Don't let the title fool you...this is NOT pudding! It's a desert made by layering Lady Fingers with rich chocolate filling and served with whipped cream. Ice Box Pudding has been a family tradition since well before I was born. It's been handed down from my Great-Great-Grandma, to my Great-Grandma, to my Grandma, to my dad mom, and now to me. Traditionally the desert served for the men's birthdays (instead of cake), in my immediate family, it is the desert served on Christmas Eve. You see, my dad's birthday is Christmas Eve. My Grandma was adamant that on Christmas Eve they celebrated my dad's birthday and not Christmas. Thus Ice Box Pudding is served on Christmas Eve. Somewhere my mom has the recipe written in my Great-Grandma's handwriting but unfortunately, she couldn't find it in time for this post. Above is the recipe that was handed down to me. Written in my mom's handwriting, laminated, and ringed into a small book full of other family recipes. For such … [Read more...]
Magic Reindeer Food
Are your kids worried that Santa doesn't know how to find their house? Do they feel bad that Santa gets sweet cookies and milk but his reindeer get carrots? Try this fun Magic Reindeer Food activity to help ease their minds! I was introduced to Magic Reindeer Food last year by a parent from Nutty's swimming lessons. She was giving it out as an advertisement for her photography business and I thought it was so cute! My girls had a ton of fun sprinkling it on the snow Christmas Eve too! Here's what you'll need: 1/4 cup raw, uncooked oatmeal 1/4 cup sugar A sprinkle or two (or more) of red, green, or silver sugar crystals (for cake decorating) Small plastic baggies Paper (preferably cardstock) Printer or markers to make your own tag Stapler with staples or ribbon 1) Make a tag that labels the reindeer food and has the instruction poem on it (make your own, find one on the internet, or attempt to download mine--sorry, I don't know how to make it … [Read more...]
Thrifty Christmas Shopping
Today we have the great privilege of guest hosting Ruby and Macy from Real Housewives of Minnesota! We met Ruby and Macy at the Minnesota Blogger Conference and were immediately drawn to them because they are awesome girls, they are a blogging duo just like us and, they blog about being thrifty! In this post they talk about saving money while shopping for Christmas presents. Without further ado... How To Be Thrifty When ChristmasShopping When it comes to holiday shopping, it’s easy to spend oodles! But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of ways to save when doing your Christmas shopping. Here are some thrifty tips to keep your pocketbook safe this holiday season. Photo by armadillo444First off, prepare your list. Take a moment to sit and write out who you have to buy gifts for. Think hard now, and be sure to include any teachers, nannies, coaches, etc. Be sure to cover all your bases before you move on to the next step. Now that you’ve made your list, stick … [Read more...]
Origami Wreath
I was blog hopping the other day (yup, I'm a rabbit) and saw some really neat tutorials for Origami projects. One that really struck me was a tutorial for an Origami Wreath. I just happened to have a bunch of Christmas themed 12" x 12" paper laying around and I thought I would try to make a wreath with my oldest boy. I had to play around quite a bit because the tutorial was in Japanese (I think) and the measurements were in metric, but I think you could say our wreath was a success! (He...OK, I, didn't want to stop making them!) Here is what you will need to make an Origami Wreath of your own: 12 sheets of colorful paper (pattern and print of your choice) a ruler 1. Carefully mark each sheet of paper on the back side. One line should run horizontal 5 inches from the bottom of the paper, 2 other lines should run vertical about 5.4 inches from each side. Like so... 2. Fold two of the corners down to the lines as demonstrated in the photo. 3. Fold the … [Read more...]
Santa Trail Mix
Pintrest- you've probably hear of it, and if not you probably live here... it's a rock...in case you can't tell If you're not on Pintrest and would like to be then shoot me an email and I will be happy to send you an invite (it's exclusive like that). I saw a great idea for a Christmas trail mix on that site and I though to myself "self, that is some tasty looking mix! You should make some and add your own jazz and spice to it." My kids were happy that I had that conversation with myself because it sure is yummy! Here's what you will need: 2 cups of red and green M&Ms 1 cup of dry roasted peanuts 1/2 cup of Craisins or other dried fruit 2 cups of Chex cereal (I used the rice version) Pretzels (holiday shaped ones are best) Bugles mini marshmallows coarse sugar 1 package of red melting discs (candy aisle) 1 package of green melting discs (same aisle) 1 package of white chocolate chips (or almond bark) Shortening Assembling the Santa … [Read more...]
Catch Santa On Camera–DIY FREE!
I'm sure you've seen those websites out there that offer to help you prove that Santa was in your home by capturing him on camera for you. "Upload a photo of your tree or fireplace and for $10 we'll put Santa in your photo!" I'm here to tell you, that with a little effort, you can do it yourself for FREE! Don't worry, I'll walk you through how to do it step by step: I'll start by saying that I first posted this tutorial on my other blog (Mommy's Camera). Rather than re-watermarking every photo, I'm just using the Mommy's Camera watermarked photos (trust me, they are mine!). Also, this is Lindsi's fireplace. At the time I started writing this tutorial I did not have my house decorated or my tree up so I asked Lindsi to send me a photo of her house. She's an over-achiever ya know. Ok, on to the tutorial: Step 1) Download my favorite FREE photo editing software Gimp. If you have Photoshop you can still follow this tutorial. You just have to make adjustments for that … [Read more...]
