our gift giving.  My mother-in-law suggested playing "Dirty Santa".  We were all a bit hesitant to agree to it but the more I learned about it the more interesting and fun it sounded.  No, it's not an adults only game.  Also, it is sometimes called "White Elephant".  The rules are pretty confusing but here are a couple of websites that I found that describe it in a way that is easier to understand:

• Dirty Santa Gift Exchange
• How To Throw A Dirty Santa Party
• How To Play Dirty Santa

A few sites suggest coming up with a theme for your Dirty Santa Party and a price limit.  The price limit is often around $20-25.   Choosing a theme can make gift ideas easier for those participating.  Some great themes are:  Gag Gifts, Alcohol, Board Games and Small Appliances.  If you decide you don't want a theme, be sure to remind all guests to choose a gift that is good for just about anyone.  You don't want gender specific gifts because the game won't be as fun.

Here are some websites that have great ideas for Dirty Santa gifts:

• Great Dirty Santa Gifts Around $25
• Top 10 Dirty Santa Gift Ideas Under $5

Have fun and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Alton Brown's Sugar Cookies

I recently had a few friends and their families over for a Cookie Decorating Party.  I made all the cookies and the guests brought the toppings (icing, frosting, sprinkles).  It was the day before Halloween so of course the cookies were in the shape of ghosts, cats and pumpkins. 

I wanted to try a new recipe this year because the recipes I used in the past always ended with thin cookies that were too hard.  So I was on the search for some great tasting, thick and chewy sugar cookies that were easy to cut-out into shapes.  After going to several websites and reading tons of reviews I decided on Alton Brown's Sugar Cookie Recipe on foodnetwork.com.  They were delicious and everyone loved them. 

So, if you plan to make holiday cookies to share with friends and neighbors this upcoming season, I highly recommend this recipe!  I know I'll be using it this December.  Enjoy!