Tag: Christmas

Cran-Raspberry Chia Pudding Parfait

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The vibrant red sauce in this breakfast pudding makes for a beautiful start to Christmas morning!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 cup chia seeds
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (10-ounce) package frozen cranberries
  • 1 (12-ounce) package frozen raspberries
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup water
  1. In a bowl, whisk together the almond milk, chia seeds, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight
  2. Meanwhile, combine the cranberries, raspberries, sugar, vanilla, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the cranberries pop. Use a spoon to mash the berries the rest of the way. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  3. In the morning, spoon the parfait into glasses, alternating layers of the sauce and the chia pudding.

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Red-and-Green Enchiladas

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Red Green Enchiladas (1)
Tofu-filled tortillas smothered in the colors of Christmas make the perfect holiday entree! Even better, this one can be made ahead of time and baked just before serving, freeing you up to host or open presents!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
  • 4 thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 (1 pound) package firm tofu
  • 1 cup red enchilada sauce
  • 1 cup green enchilada sauce
  • 6 flour tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded non-dairy cheese
  1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and cook for 2 minutes. Crumble the tofu into the pan and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  2. Spoon 1/4 cup red sauce onto half of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Coat the other half with 1/4 cup green sauce.
  3. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, spoon in some of the tofu filling and fold up tightly. Place seam side down over the sauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
  4. Spread the remaining red sauce over half of the top and the green sauce on the other half. Christmas colors!
  5. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, removing the foil halfway through.

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Poetry Traditions

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‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house… we were having a quick poetry lesson before bed!

The Night Before Christmas wasn’t actually written as a book, of course, but as a poem, with a classic AABB rhyme scheme (lines 1 and 2 rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 rhyme). Thus it’s a great work for talking with kids about Christmas traditions, how Christmas has changed over the years, and for a mini poetry lesson, too.

First we read the book, and then laughed as we turned the pages along to a version sung by the University of Utah choir.

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As we read, I paused over vocabulary that was old-fashioned or unfamiliar to Travis, words like sash, prancing, lustre, and stirring. He instantly pinpointed that the poem was old-fashioned, based on the drawings and the language. We discussed how this “Saint Nick” differed from the Santa Claus he’s familiar with.

Do a close reading of the poem, asking questions like: ‘who were the characters’ (“The kids, the mom, the dad, and Santa Claus!”) and ‘what happens in the middle’ (“The sleigh appears!”) etc.

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Then we went through and identified some of the rhymes, like house and mouse. I gave him a word from the poem (for example ‘bed’) and challenged him to come up with his own rhymes.

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Big kids can go on from here to write their own holiday poem. For my kindergartner, I simply helped Travis compose a silly line or two about our family holidays.

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Fun extensions might include acting out the poem before bed!

Lemon-Glazed Sugar Cookies

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It’s not Christmas until you’ve made cut-out sugar cookies! This recipe was more of a mommy project, not a kid recipe like some others in our kitchen this holiday season, but kids will love helping to decorate the cookies in the final step.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

  • 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup Earth Balance butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

To decorate:

  • Chopped pistachios
  • Sprinkles
  1. To prepare the dough, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Whisk the flaxseed into the water to make 1 flax egg. Add to the stand mixer, along with the vanilla, and beat until combined.
  3. Beat in the flour mixture at low speed until a dough forms.
  4. Shape the dough into a disk and roll between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4-inch thick. Use holiday cookie cutters to cut out shapes of your choice. Transfer to 2 parchment-paper lined baking sheets.Lemon Sugar Cookies (1)
  5. Chill the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees F for 11 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets.
  6. To prepare the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Spread over the cookies and return to the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with desired toppings.

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Let dry completely, and then it’s time for pretty packaging! To gift the cookies, transfer them to wax paper bags and fold over the top. Add a holiday cupcake liner. Use a hole punch to punch through all the layers, then secure with a brad.

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Of course don’t forget to save some for your family… And a few for Santa!

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Play Tourist in Your Town

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I love playing “tourist” in our home town with the kids, finding new ways to appreciate and discover the same place. One perfect way to do this is to head out in search of holiday decorations in December, when the same-old same-old houses suddenly look new again decked in holiday lights. Acting on a tip for the best neighborhood in town, we headed out to play tourist!

We made it special by getting everyone in pajamas first. And Travis got a candy cane!

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Don’t forget to set the radio to the holiday station!

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Travis knew we had a particular neighborhood as our destination, but that didn’t stop us from ogling every house along the way, rating the ones we liked best.

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The recommended neighborhood did not disappoint. There were flying Santa’s sleighs, giant penguins in doorways, sparkling candy canes, and more.

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Travis took it all in with wonder!

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This was such a fun way to appreciate our town anew.

Peppermint Candy Box

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It was all about holiday gifts in our home over the weekend. When we spotted these decorated cookie tins in Travis’s Highlights magazine, we knew we’d found the perfect gift for his kindergarten teachers!

Wrap a store-bought cookie tin in white felt.

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Use hot glue or tacky glue to adhere securely. We wrapped only the lids, since the bottom of our tins were already printed in holiday pictures, but you can wrap the whole box if desired. Cut out red pieces of felt to mimic the red swirls of a peppermint candy and glue these to the lid.

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Fill the tin with your favorite holiday cookies or other treats, of course!

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To finish the presentation, wrap in plastic wrap (or clear cellophane) and secure with green ribbon on each side so it looks like a peppermint candy waiting to be twisted open.

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LED Holiday Luminary

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This little holiday project actually falls under Kiwi Co’s Tinker Crate designation (for ages 9 and up!) but I knew it would be feasible for my gadget-loving kindergartner with some grown-up assistance.

The very first step is to put the batteries in the provided battery pack. Travis has had practice in this area, but use your judgement based on your child’s age and experience with batteries.

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Next we slipped the provided LED light into the wooden base. Kids can choose between a green one or white one, and Travis chose green! I did the actual attaching of wires for him. We tested our battery – success! – before switching off the switch for now.

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Time to decorate the tree: rub sandpaper over the provided plastic tree shape briefly, which will give it the look of “branches”.

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Travis loved decorating the tree with the provided stickers, including ornaments, candy canes, holly berries, and more.

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When he declared it done, we used sticky dots to secure the tree to the provided wooden frame. This is then inserted over the battery and secured into the stand with sticky foam dots.

It was time to turn the battery to “on”. What a beautiful addition to our holiday display!

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I Spy an Ornament

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Here’s a fun variation on “I Spy” to play around the Christmas tree after the sun goes down!

Turn off all the lights in the room so that the only illumination left comes from the tree lights. Take turns playing classic “I Spy” (“I spy something green”, “I spy something gold”,) and have the other family members guess which ornament it is.

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Travis loved being in charge of shining a flashlight on the guessed ornament if it was correct. Because he’s young, his clues are sometimes hilarious. “I spy something at the top of the tree with wings.” Our angel!

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This can also be a fun way to talk about family ornaments, for example explaining the significance behind homemade ones, family heirlooms, or those purchased on vacation.

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Travis loved the game so much we might just play every night until the tree comes down!

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Watch the Same Holiday Movie

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Holidays are rife with tradition and I love building these up with my children every year, sometimes continuing traditions from my own childhood, and sometimes creating new ones. One classic is to share a holiday film as a family and make it something special you only watch this time of year.

In our household, that means two Christmas movies in particular. The first is the wordless Snowman, with its stunning visuals and rich orchestral score. If you don’t know it, it tells the tale of a boy who makes a snowman that takes him on a magical flight to the North Pole. Spoiler alert: the sun comes out the next morning and you can guess the Snowman’s fate. It didn’t make me cry as a child, but it sure makes me do so when my kids watch!

For more fun, last year Travis watched Home Alone on repeat – literally – when he was sick just before Christmas. This year, we returned to it in better health, and now it’s linked with this special time of year.

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Chances are this one might get you a little teary as a grown up, too!

Of course it’s always fun to see new holiday movies. This year the extended family watched Elf.

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It sure got big laughs, plus had everyone gathered around one cozy TV set. Try out a few films and see which will become your holiday favorite. Next year, we even plan to serve movie-themed snacks!

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What’s your kids’ favorite holiday film? Please share in the comments!

What is Philanthropy

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Several of Travis’s subscriptions focused on philanthropy this December, and I was glad of it. I’m hoping to instill in him the idea of giving back: all year, but during the holidays in particular.

First up was this month’s Gallant Challenge in Highlights magazine. Two boys built a “Box of Blessings”, a wooden box outside their home that acted as a food pantry. Those who needed items could take them, and neighbors helped replenish it. We loved the idea, but don’t currently have the ability to build and mount a box.

Luckily, it tied in perfectly with a lesson from Raddish Kids to accompany the Corn Muffins we baked around Thanksgiving.

Start off with a read-through of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. As we read, I had snacks ready to go: apples and oranges to mimic the foods the caterpillar was nibbling. If you like, have even more of the caterpillar’s food items ready for snacking!

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Once the story ended, I asked Travis how the caterpillar felt at the beginning. Travis pinpointed his hunger, and we discussed times that he has felt hungry (like after school when he’s hangry for snack!). It helped him imagine what it might be like to feel hungry but not have access to food once home.

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With older kids, you can delve deeper into the idea of food security here, and reasons some families might not have it: illness, unemployment, old age. I tread lightly over all that with a kindergartner, but talked instead about how we can help: donating food to those who might need it.

Open Table in particular offers the option for Kids’ Bags. Travis and I went over the list of suggested groceries together and purchased the materials to stuff a few bags for our local drop-off center.

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Have fun decorating these! Travis then proudly filled them, assembly-line style, with items like juice boxes and packaged snacks.

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We finished by reading a few additional books including Beatrice’s Goat by Paige McBrier and One Potato, Two Potato by Cynthia DeFelice.

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Another great philanthropy project for even young kids is toy donation, especially just before the holidays. How do your children participate in charity? Please share in the comments!