Easter baskets, eggs and everything in between (literally)

I am always trying to stay away from extra candy during holidays. Of course then you are left with buying toys or trinkets that generally are cheap and break easily. Or you end up spending $20-30 on each basket (not feasible for us).  And frankly, my kids have plenty (too much, in my opinion) and really don't need any extra clutter for the sake of having a basket-filler. 

So where does that leave you when the Easter Bunny comes around?  And then you also have to fill eggs.  What, other than candy, can go in there?

My Grandma used to fill Easter eggs with change. It was always exciting to see if you got a quarter or a dime or a penny. When we were done, we pooled the money together and divided it evenly so everyone got $5. It seemed like so much!  $5!  Now, I feel like $5 doesn't get you very much at all. 

We have done candy in past years, but it's always a struggle for me to left them eat it afterwards. Like with Halloween, they are only allowed a little at a time and I end up throwing the majority of it away. So what's the point of that?  I don't want that candy sitting in a bag for endless days, but I also don't want kids gorged out on sugar. 

Yesterday, I got basket-fillings while local stores had some good sales.

ignore the upside down Larabar

Each kid is getting a spiral notebook and a new pack of metallic crayons.  We found LED mini flashlights at the Dollar Tree that will be fun for playing outside in the summer.  The peanut butter chocolate chip organic granola bars and organic fruit strips were on sale, so I am going to divide those up. And Larabars (peanut butter chocolate chip) were on sale too, the kids will be super excited for those.  As their one piece of actual candy, I bought the Reese's pieces filled carrots because we all love chocolate and peanut butter (in case you couldn't tell).  As their knick-knacky toy, I got the boys carrot shaped darts to throw at each other and Calla a new sparkly nail polish (She will die). 

Otherwise, I am kind of stuck. We have a million other art supplies and chalk and bubbles galore.  I feel like this is the same conundrum I get into with Christmas stockings. I want them to appreciate what they have rather than get "stuff" just for the sake of "stuff". 

My kids REALLY want for nothing. 

Which is good.

Right?

What are you filling your Easter eggs with this year?  What holiday traditions do you have?  Has any one tried stuffing stickers in those dang plastic eggs?  Also, what's your opinion on the Easter basket grass (personally, it's not allowed at our house. Same goes for tinsel).  

Christmas recap and our favorite gifts

Wow.  I hadn't realized it has been about a month since I blogged last.

Time flies and all that.

Here in the Brong household, we had a great Christmas.

The kids got more than they could ever want.

Gabe cried he was so happy he got a Kindle.

Zander and Calla hosted a pirate concert.

They played with cousins.

Calla dressed up.

They hung out with Grandparents.

They played outside.

 

They made Christmas treats.

We went to an Ugly Sweater party and Gabe won!

It was a great end to a great year and we were very happy we were able to see all of our family this holiday season!

There are still a lot of gifts that the kids haven't even played with yet, but here is the list of gifts that they have enjoyed the most and I highly recommend if you are looking for a gift in the future:

Gabe's Kindle

I love this thing.  I should specifically say how much I LOVE Freetime - the system built into the Kindle that allows me to set daily limits on how much app time, video time and reading time Gabe is allowed.  It allows me to set times he can use his Kindle and if I want him to read before playing.  It offers a database of Kindle books, apps and videos just for kids.  At the monthly cost of $2.99 for one child's profile or $6.99 for a family, I think this is a great investment and has really reinforced my love of Amazon.  I HIGHLY recommend this as a tablet option for kids.

Calla's Disney Princess Castle

Calla got this Fisher Price Disney Princess castle and it is so adorable!  It comes with Cinderella and Snow White and there are multiple different Princess packs you can buy to collect all of them.  There is a dance floor in the back where you put each Princess and she states her name ("My name is Ariel.") and sings a little part of her signature song.  It is so adorable and Calla absolutely loves it.  

Zander's Take A Part Truck

This thing is so cool!  It is a fully functional crane truck and comes with a working electric screwdriver to take apart the truck and put it back together.  It comes with different tips and Zander loves being able to take it apart and try to put it back together.  I love that the parts are big enough that they can't get lost and that he can do it by himself (for the most part).  Calla loves it too and tries to help brother.

Click here to see the description!

Click here for the description!

These books are AWESOME!  The pictures are huge!  The words are good sized and not too difficult for Gabe to read to himself.  They offer a wealth of information and fun facts.  There is a whole series, but the boys received these as gifts and they have been a big hit and the go-to books to look at before bedtime.

Click here to see the description!

Click here to see the description!

I love love LOVE all things Melissa and Doug.  I love the sturdiness of the toys, I love the concepts, there isn't much I don't love except the price.  Amazon and Toys R Us almost always have decent sales on Melissa and Doug things around Christmas time.  I also like using Barnes and Noble coupons to order Melissa and Doug things online, as they always have a good amount in stock and sometimes on sale to before the coupon.  Calla got these to sets, but all the kids have enjoyed playing with them and adding them to the kitchen set they got last year.

Click here for the description!

Jake and the Neverland Pirates is really big for us right now.  After seeing him at Disney, it only reinforced the love of all things Jake.  Zander and Calla got a lot of Jake, but the biggest hit was this dress up toy box that includes a spy glass, sword and gold doubloons.  

I am in the process of working on some more "meaningful" blog posts, but I wanted to include the successful Christmas gifts into a post.  I always have a hard to find things for birthdays and holidays.  These are things that work in our family and I hope it helps give you suggestions!

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Christmas Cookie and Candy gifts (the best kind)

I love making food for gifts.  There is something so awesome in working really hard to make something delicious for another person to enjoy.  Tie in the Christmas season with my love of baking and giving food and you get this amazing cookbook that I bought last year for super cheap.

Click to buy it here!

I can't remember how much I bought it for (around $10) and it has been worth every penny.  I LOVE that it provides recipes for classic cookies (like sugar and peanut butter), and that it also has fancier cookies.  But mostly I love that each recipe is designed to feed a crowd.  I like to make big batches of cookies and with this cookbook I don't have to multiple the recipes, it is already done for me!

I knew that I wanted to send Matt a box of cookies and wanted to have enough left over to share with the neighbors (while leaving us some to each at home) and so I settled on two cookie recipes - the drop sugar cookie recipe and peanut butter kiss cookies.

GF drop sugar cookies

I loved the easiness of the drop sugar cookies compared to the roll out frosting kind.  Those are all well and good, but I usually make gingerbread cookies to roll out and decorate.  This time I was making cookies in a rush, so the drop part worked out much better.  All I changed to make this recipe GF was my Namaste Foods all purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour.  They turned out super delicious, lighter than a regular sugar cookie but still retain the buttery sugary goodness.

GF Drop Sugar Cookies (recipe originally from The Great Christmas Cookie Swap book)
makes approx. 126 cookies

6 cups GF all purpose flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups butter (4 1/2 sticks) softened (not melted)
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
9 tbsp milk
6 tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whisk flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt until blended and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.  Add eggs, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended.  Add in flour mixture until just blended.

Measure out dough in tablespoons and drop them on the greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  I actually ended up rolling them into balls in my hands and pressed them flat on the sheet.  They don't spread as much as I though, so you don't have to worry about them getting too close together and making one giant misshapen cookie.  I sprinkled colored sugar on them and put them in the oven to bake for 14 minutes.  Remove them when they turn golden brown and set them aside to cool.

I was surprised that the dough didn't soften up too much with all the butter, so you shouldn't have to refrigerate them before baking.

GF Peanut Butter Kiss cookies

I LOVE peanut butter.  A little too much.  Not everyone loves it just plain and simple like me, so I decided to make the peanut butter kiss (get it, a chocolate Hershey's kiss) cookies.  Again, to alter this recipe and make it GF I changed out the flours and added 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to it.

GF Peanut Butter Kiss cookies (original recipe from my step-mom)

I doubled this recipe and made about 40 cookies

1 1/4 cup GF

1 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup shortening (I used butter)

1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy works best, even though I prefer crunchy)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 bag Hershey kisses

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking soda and powder and salt to make the dry mixture and set aside.  Cream together your butter/shortening with sugars.  Add in the egg and peanut butter until blended.  Slowly blend the dry mixture into the wet until fully incorporated.  

Refrigerate for 20 minutes to regain firmness of dough.

(I forgot this step originally and they turned out fine - the cookies just spread a little more because of the temperature of the butter.  If you forget or are on a time crunch, no worries.  Go ahead and make the cookies.)

Get out a plate or bowl and pour some white sugar or decorative sugar to roll the cookies in.  Also start unwrapping the kisses so you are ready to press them in the middle of the cookie when you pull them out of the oven.

Measure out one tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball between your hands.  Roll the dough in the sugar until it is completely covered.  Fill up your pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Once the cookies are browned, remove them from the pan and press the Hershey's kiss in the middle of the cookie and let it cool.

I found these cute decorative ziploc bags in the Dollar Spot at Target and they came with cardboard to staple over the zipper part (dresses it up a little).  I included a couple of each kind on a small plate my Grandma had given me (to start a cookie exchange) and put them all in a larger ziploc bag.  We made four of these and enjoyed passing them out to our neighbors!

I didn't forget about Matt and set aside about two dozen of the sugar cookies and a dozen and a half of the peanut butter kisses for him.  I wanted to add more to fill his box up as much as possible.  Also, I am always nervous about sending something as perishable as cookies, especially now with the chaotic process that is the US postal system during Christmas.  I had a couple 'pins' set aside that I wanted to try out, so I decided Matt would be my guinea pig (love you babe).  

Cinnamon Sugar Nuts

I originally saw this post from Eat Good 4 Life (Cinnamon Sugared Walnuts) and decided to go for it.  I have never really candied anything but I have burned sugar trying to make caramel a couple times, so I was a little hesitant.  I had almonds, walnuts and cashews on hand and measured out two pounds to make a double batch.

Over all the recipe was very easy.  I was extremely nervous about burning the sugar while trying to bring it up to the soft ball temperature (235 degrees) so I had it on lower heat than I probably should have.  Also, my candy thermometer's battery died (awesome timing) so I used my meat thermometer and it worked just fine.  It did eventually reach that temperature and I added the vanilla and nuts as soon as it did.  I couldn't get the mixture to spread out enough for me to break into individual nuts (like she has pictured), so mine is in chunks kind of like brittle.

Let me just tell you that it is amazing.  It reminds me a lot of the booths at malls and amusement parks that sell the candied almonds in the pastry bags.  I will definitely make it again and I am excited about giving it as gifts or bringing it as a dessert to pass.  

I also got these little boxes at Target's Dollar Spot.  I can't handle the cuteness!

Lastly, I made chocolate covered pretzels to add in there.  I have a surplus of pretzels and chocolate chips, so I figured why not.

Better Homes and Gardens - Black and White Pretzels

I will not even try to say that these works of art are mine - I forgot to take a picture.  If you are looking at making something fast and easy, these are the way to go!  I hand dipped half of each pretzel into milk chocolate and then dipped the chocolate part into sprinkles to set the chocolate.  I love how versatile they can be.  You can use any shape of pretzel, any kind of chocolate and any extra topping you want.  

Dark chocolate covered pretzels in candy cane chunks.

Milk chocolate covered pretzels with sea salt.

Semi sweet chocolate covered pretzels with nuts.

I love the possibilities.  I love that it seems fancy and in all reality - it's just a pretzel.

Kind of like these gifts.  

They are just cookies and candies, but they are dressed up as gifts of goodwill and community.  

If you are looking for more Holiday candy ideas, as well as ideas for how to dress up packaging them, check out my Pinterest page!  

Follow Genna Brong's board DIY Gifts on Pinterest.

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DIY Christmas gifts (reposted from a couple years ago)

If you need some ideas for DIY gifts this Christmas, here is a list of things I made in previous years.  I wanted to repost this because I still really love all these ideas and think they will make excellent gifts.  They also pass the cheap and super easy requirement I have for all DIY's.

I have been making a bunch of gifts this year and hope the post pictures and guides within the next couple days!

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This year, we decided to make it a DIY Christmas.  With all the ideas on websites like Pinterest to get the creative juices flowing, I think we've done really well.  I'm really excited to be creating.  This is one of my "things".  

Baby food jar candle holders -

I put stickers on the baby food jar and acrylic painted over them.  Before the paint completely dries, pull off the letters.  Once it's dry, trace the outline of the letters with a paint marker (my new favorite craft item).  After that, I mod podged the whole jar for the glossy look.

Hand and foot print canvas -

I bought an 8x10 canvas at Hobby Lobby, spray painted it matte black and had the kids pick out what acrylic paint for their prints.  Then I wrote the title and names with a silver paint marker and mod podged it.

Homemade ornaments - 

The reindeer is two clothespins hot glued together with goggly eyes and a pom pom nose.  I also hot glued a magnet to the back for a refrigerator decoration.  The Star Wars ornaments are made out of salt dough (equal parts salt and flour, half part water), the kids colored them with Crayola markers and I sealed them with mod podge.

Picture Magnets -

By far the most time consuming project I took on, but I think that's because I made so many and because I made them so big.  I had 5 different sets of wallets printed, then cut out cardboard in wallet size.  After double-side taping the picture to the cardboard, I wrapped the picture with clear packing tape and hot glued two magnets to the back of the cardboard.  If I had to do it again, I would have used smaller pictures, only because I had to use two pieces of packing tape (due to the size) and it left a seam on the pictures.

Teacher card -

Completely and utterly stolen from Pinterest, but redesigned on Photoshop.  A Starbucks gift card will be tucked inside the coffee liner.

Scrapbook paper picture frames -

I bought wooden frames from Hobby Lobby and spray painted them matte black.  Then I had the kids rip up pieces of scrapbook paper.  After piecing them together and adding a few extra rips and tears, I double-side taped them to the frame and applied mod podge to seal it and add gloss.

Holiday picture frame -

This was actually the first project I did this year.  Again, I started with a blank wooden frame from Hobby Lobby and spray painted it with glossy green (I will never use glossy spray paint again, too much of a pain).  Then I painted the snow flakes with white acrylic paint and a stencil.  After everything dried, I added the mod podge.

I really do love being creative.  It's so fulfilling to see your finished products.  If you haven't check out Pinterest yet, you really should.

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Fleece Poncho DIY

I am completely done with my Christmas shopping!  I was actually done with the majority about a week ago (finishing up right after Thanksgiving), but have now completely finished with the exceptions of homemade gifts.  

I will repost my DIY present list from a couple years ago soon - but I have gotten a little creative this year too and found this super cute tutorial for making a fleece poncho for little girls for super cheap.

Ruffled Toddler Poncho by Gluesticks

What I liked about this idea is you don't have to do a whole lot to make it and it's cheap.  If you have ever made a no sew fleece blanket, this is even easier.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought one yard of fleece fabric - got it on sale (30% off) and paid $8 for it.  

I started as soon as I got home so I wouldn't get distracted and measured out a 27 inch square and cut.  Then I folded it in half and if there was extra hang off on either side, I cut it off.  Just like in the tutorial, I used a bowl to cut a half circle for the head and then cut about an inch up along all the edges.

I just estimated about the same size cuts and the same width of each fringe and cut.

And that was it.  Picked it up and put it on Calla to see if it would fit.

I found that the 27 inch square of fleece fit Calla perfectly - so that would work perfectly for a little girl in a size 2T.

Since the one yard of fleece makes two ponchos (and leftover scraps), I decided to make another one for my niece.  Without having her here to measure or estimate, I tried one on Zander (roughly her size).  He was a very enthusiastic model and was sad when he found out he wasn't getting one.

I found that for each size up, you add about three inches to your square.

So for a 3T size, cut out a square about 30 inches.  For 4T, cut out a square about 33 inches.  And it worked out!

My lovely Lella wearing her "cape".

All in all - I made two fleece ponchos for two very special girls at $4 a piece.  If you are struggling at an idea for a gift or don't have a ton of money to splurge on a present - this is an awesome idea and can't get much easier to make.  It took me about 20 minutes to make both and that was only because I unfolded the ponchos to try them on my models.

If you have a child that wants a cape (like mine), there are also some awesome cape ideas that are just as cost efficient and easy to make:

DIY Superhero Cape Tutorial - by the Southern Institute
Superhero Cape Towels - by Martha Stewart
Superhero Cape Logo pattern - by Vanilla Joy

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Christmas Advent Calendar

With Thanksgiving being at the very end of November this year, it really threw me for a loop when we had to start decorating for Christmas while still eating Thanksgiving left overs.  I usually like to have Thanksgiving stand as a holiday by itself so I was in a scramble to get our decorations changed.  If it wasn't for our Advent calendar and celebrating every day until the 25th, then I wouldn't have been in such a rush.  This is a tradition we do every year and I know every one really enjoys it.

In years prior, we filled each day with one piece of candy to count down the days until Christmas.  It always brought excitement because candy is pretty limited in this house, so to get a piece (a Hershey's kiss or Tootsie roll ) everyday was cause for celebration.

This year, I decided to do something different.  I have seen numerous ideas and suggestions online for doing activities instead of getting candy.  On every day before Christmas, you do something special to celebrate the season.

I love this idea.

Even though Matt and I grew up in religious households, we haven't quite found our "calling" (bear with me) to start attending church, to tell our children the stories we learned growing up or to teach them about the real reason Christians celebrate Christmas.  This year is a little different.

Gabe has started getting more curious, wanting to know more and more about religion.  At his school, there is the option to go to Bible Club and miss a recess.  A lot of his friends go to Bible Club and bring their bibles to school.  Gabe doesn't really know what to make of this.  They tell him about the birth of Jesus and other stories from the Bible.  He has asked for a Bible for Christmas so he can read it and learn more about what his friends are telling him.

I am glad he is taking interest in this.  I want him to believe in something bigger than this world, that there is a larger plan in place and that we need to put others before ourselves.  Matt and I decided when we first talked about raising our kids that we would let them decide for themselves, if they chose to get baptized and accept Jesus as their Savior then that would be their choice and it wouldn't be forced on them.

With that in mind this holiday season, I decided to research different advent calendar activities to do every day before the 25th.  There are A LOT out there.  I have included my Pinterest board at the bottom full of great ideas!  After making my list, I realized I couldn't make all of them donations or with giving in mind, I just don't have time to be running donations all over town or bringing kids to and from different events every day.  The best part of this is idea is that you can make it whatever you want.  For our family, I combined some donation ideas, outside activities, art projects and "field trips."

Here is our list!

Catch snow in a bucket

Water color the snow

Paint snowflakes on the windows

Cut out snowflakes

Make paper stockings

Family board game Night

Make a Santa Beard in a bubble bath

Snowman Soup

Polar Express Story time

Write letters to Santa

Make Cookies for the Neighbors

Watch a Christmas movie with 

Sprinkly Popcorn

Take a Picture with Santa Claus

Read the Story of Jesus

Read the Night before Christmas

Make Popsicle Stick snowflakes

Have cookie cutter pizzas for dinner

Sort through toys to donate

Make Christmas cards for relatives

Drive around to see Christmas lights

Decorate paper bags for the 

Children’s Food Bank

Go to a Hockey game!

Glue cotton balls on Santa’s Beard

Blow bubbles in the snow

I printed these out and put arranged them inside our Advent calendar in the order of events I already had planned or based on traditions (like reading The Night Before Christmas on the 24th).  Some of these we have done before but I included a lot of new ideas and the kids have really enjoyed every day.

Cutting snowflakes out of coffee filters:

Catching snow in a bucket (or on your tongue):

Sort through toys to donate:

Take a picture with Santa Claus:

Make a Santa beard in a bubble bath:

Every day brings something different and it has been a lot of fun doing this activities and well as planning them!  What do you and your family do to celebrate the season?

Follow Genna Brong's board Holiday inspirations on Pinterest.

Don't forget to pin this and save my ideas for your Christmas Advent activities!

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