Hanukkah Candle Candy

This is a super simple activity that is completely adored by my girls.  We have also made these chocolate covered pretzel rods and called them magic wands for several Harry Potter parties.  In the past we have used white chocolate chips or melting candy and blue sprinkles for Israel.  This year we just went with what we had in the cubbard.

What You Need:
-  pretzel rods
-  chocolate chips or melting chocolate
-  sprinkles and/or other toppings (shredded coconut, small candies, chocolate chips, etc)
-  waxed paper or parchment paper
-  cookie sheet

What You Do:
-  Place waxed paper or parchment paper onto a cookie sheet
-  Dump the whole bag of chocolate chips into a small to medium pot
-  Heat on low to medium low.  Stir often.  Be careful not to let it burn. 
-  After chocolate has melted, dip a pretzel rod into the chocolate.  Use a spoon to place melted chocolate up higher on pretzel. 
-  Place pretzel on cookie sheet
-  Let kids go crazy putting sprinkles or other toppings on pretzels
-  Place in tray in fridgerator for a short amount of time until the chocolate has set
-  Done!

Take Care!

Jenny

Chrismukkah Countdown

Chrismukkah?  What is it?  It is a the merry mishmash holiday for children and grown children from religiously confused families.  One parent a Christian, one parent a Jew?  Feel an internal struggle at the holidays?  Perhaps I will ire people on both sides.  For that I am very sorry.  But please, don't judge.  Maybe this quote from the O.C. will help: 

Seth:  So what's it going to be, huh? Do you want your menorah or candy cane? Hm? Hanukkah or Christmas?
Ryan: Uh...
Seth: Uh uh. Don't worry about it, buddy. Because in this house you don't have to choose. Allow me to introduce you to a little something that I like to call Chrismukkah.
Ryan: Chrismukkah?
Seth: That's right. It's the new holiday Ryan, and it's sweeping the nation.

Ok.  So with any big holiday, we have to have a countdown.  So this is what we are doing at our happy house:

Each loop has an activity that we will do as a family that day.  I just reused Christmas and Hanukkah wrapping paper. 

These are our activities:

1.  Holiday festival in town
2.  Go to a gymnastics meet
3.  Decorate the tree
4.  Make Hanukkah "candles" - pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles
5. Get hot chocolate and drive around to look at holiday lights
6.  Play Hanukkah bingo
7.  Make Hanukkah cards
8.  Make a Hanukkah crown
9.  Make onion rings (to meet the "fried" element representing the oil in the temple)
10.  Play dreidel
11.  Make holiday cookies
12.  Get hot chocolate and drive around to look at holiday lights
13.  Decorate cookies
14.  Make ornaments 
15.  Go see Winnie the Pooh play
16.  Go to eat fancy brunch and see spectacular Christmas trees at Herbert Hoover presidential library/museum
17.  Make gingerbread houses
18.  Make holiday candy
19.  Get hot chocolate and drive around to look at holiday lights
20.  Sing holiday songs
21.  Watch a holiday movie
22.  Take treats to neighbors
23.  Make snowflakes
24.  Watch Polar Express
25.  Christmas

-  I had to pick activities that I could pull off during the 1.5 - 2 hrs between us getting home at the end of the day during the week and Ladybug going to bed.  I put the holiday lights activity on for the nights that girls  have dance and gymnastics until 8 pm.  We would not have time on those nights to do a more elaborate activity.  

What kind of activities do you do?  Anyone else do the loops?  I think I may have gotten that idea from Family Fun 10 years ago.  

Take Care,

Jenny   

Easy Bracelet Gift!

What you need:

(This is called floral wire.  I found it at the Dollar Tree.  I was initially worried it would turn my skin green or something.  That did not happen.  So I made one for someone else and her skin did not turn green either.  So I think it is okay.  I also found some different types of floral wire jewelry through Google.)

What You Do:

 -  Make a loop/circle big enough to slip over your hand and fit your wrist comfortably.  Wrap the end of the wire around the circle.

 -  Keep wrapping the long wire around the circle.  I keep the big end of the wire in the loop it came it and smush it flatish so that I can pull it in and out of my bracelet circle.

-  Keep going.  I start out putting some distance in the                                        wrapping around the bracelet. 

-  Keep going around.  I wrap the wire around the bracelet a second time.  The second time I increase the times I wrap around.  I also fill in the spots from the first time.  There is less space between the wraps.

 -  After the second time around.  I go ahead and just wrap the wire around over the spot where I started.  I then cut the wire leaving a short tail that I can kinda tuck underneath. 

 -  Done!!!  I often make two bracelets from one package of wire.  That makes a .50 bracelet!  Not bad!  Would be a cute gift add-on.  Wire also comes in different colors.  I have made a set of them before as a gift.

-  Sorry about my bad pics.  :(  I know that I really need to get better.  I also am going to put learning HTML as a goal for 2013. 

Take Care,

Jenny



Bubble Pop Walk Activity

The Bubble Pop Walk is actually an activity that my mother and Grandpa David came up with when I was little.  My Grandpa even once had giant bubble wrap that was so big we used a broom handle to pop the bubbles.  I just taped a strip down on the kitchen floor.  Ladybug and I hopped, ran, and danced on the bubble paper.  Ladybug loved this project and it kept  her entertained for a little bit.

(yes, my house was kinda messy like that!  :(   )

Jenny