Snowflake Wreath

 I saw a video on Facebook that showed how to make this wreath (https://youtu.be/a6RIznyrCqo) . I decided to give it a try. 

I was able to find everything, including the ribbon at the Dollar Tree. 

You will need 6 mini Christmas trees, wire, hot glue, one roll of ribbon, decorative pieces to hot glue on the top, white paint, and a sponge brush. 

Put two trees together at the bottom with hot glue and wire. Then put each set on top of one another to make the snowflake shape. Hot glue and wire that together in the center as well. 

Fluff out the trees so they fill in the gaps. Use a sponge brush to add some white paint to the branches if you want a flocked look.  

Make a bow and hot glue that and the decorative pieces to the wreath. For more details, click on the video link above to see how to make the bow and the wreath. 

Rocky Road Fudge

 This fudge recipe is very easy and tastes delicious. 

Ingredients: 
1 bag chocolate chips (semi-sweet works best)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

3/4 cup peanuts

Line a bread pan with parchment paper. Spread 1/2 cup of the marshmallows on the bottom of the pan. Put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwavable bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals until smooth. Stir after each time. Add the rest of the marshmallows and peanuts and stir. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan. Let it chill in the fridge. Cut when set. You can also double the recipe to fit an 8x8 inch pan. 

A Christmas Story Christmas Dinner Party

For the opening of A Christmas Story Christmas, we decided to have a themed dinner party. 

We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and Ovaltine. I also made leg lamp and "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" cookies and chocolate "soap" bars that say "Oh Fudge". 

For the past 24 days, we have been opening one of the characters from the Christmas Story Advent calendar. 

I used my stocking cookie cutter to make the leg lamps. I just straightened out the bottoms a little before baking. 

I also made this photo board out of a large cardboard box. 

I bought a pair of reading glasses from the Dollar Tree and popped out the lens for use with the photo board. 

I used a Reese's peanut butter cup for the top of the cookie. 

The Santa Clause Movie Dinner Party

 We decided to have a theme dinner party for the new Santa Clause series on Disney Plus. 

We had breakfast for dinner to go with the Denny's scene in The Santa Clause original movie. I also made some Santa Claus clause cookies. We finished the evening with a hot cocoa bar. 

Farm Birthday Cake

 

Taco Lasagna

Ingredients: 

6-10 soft shell tortillas

1 lb ground beef or turkey

taco seasoning

1 can black beans

1 small jar of green chilis

1 can enchilada sauce

shredded cheddar cheese

1 can of corn (optional)

Start by browning your hamburger or turkey burger. Add taco seasoning and water and let simmer for a couple of minutes. 

Meanwhile, put a layer tortillas on the bottom of a glass pan. Cover with enchilada sauce. 

I then added a layer of the taco meat, black beans, and green chilis. If you want corn, add that too here. Top with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese. 

Repeat until you have three layers. 

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

 

A Birthday for Cow Cake

 One of Rachel's favorite authors from her toddler years is Jan Thomas. "A Birthday for Cow" was a very popular book. We noticed that Cow's birthday was Oct. 17th in the book, so we have been celebrating Cow's birthday every year for the past five or six years. This was our cake this year. 

"Fall" Back Dinner/Tea Party and Meatloaf Recipe

As we prepare to turn our clocks back an hour tonight, we thought have a fall tea party would be fitting. We had mini meatloaf, mac and cheese, and pumpkin donuts (it's also National Donut Day). I added some fall wafer rolls, apple cider cookies, candy corn marshmallows, and a meat and cheese board. 

I tried a new meatloaf recipe for this party and have found my new meatloaf recipe! 

Ingredients: 

2 lb hamburger

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup milk

1/2 onion, chopped

1 egg

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/3 cup ketchup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 muffin tins with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix everything (except the ketchup) until well combined. 

Fill each muffin tin with the meat mixture. If you want ketchup on top, spread a layer on top of each of the mini meatloaf. Bake for 35 minutes. 

This could also be baked in a bread pan for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

 

Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin Party

While we watched The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, we had some snacks and did some coloring. 

We used put Nutella on graham crackers and decorated them like a pumpkin patch using candy corn and Brach's pumpkins. We also had "I Got a Rock" donut holes, and pudding cup pumpkin patches. 

I used chocolate covered Oreos for the moon and added a frosting Snoopy and some pumpkin candies. 

 

Blood Drive Care Packages

 

Our National Honor Society hosts a Red Cross Blood Drive a couple of times a year at our school. To help ensure the students eat before they donate, I put these care packages together to give the kids the morning of the drive. There was a mini water bottle, an orange, a granola bar, and an applesauce pouch. I made the tags on Canva: it provided them with the information about filling out their Rapid Pass before coming to the drive.