Christmas

The Elf On the Shelf Isn’t Landing Here

- Mama 3 Comments

I know I’m going to get a lot of heat for this. In fact, I know I will because when I brought up the same topic on facebook last year around this time, I definitely had a few people who hated what I had to say.

But I’m going to say it.

I can’t stand Elf on the Shelf.

Now, I have a lot of reasons that I won’t play into the “magic” and “joyfulness” that that creepy little Elf supposedly brings, and yes, I’m sure that my reasons aren’t that different from a lot of other people who choose not to participate.

But seriously. Look at it. That thing is creep-a-licious. It’s just freaky looking. If I were a kid, I’d be terrified. And I’m not terrified of inanimate objects. If my dad and brother can’t even walk into the basement without freaking out over how creepy a porcelain doll I keep in storage is, then I definitely shouldn’t trust an Elf on the loose around the house. He’d probably get hurt, what with his creepy little grin. He gives me the heebiejeebies!

And then there’s the fact that basically the whole point of Mr. Elf on Pinterest seems to be for him to barge into your house, leave a mess (which you have to be creative enough to create so you’re doing the same sorts of things as every other Elf that your child’s preschool friends are doing, but also NEW and DIFFERENT things so you can brag to the carpool moms), and then just… walk away from the mess while you clean it up. I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to go around wiping up spilled maple syrup, a “flour war,” or an explosion of Legos. Half the time, I’m lucky to get the dishes done. Why add more work to my day?

I know there are some of you out there who will tell me that having an Elf doesn’t have to be messy. You can do “clean” activities like leaving the Elf with some crayons and a coloring book. Sure, I can. Or I could also set out crayons and a coloring book for my son, no Elf needed.

Really, do you WANT your Elf being the “role model” and person reporting back to Santa when they’re tying up Barbies on the railroad tracks (nope, not just for “Naughty Elf” posts, but for some real life the-kid-is-seeing-this moments), making a mess of the kitchen for a marshmallow fight since they’re out of snowballs, or whatever else? That doesn’t show me that being good is ranked that highly. It says to me that it’s fair game to throw stuff everywhere and then get a job in the reporting to Santa game. Total parent nightmare right there– a revolution based on an Elf!

I don’t like how the Elf is just adding to the commercialization of Christmas. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas. I love the decorations and the lights and the gifts, and all that. But seriously, now I have to buy the Elf. And his book. And his movie. And now the trend is an Elf Girlfriend because one Elf is just getting a little stale, and how else are you going to spice it up? And then the Elfs bring gifts like Lego Advent calendars and Christmas Crunch cereal (because Halloween-Specific seasonal cereal was ROCKIN’ in sales this year). How many things do I have to buy for the Elf to do this season? And don’t get me wrong, I spend money on activities and stuff, including red-and-green cake mixes and snickerdoodle milk, throughout the holiday season… but… why have the Elf be the mastermind while I’m going around cleaning up his junk? It seems like so much added work to me than knocking out the middleman.

I feel like the Elf is just another way for suburban moms to compete. Having the best minivan and tracksuit combo wasn’t enough anymore, so we needed to add an Elf (don’t forget the Elf Girlfriend!) While I’m sure that it has a LOT of treasured memories behind it, and I’m sure it is a very important part of people’s holiday traditions, it just isn’t a part of ours.

I feel like I shouldn’t have to tell Zach “You should be good because this tattletale Elf is going to go tell Santa everything you did!” First, I’d like my son not to learn to be a tattletale, and giving him an Elf who reports back to Santa, to me, seems like an endorsement. I also would love for him to learn to be good just for the sake of being good– not because he’s afraid of a warning letter from an Elf. I want him to be good because he genuinely wants to, and for us to sit down and have a dialogue about his behavior… not for some third-party Elf to pass along my sentiments. I feel like, by bringing these elaborate gifts and telling kids when they’ve been naughty, the Elf is driving a wedge between parent-child interactions during the season.

Sure, from my end, it would be cool to see the “magic” in the Elf moving, and doing something new, but from Zach’s end, the Elf is doing all this cool stuff, and mom isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. I want the season to be about the two of us as a family, and about what we can do together.

 

I hope that none of my readers are offended by this piece enough to stop reading. I meant it to be a humorous take on why the Elf just isn’t a part of my life this season, or a part of Zach’s, and I’m sorry if anything was offensive. If the Elf is a part of your holiday tradition, good on you. That’s something I’m sure you both will treasure. It just isn’t right for MY house. And, if you’re wanting to start doing Elf on the shelf, I hope my blog doesn’t scare you off from it. Like I said, the Elf isn’t landing here, but if he lands at your house, no judgement. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to eat some of the Count Chocula I stocked up on before that whole Christmas Crunch stuff was released.

(Almost) Starbucks Peppermint Brownie Cake Balls

- Mama 2 Comments

I did a bad thing, guys. I started rewarding Zach and I for successful shopping trips by occasionally grabbing a cake pop from Starbucks for each of us. It started out occasionally, but then we both really liked it… and it became the standard rather than the exception. And now, it seems inescapable. Every shopping trip, we’re lured in by the smell of coffee, cocoa, and pastries. And don’t even get me started on the amazing Starbucks Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops. Zach and I just can’t get enough.

However, I also realized I couldn’t always pay $3.00 for two cake pops. Especially since they’re surprisingly easy to make at home. So, after spending lots of time and money taste testing the Peppermint Brownie Cake Pops, I knew I had perfected a copycat. It took eating many, many Starbucks cake pops, though. Or, actually, it didn’t, but I really like those darn cake pops. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

The best part about the copycat recipe is it literally only costs about $0.25 per cake ball versus $1.50+ each. And it tastes almost identical. Start out with a Betty Crocker Hershey’s Premium Cupcake Mix. The mix includes a filling pouch in addition to the cake mix, and you’ll use both for this recipe, eliminating the need for extra frosting to make these cake balls. You’ll also want to grab the ingredients listed on the back of the cake mix box to make the cake, some Nestle White Morsels (or your white chocolate of choice), and the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Pieces.

Prepare the cake mix as listed on the back of the box, but instead of putting it in cupcake liners, bake it in an 8 inch round pan at 350 for about 28-30 minutes. Let it cool completely.

Once it’s totally cool, you’ll practically massacre the cake. You’re just going to dig in and shred it up really fine. It’s especially fun to do in front of those people who haven’t seen cake balls made before. It also helps to add a cackle or two as you shred it, to make people think you’ve really gone off your rocker. I did this in front of my boyfriend, and you could see him cringing over me taking a beautiful cake and shredding it to bits. He, of course, stopped protesting once he tasted the finished product. Pour in the contents of the filling pouch and mix the destroyed cake with the filling pouch.

Then, roll them into balls with a diameter roughly the size of a quarter. You’ll get about 20 cake balls out of this.

Melt your morsels in the microwave in 30 second increments, then dip your balls into the melted chocolate and tap off the excess.

While the chocolate is still a little wet, sprinkle on the Andes Peppermint Crunch bits. You’ll want it to still be a little wet so they stick, but don’t slide off. If you waited too long and the balls hardened already, don’t fret– you can spoon a little extra chocolate over the top before sprinkling on the bits!

You can, of course, serve them Starbucks-Style on a stick, but I prefer to tuck them into cupcake liners (or just eat the whole batch while I’m topping them, more often).

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never dip quite evenly enough to make them look like Starbucks does, but at least they’ll taste the same. If you happen to be a pro cake pop dipper, your friends and family will never know the difference between yours and the real deal!

 

What’s YOUR favorite coffee shop treat? Let me know in the comments below! Who knows, I may even try to duplicate it!

How a Shoebox Can Give Salvation with Operation Christmas Child

- Mama 5 Comments

Growing up, my mom worked hard to teach me the importance of giving back. It was a value I always knew I wanted to instill in my son, as well. So, when considering ways to give back this season, I knew the choice was an easy one.

Operation Christmas Child isn’t exactly a new organization. Started by Samaritan’s Purse in 1993, the organization has collected and delivered more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to more than 100 countries with children in need. This year is a REALLY special year for Operation Christmas Child– it’s the 20th anniversary year! (Which is weird, because 1993 doesn’t seem like it should be 2 decades ago! Yikes!). This year, Operation Christmas Child plans to collect 9.8 million shoeboxes this year.

So how exactly does it work? Well, it’s pretty simple. You start with a shoebox (plastic or cardboard works fine!), and a decision. Are you packing for a boy or a girl? And what age range are you packing for (2-4, 5-9, or 10-14). You’ll go on the Samaritan’s Purse website and print the label that matches your box, then tape it to the top of the box with the age category marked.

You then fill it with gifts. When packing our shoeboxes, we decided to pack one for a boy and one for a girl, ages 2-4, since that’s how old Zach is. Packing the box to his age range helps it stay meaningful for him, and it also helps us decide what another child might like who is his age.

For both boxes, we chose underwear and socks that fit the gender and size we were packing for, new and on clearance at Walmart. We then continued with a new toothbrush and tube of toothpaste for each gender, some bar soap (no liquids should be packed in the box!), and finished up with some washcloths and a couple of combs, each purchased at an affordable price as part of a multi-pack. After packing the basic hygiene products for each of our boxes, we added a few pencils, a sharpener (so they can use the pencils!), and a pack of small legal pads that fit into the box. We also decided some crayons and affordable sticker books would work really well and fit into the box. We finished with a few fun items that we knew the kids would love– a slinky for each, some bouncy balls for both, and then a doll for the girl and a small stuffed animal and cars for the boy.

I tried to think of items that children would enjoy, as well as items they needed. A lot of the children that these boxes go to don’t have basic school supplies, and have limited access to hygiene products, so including things like that is also special, in addition to new toys.

We decided to finish the boxes with a photo of us, and a letter to the child, as well as a $7 donation for covering processing and shipping for each box. By donating online, we’re able to track our boxes and see what country they end up in!

When money is tight here at home, especially with the nature of the economy, the number of layoffs, and how many people are struggling, but I also know that, even with limited resources, I have places in my budget I can cut back on to afford to give back with a box like this. By purchasing items on clearance, and finding affordable items kids will love (like a great quality off-brand doll rather than a name-brand one that was twice the cost) will be just as meaningful for the children we’re sending these boxes to! In the end, we were able to fill the boxes for about $15 each (not including our $7 donation). But the gift it brings? It’s priceless. These boxes send a message about Salvation and can help those who get the box learn about Jesus Christ. That is a gift that you can’t put a dollar amount on, and it’s why I love what Samaritan’s Purse is doing through Operation Christmas Child.

It’s the first step for a lot of these kids in learning about the Gospel. Kids who receive boxes fro Operation Christmas Child can participate in the Greatest Journey, a follow-up program to Operation Christmas Child. This program is a 12-lesson discipleship program that helps kids learn about the story of Jesus Christ and the Salvation that God offers all of us. All kids who graduate from this program receive a Bible in their own language! Over 1 million children have participated in the Greatest Journey after receiving an Operation Christmas Child box, and thousands have become believers as a result.

And, the best part is that it’s not too late to participate this year. National Collection Week is November 18-25, and you can drop off the box at one of the hundreds of locations across the United States. There are 4 collections centers within 15 miles of me, so there’s a good chance there is one near you, also. The website can give you the full list of collection centers and help you find one closest to you.

When packing your box, it’s important to remember that items should be new, rather than used, and should not include any military related items, figurines, or toy guns, and also should not include chocolate or food. Liquids and lotions, vitamins or medicine, breakable items, and aerosol cans are also prohibited.

Want more information about Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child? Visit their website at www.samaritanspurse.org/occ

If you’re a fan of Duck Dynasty, see what Uncle Si has to say about Operation Christmas Child, and then go pack a shoebox, Jack!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1lLqdgXMB8]

More of a Veggie Tales fan? Bob and Larry can also help you pack it. Everybody may not have a Water Buffalo, but everyone CAN help pack a box for Operation Christmas Child!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=677iIEeqXWY]

Running short on time, or don’t like to leave the house? You can even pack a box online using the box builder on the Samaritan’s Purse website, then checkout online, and your box will go to a child without you ever having to leave the house.

Operation Christmas Child is such a blessing, not only to those receiving, but to those giving. Knowing that I can share this tradition with my son, a tradition of giving, and show him that not everyone is as privileged as he is, but that he can give something special to those who need it, is a huge deal for me. I also love the opportunity to pray for our box and for the child who receives it, that the box can be a blessing in their life and that they’ll find salvation if they don’t yet have that knowledge and thirst for the Lord. That’s priceless to me. And it’s why Operation Christmas Child is a part of our family’s tradition. I hope it’s one that we will participate in for many years to come.

 

The Target $5 Challenge

- Mama 3 Comments

For Advent, we’re always looking for creative ways to bond as a family, as I’ve previously shared. I love trying to do this in new and different ways. I had been considering ways that we could really either get to know each other better, or prove that we knew each other very well as a family.

When I saw these awesome Gift Card coins from Target, my idea came to me pretty suddenly.

Aren’t they adorable? They look like little cookies! You can load any amount on them, but the only catch is that all 5 coins in the package have to be loaded with the same amount. I chose to load $5 on each gift card, meaning that this pack was $25 total. I can think of so many awesome ways to use these other than the way we used them, such as:

-Teacher gifts. Buy the whole package, load the amount on all of them, and have your student pass out a coin to each of their teachers.
-Stocking stuffers. Put a certain amount in each one and slip it into stockings for a great gift that allows the recipient to pick anything out they want.
-Rewards. Potty training? Give your little trainer a gift coin for every certain amount of times they use the potty. Give them for good grades, one coin for each A, give them for doing extra work around the house or as a reward for siblings being extra nice to each other one day.
-Allowance. Instead of giving the kids cash for allowance, try a gift coin. Since you can pre-load the amount on multiple coins at once, you can keep the stash and give them out one at a time (or to multiple kids at once).
-A way to put yourself on a little bit of a budget. If you’re like me, you can’t enter Target without spending ridiculous amounts. By purchasing these with my limit in advance, I can go through the post holiday sale knowing I only have a certain amount of money to spend. Then, come Valentine’s day sales, I can pull out another coin and spend that amount in THAT sale.

I’m sure you can think of a ton of other ideas for these awesome coins, but for our gift challenge, this is what we did:

When we entered the store, we had a small pow-wow. I gave each person a gift coin (since our family has 6 people, I had to purchase one extra gift card separately) and each person drew a slip of paper with another family member’s name on it. Each person had $5 and 30 minutes to find the perfect gift for their recipient. I personally had to shop for my person, and help Zach find his gift for someone, as well.

The best part of the challenge was that, sometimes walking around the store, you’d see someone else in the family. Immediately, one of you would dart behind a sign or head down another aisle. Since none of us knew who had us, we didn’t want to spoil our own surprise, and we didn’t want the person we were buying for to see their gift, either. I kind of felt like a super spy when trying to participate in the activity!

At the end of the activity, we each checked out separately using our Target gift coins, and then we met in the cafe area at the front of our store. Then, it was time to head home and unwrap our gifts. It was at home that we would find out who our Secret Gifter was. We gifted in order of age, youngest to oldest.

It turns out that Nicolas drew Zach’s name. Zach was eager to find out what might be inside of his shopping bag.

CARS!

Jeffrey was next…

Dad clearly did a good job with his! Jeffrey and Nicolas often have Nerf wars around the house, so it’s not uncommon to have a little orange bullet whizzing past your head at any given moment. It was a great choice under $5 for Jeffrey!

Nicolas got a great variety of snacks from Jeffrey, including some favorites like Goldfish and Hershey’s Kisses.

Mom bought me one of my favorite things– Ghiradelli chocolates filled with caramel!

When I drew mom, I found the perfect present for her quite easily… when she had gotten her shoulder surgery a few years ago, she constantly needed help from me. You see, she puts on socks at night, but then by morning, they’ve somehow fallen off of her feet. After surgery, I had to look for them, since she couldn’t search under the covers to find them!

I purchased some warm, cozy, fuzzy socks so that for years to come, we’d get to play the sock game.

Nicolas didn’t think it sounded very fun, so mom said “Don’t you insult the sock game!”

We wrapped up with Zach’s gift to my dad (his Grandpa), a pumpkin pie and a leg lamp stress ball!

It was amazing the creative gifts that we could get for only $5 each! It was really cool to see how creative each of us got and how much thought we put into our gifts. I loved that each person was thoroughly pleased with what they received (and with what they gave!). $5 was plenty to get an interesting and unique gift for each person… and it helps that Target has a lot of sections that have affordable gifts. It also helped me see how many great gifts I could get for Christmas, as well, even though I’m on a strict budget.

The front of the store has a great $3 stocking stuffer section currently, as well as plenty of items priced at $1 and $2.50. The seasonal section includes gobs of seasonal candy and gifts at great prices, as well as more stocking stuffers at a $5 price point. There are also many great books, CDs, and movies in the $5 range, as well as food, gourmet coffee, and gifts. For example, 4 pairs of fuzzy socks for $5? That’s awesome!

My family did consider ways that we could have done things differently. All of us thought that more time would have been helpful. A lot of us spent more time worrying about whether we were on time than if we were getting the right thing, so having an hour instead of 30 minutes would have made the experience more fun. We also were surprised that if we had $7 instead of $5, it would have totally changed what we could have gotten each other, and absolutely made a difference in the number of items or quality of items we could have purchased. It’s amazing what a huge difference $2 could have made!

All in all, it was the perfect evening for our family, filled with fun and giving, and we loved having a great opportunity to try to pick out the perfect gift for other members of our family.

Walking In a Winter Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops

- Mama 3 Comments

Lately, in Kansas, it’s been very un-winter-like. We’re talking 70 degree weather kind of “not winter weather.” It’s been very hard to find a good way to get the winter feel lately amidst all of the sunshine and warmth.

Luckily, on our trip to see Santa, a friend suggested we check out the Winter Wonderland at Bass Pro Shops, complete with Santa. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, since I had been in the Springfield Bass Pro Shops location many times, but never the one in Kansas, and never during their winter festivities.

When we first arrived, we were directed to the back of the store, where the ceilings were all aglow with hazy winter blue lights, to a small ticket booth.

Luckily, since it was early on a weekday, there was not much of a wait at all. However, we had this pass to make sure we could shop and explore until it was our turn with Santa. It helped calm down the line waiting, so you would line up at that time and have a shorter in-line wait.

During the wait, there were several cool stations to explore, including tables with crafts, coloring pages, and letters to Santa (plus mail boxes to deposit those letters into), slot car racing, and more.

Bass Pro has a couple of Wii games that they’ve set up for people to try out, including their hunting and fishing games. The boys had fun trying those out.

There was also a fun duck gallery set up for fun.

You could take aim with a toy bow (complete with suction cup, of course!) to hit the ducks and knock them down.

There was also a laser gallery set up with some guns that with laser beams that turn targets from green to red. Hit three, and you got a temporary tattoo! I passed off the camera and got a little gun action myself (and yes, I’m fully aware that I would NOT be able to shoot someone, the way I hold a gun…)

An arena was set up with an RC car, demonstrating how all-terrain it was.

All of the boys, young and old, had fun playing with the truck!

One of the older boys’ favorite activities was the indoor snowball fight, complete with little fuzzy snow bean bags.

I got directly into the line of fire in order to snap some photos of the boys in action.

The lovely Wonderland also had free carousel rides!

At first, Zach was not impressed with his moose, but he enjoyed it more later.

Jeffrey was a ham for the camera, as always.

After doing many of the activities, we decided it would be fun to cheese with the snowman for awhile…

Nicolas decided to hug “Frosty,” as he named them.

Jeffrey picked a fight with Frosty.

The tables turned.

But, in the end, they became bros…

Zach was not so impressed with my funny faces.

My favorite photo is this one, that captures the awe he had when he first approached the snowman.

And with that, it was time to approach Santa… the path to find him was lined with these great little animatronic elves.

By the time we got to Santa, though, Zach was not impressed. It’s that whole stranger anxiety thing… no matter how much we talked about Santa in advance of us going, or looked at pictures and videos of Mr. Claus, he still was not ready to see Santa in person this year.

This was the hilarious, but heart-wrenching, result:

Luckily, a candy cane solved the tears pretty quickly.

Would you like to experience Bass Pro Shops Winter Wonderland yourself? This awesome free event includes a free, studio-quality 4×6 print of your photo with Santa (you can, of course, order additional copies), plenty of free games to enjoy, and even crafts (as available, may vary) for the kids. Head to the Santa’s Wonderland section of the Bass Pro website in order to find a location near you!

Miracle on Main Street

- Mama 2 Comments

At church yesterday, we got the pleasure of seeing our annual Christmas Children’s Musical. It’s a chance for the children of the church to put together a great presentation celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

This year, the musical, Miracle on Main Street, really struck me, because it’s so true to how life really is right now.

It opened with the children preparing for their annual Christmas musical, to be held in the town square, when suddenly, the mayor decides to cancel. It’s a re-election year, and he knows that allowing a Christian-themed pageant could cost him some votes, so he blames the cancellation on the fact that it would add to the “traffic.”

The kids decide to take matters into their own hands by going door-to-door caroling, encouraging the residents of the city to call the mayor and ask him to reverse his decision.

At the first house, which was decorated to the hilt, with wreaths and reindeer and candy canes and lights, the children rang the bell and caroled. The homeowners shooed them on their way, saying that the annual town square Christmas scene was too “preachy” and belonged in a church, not the town square.

I feel like, so often, this is true. Many people go full-tilt into the holidays, but are not recognizing the true meaning of Christmas. I recently had a friend who posted an image on facebook saying “Just because I’m an atheist doesn’t mean I don’t love Christmas music!” But I have to ask myself, without Christ, what’s the point? I mean, go ahead and sing all of your “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Santa Baby,” but seriously, that’s so empty. Without Christ, Christmas doesn’t exactly have meaning.

So many people are quick to say “Christmas belongs in church.” It wasn’t that long ago that atheists in one California town got upset over the religious displays set up, and the fact that they won so few of the lottery slots to put up their displays in the town square. They chose to use their spots the following year to trash Christmas and say that it was a lie.

Why even bother?

In the musical, at the second house, which was also decorated quite a bit, the kids rang the doorbell and caroled again. This house’s residents were more welcoming, saying that they loved the music, and that they loved to celebrate all of the holidays. After all, why exclude one if they don’t know which of the tales is the true one?

After that house, the children seemed to decide “If you’re going to celebrate ALL of the holidays, you may as well not celebrate ANY of them… after all, there’s no meaning or spirit behind it to just put on the show of celebrating them all.”

I have to agree. Another of my friends on facebook greeted her children with books from all of the different winter holidays from various religions and cultures, including Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and Yule. They celebrate each one, fully, as though it’s their own belief, even when they acknowledge it isn’t. It’s okay to teach your children about other holidays and religious or cultural celebrations, but I, like the children in the play, question the intent.

I feel this way about it:

Suppose I’m going to rank what is most important to me by giving everything a score of 1-10. I could rank everything #1, but it literally has the exact same meaning as if I ranked everything #10, because nothing is in the lead at all either way.

Finally, in the musical, the children stopped at a third house that was decorated just slightly, a sole wreath providing the only Christmas cheer outside the home.

One of the children questioned if they should even stop, because, after all, there were no flashing lights or bright decorations of candy canes and Santa on the lawn, but the children decided to stop anyway.

As the woman opened the door, the children sang and brought tears to her eyes. The wreath was the only decoration she was able to put up while her husband was away in the Air Force, but she felt that Jesus was a true tie that made them feel close together, even when they were far apart. She promised the children she would call the mayor and beg him to put the Christmas musical back on, noting that she had a special connection at the mayor’s office that might make it possible.

The children said, after she had closed the door, that no matter what the house looked like on the outside, if it had the sparkle on the inside, it’s what mattered, and that her spirit provided enough Christmas cheer on it’s own.

The mayor finally decided to let the children do the pageant, even if it would cost him votes, because, as it turns out, his grown daughter was the one in the house with that lone wreath. She reminded him of the true meaning that Christmas had.

I feel like this is so true, so often, that we let things like public opinion and re-elections and what others think influence how we celebrate Christmas, and how much of an emphasis we put on Christ in the celebrations.

My blog can be bad about that, sometimes… I often show the crafts and the baking and the cheer that we have when we create ornaments and wreaths and cookies, but I sometimes get caught up and forget to show that the true meaning of Christmas isn’t about ribbons and bows…

It’s about Jesus.

Christ is the reason that we have Christmas, celebrating his birth. You can tell me about how we stole the holiday from the pagans, that they’ve been celebrating winter holidays for longer, and you can remind me that Jesus wasn’t born in December, but probably another part of the year. But what I’m going to remind you is that it doesn’t matter when we celebrate, as long as the intent is there.

Jesus came. He preached. He died, was buried, and rose again, covering our sins in His blood, wiping them away, letting us overcome them. He will come again, bringing us back to Heaven to celebrate, rejoice, and praise His holy name.

Christmas is my chance to remember his birth, to remember the miracles God created when the Angel came to Mary and told her, do not be afraid. It’s my opportunity to remember that Jesus was born to save me, to save my son, my parents, my brother, my family, my friends, if only we would take time to accept him.

Despite the ribbons and bows, a true miracle is here, and we need to remember that.

I’m so glad that a Children’s Choir could remind me that, no matter how my house looks on the outside, my inner sparkle needs to be focused on Jesus and really showing others that message.

The $9 Walmart Monogram Wreath

- Mama 2 Comments

I love wreaths. What I like even better is affordable wreaths.

That’s why I decided to head to Walmart to find the supplies for my holiday wreath this year. I knew that I wanted to make it myself, but I also knew that I had less than $10 to spend. I’m not counting the cost of my wreath form, since I re-use the same one from season to season, and I’m not counting paper clips or the mini ornaments I already had on hand.

Start with your wreath form.

Then, gather your special Walmart supplies. I picked up 40 feet of garland ($4.97), a monogram stocking charm ($0.98), and three clip-on poinsettia leaves ($0.97 each). The poinsettias come in plenty of colors, as does the garland, so you can be sure to tailor your color scheme to match the ornaments you have on hand, or match your decor!

Wrap your tinsel garland around the wreath form.

This is where the paperclips come in!

Open the paperclip to make it look like an S. Don’t try to take a picture of it because your camera will be a total jerk.

Cut your paperclip in half, and loop one half through the top of the ornament.

Then, jam that into the wreath.

Be sure to insert your ornaments sporadically. I used mini ornaments purchased cheaply in a post-Halloween sale (apparently purple and green are also Halloween colors).

Go ahead and grab your stocking charm monogram, and put the hook that comes with it on.

Then, clip on your three poinsettia leaves. Each of these has an attached alligator clip that makes them easy to attach onto the wreath– all you do is clip them to the tinsel!

Then, hang it on the door!

There you have it! Easy, AND affordable!

Ridiculously Easy Sparkle Christmas Silhouettes (Plus a FREE Printable!)

- Mama 4 Comments

I like easy. I like fast. I like sparkly. I like cheap.

This craft combines all four of those things in one project. I swear, this took me less than 20 minutes to make (not including drying time, but that shouldn’t count since you don’t exactly have to sit and watch it dry…), and it cost me less than $5.00 to make.

And trust me, it’s so easy, a child could do it.

First, you need a frame or two. I picked out these super cute frames in an after-Halloween sale at Target. They don’t even look Halloween-ish! I got them 70% off, so I paid less than $3.00 for the pair.

You can use any 4×6 frame you have on hand. If you want yours to sparkle, consider spray paint and glitter, or glue and glitter, or a sparkly spray paint option. Mine were already sparkly and fun.

After that, prepare your images that you want to glitter. I made a nativity scene and a Christmas tree printable to use in my own frames, but you can select any images you would like, as long as they have dark, clean lines. If you’d like to use the images that I used, I’ll tell you below how to download them FREE!

Go ahead and cut out your images after printing them onto cardstock. The cardstock will help them stay sturdy, even with the glue. When you cut them out, you can set them on a larger sheet of paper to give you a work surface to dump excess glitter onto.

Start by placing dots of glue on sections of the image. I found it was easiest to work in small sections so the glue wouldn’t dry, rather than working in large patches of the image. It also helped contain some of the glitter.

Use a toothpick or other tool to spread the glue into every bit of the image, making sure you get points and corners covered well. Then, sprinkle glitter on!

Wait about a minute, then tap off excess glitter onto your page. Repeat this over and over until you get the entire image glittered where you want it.

I used a very fine craft glitter from Martha Stewart (another post-Halloween grab!) but you can use any fine glitter. If you use a larger glitter, it may make small sections of the image harder to see. A fine glitter allows for details to come out.

Let the images dry completely… I mean REALLY completely. Then, put the images into the frames. I removed the glass from the frame because extra bits of glitter kept getting trapped and making it look odd.

Then, display it wherever you’d like! These frames look great on mantles, hung on walls, or anywhere else you want a little Christmas spirit!

So, I promised I would tell you how to download the two images I used here (a Nativity Scene and a Christmas Tree)… all you have to do is head over to Digital Era Mom’s FACEBOOK PAGE, click “like,” and find the “FREEBIE!” tab at the top (hint: it’s the big star!). Then, it’ll have all of the instructions you need to download the image.

Then, grab your glitter and your frames, and you’ll be totally ready to do this easy craft!

Snap, Crackle, Peppermint Rice Krispie Treats

- Mama 3 Comments

I’m nearly certain that Rice Krispie Treats almost kind of count as a cookie.

There’s just something about them that is so delicious, and this is hands-down the most delicious of all.

Grab some Rice Krispies and, of course, some of my favorite seasonal delights…

In a saucepan, over low heat, combine the entire bag of Peppermint Jet-Puffed Marshmallows and half a stick of butter, cut into chunks.

Stir. And stir. And stir some more.

Keep stirring until it looks something like this:

And then, it’s time to fold in your Rice Krispies. You’re going to need about 6 cups of it. Fold that in gently, being careful not to squish the Krispies!

Then, grab a 9×13 foil-lined pan. If you like them a little thicker, use a 9×9 pan. For cookie exchanges, I prefer the thinner bars and for Santa, I like them a little thicker.

While those are still a little squishy, sprinkle on about 1/4 cup of Andes peppermint crunch baking bits and press them gently into the surface of the Rice Krispie Bars.

Then, melt 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, preferably semi-sweet, and drizzle that all over. This season, I am absolutely all about the drizzle. It’s a very easy way to dress up every treat, without a ton of effort. It looks classy and fun, with a simple flick of the wrist.

Once the chocolate has solidified, all you have to do is lift the foil lining out, slice, and serve.

It’s that easy.