Tag: holiday

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!

Egg Carton Mini Wreath

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Full disclosure: Travis and I had hoped to make this adorable wreath around the holidays, but I didn’t have anyone to borrow an empty egg carton from – talk about #veganproblems! We’ve now gladly upcycled one from Travis’s grandma, so why not make it a Valentine’s Day wreath? In fact, depending what colors you choose for the wreath, it could work to adorn your door at almost any holiday.

First, we needed to tear the egg carton into separate compartments. Nothing like ripping things apart to get out some energy on a snow day.

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Travis then used a pencil to poke a hole through the center of each segment, which might have been even more fun than the ripping!

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He then threaded all of the compartments onto a long white pipe cleaner (you can choose the color for this based on any holiday, too). He thought it looked like a snake at this point – fun!

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Once all the segments are threaded, you’ll need to bend the pipe cleaner and space them out evenly until you have your cute little wreath. Secure the two ends of the pipe cleaner together by twisting.

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We painted our wreath with green watercolor paint. In retrospect, I would paint first, let dry, and then thread them on the pipe cleaner.

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Once dry, Travis helped glue on little gems, pom poms, buttons, and other red items.

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We finished our wreath with a little bow. I added a second pipe cleaner that could be the handle, and hung it from our front door.

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Happy Valentine’s to all our readers!

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Farro Salad with Roasted Vegetables

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This filling salad is a great addition to a vegan holiday table, and was my contribution to this year’s celebration. We love it paired with Gardein’s stuffed holiday roast!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup farro
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
  • 3 cups cauliflower florets
  • 2 cups sliced rainbow carrots
  • 8 ounces chopped cremini mushrooms
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
  1. In a saucepan, combine the farro, broth, cumin, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, combine the cauliflower, carrots, and mushrooms in a roasting pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Roast at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, and the mustard. Add the farro mixture and roasted veggies. Sprinkle with chopped parsley just before serving if desired.

The salad is good warm or at room temperature, making it ideal for a busy holiday feast!

 

Crunch Time

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After a fun snack time making and eating apple nachos, we had a big green apple leftover on the counter. I realized I could easily entertain Travis by turning this last apple not into a snack but into a building material. This activity is great for keeping kids busy, whether you’re nursing a younger sibling, cooking a family dinner, or prepping for a big holiday feast later this month!

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Travis and I started with a firm base, and I showed him how he could attach two apple pieces together with a toothpick.

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Pretty soon he was off and running with it, building up up up.

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He loved seeing how horizontally-added toothpicks helped stabilize the structure – a little engineer at work!

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Kids can make the design as simple or as complicated as they like. We finished ours with a triangle tower on top.

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And soon it was home to a Duplo bunny.

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How do you keep kids entertained while you’re busy in the kitchen? Please share in the comments!

 

Make Your Own Gummies

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Many thanks to Glee Gum for helping make this post happen!

Travis and I received a test sample of the company’s Make Your Own Gummies kit, and he adored the project from start to finish. I’m so pleased that I can offer readers of this blog the following exclusive promotion for holiday shopping!

Save 15% on EVERYTHING at GleeGum.com!
Coupon code: JOYFUL
(Offer only valid on web-store orders placed at GleeGum.com. Enter coupon code in the lower left of your shopping cart & hit “apply coupon.” One time only; one coupon code per order. Offer ends 1/31/18 at 11:59 pm ET.) 

Without any further ado, here’s what we thought of the Gummies kit. Although marketed to ages 8 and up, my 3 year old was able to help with each step and to understand the science behind how we made the candy. Here we are opening the box – he couldn’t wait to find out what was in each little packet!

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The directions were a touch vague at times, but that is my only gripe. Even though I improvised once or twice, the recipe is very forgiving because our gummies still turned out just fine.

In addition to the sweet treat at the end, the kit also includes great factual and scientific information on why you’ve received dried seaweed and seaweed powder as the starters for your gummies. Using carrageenan from seaweed means the company does not have to use gelatin from animal bones. This is a win-win situation, for seaweed farmers in places like the Philippines and of course for the animals! I loved that this vegan project was one Travis and I could share together.

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So on that note, how does it work? First, we covered our dried seaweed with water and let stand. The instructions were vague here, but I used warm water and let it stand for about 5 minutes, which turned out to be enough.

Meanwhile, select molds for your candy. We decided to use holiday-shaped cookie cutters, but I would use smaller molds next time. (The kit even suggests straws to make gummy worms!).

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Next, we smoothed the molding starch down onto a plate; a fun step for a three year old wielding a spoon. The kit said to place your molds in the starch and lift out. This seemed odd to me, so we left our molds in – more on that later.

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Meanwhile, back to the gummies: we mixed together powdered seaweed and water, and added the dried seaweed, which was now somewhat soft and smelled strongly of the ocean – Travis loved the sensory experience! Microwave for about 2 minutes until it foams up. Discard the dried seaweed. We added pink sugar and microwaved for an additional minute.

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Now pour the gummy mixture over your molds and transfer to the fridge. A wonderful bonus of this activity is that kids barely need to wait – ten minutes is all it takes for the gummies to set!

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We were rewarded ten minutes later with perfect gummy figures. As the finishing touch, we placed in a zip-top bag and shook with the provided sour mix. It was only 9 o’clock in the morning, but of course my little sous-chef got to taste right away.

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In sum, this is a fantastic project to share with kids. You’ll get to hone kitchen skills, learn a little science about seaweed, and eat a fantastic snack at the end. If you purchase the kit, please do share your experience in the comments!

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For more details on the product described in this post, including nutrition facts & ingredients, be sure to visit GleeGum.com.  You can also check out GleeGum’s Facebook (Glee Gum), Twitter (@gleeguy), Pinterest (Glee Gum),and Instagram (glee.gum) accounts.