Traditons

Christmas in Guatemala 101 Review

2011

Have you ever wondered how other countries and cultures celebrate their holidays? I think it is especially fascinating! This year we have been focusing on traditions during Christmas in Guatemala thansk to an ebook called Christmas in Guatemala 101 that has been walking me through favorite traditions, food, recipes, decorations, crafts, music and so much more. We have been sitting down as a family and going through it a few nights. It has lots of pictures which helps the kiddos visualize what I am telling them. I am super excited about all the recipes that I can use year round, like Tamales, the Sweet Bread and Chile Rellenos. And my kiddos are particularly fond of the crafts, like the straw ornaments and poinsettias.

photo from all-about-guatemala.com

For our first family Christmas activity we decided to try the Buñuelos recipe, a popular treat at Christmas time. The process to make these are similar to donuts, but the end result is more of a tasty waffle ball. We even got the neighborhood children to give them a try. Some liked them others not so much. lol But I thought they were so yummy!

I really enjoyed learning from this ebook and am excited to have it to refer to for many Christmas Seasons to come. In fact, it has sparked a Big Idea to see what other cultures do at Christmas time. So during this Christmas break, with some cousins, we are going to not only do a few more activities from this book but pick a couple other countries to make a traditional Christmas food and craft from, as well. It should be a very fun and educational break!

This Christmas in Guatemala 101 ebook is 150 pages full of information is available in print, pdf and kindle format. You can visit Christmas in Guatemala 101 for a more detailed description on the book’s contents as well as information on how you can purchase it for your own family to experience.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Filed Under: Adventures, Review, Traditons

Yummy Saltwater Taffy Recipe

2011

11 Comments

Growing up we always made a plate of goodies for our friends and neighbors. If you are looking for a more personal gift or a fun recipe to try with your kids, this is it! It was a lot of fun to make and I loved learning the science behind it. Last year my mom and I tried out this amazing Saltwater Taffy Recipe, thinking we would add these to her plates. The taffy was a hit and everyone loved it. Although, I would like to warn you that it is a lot of work, so just consider that if you want to hand out a lot of it. But, it is definitely a fun memory maker!

What You Need:

Large Saucepan (3- to 4-quart)
Wooden Spoon
Candy Thermometer
Waxed Paper or Plastic Wrap
Marble/Granite Slab or Cookie Sheet
Greased Scissors or Butter Knife (Keep lots of Crisco like grease handy)

Recipe

2 Cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
2 Teaspoons Glycerin (optional) – (We didn’t use this)
3/4 Cup Water
2 tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 to 1 Teaspoon Flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, maple, or mint)
3 Drops Food Coloring (optional) (We used peppermint. Yum!)
1/8 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Directions:

This is a rough summary. I would love to write out the directions here, but The Accidental Scientist ~ The Science of Cooking has awesome directions that explains the science behind this Saltwater Taffy Recipe. You will find out cool things like why you want to use cornstarch or corn syrup. And make sure you look at the “What else can I try?” section near the bottom to find out some other cool tips, like what adding baking soda to the the recipe will do. (p.s. I love adding baking soda!)

Step 1: After following instructions on the Recipe and heating/mixing the ingredients together. You need to pour it out on to a very greased slab of granite or a cookie sheet. Use the wooden spoon to stir it until it is cool enough to touch and you can pull it by hand (make sure you grease your hands well before touching). (The first time I did this, we did not start mixing it right away and it hardened way to much for us to mix by hand.)

Step 2: We did not use any food coloring, so this is what it looked like after we pulled it to our desired texture/taffiness. (We like it soft!)

Step 3: Roll taffy into a 1/2 inch rope and cut into 1/2 – 1 inch long pieces with greased scissors. If you are working with two flavors/colors, you can twist them together to get a cool swirl look.

I love the variety of sizes!

Step 4: Wrap all the pieces in wax paper or plastic wrap and twist the ends tight.

Step 5: Share and enjoy! I think these were so yummy and very addicting!

I am linking up to these: Monday – Making the World Cuter, Sew Can Do, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, C.R.A.F.T. Keeping it Simple, Skip to my Lou,Ginger Snap Creations, Loving Life Tuesday – Topsy Turvy Tuesdays, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, Today’s Creative Blog, Naptime Creations Wednesday – Night Owl Crafting, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Blue Cricket Design, Creations by Kara, Sew Much Ado, Beyond the Picket Fence, the Thrifty Home, 733 a Creative Blog, Someday Crafts, Sew Woodsy Thursday – Somewhat Simple, Someday Crafts, Katie’s Nesting Spot,HOH, Seven Thirty Three Friday – Fingerprints On The Fridge, It’s Fun to Craft, It’s a Hodgepodge Life, A Few of My Favorite Things, Tatertots and Jello, TidyMom, Creation Corner Saturday/Sunday The Girl Creative, I Heart Naptime

Filed Under: All Ages, Cooking with Kids, Creative Gifts, Recipes, Traditons Tagged With: Recipes

Secrets of Family Bonding – Ideas That Spark: Mom2Mom

2011

1 Comment

Ideas That Spark: Mom2Mom

Secrets of Family Bonding

By Peg Rosen for Ideas That Spark

Not about gum health or tartar buildup.

My dentist was a mother of two teen boys, and I hungered to know what kind of life might lie ahead of me. What I really needed to know was this: How did she keep her teen boys talking to her? Her curious response: skiing. She explained, “I got them into skiing nearly as soon as they could stand. It’s something they love, that I love, that we’ve always done together. It gives us common ground.”

Here I am now, unpacking the last piece of equipment from one of countless quickie weekend ski trips that my own family has taken. I marvel at how right my dentist was. Not specifically about skiing but about how important it is for us as parents to cultivate that common ground with our kids, especially those of the opposite gender.

My 77-year-old mother-in-law, herself a mom of two sons, chose football. She might not know the first thing about Twitter or have a clue what’s on anybody’s iPod, but you should have seen her with all her boys cheering on the Saints, arguing calls and making penny bets watching the Super Bowl last month. My father got my sister and me camping and hiking early in life. Fifty years later, our wilderness adventures are still my family’s touchstone.

So here’s my advice: While your kids are still young, take a little time to figure out what your own family touchstone will be. Then forge ahead and make it happen.

Peg
Rosen is a freelance writer and the mother of two boys. She regularly blogs at
relish-this.blogspot.

Filed Under: All Ages, Traditons

I’ll Never Buy Store Made Ice Cream Cake Again!

2011

14 Comments

Growing up it became a family tradition to buy an ice cream cake from a local ice cream store for our birthdays. It was a family favorite! I recently made one for my son’s birthday party and everyone loved it. I will even admit that I thought it was better than the store bought! And best of all it is really easy to put together and it is less calories using this Pudding Frosting instead of the typical high calorie frosting used to decorate most cakes. So you don’t have to feel as guilty eating it!

What You Need:

Pan – the size you would like the cake
Carton of favorite ice cream
A baked cake half the size of the desired cake – I used 1/3 – 1/2 a box cake mix and baked it in a bread pan
Cooking spray or oil
Plastic wrap
A plate, flat pan or cardboard with tinfoil around it to display your cake.
Pudding frosting
Ice cream scooper
Spoon
Spatula
Toppings/decorations – cookies, sprinkles, fudge sauce, etc.

Directions:

Step 1: When your cake (the portion from the box mix) is finished baking remove from pan and let it cool. Once it is has mostly cooled place on plate wrapped in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for at least 10-20 minutes. If you are not going to make the ice cream cake the same day, be sure to wrap the cake completely in plastic wrap to preserve the taste. Freezing the cake makes it easier to transfer to the pan later to make the complete ice cream cake.

Step 2: While letting the carton of ice cream sit on the counter for a few minutes to slightly soften (easy to scoop), prep your the pan you will be using to make the ice cream cake. A bread pan was the easiest to use for me. Make sure the pan is thoroughly dry before starting or your cake may have difficulty coming out later! Spray the inside of the pan with cooking spray and then line with plastic wrap. The cooking spray will help the plastic wrap stick to the pan better.

Step 3: Press ice cream into pan and smooth out the top with a spoon when you have reached the desired amount you want. Usually a half carton works well for us giving us about 1.5 inch thickness of ice cream throughout the pan.

Step 4: Place the pan of ice cream in the freezer for a few minutes while you prep the cake. Take cooled or frozen cake from the freezer. Cut off any rounding that may have occurred while baking so the cake has a flat top and bottom. (It is easiest to do this if the cake is frozen).

Step 5: Transfer the cake carefully on top of ice cream in the pan. Cover the entire cake with plastic wrap and let it sit in the freezer to solidify for at least 20 minutes. When I make this I usually will do the cake a day/night before and let it sit over night, but as long as the ice cream is solid you can make it quicker.

Step 6: Ready to flip and frost! Prepare your plate that you will be displaying the cake on and make sure it can fit/go in the freezer. Make sure the sides of the plastic wrap that is lining the pan are out of the way ( you want to use them to help pull the cake out and not have them under the cake). Flip the cake onto plate and remove the plastic wrap that was lining the pan. It should go easily, but if for some reason it does not, carefully place the bottom of the pan under running water for a few seconds and that should loosen it up. You may need to place it back in the freezer for a few minutes if the ice cream has softened.

Step 7: Frost the cake with Pudding Frosting or any other frosting and a spatula. (The less cool whip in the frosting the thicker it is and the easier to frost the sides with) Use a soft hand or you may start taking off the ice cream! I like to save the frosting until the last few hours before serving because it is hard to cover the cake once it is frosted.

Step 8: Decorate as desired! Sprinkles are quick and easy. For this cake we smashed up some Oreos (after removing the creme) and sprinkled on the cake while the frosting was not frozen. Then we used a cookie cutter and lined the design inside the cookie cutter with powdered sugar.

We used a few cookie crumbs for the eyes and nose cavities of the skull and cross bones!

Step 9: Place in the freezer until you are ready to serve it!

ENJOY!!!

I am linking up to these parties!

Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations, Food Projects, Traditons Tagged With: Crafts, Recipes

Easy Valentine’s Day Decorations

2011

15 Comments

I often get to the end of January andrealize that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and we didn’t do anything fun to decorate. Not this year! Valentine’s Day decorations are going to get 3 weeks instead of their usual 1! lol

When it comes to crafts and decorations with the kids, I am all for simple, cute, and I don’t have to keep it for next year. Paper crafts fill my needs perfectly! Here are some easy paper Valentine’s Day decorations that my kids enjoyed helping me make and when Valentine’s Day is over, you will most likely find these in the garbage. We will have fun making them again next year!

You can probably figure these out by looking at the pictures, but just in case….here you go!

Project #1: Heart Fan

What You Need:

At least 12 sheets of scrapbook paper (if you use solid colored sheets or card stock you only need at least 6)
Stapler
Hole puncher
Scissors
String to hang it. (I used floss)

Directions:

Step 1:This is really simple. It is 12 sheets of scrapbook paper stacked together. Make sure that every two sheets of paper is facing pattern side out (so the first 2 hearts’ white sides are facing each other, and 3rd and 4th hearts’ white sides are facing each other, etc.). If you are using solid paper or card stock, do not worry about how the paper is facing. =)

Step 2: Cut one large heart and use it for the stencil for cutting the other hearts. Cut all the hearts and pile them back together

Step 3: Fold the first heart in half (so you know where the middle is). Staple the whole stack together down that line. Then fold your sheets out (white sides together) to spread the hearts apart. Keep folding them out until you get the look you want.

Step 4: Then tie a string to it to hang. Use a hole puncher to create holes to tie the string to.

Step 5: Hang and enjoy!

Project # 2: Heart Wreath

What You Need:

Paper (Scrapbook paper is fun, but leaves a white inside)
Scissors or paper cutter
Stapler (optional – I use it because it is easier)
Glue
Paper clips or clothes pins (if you are not using the stapler)
String

Directions:

Step 1: Cut your paper into strips 1 - 1.5 inches wide and 6 – 8 inches in length. The longer your strips of paper the larger your finished heart is. Once you choose your width and length, keep it the same.

Step 2:The large heart is made of mini hearts made from 2 strips of your cut paper. Take a strip of paper and touch the edges together (see below) anddo the same with the 2nd strip. Bring all your ends together to create a “mini heart” and staple it together OR glue it together and use a clothes pin to hold it together until it is dry. I use the stapler because it is quicker and easier for my little helpers.

Step 3: Continue on making all your “mini hearts” – about 8 hearts per side (depends on the size you want your final heart to be). Once all the mini hearts are finished, attach them together (see picture below) to create 2 strips of mini hearts. If your hearts are not too small a stapler works fine here, too, otherwise glue away! This is why a stapler is easier…there is a lot of time waiting for the glue to dry!

Step 4: Connect these two strips together at the bottom with the stapler. See picture in Step 5.

Step 5: Create a strip of 2 “mini hearts”. This strip will help attach the 2 long strips together. See the arrow below in the picture.

Step 6: Bring the top ends of each strip in (if it is not long enough, add more “mini hearts”). Then attach using the small strip. I found it easiest on the small strip of 2 hearts to fold the heart ends and insert one side into each heart coming in (so the right side of the heart went into the middle of the right side’s top “mini heart” and the left did the same on the left strip’s side) If you look closely at the picture where the arrow is, you can see it. I tried stapling everything together at this point, but found glue much more effective. Use paper clips or clothes pins to hold everything together.

Step 7: Tie with string and hang!

ENJOY!!!

Filed Under: Adults, All Ages, Indoor fun, Other Crafts, Paper Crafts, Traditons Tagged With: Crafts

Homemade and Kid Friendly Christmas Ornaments

2010

5 Comments

For the last couple for years we have set up a tree for Christmas, but hardly put any ornaments on it. It was easier having a tree without them when dealing with a toddler and preschooler! We even have a small tree that we put up on table for this reason (see below). This year my kids are more excited to decorate and we could not get away without having more ornaments on the tree, so we made some Candy Canes and Gingerbread Men to add to our collection of Homemade S’more Ornaments (see below for more details). These were so simple to make! The kids are kinder to them because they made them and since they are not food there is no temptation to eat them. Plus, if they do get ruined, it is no big deal!

Gingerbread Men (and Ladies)

These above are some of my favorite that we made!

All you need for the body is card stock or even the inside of a cereal box will work. I searched for “gingerbread man” under images and found a basic sketch to trace onto my card stock. We used scrap book scissors to cut the squiggly lines out of white paper and we used dots from our paper hole puncher to decorate. We happened to have googly eyes, so we had to add those!

Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes

This needs very little explanation and I love the added color all the candy canes add to the tree! We cut red and white pipe cleaners in half and then twisted them together. The kids LOVED this! Be sure to twist the ends good once finished so they do not poke anyone.

Homemade S’more Ornaments

These are a few of my favorite S’more People. And just for explanation, the top left corner is a mumm, center bottom is a mountain man with a squirrel on the left and the bottom right corner is Donald Trump yelling “You’re Fired!”

Our main ornament on our tree are these S’more People. My aunt and uncle worked hard and created these, marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers out of molds for my bridal shower (this was before they got popular and you could buy them in the stores). The idea was to have every guest at the shower make an ornament for our Christmas Tree. Molding clay, pipe cleaners, foam shapes, and random scraps of material were provided for everyone to get creative with. Everyone signed the bottom of their ornament. I love it because every year we get to pull them out and think of all our wonderful family and friends as we put their creation on our tree!

ENJOY!!

Filed Under: All Ages, Creative Gifts, Traditons, Winter Tagged With: Crafts, Fun