Merry Christmas!

After eating your holiday dinner take a walk. I was told this helps digestion.

Share a Holiday Memory

This week take time to share one happy holiday memory from your childhood with your child (sadly if you can't remember one use a memory from your adulthood). You can share a memory which involves a relative or a friend. Share funny memories, like the dog running away with the wrapping paper or stealing the turkey. Hopefully, your child will remember this memory and share it with their children.

Awesome Tasting Peppermint Cookie Recipe

Santa's Secret Peppermint Cookies. My all time favorite holiday cookie!

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees
In one bowl- Sift… 1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ginger

In another bowl- Cream together… 2/3 cup of butter with
½ cup of firmly packed brown sugar
In this second bowl- Blend in... 1 unbeaten egg and
2 tablespoons of molasses. Beat well

Add... 1/2 cup of crushed peppermint stick candy (put candy in zip lock bags and roll over and over with rolling pin) with dry ingredients. Mix all ingredients together well.

Using teaspoon put cookie dough onto slightly greased cookie sheets.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes
Should make around 3 1/2 dozen cookies

Frost cookies after they have cooled somewhat or the frosting will melt too much. If desired, your child can sprinkle holiday sprinkles onto frosting before it hardens.

PEPPERMINT FROSTING:
Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of a top quality vanilla, 2 teaspoons of crushed peppermint candy,
2 tablespoons of soft butter and three drops of
red food coloring. Blend in 1 to 3 tablespoons
of whole milk until you have consistency you like.

Arts and Crafts Project: Little bell ornaments.

What you need: Egg carton. Paint. Pipe cleaners (buy at arts and craft store.) Little beads or little bells. Glue gun or strong tacky glue.
Cut off top of egg carton.
Now flip over bottom so it looks like a row of bells.
Cut out each egg space to make a bell. Have your child paint these cardboard bells. Once bells are dry, punch a hole through top of each. The hole should be big enough for a pipe cleaner to go through. Once pipe cleaner is through the hole curve the top so it looks like a hook. Your child will use this hook to place bell on tree. Under the bell glue a bead, or a little silver bell, to end of pipe cleaner. This insures pipe cleaner does not slip through top. You can also tie red or green ribbons around bell hook for a festive look.

Book Review- Charlie Brown Holiday Book

Picture book with story. Depending on their reading level third graders can read it. "A Charlie Brown Christmas," by Charles M. Schulz. Who doesn't like Snoopy the All American beagle? In this story Snoopy's owner Charlie Brown is miserable. Its Christmas time and he feels let down by the season. He doesn't like the commercialism and the selfishness. His friend Lucy tries to help him overcome his depression by telling him to get involved. She tells him he should direct the kids Christmas play. While directing the play Charlie Brown learns the true meaning of the festive season. Which is caring. This is a good lesson for kids to learn.

Movie Review, Christmas

Movie Title- Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Adapted from the story by Robert May. Narrated by Burl Ives whose character is a snowman. Christmas classic. For kids ages 6 to 9. There is a snow monster which is why I put age 6 to watch it. There is singing so if your child does not like shows with singing skip this short movie. The characters are not human, but they aren't cartoon. The elves remind me of the children in the Disneyland ride It's a Small World. My favorite character in the movie is Herby the elf who wants to be a dentist.
Story line: One of Santa's reindeer, Donner, has a son, Rudolph, who is born with a glowing red nose. The father tries to hide his son's nose with mud. When this doesn't work he has him wear a fake nose. This makes Rudolph talk like he has a cold. Rudolph joins the other little bucks in some reindeer games. When his fake nose comes off the coach tells Rudolph he can't join in the games anymore. Saddened and feeling like a misfit, Rudolph runs away from home with an elf named Herby who also feels like a misfit. Herby doesn't like making toys for Santa. He would rather be a dentist. After getting a sleigh lift from a prospector they narrowly escape from a snow monster by hopping on an ice float. They land on the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph runs away by himself and grows up. He then goes back to Christmas Town. A big storm hits. Rudolph saves the day by leading Santa's sleigh with his glowing nose.

Holiday Picture Book Review

Kay Thompson's "Eloise at Christmastime." Drawings by Hilary Knight. I love the mischievous Eloise. Young Eloise and her nanny live at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. In this book they are getting ready for Christmas. The drawings are terrific. The facial expressions really show what's going on. Do spend some time observing the range of emotions that the characters express. You'll see: happy, perplexed, sad, excited, indifferent, surprised, angry, hurry up, and even struggling, as in someone struggling in an endeavor. I give this book ten fingers up.

Holiday Picture Book Review

Kay Thompson's "Eloise at Christmastime." Drawings by Hilary Knight. I love the mischievous Eloise. Young Eloise and her nanny live at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. In this book they are getting ready for Christmas. The drawings are terrific. The facial expressions really show what's going on. Do spend some time observing the range of emotions that the characters express. You'll see: happy, perplexed, sad, excited, indifferent, surprised, angry, hurry up, and even struggling, as in someone struggling in an endeavor. I give this book ten fingers up.

Arts and Crafts Project: Make a Gingerbread House Using Graham Crackers

Holiday Project: Make a Gingerbread House Using Graham Crackers
This Christmas make a Graham Cracker House.
Needed items:
1) A box of Graham crackers.
2) White canned frosting or make your own. The frosting will be used for gluing Graham crackers together, gluing candy to roof/sides/plate, and for snow.
3) Gum drops. Use: Colorful fence.
4) Shoestring red licorice. Use: Door and window frames.
5) Large marshmallows. Use: Snowmen.
6) Tiny marshmallows. Use: Kid snowmen.
7) M&M's or Skittles. Use: Decorative siding.
8) Starburst Candy. Use: Stack up for a chimney. Put candy on its side and make a fence around house. Can also be roof tiles or pavers to house.
9) Snack size candy bar. Use: Chimney.
10) Cake sprinkles.
11) Other candy. Have your child use their imagination for what it can be used for on house or in yard.
12) Stiff paper plate.

You will build the house on the paper plate. Start with the walls of the house as if you were building a house of cards. You will use Graham crackers as the walls. Frost bottom of crackers first. You might need to help your child by holding up the Graham crackers as they glue them together with the frosting. Let dry a bit. Then do the roof. Make an A frame roof using two crackers on their sides. Use frosting at top to keep A frame up. Hold and let dry. You can also make a flat roof.

At this point make a decision. Will you be frosting the whole house or just the roof? If you want to do the whole house I suggest you start with the sides. Using a thin rubber spatula gently frost the sides. Outline a doorway in front using shoestring licorice. Do the same for any windows you want. Place M&M's and/or Skittles all over wall siding. When done, frost the roof. Either use Starbursts for roof tiles or decorate the roof using M&M's, Skittles and tiny marshmallows. For a festive look put cake sprinkles on top. On a flat roof your child can stack up five Starbursts for a chimney. Or they can use a snack size candy bar on an A frame roof for a chimney. Once house is decorated to your child's satisfaction they can do the yard. Spread frosting around house. Stack up three marshmallows to make a snowman. Dab a bit of frosting in-between marshmallows to keep snowman up. Use sprinkles to make a face on snowperson. You can stack tiny marshmallows to make kid snowperson. Make a walkway to front door using Starbursts. Place gum drops all around house as a colorful fence.

Arts and Crafts Project

Arts and Craft. Decorate a picture frame. This is a great holiday gift for grandparents. Buy a wooden picture frame at a store or a garage sale. If you collect sea shells you can use these. Or buy some small ones at a craft store. Be sure to get tiny dried starfish and a variety of different shells. See if your local arts and craft store carries little, flat glass decorations in the shape of the sun. Maybe look for a tiny umbrella or sandals for the corner of the frame as well. Using wood glue, glue items on the wood frame. Put a picture of your child at the lake or the beach inside the frame. Or put in a picture of them with their grandparent at the pool. Alternative: Buy assorted interesting buttons and glue them on the frame. Put a picture of your child from school or camp inside the frame.