Family fun

Make a Gingerbread House For Family Fun

What a fun wintertime family project making gingerbread houses can be! Make one or several, creating a whole festive scene. Just clear out a space where you can leave them for a while and work on it piece by piece!

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TIP: If you are leaving the houses unattended, guard them from the family pets!

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Blue and yellow Hanukkah gingerbread house

I wish I could tell you that I had a hand in making this but I was at home, preparing our family holiday dessert party, while my daughter, Shannon, granddaughters – Sara, Kenzie, Madalyn, Amelia, Nora – and grand daughters in-law Claire and Nicole were all producing this amazing Gingerbread House Village!

Shannon has a large homeschool classroom at her house that makes such a perfect workspace.

You’ll notice that every edifice is made of baked gingerbread, not graham crackers. This took much time and care. Claire and her family have traditionally made gingerbread houses every year. The one pictured below earned them 2nd place in a big contest!

Claire’s award-winning Gingerbread Bakery!

I love the ingenuity that goes into every design. Nicole added a pretty blue pond made from melted blue Starburst candies (pictured below.) There are so many fun details you can include – just use your imagination!

Besides the obvious – gingerbread – craft and decorate your houses with gum drops, colored candies such as Necco wafers (they make great shingles on a roof) and just about any candy that has a reasonably long shelf life.

Royal icing is excellent mortar to hold the walls together and it makes beautiful decorations, as well! There are many recipes for gingerbread houses. Try this one from Food Network, which also includes instructions for making royal icing – GINGERBREAD HOUSE RECIPES and INSTRUCTIONS .

Here is a video montage of amazing Gingerbread Houses that you will love.
~If you are viewing this by email, just click on the title and come over to my blog to view it.~

Take a look at this gorgeous blue Gingerbread House for Hanukkah. Isn’t it pretty?

Finally, let’s take one more look at our family’s holiday village. Next year, I fully intend to be in on the fun!

Have you ever made a gingerbread house? Got any cute ideas we can try?

Personalized Gingerbread House Ornaments make great gifts!

personalized gingerbread houses on Amazon

12 styles to choose from!

Family Fun? Make a Gingerbread House!

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Enjoy!

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How to Gift Wrap a Big Box!

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If you have a big gift you are giving and want it to be really pretty, you need to know how to wrap a big box. It’s easy!

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Not long ago, I shared my story about the joy that plus toy rockers have brought to the little tykes in our family. I received four of them when I was hired by the company to write about these wonderful toys.

Well, three of the rockers went to our kiddos who live nearby but we held onto the fourth one to give to our great-grandson, Little B, on his first birthday.

Large Rolls of Wrapping Paper

This picture says it all … Little B is in love with his new plush toy rocker! His folks tell us he plays on it every day.

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A plush toy rocker is a gift to remember – perfect for baby shower gifts, birthdays, and any gift-giving occasion. But how do you wrap one? That box is BIG! There are no gift bags large enough to handle it so I did it the old-fashioned way and wrapped it in wrapping paper.

Large roll of Navy and White Striped Wrapping Paper

How To Wrap A Big Box

Supplies

Big Gift Box

Large roll of wrapping paper

Scissors

Tape

Bow or Ribbon

Card (optional)

First, put the rocker back in its plastic covering and into its box. (We had it out for the kids to play with when I wrote the previous post.)

Tape the box closed.

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How to wrap a BIG gift box - step by step! #tips #gifts Share on X

Unroll some of the wrapping paper.

Cut two pieces that fit on the ends of the box.

Tape them on each end using rolls of tape.

Roll out more paper, leaving it on the roll.

Place the box squarely onto the wrapping paper.

Gently pull the roll up an over the box.

Cut the paper off leaving some extra to overlap it.

Secure the open ends on the underside of the box with tape.

how to wrap a Rockabye Rocker #toys #baby

Now fold the ends around like an envelop and tape them.

The ends will not cover completely but your two ends already have wrapping paper on them. It will look nice!

Add a bow to the top and, if you have one, the card.

Done!

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5 Ways My Dog Sadie Will Have An Awesome Summer!

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias Inc., and its advertiser. All of the opinions are mine alone. #PawsToSavor #CollectiveBias

Pro Plan dog food, dogs, puppies, yellow labs, labrador retriever

Summertime fun is not just for people. If you are a dog owner, you know that we often plan our summers much like we do for our kids. Our precious pups need variety in their lives, too. Well, I have a whole lot of ideas this summer for Sadie. Quickly, they include: swimming, play dates, field trips, ice cream outings and toys!

Plan the best summer ever for your dog!

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1. Swimming: labs love the water. They were made for it. I wish I had a lake for Sadie to swim in but her little wading pool will have to do. Her favorite floating toy is an empty plastic soda bottle 🙂 She chases that thing around and around like it’s a boat! Sometimes I shampoo her while she’s “swimming,” too. It is the perfect opportunity.

2a. Play Dates – indoors on rainy days. Look at this! Don’t you wish you could grab a broom and clean it up? What a mess! Sadie, Murphy and Troy tore apart a stuffed dog toy and had an absolute blast doing it! I knew that would happen the moment I gave it to them! LOL

2b. Play Dates – outdoors on dry days. Sadie has LOTS of friends! These two beauties are Indie and Bear, Sadie’s cousins. The friends on the other side of the fence are Coal and Odie.

PetSmart, Purina Pro Plan Savor Dry Dog Food

3. Go On Field Trips – this week we took Sadie to PetSmart to buy her Purina ® Pro Plan® Savor® Shredded Blend large breed adult dry dog food. Her cousin Jake loves it so we decided to give it a try. Sadie can hardly wait to get to PetSmart. As we pull closer to the store, she gets more and more excited. As a puppy, she took the beginner’s doggie obedience class and graduated with honors! She also went to dog camp once a week while I taught preschool. Oh how she loved it and she remembers. So, when we go shopping, first thing we have to do is to stop at the dog camp window to say hello to her friends!

4. Going For An Outing- on the weekends we often go for a long drive in the country and Sadie gets to see all the sights!

5. Play With Toys – Sadie has lots of toys to play with. This ball is a favorite with her and her friends.

As I said, often our field trips include a visit to PetSmart! Sadie loves that place! She has many fond memories of dog camp with her friends so we always have to go visit them before any shopping can be done!

arriving at PetSmart to shop with my yellow lab

After a quick visit at the dog camp window, we hunted down the dog food aisles. We were looking for the Purina ® Pro Plan® Savor® Shredded Blend large breed adult dry dog food. It was easy to find and, at my store, there were lots of bags in two places: on the main Purina aisle and displayed on the end of the center aisle, as well. We found it all right away. Sadie and I looked at the flavors and selected the chicken and rice!

Since Sadie is changing dog foods, I am introducing this new Purina ® Pro Plan® Savor® Shredded Blend large breed adult dry dog food gradually. First day I gave her a half and half mix and it agreed with her very well. In a few days, I will increase it to 3/4 new and 1/4 old. Within a week we will be totally switched to the new. And, guess how my “little” yellow lab (OK my 100 lb yellow lab) eats it. She eats the Purina Pro Plan FIRST! She loves the taste.

Want to know what I love about it? She gets variety with the crunchy kibble pieces along with the softer tender shredded pieces. It must taste really good. She gobbles it down! Sometimes she picks the crunchy pieces to eat first. Other times, she eats it all at once.

I trust Purina to take great care in preparing a product that is 100% healthy with balanced nutrition targeted for her needs as a large breed adult dog. It is important to me to know that she is getting the best nutrition possible. Did I tell you that Pro Plan has optimal levels of protein (from REAL poultry, meat or fish) and fat? That helps dogs maintain an ideal body condition. Makes me glad:)

We had such a great shopping trip to PetSmart. Can hardly wait for the next time! And watch her eat …

Sadie loves her new dog food!

Does your dog eat standing up? This silly girl eats lying down. Go figure!

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Enjoy!

Make Minions Pizza For A Fun Family Movie Night

Minion Pizza Recipe

PARTS NEEDED
Pizza dough* (recipe below)
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella, shredded
Mozzarella, slices
Black olive slices
Pepperoni

Prepare your pizza dough first.

Pizza Dough Ingredients

Minion movie, minion, Minions Movie Night

Mixing Up The Dough

Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1 tsp. granulated white sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

Directions – Pizza Dough

Preheat oven to 450°

Using a room temperature or slightly warm mixing bowl* combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix. Let stand for about 10 minutes until yeast is frothy.

*Tip: A warm bowl helps to maintain the temperature of the water, increasing the effectiveness of the yeast.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Beat until smooth.

Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.

Pat it with your fingertips it into a “minion” shape, about 1/2″ thick.

Spoon on sauce to the edges.

Arrange other toppings (instructions below) and bake at 450° for about 20-25 minutes.

Tip: Keep an eye on your pizza. Remove when it is golden brown.

Minions Pizza Toppings

Directions – Toppings

Cover pizza dough with 2/3 cup jarred pizza sauce up to the edge.

Spread shredded mozzarella evenly over the sauce

Use pepperoni slices to create his overalls.

Sliced black olives form the goggles.
Reserve 2 sliced black olives for the pupils of his eyes.

Using a circular cookie cutter* cut out two rounds from sliced mozzarella. They will be the eyeballs.

Use a sliver cut from pepperoni for his little mouth.

Cutting Mozzarella Slices For Minion Eyes

Tip: if you don’t have a circular cookie cutter, use the end of a clean drinking glass or clean empty can. I used the black olives can!

Unbaked pizza.

Tip: For this picture, I put the cheese eyeballs and black olive pupils in place. I wanted you to see what it looks like. For baking, I waited until the pizza had baked for 15 minutes and then I put them on. This way, the cheese eyeballs won’t melt much and it keeps the look.

Bake at 450° for 15 minutes.

Add the mozzarella eyeballs and black olive pupils.

Return to oven and bake until golden brown

Take a picture of your work of art.
Let’s party!

Have a really fun family movie night with a Minion's movie and make Minion's shaped pizza! Here's how #pizza #movienight #familyfun Share on X

Round Cookie Cutters!

Enjoy!

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Football Food! Five Classic Appetizers for the Big Game

Grape Jelly Glazed Meatballs Recipe

1 1/2 lb 90% ground beef

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1 cup Heinz chili sauce

1 cup grape jelly

Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, salt and egg. Mush together. Roll into 1/2 balls. Sautee in a large non-stick skillet until done. Drain juices off. Add chili sauce and grape jelly and simmer, gently turning on occasion, until the sauce turns into a glaze on the meatballs (about 15 minutes).

Makes 3 dozen.

Olive Tarts Recipe

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

48 pimento stuffed Spanish olives

Combine cheese and butter; toss with the other ingredients –except for the olives–to make a dough. Using a teaspoon, scoop a little dough into your hand and flatten it. Place an olive in the center. Surround the olive with the dough and roll in your hand like a meatball.
Place on a cookie sheet, very close together but not touching, and freeze them. Once frozen, either transfer them to a freezer bag or bake immediately on a cookie sheet, about an inch apart, at 400° for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Artichoke Heart Dip

2 jars or cans of artichoke hearts (drained)

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup real mayonnaise

lemon juice

paprika

Mix and bake at 325° until bubbly.
Serve with crackers.

How to Make Pigs in a Blanket

32 cocktail hot dogs

2 tubes Pillsbury® crescent rolls

Unroll crescent rolls. Cut each triangle in half. Roll one cocktail hot up in a triangle and place on a cookie sheet. Keep them 1 inch apart. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375° for 10-15 minutes. (Remove when lightly browned). Serve with ketchup, mustard or ranch dressing to dip in.

Crabmeat and Cheese Dip

2 lb. VELVEETA® cheese

1 lb. crab meat, chopped

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 dashes Tabasco hot sauce

2 sticks butter

Combine Velveeta cheese, garlic powder, Tabasco and butter in a double boiler, microwavable bowl or crock pot. Heat until cheese and butter is melted. Stir. Gently add the boneless crab meat and blend. Serve hot with Melba toast or crackers.

Enjoy!

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Photo Credits:

Grape Jelly Glazed Meatballs by The Swedish on sxc dot hu
Artichoke Heart Dip from My Maryland dot com
Olive Tarts by Skat and the Misc blog
Pigs in a Blanket – Wikimedia
Velveeta Cheese by Charles Williams on Flickr Creative Commons