I'm Not Dreaming Of a Pink Christmas:Holidays Outside the Box

What will be under the tree this year?

     It's time to start thinking about Christmas shopping.  No, I don't mean before the turkey is digested. What do the kids want this year?  Well in my house instead of making a list for Santa we make one for Grandma since we have our celebration at Grandma and Grandpa's house before the big day in December.

     We asked the kids to make a Christmas wish list by circling items from an ad.  I have never been impressed with the overpriced, plastic items that come out this time of year.  I know kids want the "top toy" of the year, but do they actually play with it when the new year comes?
   
     I know I really shouldn't get started on how the massive consumerism of the holiday drives me up the wall.  I never realized until I had kids that I would feel torn buying gifts for those who have plenty when the money could go to those who don't have enough. I look at all the toys, games, and books we already have and wonder why we need to add to it! I don't need to be a Scrooge to my kids though and I know they will enjoy the presents and be thankful. 

     Now my oldest is easy to shop for.  He wants Legos and plenty of them.  He also likes Star Wars.  There are a number of items in these two categories that are age appropriate and I am sure he will put to good use and continue to play with throughout the year.

     My daughter is the one that has me stumped.  In the words of my son, "When I walk down the pink aisle in the toy department, it makes me want to throw up." Now don't get me wrong we have a dollhouse and babies, but I never covered her toys in pink.  She joined in with her brother at the tool bench and trains.  I had no problem with her brother playing with her toys either.  I just didn't think that every item marketed to girls must be dipped in pink.  She could play with a red car or blue stove.

  Also her age is giving me trouble this year.  I am very used to buying her preschool age toys and now that she has started school I would like something that will grow with her.  She is very energetic so an active toy would be great.  She loves to draw making art supplies a welcome addition. What do you buy for a five year old girl for Christmas?

Hit The Trail Mix Clusters

Crunchy, chewy and chocolaty goodness

    While packing for the weekend I decided to make a batch of trail mix.  It's a great recipe for junior cooks to join in.  You don't need exact measurements so they can pick whatever they want and "dump" it in.  I was thinking of a simple combination of Cheerios and raisins.  Then I saw a bit of carob powder and the mini-Marshmallows leftover from the Lego cake.   I couldn't see how I could roast those tiny marshmallows over the campfire.  I thought of combining the ingredients to make a s'more cookie.

    I decided my fudge recipe would make a good base.  As my helpers were washing up and donning their aprons,  I searched for the needed ingredients.  The bad news was we were low on honey.  I used one half cup honey and one half cup agave nectar. The good news was, we had a whole shelf of trail mix ingredients.  I found unsweetened coconut, walnuts, and a 15 ounce box of raisins. I was planning to give my assistants measuring cups to add a cup of each item.   While I was whipping up the fudge in the food processor they had a ball pouring all of the items together.  I moved everything to my biggest bowl and added the fudge to it.  We decided to add 3/4 cup of peanut butter to the batch. They stirred and got their spoons in there like they were tossing a salad.

    Then we took out the cookie scoop and dropped the batter onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  I took the second sheet and spread the mixture out to cut into squares.  The trays went into the freezer to chill the fudge.  We had enough to share with friends and enjoy over the long holiday weekend!

Micky's Hit the Trail Mix Clusters


Trail Mix: empty out the pantry of Cheerios, nuts, chips, dried fruit, mini-marshmallows
One batch of fudge
3/4 cup Teddie Bear natural peanut butter

Mix the dry ingredients.  Make the fudge.  Pour the fudge and peanut butter over the dry mixture.  Drop by spoonfuls or smooth onto parchment paper.  Chill for 30 minutes.  Use a pizza cutters to make squares.

Sweet Hearts

   I found this recipe for a Valentine's day treat a while back and decided this was the year to make it.  The directions said to shape the treat like a Hershey's kiss using a funnel.  I thought I had a few funnels around the house, but all I could find was a really big one.  I opted to use some heart shaped pans instead to create two large rice krispie treats . 

Peanut butter crispy rice treat

   I used natural peanut butter since I prefer the sugar free, no corn syrup brands.  It may turn out differently with regular peanut butter with no oil separation.  I also used Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal since it is gluten and sugar free.

  We liked the results so much that I made them again the next day, this time using a cookie cutter to shape them like hearts.  This created 2 dozen tiny cookies. It was a very sticky job, but fun!

 Crispy-Rice Kisses
from: A Year of Fun Just For Four's

Mix together 3 tablespoons each peanut butter and honey, and 2 cups crispy rice cereal. Pack some of the cereal mixture into a small funnel to mold it. Carefully remove the cereal "kiss" shape. Continue making kisses with the rest of the mixture. Freeze kisses until firm, about 2 hours. Keep frozen until served.

Shop Small

     Today is Small Business Saturday.  As someone who likes a bargain, the big box stores can be tempting.  I used to shop the malls for all my holiday gifts.  Then, I had my own children and not only was it torture for me to drag the little ones through the mall, but then you have to hide everything from them so it is a surprise.  Between lines to get into the parking lot and crowds to navigate through and the overheating in my winter jacket while shopping it just seems like so much work.  Before you mark me down as an awful Scrooge, I have a solution to my holiday shopping cynicism.
    Shop your local stores.  Who doesn't want to save on gas money by not traveling "over the river" to get to the mall metropolis?  Small stores appreciate business so are more apt to have that old-fashioned notion of customer service.  For those of you unfamiliar with this term, let me define it.  It involves a human being offering assistance in some form.  Smaller stores are easier to make a quick trip since there aren't 6 million items to walk through to get to the one you are looking to buy.  This is apt to save me money as well.  If there is less to look at and less time spent shopping, there is less to bring home.
   Smaller stores are more convenient for me.  I can be in and out of the store instead of having an all day excursion.  Knowing that I am keeping a local family employed is rewarding as well. Plus, there are some unique items in those little stores that aren't a repeat of every store in the mall.  Of course, I'm saving my most important resource as well, my time, energy and sanity!