Advent Adventures: Ice Skating

One forgets how many muscles in it takes to balance oneself on ice skates… that is, until one goes ice skating. Sore ankles aside, the Friday before the holiday break was the perfect day for an ice skating play date at Castle Ice in Renton. A busload of teenagers was leaving just as we laced up our skates then we practically had the whole rink to ourselves. For $21, we rented skates for me and my two kids (ages 5 and 3), and two walkers to help them get around on the ice (unfortunately those are only available to children or I may have rented one too).

William started out run-slipping on the ice, swishing his feet forward and back in short fast strokes but not getting very far. He was frustrated that he couldn’t go fast immediately yet when I tried to suggest he try pushing off with his feet at an angle, he insisted I let him do it the way he wanted to do it. Come to think of it, my own wobbly skating didn’t make me look like a very credible teacher…. smart kid. Eventually he decided the walker must be slowing him down and despite a few slips and falls, he did great on his own.

Sara didn’t want to set foot on the ice last year so I was thrilled when she dove right in this time around. She was cruising with the walker in no time but lost interest after about 40 minutes and decided to experiment with knee-skating, laying on the ice, and finally licking the ice. That’s when I helped her find a cozy spot to sit while the rest of us finished up.

I could tell you my pictures aren’t great because I used my point and shoot, the lighting was bad, and everyone was moving too fast but frankly, I was too busy trying to not massively injure myself to pay much attention to the photos.

Apparently an outstretched tongue helps with balance

Look at her go!

Me and my big kid... too cool to take skating advice from Mom but still willing to take a picture with me

Handmade Holiday Gifts

Spoiler Alert! Grammy and Cuckoo Grandma (my two most faithful readers), stop reading right now if you want to be surprised on Christmas Morning! Your grand-elves and I have been busy crafting this past week.

Handmade often just ends up looking “homemade” or a kind person might say “quaint” when it comes from us. Thank goodness it’s the thought that counts… however, we did find a few things this year that turned out looking pretty darn nice if I do say so myself.

Glittery Pinecones: Loose glitter is something I've been avoiding for years. It always looks so fun and pretty when the kids have used it at preschool but the mess and knowing how glitter sticks to everything had me scared. Well, this is a simple and fun activity and they do turn out sparkly and luminous but at the risk of sounding Grinch-like, I have to say that my fear of glitter was justified. I'm still finding it everywhere. Next time I'll use large grain salt instead -- it looks frosty and pretty and the finished pinecones are not just decorative but also useful as fire starters in a wood stove or fireplace. 

Painted Picture Frames:  Michaels was selling these wonderfully simple unfinished wood frames for $1 each. I bought a dozen for us to use for holiday gifts and another dozen+ for William’s Kindergarten class to decorate on an upcoming art day (maybe we’ll make a Valentine’s Day gift using them). Providing a limited 3-color palette of acrylic paint colors to the kids and letting them loose on the frames resulted in some really fun gifts and they had a great time doing it.

Oil Pastel Artwork:  I could have put photos in the frames but since both lovely Grandmothers already have their homes wallpapered in pictures of the kids, we decided to make art. Oil Pastels were perfect since the frames have no glass and Pastels don’t need them. William had winter in mind with his Icicle image then ended up with an Orca whale on another one (I think he just draws then decides what it is at the end sometimes), and finally he drew a “really tough helicopter that doesn’t even need a person to fly it.” Sara copied the icicle idea in her mind for a couple Pastel pieces then I used a self-portrait that she did earlier this month for her last frame. I can’t get enough of her pictures of herself with wonderfully wild curls atop her head.

Homemade Granola:  One of our advent calendar activities was to make something for the kids’ teachers and bus drivers. Cookies are nice but while mine tend to taste great, they rarely look pretty enough for gift giving. This seemed like a more forgiving recipe to try and what doesn’t look cute in a fun little gingerbread bag? We made a vegan variation of Cynthia Lair’s Maple Butter Nut Granola using coconut oil instead of butter and omitting almonds (better to be safe than sorry with potential allergies). You’ll find her recipe and an accompanying video on her great website. By the way, another gift idea that I highly recommend for anyone interested in kid-friendly healthy whole food cuisine is Cynthia’s cookbook “Feeding the Whole Family.”  Darn, I should have thought of that sooner to give along with the granola. Oh well… maybe next year.

Paper Stars:  Best paper craft yet. I can’t stop making these. The finished product is so beautifully satisfying. Starting with pretty paper helps a lot (even better if it’s already cut into perfect squares for you to work with). I am a little embarrassed to admit how much scrapbooking paper I have in my closet. No, I’m not a scrapbook maker, I’m just a sucker whenever I find it at TJ Maxx for a super good price and I love pretty paper. Finally, now I have something to do with it! I found this idea over at Maya Made but must also give credit to this lovely website for posting such helpful instructions (please read both posts if you decide to do this craft, the tips in Maya’s post such as when to use glue stick versus Elmer’s glue are really helpful). My kindergarten boy was able to do the folding but got a bit frustrated when it came to the cutting and gluing part. My three year old had a harder time with folding but did great with the cutting and glue. These would make gorgeous gifts but sorry, the kids are hoarding them all in their rooms and want to keep them forever.

Costumes:  At the last minute, I got inspired to make Princess Accessories for my girl and a S.W.A.T. Team vest for my boy. They turned out to be the most beloved gifts of the holiday... Sara actually took her fairy wand to preschool this morning. Joy!

Santa Lucia

It is one thing to read about holiday traditions from other cultures but it’s altogether another thing to witness it first-hand. We had the pleasure of celebrating the day of Santa Lucia with Swedish friends last week and it was absolutely lovely.

In honor of Saint Lucy, Christians in Scandinavian and some European countries mark the passing of this martyr that lost her eyes and her life for proclaiming her faith in God back in the 300s.  The tradition is that one young woman is chosen to lead a procession of girls. They all wear white gowns and carry a candle but the girl in the lead also wears a red sash and crown of candles.

Our friends with girls ages 2 and 5 decided to forego the candle crown but much to her parents’ displeasure, the eldest daughter insisted on wearing her special Santa Lucia pure white cotton gown to our house for a play date before the party. I promised to not break out the paints that day. She practiced her song all afternoon—I still have it in my head, too bad it’s in Swedish or Italian (sad that I don't know, I'll have to ask their Mom) or I could really get into it. Anyhow, all of her crooning led to everyone finding their favorite instruments and we had a great jam session complete with a stage made from step stools, percussion, strings, and woodwinds (or are they called plastic-winds when it’s the slider flutes and old fashioned recorders)?

Helping Sara with the words

Jamming

Sara on vocals, "lukealeylee," and jazzy dance moves

Later that evening we enjoyed snacks, spicy sweet warm Glögg, and a traditional cinnamon rice porridge beside our friends’ roaring fireplace. The lights were dimmed for their eldest daughter to come out carrying a lit candle and sing the traditional songs of a Swedish Santa Lucia celebration. Her younger sister stood close by, witnessing the ritual and watching with awe. All the kids (varying in ages from 1 to 8) sat quietly, mesmerized by the heartfelt performance, the candle’s flame and the thrill of something ancient and special.

Advent Adventures: Gingerbread House Play Date

Technically they aren’t gingerbread houses, they are actually made from graham crackers, but it’s the same idea. What is so great about this variation on the theme is that the kids not only have a chance to be creative with the candy decorations but they can also use their imagination to build whatever type of structures they want.

William's house with garage

Since there would be six kids making their own little scenes, I pre-made a LOT of graham cracker right angles. To do this, I mixed 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar and heated it to about 250 degrees, the point at which it will harden to a firm state when cooled. Next, I dipped two sides of graham cracker halves into the hot mixture and affixed them in a right angle then set them on a parchment lined cookie sheet to cool. I also made some right angles of one fourth of the graham cracker and left out plain crackers from the box so the kids would have more materials to work with. Ice cream sugar cones are another great addition to the construction mix. They make great trees (even when they break along the top, they can be broken into a smaller tree), chimneys, castle turrets, or ballroom dancing buildings (yep, that’s what William decided they were on one of his creations).

Admiring her park with a slide, climbing wall and skate ramp

Another good tip to prepare for a bunch of kids to work on these at the same time is providing cardboard or mat board to build on and preparing multiple bags of frosting for “glue.” (Recipe here.) Taping the back of the bag so the frosting is less likely to squish out onto small hands is also important (one squished out mess still happened despite my efforts – it helps to go around and “fix” each bag from time to time, pushing the frosting down as if it’s a tube of toothpaste).

This activity is even cool enough for Super Girl

...and easy enough for her little sister (almost 3) along with Spider Man's supervision

Once the young architects have built their creations, muffin tins are a great way to distribute all the candy and goodies they can use for decorating. Fill as many as you have so there is less reaching across the table which inevitably results in trees toppling as things get bumped.

Mostly candy filled our tins but it was fun to add some unexpected pretzels and bunny crackers too. One friend made a wreath using the pretzel and trails of bunnies all through the yard of his scene. The options are endless. Leave it to the kids to come up with some really cool ideas.

Advent Adventures: Homemade Wrapping Paper

The idea is to dip cookie cutters in paint (we used BioColor Red and Colorations Metallic Gold Activity Paint) then transfer those shapes to your paper then Voila! Wrapping Paper. However, if you are three, you may prefer a more hands-on approach.

It all started out being fairly tame. Notice the nice shapes the cookie cutters leave behind...

Then the experiments began... William testing the "movement" of the paint on the plates and Sara started smearing

"Ooooooo, how 'bout I make a print, Mom?"

Happiness

All we need is to put a bow on her! Best present ever...

Advent Adventures: Gingerbread Houses

At the rate we’re building, we’ll soon have an entire gingerbread village. This is one of our favorite holiday activities (it shows up in various forms in the advent calendar—sometimes just us making them, sometimes inviting friends for a play date/party variation).  I love the endless creative opportunities and hands-on process. The kids love enjoy that too but let’s be honest, some activities are really all about the candy…

Trader Joe’s stole my heart this season with their $7.99 Gingerbread House Kit that comes with adorable frosting figures. It is quick to build and wonderfully stable for little hands to dive right in and decorate without waiting for the frosting to harden. Also, this kit provided the best recipe yet for gingerbread house building (whip one egg white until peaks form, add 250 grams powdered sugar until mixed then add some lemon juice and water to achieve a nice thick sticky texture)—I will never go back to my old basic mix!

Some folks might miss the pre-made frosting that comes with some kits but an opportunity to lick the spoon is never missed in this house...

Look at those cuties (the frosting figures too)

So focused

While we're on the subject of Trader Joe’s… can I just tell you how muck I love that store? Let me count the ways with this list of some of our favorites this holiday season…

On the first day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, a fabulous South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (made from mostly paprika, no chemicals, adds a wonderful flavor to veggies or tofu)

On the second day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Two Gingerbread Houses

On the third day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, tri-color Veggie and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips

On the fourth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, four cans of organic beans (best price anywhere… even though I know that it would be cheaper and more healthy to make them from dried beans… working on doing that more)

On the fifth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, 5 pounds of Juicy Satsuma Mandarins (easy to peel for the kids and oh so juicy and delicious)

On the sixth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Sesame Honey Cashews (William would eat these by the cup-full if we let him)

On the seventh day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, a 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bar with toffee, walnuts and pecans (great stocking stuffer)

On the eighth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Snap Pea Crisps (this would be Sara's snack of choice any time)

On the ninth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, Organic 9 Grain Whole Wheat Bread (if you don't like your bread to be sweet, this is a great one!)

On the tenth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, all my favorite nuts and seeds at great prices

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, affordable organic dried cranberries

On the twelveth day of Christmas, Trader Joe’s sold to me, delectable Soy Creamy Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert

OK, so I actually consolidate my trips a bit more than my list suggests... but you get the idea. Much better than partridges in pear trees, don't you think?

The Wisdom of Daddy: A Special Phone Call

The Elves called yesterday and reported that they’ve been running into some nasty weather the past few nights and won’t be able to continue nighttime deliveries. They recommended that William and Sara stop waking up at 5:30 every morning and instead check their advent calendar periodically throughout the day to see if a delivery has been made.

Good call, Elf Daddy.