Christmas Tree Process Art

 This is such a fun way for kids to paint, without using any brushes! It creates a lovely work of art that adds just the right touch of kid made cheer to your space!

My youngest and I love to paint together. We are always thinking of things to paint, without turning to a paint brush. We came up with this adorable process art using only a cork, a pencil eraser, and some paint. This is the perfect seasonal art project for kids.

Supplies:

Paint in green, red, yellow and brown

A pencil with an eraser

A paper plate

A cork

Paper

Directions:

Pour a little squirt of each color of paint on a paper plate.

Offer your child a pencil with an eraser and a cork.

Encourage your child to form the tree shape by stamping in the green paint, then adding one stamp to the paper.

On the next line, make two stamps.

On the third line, stamp 3 times. You get the idea.

After the tree is formed, using the eraser, dip into the other colors of paint, and start decorating the tree.

                     Use whatever colors you like for the ornaments. We used red, blue and yellow.

                                          Next form the tree trunk with brown paint.

                                         Allow to dry and display.

Isn't this such a cute holiday process art idea? Preschoolers and toddlers might enjoy this too!

You can find all of our Christmas crafts here.

Reader favorites include:

Gnome ornaments

Reasons Why Wine Is Still A Good Gift Option To Consider

 Reasons Why Wine Is Still A Good Gift Option To Consider 

The festive season is approaching us in a month or two. Thus, it's a good idea to think about some thoughtful gifts. Such circumstances are common to lead us to the dilemma of picking wise gifts for our relatives, colleagues, and friends. You may look through multiple options, but deep down, the solution is with the cellar. 

The connection between a cellar and gift items - 

It may interest you to know that wine is acknowledged as an ideal gift. The ancient Greeks considered it as a gift from the Almighty. In their culture, the Ancient Egyptians were common to bury their loved ones along with a handful of supplies to ensure they remained happy afterlife. 

Now you may be considering 'wine' as an outdated gift option, but when waking up to the realities, you will realize wine is a sophisticated and wise gift item. If you still don't believe us, surf through these legit reasons to change your perspective. 

#1 - Picking the right wine for the right person - Most people in your circle may be in love with sipping wine, but not all of them would love to go for the exact wine. From vegetarian wines to something unique like Sauvignon Blanc, there are many wines to choose from. This gives you ample options to select a safe and thoughtful gift. 

#2 - Wine for all occasions - No matter if it's Christmas eve or a gift for your friend's achievements, remember there is a wine type for everything. For instance - most people prefer Champagne and sparkling wines for special occasions, whereas others prefer Domaine Leroy Musigny for a plush home warming. All in all, you won't run out of options made just for you. 

#3 - It's a way of honoring someone you admire - Wines are considered an ideal way to honor someone who has achieved a remarkable feat in life. Countries like Argentina, U.S., and South Africa are considered the maximum for regional wines ensuring an authentic wine experience. 

#4 - Adorable packaging options - When it comes to gifting, its packaging plays a crucial role in impressing the receiver. And that's when wines work as an ideal gift for you. The markets are loaded with many wine bottle decoration items or boxes to make this job easier for you. All you need is to surf through the suitable options. 

#5 - Online platforms to assist you - Many online platforms are helping you choose the right wine type. Such platforms make you undergo a wine quiz and discover and display relevant results to have the most suitable wine for yourself. For this, you can consider joining a monthly wine club enriching your knowledge about the best tasting wines available in the market. So, what are you waiting for?

The last word - 

Choosing a thoughtful gift for your friend or close ones can turn into a significant challenge, primarily when you have been revolving around some selective gift options in your life. Here, wine works as a progressive gift option strengthening your bond with the one you are gifting it. But make sure you are reaping enough knowledge about the best wines available around. 

If You Must Clean out Your House in The Winter, Read This

 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/house-field-and-tree-covered-with-snow-near-body-of-water-3375674/

Decluttering in winter sounds like the craziest idea anyone could have. However, it actually is the best time of the year after fall. For some reason, there’s a huge hype about spring cleaning. You don’t have to clean out your house in spring because it’s a traditional time to do so. Moreover, junk removal services like Jiffy Junk are often completely booked in spring. If you did your decluttering in spring, you’ll likely end up on a waiting list. Take advantage of the cold season and be already all set and done when spring comes around.

Perfect Time To Organize Seasonal Items

Now that summer is over all of your garden furniture is probably back in the garage or the basement. But those aren’t the only items in your home you’re only using on a seasonal basis. Take your wardrobe, for example. Not only do we usually not wear 80 % of the clothes we have. Almost half of our clothes are seasonal items. No one wears a thick jumper in summer. As you’re organizing your home bit by bit, it’s the perfect opportunity to arrange seasonal items. Anything you find of no further use for you might be just the right gift for someone else. You could sell or donate unwanted items. It’s the season of giving after all and you could make a couple of poorer people happy. 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-color-translucent-glass-containers-1148450/

Create a Stress-Free Zone

Especially during the winter season, people are more likely to be stressed out. On the one hand, there’s all the planning for the holidays. On the other hand, the darker season of the year can bring about low moods. As a matter of fact, clutter can contribute to depression and other stress-related mood swings.

The more you have, the likelier you may experience symptoms of stress. It even affects your sleep to have lots of clutter accumulated. Researchers found that if you lots of clutter piles, your brain can’t switch off during the night. Piles of clutter give you a sensation of an unfinished To-Do-List.

You can actively keep stress at bay as soon you take care of all the clutter in your home. Do a thorough junk removal to make you feel more relaxed in winter.

Everyone Can Help

Given the fact that life happens mainly indoors in winter, the whole family can help with the decluttering process. Surely, your children will run outside into the garden and play in the snow, but they are unlikely to spend the entire day outside. Neither is there a lot of BBQs or pool parties happening. 

Everyone automatically has more time. The more you are to tackle junk removal from your entire home, the sooner you’re done. It’s best if every family member tackles his own area. You won’t end up with someone crying because you did away with your child’s sentimental value. Turn the process into a contest. Whoever is done first with his area gets to decide what’s for dinner or ice cream. 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/books-on-brown-wooden-shelf-3747507/

How to Best Clean Out Your House in The Winter

Now all of that being said, you’ll only need a plan to start with junk removal. You don’t build a house without a blueprint. Each project requires organization.

1. Set yourself a goal

If you started junk removal of your home but had no time frame, you may never finish it. Therefore start with setting yourself a goal until when you’d prefer to be done with it. As a rule of thumb, it’s always best to plan as long ahead as possible. The more you have to go through, the more time you will require. It might not be a good idea to decide to clean out your home a week before Christmas. Considering all the holiday preparations you’d end up adding more stress to your plate. 

2. Do one room after another

You can’t do junk removal in all rooms at once. Tackle one room after another and split those rooms up into four parts. It provides you with manageable chunks and won’t overwhelm you. Take care of smaller rooms or those where you know you don’t have much to go through first. Leave larger rooms with lots of stuff for a day when you’ve got more time. Don’t do those in a week you know you’ll be very busy. 

3. Take out the garbage first

The easiest approach to junk removal from each room is to take out the obvious garbage first. Take a bin bag and stuff it with any garbage you find on the spot. Sweet wrappers, empty bags of chips, old papers, and notes can go without being looked at. Once the superficial garbage is out of the way, you’ve got more space to organize each area. If this is a much bigger job than you anticipated, you can look towards a company that offers skip bin hire sydney, or skip bin hire near you, so you have some assistance with excess waste! 

https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-teenager-choosing-clothes-in-bedroom-4545966/

4. Take three boxes

Next, you best take three boxes when you tackle each area of a room. One box is for things to keep, one for selling or donating, and the latter for junk to toss. Don’t forget to also sort seasonal items in this method. You may want to keep winter clothes and seasonal decorations. But chances are, you’ve already not used some of those items last year. If you haven’t used it last year you’re unlikely to use it again. Only keep clothes and decorations you truly love. Throw anything else out. Also, throw out anything you’ve got doubles of. No one needs several baking tins with the same mold. Don’t forget to also check rags and furniture.

And Finally, Arrange The Junk Removal

At best you’d arrange a garage sale with items you could sell, but winter is probably not the best season for garage sales. You could try to sell unwanted items online though. Since the winter weather can make 

it’s hard to bring donations to a charity, you might want to rely on a junk removal service. You’ll need to schedule a collection for your unwanted items anyway. Most junk removal services have partnered with charities. They will bring any items from a collection that are still in good shape directly to a charity. Two birds, one stone, and the most convenient way to perform a junk removal. 

Absolutely YUM Christmas Spice Fruit Cake

 To me, nothing says Christmas louder than a warm kitchen wafting smells of baking. With Christmas just around the corner, I have been trying out recipes for Christmas dinner feast. In addition to the traditional options, I was looking for an alcohol free version of fruitcake that I could serve to my younger guests and by Jove, I think I’ve found it!!! After trying several variations to the recipe, I’m absolutely stoked to share the recipe of this absolutely delicious spiced fruit cake. This is an ideal cake for Christmas, loaded with fruit, nuts, and spices that pack this cake with deliciousness! I have made it twice and it has been polished off both times before it has even had time to cool properly.

I have made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe by Omana Paul. I got it from a friend who called it “plum cake” which wasn’t fair since this recipe has no plums in it. It comes together quickly and tastes divine. One tip before you begin though, I had to throw out an entire batch because I cracked an egg directly in my batter and the egg was bad. Always crack your eggs in a separate bowl, or do the egg float test to check for freshness before you start a recipe.

The recipe yields one 6″ cake. Happy Baking!

YOU WILL NEED:

For the cake:

white sugar 3/4 cup

room temperature butter 2/3 cup

eggs 3

Plain flour 1 cup

chopped nuts (cashews, almonds, or walnuts) 1/2 cup

black raisins 1/4 cup

mixed dried fruit (dates, cherries, orange peels) 1/2 cup

cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp

clove powder 1/4 tsp

baking powder 1 tsp

vanilla extract 1 tsp

Salt 1/8 tsp

For the syrup:

white sugar 1/2 cup

WHAT TO DO:

Make the syrup. Melt half a cup of sugar in a pan on low heat till it turns into a dark caramel colour. Don’t let it burn. But make sure you don’t let it burn. Turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup water. The sugar will crystallize and harden. Put it back on the heat for about 10 minutes or until the sugar crystals dissolve. Cool and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C.

Mix 3 tbsp. flour to the dry fruits and nuts. Dredge completely to coat them. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the batter while baking. Put aside.

In a separate bowl mix remaining flour with the baking powder, spices, and salt.

Whip the butter together with the 3/4 cup sugar until fluffy. Incorporate the vanilla and one egg into the batter.

Then mix in a bit of the flour mixture. Then add another egg. Repeat alternating between the eggs and flour till they are all used up.

Add in the cool caramel and fruits and gently fold in.

Pour into a greased cake pan and bake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with dry crumbs, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Dust with icing sugar after the cake has cooled.

Enjoy!!!

14 Christmas Casseroles for Breakfast

Are you looking for a way to make Christmas breakfast amazing without spending much time in the kitchen? This list has 14+ breakfast casseroles that will make the holiday morning deliciously satisfying!

From casseroles loaded with sausage to hearty casseroles that are straight from the Amish country. This collection has some really decadent ideas for you!  I can't wait to hear which is your favorite!

As you might have figured out already, I am all about the Christmas holidays! I drive my family a little nutty with my enthusiasm for the holidays. I begin building steam in September and am elbows deep in crafting, cooking and wrapping by the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I guess you could consider this your one stop shop for crafty ideas, easy foods and great gifts. Well, enough about my holiday obsession and let's get on to these recipes! Be sure to click thru the link to visit the recipes.

Sausage Apricot Breakfast Casserole by Dukes and Duchesses

Breakfast Burrito Casserole by Homemade Interest

Easy Overnight Egg Bake by Foodal

Overnight Cinnamon Roll Casserole by The Kitchen is my Playground

Sausage Breakfast Casserole by Meaningful Mama

Farmers Market Breakfast Casserole by Two Healthy Kitchens

Cinnamon Roll Casserole by Cook Eat Go

Mediterranean Brunch Bake by Simply Stacie

Potato Breakfast Bake by That Guy Who Grills

Easy Egg Casserole by Mama Loves Food

Cowboy Christmas Casserole by Platter Talk

Eggs Benedict Casserole by Centsless Meals

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole by Spend with Pennies

Amish Breakfast Casserole by Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats

Find all of my holiday crafts here

Design Your Own Holiday Elf Printable

 I have a free printable for you today! This FREE Design Your Own Holiday Elf is so fun for kids and adults! You can color and decorate it however you like, and don't forget to give your elf a face!

I made this for my kids to welcome our Elf on the Shelf, Johnny. It turned out so cute that I wanted to share it with you. Print as many as you like. Share them with a friend, or a teacher for a FREE holiday themed activity that kids of all ages, including my 45 year old husband, are sure to enjoy!

I am already planning ahead that next year, if the kids are back in school normally, we will print these and gift them to the class with a box of crayons.

Make sure you pin this for later, so you can pull it out again next year too!

          You can print this free printable Design Your Own Elf Printable Here.

You can find all of my Christmas Crafts here

You can check out all of my gift guides for to simplify your shopping.

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Necklaces

Jingle all the way with these adorable DIY Mickey Mouse jingle Bell Necklaces! 

Christmas is close, and this year things are going to be tight for a lot of families. Skipping the gifts just isn't right! We all deserve a surprise this year! So why not make a dozen Mickey Mouse Jingle Bell Necklaces to share with the special people in your life?

You can make about a dozen necklaces for $3 if you shop at Dollar Tree for supplies. These are awesome for classroom gifts or a way to spread a little cheer with a very limited budget.

Supplies:

Large Bells

Smaller Bells

Ribbon or bakers twine

Scissors

Hot glue gun

Cut the ribbon to the desired length. (12-15" is ideal)

Thread your ribbon or twine thru the top of the large bell.

Use the hot glue gun to attach the small bells to the large bell. 

Place one bell on either side of the ribbon.

Allow the hot glue to dry for a few moments.

Tie off the ribbon to complete the necklace. Make sure your knot is secure.

Your necklace is ready to wear or share! Jingle all the way with a touch of Disney magic!

If you are looking for more Christmas ideas check out these reader favorites:

Button Tree Ornaments 

Design Your Own Play Doh Ornaments