Grandma Stories» Holidays

Christmas For Grandparents – Personalized Christmas Gifts For Grandparents

Grandma — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 23:37:52 +0000

Choosing Christmas gifts for grandparents can at times be difficult, especially since many if not most grandparents have a home full of just about everything they need. Having seen several lists of what are deemed to be the “worst Christmas gifts for grandparents”, it is easy to see why gifting grandparents with things like cookbooks or knickknacks that must be cleaned or dusted aren’t the best ideas for gifting purposes.

Many grandparents have already or are in process of downsizing their homes to smaller abodes, so the last thing grandparents or elderly people need or want is more “stuff” to fill shelves and spend time on cleaning. Finding the perfect Christmas gift for a grandparent doesn’t have to be expensive, can certainly be homemade and dearly loved, and the more personalized the gift is the happier the grandparents will be.

While many grandparents love to receive new photos of their grandchildren for Christmas or other occasions, a new twist on the photo gift is to make a homemade iron on transfer and put the grandchildren’s picture on a sweatshirt or t-shirt for grandma and/or grandpa to wear proudly. Using fabric paint for the grandchildren to put their little hand prints on the front or back of the shirt is also a nice idea, and some parents even have their children use a fabric marker to write a special personalized message on the sweatshirt for an inexpensive gift.

Both grandma’s and grandpa’s love to bake cookies with their grandchildren, so one homemade gift idea might be to make “jar gifts” from your kitchen with dry ingredients for making cookies, brownies, muffins, cakes etc and place the ingredients in wide mouth jars or Mason jars in layers, decorated by the grandchildren with pretty ribbons and recipe instructions.

Another nice Christmas gift idea for grandparents requires a little help from the parents for making a homemade calendar with computer software with photos of the grandchildren for each of the twelve months. The grandchild(ren) can help select some of the best pictures to be used on the homemade calendar for a personalized touch, and may even want to use some decorative stickers for special dates like birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. Kids can make some kitchen magnets with self-photos using magnetic sheets, or plain kitchen magnets in various shapes with small photos applied, poems, special phrases or quotes.

For grandparents who have gardens, making some personalized stepping stones with clay kits is another cheap gift idea that grandparents will love, or handprint clay kits for young children to give their grandparents with hanging ribbon to display on the walls of their home. Personalized Christmas ornaments are lovely gifts for grandparents to trim their Christmas tree each year, and many other do-it-yourself craft kits for making grandma a necklace or bracelet and many other homemade craft gifts.

For Christmas, grandparents of all ages and abilities love nostalgia. Giving thoughtful gifts that bring back memories of long ago and perhaps forgotten over the years can brighten the smile on a grandparent’s face, being reminded of fun family times and family gatherings with a digital photo frame to cycle through important happy events. Grandchildren making a homemade scrapbook with help from mom and dad is another inexpensive but well thought out gift for grandparents to cherish.

Many grandparents love to read books but may have difficulty reading books with poor eyesight, which makes audio books a great gift option. Noise-cancelling earphones or headphones with volume controls allows grandparents with hearing impairment to enjoy listening to their favorite music or TV shows without difficulty. Senior grandparents who have difficulty getting around on their own, but enjoy activities to keep their mind sharp, find gifts like crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, board games, dominoes and crafting supplies wonderful gifts for grandparents to keep active.

Deciding on the best Christmas gifts for grandparents of any age is just a matter of knowing what their interests and hobbies are. Gift Grandma and/or Grandpa with a luxurious shower gift set or bath set for enjoying a soothing, warming and body-ache-reducing luxury bath or shower, perhaps with a bottle of their favorite women’s perfume or men’s cologne for a nice xmas present. As always, it truly is the Thought behind the gifts given that counts not the price tag, no matter how cheap the gifts may be, your thoughtful gift will be appreciated and cherished for many years.

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Christmas Preparation – Preparing Christmas Activities, Gift Lists, Cards and Xmas Dinner

Grandma — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:40:35 +0000

Christmas will be here before you know it. Year after year, we strive to begin preparing for Christmas very early into the holiday season, usually months ahead of time. Planning and preparing the various holiday season activities and parties to attend, as well as compiling a list of those we plan to buy gifts for, buying or making Christmas cards, preparing the Christmas dinner menu and guest list, and yes, all of the shopping for budget-friendly gifts.

As Dave Ramsey says, Christmas is not an emergency – it falls on December 25 every year, so you know it’s coming.

Preparing for Christmas well ahead of time, several months in advance even, helps a lot when on a tight budget. Watching for great sales and discounts on potential gift ideas throughout the year, and saving the gifts until Christmastime arrives, is a great help with sticking to a budget and not going overboard on expenses.

Creating a gift list with everyone’s names and any initial gift ideas, along with the total cost of each gift, can sometimes create sticker shock. By the time all of the names are added up, and what you initially think will be an appropriate amount to spend on each person, can sometimes come as a shock to the budget, where trimming names off of the list might be necessary in order to avoid going over budget.

Rather than actually removing names from the gift list, reducing the total amount to be spent on each gift recipient is a good alternative solution. Christmas doesn’t have to expensive, and paying for Christmas gifts with credit cards isn’t a wise choice either, which is why planning and preparing for Christmas by saving up money for purchases many months ahead of time is our preferred option.

We put a lot of thought into what to buy for someone as a xmas gift, and oftentimes we find buying something as a gift that we know is a true “need” vs just things on a “want” list brings us the greatest pleasure during the holiday season. Fortunately for us, it hasn’t been difficult to choose a gift for anyone we buy gifts for. Many times we gather ideas of what to give friends and family simply by paying close attention to any mention of something they’re needing and hoping to buy for themselves at some point in the future, making special note of what they’re needing, and we’re able to buy the item for them as a Christmas gift before they’ve had an opportunity to get it for themselves.

Homemade gifts for Christmas, or for any other holiday or birthday celebration, are among the most unique and thoughtful gifts one can give to another. The time it takes to make handmade gifts varies of course depending on how difficult the project is, which is just one reason why making fleece throw blankets and giving them as gifts is so enjoyable, because homemade throw blankets are quick and easy gifts to make and don’t cost much money to buy the fabric, and choosing fleece fabric that matches home décor is quite easy to do.

I’m not quite sure how many throw blankets I’ll be making and giving as gifts for Christmas this year, since I had already made around 25 throws and given most of them as birthday or anniversary gifts, or my personal favorite “just because” gifts. As much as we enjoy Christmastime with all the family gatherings, parties, dinner feasts and celebrating by giving gifts at Christmas, giving gifts to those we love and adore “just because” we love them dearly is our all-time favorite.

Every year, we create a spreadsheet containing all the names of people we’ll be buying Christmas gifts for, with added columns for jotting down gift ideas, estimated costs, and for making note of when Christmas cards were mailed out and to whom. We also include a column on the spreadsheet for the date gifts were shipped to family or friends living far away, and we keep the shipping tracking information close by to ensure the gifts arrive on time and aren’t lost in the mail.

For the most part, with few exceptions, we tend to spend an equal amount of money on gifts for each person. Sometimes that might mean one person may receive one wrapped present, while another person may receive two or even three gift wrapped presents, which only means we’re keeping as close to equal spending as possible. The only real exception to that is when we’re giving gifts to very young children and grandchildren, since at their tender ages, they can only see that another child has a greater number of gifts than he/she received and hurt feelings can ensue. We prefer to avoid that misunderstanding altogether.

Grandpa and I also find it helpful to split the gift list up, where he chooses gifts for some and I pick gifts for the others, so the responsibility is shared between us and reduces the potential of stress during the holidays. We don’t necessarily split the list equally, right down the middle, but that plan works well for us. Our family is continually growing, and we have another grandchild on the way, so somewhere along the line we’ll probably have to decide on making some adjustments on who we buy for and who may have to be dropped off the gift list.

Many families find that just buying gifts for the young children works well for them and their budget, and the adults receive no gifts at all, but still enjoy the love, fellowship and family gatherings even without gifts being exchanged. There really aren’t any “rules” to gift-giving at Christmastime, nor should there be, but it sure does help to begin saving up for the next year’s Christmas shopping spree in January.

Starting to save money for Christmas very early into the new year allows us the spur-of-the-moment gift buying for those we buy for that love their gadgets and electronics, and we’ve found many discount deals on what will ultimately become a Christmas gift by buying gifts well before the so-called “Christmas shopping season”.

By then, we’re finished shopping for gifts and they’re already wrapped and hidden away months and months before the masses hit the malls and struggle to find parking, while we’re comfy and cozy relaxing at home by the fireplace and listening to Christmas music. No Christmas shopping rush for us. That’s why Christmas planning works so well for us.

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Top 5 Gadgets for Grandma

Grandma — Tue, 17 May 2011 23:40:24 +0000

As you may already know, some grandmas are pretty much set in their ways. It’s hard for them to embrace “new school” applications, especially when it comes to technology—some find all those fancy tech gadgets and accessing the World Wide Web a tad bid too complicated.

But there are in fact special gadgets that are designed with Grandma in mind. To learn the top 5 grandma-user friendly tech gadgets that she might want to try, continue reading below.

5. The TKO Door Knob Turner. This low tech but highly effective gadget is designed to make turning doorknobs, faucets and valves a simpler task–a perfect gadget for grandmas who suffer with arthritis or for frail grandmas who have minimal manual strength. Price: $22.95

4. Kodak Pulse digital picture frame. It’s no mystery that grandmas love to receive photos of their grandchildren, but due to social networking sites like Facebook, more than half of all photos get posted online and never see the sight of a decent photo frame. Instead of having to go through the hassle of showing Grandma how to maneuver Facebook so she can view photos of her growing grandchildren, this new digital photo frame from Kodak allows family members to send digital photos from Facebook or via email directly to Grandma’s photo frame. All she needs is Wi-Fi internet access.

3. The Amazon Kindle. For Grandmas who love to read but suffer with poor eye sight, this e-reader may be the perfect solution. This is because it is made with a special “ink” that prevents sun glare and reads just like real paper, unlike computer screens that put strain on the eyes if looked at for too long due to the back light. In addition, the e-reader is light weight and grandmas can download books without having to stress about computer technical difficulties. Price: Starts at $114

2. JitterBug. There is no denying that Grandma needs a cell phone, at the very least for emergency purposes. But if the new smart phones are just too advanced for her, get her a simple JitterBug phone. This phone, which is especially designed for the elderly, has giant buttons and a clear, crisp phone screen— perfect for those who struggle with poor eyesight. If Grandma’s hands are too achy or shaky to scroll down her digital phone book, the phone also has a voice- activation system that will call contacts for her. It also includes an emergency button incase Grandma ever finds herself in an unfortunate predicament. Price: Starts at $99

1. iPad 2. The iPad 2 may seem like a gadget that is too advanced for Grandma, but in actuality it’s the perfect grandma-user friendly device. The large and simple icon buttons are easy enough for her to see and press; in addition the ultra-light weight design allows her to take her iPad wherever she goes. A great alternative to a heavy lap top or desktop computer, grandmas can do a variety of activities on a iPad, including some light reading, download brain exercises to keep their mind fresh to help fight dementia, video chat with children and grand children located in other parts of the country, and watch YouTube videos of their favorite cooking shows in the kitchen, for example. Starts at $499.00

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.

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Submit An Article

Grandma — Sat, 07 May 2011 21:38:44 +0000

“Do you accept guest articles on your Grandma Stories blog? If so, what are the requirements for submitting a guest post?” I’m often asked if would accept guest articles on my blogs. Yes, I do accept guest post submissions on Grandma Stories, and you don’t have to be a grandma to write for this blog. I only ask that potential guest writers carefully review the guidelines and requirements for submitting guest posts here before emailing me to ask questions.

To submit articles for publishing on this blog, guest writers must be careful to follow legal standards for content and use of images within their guest posts, and adhere to a few specific guidelines for guest posts. Submitting guest articles for this blog is easy – just email me through the contact form with any specific questions or post topic ideas and I will respond promptly, or just email me with a copy of the guest article being submitted with whatever image is appropriate for the content.

Guest Article Submission Questions and Answers:

Do guest writers have to have a blog or website of their own? No.

Do you pay for guest posts? No.

Do you require guest writers to agree to write and submit articles on a weekly/monthly basis? No.

How many external links are allowed? Usually two, but sometimes three depending on the length of the article being submitted.

If you have your own website or blog, you can embed a link to it within the guest article and/or linked within your self-written byline paragraph at the bottom of your article that describes you and your site as a way of promoting you and/or your blog site or business.

No affiliate links and no “sponsored posts” are permitted. Guest writers who do not have a website or blog of their own may link to their Facebook page, Myspace page, Twitter page etc, or none at all – it is up to you.

Submit a Guest Article? Why?

Writing guest articles for publication online is a great way of expressing your creativity through words. If you don’t yet have a blog or website of your own but have been considering starting a blog, submitting guest posts helps to “get your feet wet” so to speak. There are many reasons for guest writing on blogs, especially for beginner blog writers wanting to get a couple links pointed at their site to build its search engine rankings.

I often find that people are more creative than they think they are, and writing articles is a great way of expressing that creativity. I’ve had people tell me in detail about a book they read or a product they tried, what they liked or disliked and why, and without even thinking about it for very long they discover they’ve just verbally written a guest article on that topic. When I ask them to write it down or type it out on the computer and send it to me as a guest post, they become very excited about the idea of doing more creative writing projects in one form or another.

Some blog writers are strictly confined within a specific niche on their own blogs and want to widen their horizons by guest posting on other topics of interest to them and others, but don’t want to start a new blog on that topic for various personal reasons.

Before submitting guest articles to me for possible publication on this blog, take the time to consider the kind of articles and subjects that fit best on this site. Grandparenting, Grandparent Visitation Rights, Aging, Health, Recipes, Crafts, Skin Care, Hair Care, Older Women’s Issues, Older Men’s Issues, Gardening, Canning, Recycling, Holidays, Religion/Spirituality, Technology and more. I prefer not to allow guest posts on Politics, nor do I write political opinion articles on any of my blogs, although I’ve been known to share my views on Facebook from time to time.

If you are unsure about a topic you would like to write and submit as a guest post, contact me and ask. I’m pretty easy. Religion, spirituality, bible/scriptural matters relevant to real life and family living are fine, as long as the content of the post is not highly controversial or inflammatory to individual beliefs or that negatively target specific religions or denominations.

Submitted guest articles do not have to be perfect, and I rarely ever reject guest posts unless the article has so many spelling/grammar mistakes that I would end up needing to virtually rewrite the entire article myself. Guest articles are run through spell checker and grammar checker, and I verify outbound link destinations and punctuation. Other than that, no changes will be made to the actual content of your guest article.

Submitted guest articles must be your own original work and must not be republished anywhere else on the web. No duplicate content. Articles are checked for duplicity with copyscape and google. Articles must have a minimum of 650 words, 800 + words are preferred, and image(s) must be free of copyright use restrictions and optimized appropriately. If you have an idea for a guest post you would like to submit, pitch your idea by emailing me through the contact form and I will reply promptly.

Guest articles should be submitted via word doc with desired image(s) attached. Once the submitted article is approved and published on the blog, the author will be notified via email along with a courtesy link to their published article. I retain the legal right to publish, edit or reject any/all article submissions for this site to maintain the integrity and reputation of the site and site owner (me). Guest article submissions requiring extensive editing will be returned to the author for rewriting, and if necessary rejected.

To submit a guest article for publication or if you have further questions about guest posting on my blog(s), email me your questions and check your inbox (or possibly the spam folder as it may filter there) for my prompt reply.

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Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Brunch at Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel in Grapevine TX

Grandma — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:46:55 +0000

The Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Brunch is being held again at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel in Grapevine TX on Easter Sunday, May 8th 2011 from 10am to 2pm and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Mother’s Day brunch at Gaylord Texan includes a spectacular menu fit for a queen. Having attended and enjoyed the extravagant brunch at Gaylord last year, located in Grapevine Texas, it only makes sense to plan to go again this year.

The Mother’s Day brunch at Gaylord is by far the best buffet brunch in all of Texas. Champagne, mimosas, breakfast foods, seafood, salads and pastas of all kinds, a meats carving station and incredible entrees, a kids brunch buffet for little kiddos, cheeses and desserts the whole family can enjoy.

Gaylord Texan brunches are held in the beautiful Texas Ballroom at Gaylord, with spectacular brunch food, champagne/mimosa drinks, ice sculptures, a yellow rose as a gift for each mother, grandmother or mom-to-be.

Gaylord Texan Mother’s Day Breakfast/Brunch Complete Menu list

Breakfast Buffet Menu:

Omelets Made to Order: condiment choices include smoked ham, green onions, mushrooms, cheddar cheese and fresh herbs.

Classic Eggs Benedict; poached eggs on toasted English muffins topped with hollandaise sauce.

French Toast with cinnamon crusted pecans – whipped butter and Vermont maple syrup

Country style bacon and sage breakfast sausages

Southwest style breakfast potatoes

Scrambled eggs

Seasonal fresh fruit and berries

Assorted breakfast pastries, croissants, danishes, muffins, breads, biscuits and coffee cakes

Salad Bar and Pasta Buffet Options:

Classic Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, breaded chicken tenderloins, shaved parmesan cheese and garlic croutons

Sante Fe style mixed spring greens with roasted corn, zucchini & squash, julienne carrots and tequila marinated walnuts, colored tortilla chips and cilantro ranch dressing

Asian Shu Feng Salad with marinated beef and chicken strips, nappa cabbage, rice noodles, water chestnuts, fire roasted baby corn, marinated bell peppers and sweet Asian chili dressing.

Etruscan pasta salad with saffron ziti pasta, Italian sausage, baby spinach, sundried tomatoes, asparagus, gorgonzola cheese, basil and honey vinaigrette dressing.

Peel to eat shrimp and king crab legs, with cocktail sauce, remoulade sauce and other condiments.

Smoked Salmon with assorted cream cheese flavors, apple and horseradish sauce and other condiments

Assorted International cheeses, grapes, nuts and dried fruits

Antipasto display with grilled veggies, cured meats served with delicious marinated olives, cornichons and pickeled onions.

Assorted sushi display: ahi tuna, smoked eel, shrimp, sushi rolls with Japanese mustard, soy sauce and pickeled sweet ginger

Italian pasta dishes: cream cheese Mezzaluna, wild fennel, saffron risotto and penne pasta sautéed to order, herbs, grilled chicken and rock shrimp, alfredo sauce, arrabiata sauce, grated parmesan cheese and fresh seasonal vegetables

Brunch Carving Station and Entrees Menu

Raisin pineapple rum glazed ham

Cinnamon apple compote

Herb crusted beef tenderloin

Miso marinated grilled tilapia

Chicken saltimbocca

Lemon herb pork loin with dried fruit relish

Fresh seasonal spring vegetables

French Juliennes Mirepoix of vegetable with ponzu plum sauce

Creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes

Indian wild rice medley

Adult Dessert Buffet Items

Apple caramel tortes

Lemon meringue tarts

Chocolate truffle torte

Herringbone Frangipan torte

Fruited cheesecake varieties

Italian rum cakes

Royal Hawaiian bundt cake

Hazelnut and cinnamon Bavarian torte

Parfait assortments including crème caramel and mixed berries

White and Dark Chocolate Fountains with marshmallows, pretzels, strawberries, apple slices and pineapple chunks

Cherries jubilee with vanilla ice cream

Kids Brunch Buffet and Kids Desserts

Macaroni and cheese

Fried chicken

Pigs in a blanket

Peas and carrots

PB&J sandwiches

Mini pizzas

Double chocolate brownies

Texas cookies

Cupcakes

Jello

Assorted puddings in a cup

The price is the same as last year’s ballroom brunch, which costs $65.00 for adults, $25.00 for children 6-12 years old, and children 5 years old and under are FREE. The price includes food, champagne, yellow rose for Mom, self-parking, service charge and tax.

The Gaylord Texan website listed seating times for the brunch as occurring every half hour from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., however, reservations are not being accepted for the 12:30 p.m. time slot. Pre-registration and pre-payment for the Mother’s Day Brunch at Gaylord Texan resort hotel is required.

To make a reservation for the Gaylord brunch for Mother’s Day, call 817-778-1000 or buy tickets online at the Gaylord Texans website events page (gaylordhotels.com) before tickets are all sold out. Maybe we’ll see you there.

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Kids Luggage Suitcase Sets – Melissa and Doug Trunki – Disney Suitcases For Kids and Babies

Grandma — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:45:48 +0000

Kids luggage, specially designed suitcases for kids, babies and toddlers are very popular for children of all ages for travel or when going to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a visit. Children enjoy having their own luggage to call their own and put their clothes and toys in when traveling out of town, and since Grandpa and I have grandchildren that enjoy visiting, we thought it would be a great idea to look for kids suitcases for sale that are age appropriate and in colors or designs the kids would enjoy.

Kids luggage come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Children’s suitcase styles include backpacks, duffel bags, kids rolling luggage with wheels attached and are the right size as carry on bags when travel requires flying on an airplane. With a new grand baby on the way, we’ve of course looked for baby luggage as well. When our soon-to-be born granddaughter is coming to visit or spend the day/weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, the cute little baby girl will come supplied with everything she’ll want or need for a fun stay.

The toddler suitcases we found for sale are so cute, from popular luggage brands like Samsonite, and the Disney suitcases and polka dot luggage sets for kids or babies are not very expensive at all. To make it easy for young children to lug around their suitcases, luggage makers have fortunately made rolling luggage for kids, toddlers and even babies in the cutest styles.

Melissa and Doug Trunki Kids Suitcases

Since there is a new grand baby on the way, we were happy to find specially designed baby luggage by Child to Cherish in pink or blue colors that says Ready or Not, Here I Come Grandma on the outside of the suitcase. The very popular brand Melissa & Doug luggage called Trunki, part luggage and part riding toy, is prefect for little kids and toddlers who might otherwise grow tired pulling their suitcase or walking through the airport.

Older kids might be happy with solid color luggage or any number of character themes, patterns and styles of kids suitcases, but after seeing how cute the Melissa and Doug Trunki suitcase is for girls and boys, our grandchildren will have fun riding on their suitcase as a scoot toy and have the benefits of very own luggage all rolled into one.

While I’m sure there are many suitcase brands for kids of all ages available for sale to choose from, Melissa and Doug toys and wooden toys, puzzles, toy kitchen and play food, kids crafts, train sets, drawing easel, puppets and blocks for kids, and the extremely popular Melissa and Doug dollhouse for little girls are all high quality, trusted products. It only makes sense that Melissa & Doug’s luggage for kids on wheels, that little girls and boys can ride on and play with, would also be a high quality product parents and grandparents can fully trust.

Our toddler size granddaughter is almost two years old now and she has fun playing with all of the Melissa & Doug toys she has received so far and will continue to receive for Christmas, birthdays or as just because gifts, and the same goes for our yet-to-be born granddaughter when she makes her appearance into the world. Melissa and Doug’s Trunki comes in several colors for boys and girls, including Trixie pink, Sunny orange, Ruby red, Terrance blue, Jade green and Iris purple.

Disney Luggage Bags For Kids

Disney bags and Disney luggage sets and sleeping bags for kids are also very popular suitcases, with a variety of Disney character themes that toddlers and kids love. Some of the best known Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell, Minnie Mouse, Little Mermaid, Disney Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh and others are amongst the list of very popular kids rolling luggage, tags and backpacks.

With so many luggage options for little girls and boys, it’s sometimes hard to choose one over the other choices, especially when kids get a little older and become a tad picky. We’re nowhere near that kid stage with these little grandchildren being babies and toddlers, so until the children get old enough to voice their own preferences for a specific suitcase style or their parents choose their favorite, we’re going to go with Trunki by Melissa and Doug in pink and purple. Once the Trunki’s are received and tested out, maybe I’ll do a blog review about it.

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Mexican Christmas Traditions – Christmas Mexican Food For Christmas Eve Dinner

Grandma — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:34:17 +0000

We’ve been serving traditional Mexican food for Christmas Eve dinner for many years now, and Christmas this year is no different. Christmas Mexican-style, at least for the Christmas Eve meal, is one of our favorite things to do rather than the traditional foods we’ve all enjoyed over the Thanksgiving holiday.

By the time Christmas comes around, we’ve had all the turkey, ham, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, corn, deviled eggs, peas and carrots, bread rolls, cornbread, hot and cold salads, pumpkin and pecan pies etc that we can stand from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Since we actually had two separate Thanksgiving’s this year, on the same day, switching over to some authentic Mexican foods for Christmas is a welcome alternative.

Traditional Mexican Christmas Foods

We won’t be including some of the Hispanic Christmas traditions from Mexico, like the nine-day observance of Las Posadas. Posada is the Spanish word for “lodging” or “accommodation”, and posadas (plural) is the Mexican celebration honoring Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and their search for lodgings, in time for the birth of Jesus.

Reading the historical origin of Las Posadas and its meaning to the Mexican culture includes the start and end dates of December 16 to Christmas Eve on December 24th for a traditional Mexican Christmas and how Las Posadas is reenacted throughout the Mexican holiday. The special Christmas celebration of Las Posadas focuses on the celebration of the birth of Jesus, being together as close-knit family and friends, as well as genuine hospitality shown towards neighbors and people who have no family in the area to celebrate Christmas with, and plenty of food and drink to go around.

A Christmas candy and sweets-filled piñata is broken during the celebration, along with joyous celebratory readings and singing, and lots of authentic Mexican foods for all to enjoy. Authentic Mexican Christmas foods for Christmas Las Posadas include bacalao a la vizcaina (dried, salted cod fish, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, olives, red bell peppers and capers), menudo or tripe soup, tamales, buñeulos de navidad (sweet fritters), chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), ponche navideno (punch), ponche con piquete (hot punch with wine or spirits added for adults) served with a cinnamon stick.

Feliz Navidad Christmas Mexican Style Foods and Recipes

Serving Christmas Mexican food for everyone on Christmas Eve at our house includes a variety of authentic Mexican Christmas recipes, mixed with a few dishes that are really Mexican-American Christmas recipes that are simply called Mexican cuisine. While I know how to make authentic tamales, and made homemade beef, pork and chicken tamales for years, I don’t have the time or desire to make homemade tamales anymore.

Making homemade tamales takes a lot of time to prepare and cook, and I have fortunately found a great place to buy authentic Mexican tamales at a very reasonable price locally. I much prefer to spend the Christmas holiday preparing and making Mexican foods that are quick, easy and cheap to make, added to the various Mexican dishes and desserts each of our guests will be bringing for a so-called Mexican Christmas smorgasbord.

Besides the delicious and handmade beef and pork tamales, our Christmas Eve dinner would not be complete without enchiladas, pozole (pork and hominy stew), Chiles Rellenos, Chicken tortilla soup, Mexican rice and beans, spicy hot salsas, avocado/guacamole, Tamales de Dulce, Sopapilla cheesecake, Mexican cookies (Mexican Wedding Cakes) and flan, and so much more.

Mexican Cookies for Christmas

Mexican wedding cake cookies are called by many different names (Russian Tea Cakes, Pecan Sandies, Italian Butter Nut, Southern Pecan Butterball, Snowdrop, Viennese Sugar Ball and a Snowball), but these Mexican cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie rolled in powdered sugar after baking and are very popular at weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, christenings and at many other festive celebrations.

The real secret to making great tasting Mexican wedding cakes is to use high quality butter and pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. The Mexican wedding cakes recipe for these cookies is one that kids and grandchildren can make, with help from mom or grandma when it’s time to put the cookies in the oven to bake or when finished baking. I’m asked quite often for my recipe for Mexican wedding cakes, so I usually have a few pre-written recipe cards made whenever these cookies are made and brought to gatherings.

Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe

Ingredients list:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup powdered confectioners sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup finely chopped or crushed pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

(Powdered sugar for rolling cookies after baking)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy in a medium to large size bowl (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla. Stir in flour and nuts. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 1-3 hours (the longer the better). Shape cooled cookie dough into balls or crescents. Place shaped cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake in the oven 15-20 minutes until tops and bottoms are light brown (oven temperatures vary).

Remove from oven, and while still hot from the oven, using soup-size spoons (to prevent your hands from getting burned), begin gently rolling the cookies in powdered sugar. Allow to cool completely on wax paper, parchment or aluminum foil, then re-roll in powdered sugar one more time.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Makes about 3 dozen Mexican wedding cookies, depending on the size of rolled balls or crescent shapes. I usually double or triple the recipe because these cookies are eaten and gone so fast that I like to make a “secret stash” of these Mexican cookies for Grandpa and I to enjoy ourselves. Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah to you and yours!

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Best Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas of Last Minute Gifts to Make or Buy

Grandma — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 08:00:42 +0000

No one can accuse me of being a procrastinator, waiting until the last minute to buy Christmas gifts for everyone on our list. Shopping for Christmas gifts at the last minute, within days, hours or minutes of Christmas gift-giving exchanges would make this Grandma stressed out and unable to enjoy the fun festivities of the holiday season. Christmas Eve gift shopping? Yikes!

Even though our Christmas shopping is often finished well ahead of time, gift-wrapped and ready for Christmas gatherings with family and friends, sometimes there is a need to buy or make a last minute Christmas gift for an unexpected guest. It isn’t much fun watching or participating in opening Christmas gifts when someone is invited at the last minute to a Christmas dinner party when there is not a single present for him or her to open. Awkward is putting it mildly.

I like to keep a list of a few last minute gift ideas for those “just in case” moments at Christmastime, gifts that are inexpensive but still thoughtful, and certainly something the child, teen or adult would actually like and enjoy receiving. If I were as crafty as I’d like to be, I’d have a few pre-made, homemade knitted or crocheted hats, scarves, mittens etc in a nicely decorated Christmas-themed box for those surprise moments when a last minute gift is needed.

Since I don’t know how to sew very well yet, and I certainly have no experience with knitting or crocheting or making other handmade crafts to give as gifts, I have to stick with quick and easy cheap gifts from a retail store or homemade gift ideas of things that can be quickly made and given from my kitchen. Homemade Christmas sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles, brownies, fudge, Pecan Sandies tea cookies, soup mixes in a mason jar, my pecan pie muffins with a recipe card attached etc.

Homemade Christmas food gifts like: rum cake, coffee cake, pumpkin bread, popcorn or granola mixes, caramel corn clusters, chocolate bark with or without nuts, homemade biscotti cookie samplers, canned jams and jellies, chocolate-dipped peppermint sticks, homemade hot chocolate mixes presented in a holiday-themed coffee cup or mug, all make easy last minute Christmas gifts to make and enjoyed by the recipient.

Last minute gift ideas for wine drinkers isn’t hard either; just make a small homemade gift basket out of a good quality bottle of wine, add some cheese and cracker selections along with a new bottle opener, wrap it all up in a pretty basket or box with some colorful cellophane and ribbon and you’re all set to go.

A last minute trip to our local grocery store or pharmacy offers some quick and inexpensive gift ideas of fruit and nut gift basket selections, varieties of bubble bath or novelty soaps, great smelling candles, gift cards for restaurants or movie theaters or electronics stores etc, gourmet coffee and tea gift sets, women’s perfumes or men’s cologne’s, just to name a few of some of the best things that can be found last minute.

Shopping last minute for Secret Santa Christmas parties at work with co-workers can sometimes be a challenge, especially when the maximum price for a gift is no more than five, ten or twenty dollars. We found a cheap webcam within the required price range and it was one of the gifts everyone was fighting over. Inexpensive tools for men or women, small electronic gadgets, digital photo frames, barbeque/grill tool sets, books from a top-notch author, movies, CD’s, magazine subscriptions all make excellent, quick and easy to find last minute gifts.

Last minute Christmas gifts for kids or grandchildren might include a couple of the most popular board games for kids, building blocks, jigsaw puzzles, stuffed toys, high-bounce balls, toy cars or trucks, etc. The possibilities are endless if you really put your mind to it. Gift shopping at the last minute before Christmas still means putting some thought into what the gift recipient likes and enjoys, specifically needs or wants for Christmas.

Even though we’re finished with all of our Christmas shopping and ready for just about anything, there is always the possibility that an additional guest or two will be added last minute to our dinner guest list. We’re not worried at all though, as we’ve got lots of ideas for gifts we can make at home, in the kitchen, or quickly run to a local store and buy a small gift for our house guest just in case.

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Decorative Christmas Boxes as Christmas Decorations to Decorate Your Home for Christmas

Grandma — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:49:59 +0000

I get a real kick out of decorating our home for Christmas. I love everything about Christmas. The Christmas music, lights, holiday-themed movies, parties, gatherings of close friends and family for a meal and presents on Christmas Eve, and especially the joking and laughter that goes with spending time with people you love and who love you.

Buying Christmas decorations to decorate for Christmas can get very expensive, so I’m always looking for great ideas on how to decorate for Christmas inexpensively, on a budget. While I’m definitely going to be working hard to make my own Christmas decorations with my new sewing machine, homemade decorations that look good and presentable, I can’t help but smile and laugh at some of the ideas I’ve come across lately. When I say that I laugh, I mean that in a very good way. I’m often amazed at the craftiness some people have.

When I approached Grandpa a few weeks ago to ask him how he felt about possibly giving Christmas gifts to some of the people we stopped buying for a couple of years ago, I expressed my desire to give Christmas gifts not only to the very young grandchildren but also some of the adults as well, and I was happy to hear that Grandpa was in agreement with me. I knew then that I needed to come up with pretty unique ways to decorate, at least inside the house, otherwise it wasn’t going to look much like Christmas around here.

Since I really didn’t have the time or money needed to go and buy Christmas decorations this year, I began looking for some alternative decorating ideas online that are easy on the wallet. That’s when I heard about decorative Christmas boxes, and how you can make your home look beautifully decorated for Christmas just by using small, medium and large boxes that you might already have in your home to decorate with.

There are different kinds of decorative Christmas boxes, with completely different uses. Some people buy decorative Christmas boxes to put Christmas presents in rather than using wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, etc. That’s not the kind of Christmas boxes I’m referring to though. The type of Christmas boxes I’m talking about comes from the long list of holiday decorating ideas found right here and on other sites that might be referred to by some as “dollar store” Christmas decorations.

Decorating with boxes means gathering up empty boxes in various sizes, from very small, to medium, to large boxes and wrapping each box with Christmas wrapping paper, ribbons and bows, and maybe even slap a nametag on the top and place the empty wrapped boxes in groups around your Christmas tree, livingroom, or other rooms in your home as a cheap and inexpensive decorating idea. My favorite thing to do with empty boxes as Christmas decoration is to use oddly shaped boxes, cylinder/tube shaped boxes etc along with the regular square or rectangle-shaped boxes.

What had not occurred to me until a friend mentioned it, is that wrapping empty boxes (or a few lightly packed boxes with non-perishable junk inside) with old, unused Christmas wrap and faulty bows (where the sticky tab doesn’t stick anymore) works very well to thwart off pesky thieves. Place empty, Christmas wrapped boxes under and around your Christmas tree and wherever else you want to use boxes as decoration pieces, until just before the Christmas Eve or Christmas Day gift-unwrapping foray begins.

My friend even suggested putting old, to-be-thrown-away shoes, boots, shirts, broken electronics etc inside the boxes that will be wrapped and saved for next year’s Christmas decorating, to give the added illusion of there being real Christmas presents inside the boxes (in case your home is ever broken to). That was when I started laughing. Some people are so crafty it makes me smile.

Another friend of mine knows how to make glass block Christmas decorations out of real glass blocks that are drilled into from one side and decorated all sorts of unique and special ways. She made a 3-piece handmade set of decorated glass blocks with cut-out nativity scenes and fancy lettering designs and twinkling lights for Grandpa and I, wrapped them all in beautiful red and golden ribbon and gave it to us recently as one of the most thoughtful gifts we could have ever received.

Even if my own craft projects of making homemade decorations, gifts and crafts don’t turn out as nicely as some of those I’ve seen lately, I won’t mind at all because I know I’m in the company of many good friends who will teach me how to make homemade crafts like the professionals they are. The cheap decoration of wrapped empty boxes…, now that’s a decorative idea I can do on my own.

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Handmade Christmas Decorations – Indoor Christmas Decorations to Make

Grandma — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:21:01 +0000

Making handmade Christmas decorations, Christmas tree ornaments, diningroom table and fireplace mantel xmas home decor is just one of the many reasons why I’m anxious to receive my new sewing machine for Christmas this year. Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday, not because of all the festive Christmas gift-giving or receiving gifts that goes with the holiday season, but because of what Christmas means to me personally.

To me, Christmas means spending time with those you love and who love you, remembering that Christmas is all about Jesus and all He did for us, not about Christmas presents. Christmas is a time of sharing and being with family and close friends, helping those in need who are less fortunate than ourselves, like people living in shelters or homeless people living on the street or those who don’t have enough food to eat. You don’t have to be a Church-going attendee to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Decorating for Christmas, indoor and outdoor, can get very expensive. I’m not really interested in decorating every room in the house for Christmas, but I’ve gotten quite a few great ideas on ways to decorate for Christmas from online pictures and sewing patterns of things I can make myself, at a much cheaper price than simply buying decorations at retail or online stores. As a self-proclaimed sewing beginner, finding simple, quick and easy craft projects that I can make with my sewing machine or by hand, gives me so many Christmas decorating ideas that I don’t know where to begin.

I’ve made my own Christmas wreaths before and the wreaths turned out quite nicely, so much so that I’ve been asked a few times to make Christmas wreaths for others, and I was happy to oblige. A few years ago I was asked to make several wreaths of varying kinds and styles that would be sold at a church craft sale and the proceeds donated to charity, and I fully intend on making and selling other Christmas decorations and crafts where the profit proceeds are once again donated to charities.

I enjoy handmade and commercial Christmas decorations and ornaments of all kinds just like everyone else does. Angels, gingerbread houses, snowmen, reindeer, Santa’s and elves, they’re all beautiful and unique in different ways. Indoor and outdoor animated Christmas decorations make us laugh and smile, but I have no lofty plans of making animated decorations or wooden outdoor Christmas yard art whatsoever. I’ll leave the animated stuff and lawn décor to the skilled and experienced professionals.

To make Christmas decorations that are homemade, made by hand or with my sewing machine, will be a long-term project of making a variety of crafts to display throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season at home, to give as inexpensive gifts or to adorn Christmas presents with homemade Christmas tree ornaments rather than using typical cheap ribbons and bows sold in stores.

I become a kid-at-heart during the Christmas holiday season, especially during our annual visit to a relatively expensive Christmas decoration store where I get some great ideas for decorating at Christmastime without actually buying much of anything at the very high-priced store. Virtually everything sold at the local Christmas décor store is handmade, including artificial Christmas trees, ornaments, stockings, tree skirts, countdown calendars, garland, home decorations, tablecloths, wreaths etc, but buying unique handmade Christmas decorations there comes at a very high cost that will drain your wallet dry rather quickly.

With my adoration for reindeer and snowman Christmas decorations being at the top of my list of craft projects to start making, besides the usual Santa’s and elves and sleighs of course, decorating the front door, fireplace mantel, kitchen, bathroom, living room and dining room areas for the Christmas season is going to be a lot of fun. It will also give me plenty of time and opportunity to greatly improve my sewing and crafting skills in order to feel competent and good enough to sell (or give as gifts) the homemade Christmas decorations I decide to make.

I’ll of course be watching closely for after-Christmas sales, discounts and clearances on exterior Christmas decorations to save for next year’s lawn displays. Finding unique and inexpensive blow up outdoor decorations shouldn’t be too hard, except at retail stores that have already been picked over and the only yard art left is stuff no one else wants either. I have no intention of turning the inside or outside of our house into a Santa’s village or “winter wonderland” at all, but it will be a lot of fun to at least have a few rooms decorated nicely for Christmas parties and family gatherings and not look so primitive and bare.

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