It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Yes, the date on this post is correct.  It is still June and I'm already worried about Christmas.  Okay, maybe not worried, but definitely taking it into account. 

Am I weird for already considering our Christmas feast?  We don't do the Christmas dinner at our house, but we have a huge brunch for just us, usually consisting of cheese omelets, strawberries, and some sort of delicious baked goods (blueberry muffins, coffee cake, or cinnamon rolls), so I'm trying to make sure we get enough strawberries put up to ensure we don't run out of berries before Christmas!  As I type this (actually last night.  I delayed when it would publish until morning, so people would actually see it), my 7 year old son is finishing up processing an entire flat of strawberries for freezing and we'll be picking up more berries from the market today.

Not only do we need berries for our own personal use for Christmas, but homemade jams seem to be much appreciated gifts, whether it be to un-homesteady family, friends, or just people in our lives we want to show our appreciation to, like coaches, dance instructors, or even the mail lady, so I'm trying to get far more made than we need so I have lots to spare.

I know I'm not super weird for having holiday concerns already, or maybe it just runs in my family, since my mom has been touting her Thanksgiving Challenge since January!  Anyone else thinking about the holidays in terms of what they need to do now?  What's on your to-do list for this summer to be ready for this holiday season?

Handmade Holidays for Kids--great upcycled gifts and more

I saw on the news last night that there are already people camping out for Black Friday sales.  Seriously?  If I had almost a week of free time, I can think of lots of things to do with it, but camping out for the privilege of buying something wouldn't make the list, even if I did have money to spend.

As it is, I don't know that I'll have any money to spend on Christmas presents!  The adults on my list are pretty easy to take care of gifts for, since I was already leaning toward homemade gifts for them anyway (which I'm not going to say right now, since some of them do read this blog, but I might mention it on my Facebook page), but kids can be a bit trickier.  They tend to know what they like and, thanks to a culture of rampant commercialism (you know, the kind of culture that puts it in people's heads that they should camp out for a week to buy something!), kids tend to want store bought crap.  I have a few ideas that I'm tossing about for the kids on my list though, ranging from toddler to teen.  I don't know if I'm going to make all, or even any of these (and expect a blog post on the ones I do!), since if money were to present itself, I'd rather buy something (I know, I'm bad) that I know the kids would like than rely on my shabby crafting skills to produce something that, if well made, I'm sure they would like, but I can't promise I would make most of these well, since the majority of them depend on some stitching or basic woodworking skills that, frankly, I lack.  Basically, I'm brainstorming very publicly.

I stole the pictures from sites that contain directions, figuring they'd want me to, since you are more likely to go to their site if you see how cute their ideas are.  There are a number of thses that I wouldn't make exactly the same way as the directions I link to, but I linked to something just to give you an idea of what I have in mind.  If I do decide to make those gifts, I definitely will post my own version. 

Toddlers to Early Elementary Ages

felt food (a ginormous list of tutorials for tons of foods can be found here)

a bean bag toss game; maybe like this one, maybe something a bit different

sock monkey

bath crayons

salt dough jewelry
sewing cards
rag doll

puppet theatre

puppets made from old stuffed animals

Elementary Age to Teens
wobble board
journal

jean purse

Molasses Glazed Carrots--a holiday season side

This is the second in a series of posts dedicated to fancier-schmancier holiday sides, for those that don't like to keep it basic like I do for more versatile leftovers. My husband didn't care for the crisp-tender texture of these carrots--he prefers carrots that have been boiled, so next time, I may cook them like that and make the glaze separately and pour it over the carrots before serving, just to make him happy.

Molasses Glazed Carrots

 2 tbsp butter

about 1 lb of carrots, peeled, quartered, & cut in 2-3 in lengths

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp molasses

1/2-1 cup water

In a large skillet, melt the butter.  Add the carrots.  Stir the carrots to coat them in butter.  Cook for about 5 minutes; stir in brown sugar and molasses.  Add water to prevent burning the sugar.  Continue to cook until crisp-tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. 

Cheddar Mashed Potatoes--a holiday season side

As part of my continued effort to make the world a tastier yet healthier place (although, I admit, this is of questionable healthiness, but at least it is from scratch and not boxes or mixes!), I am starting a new series of posts highlighting side dishes that would be a wonderful addition to holiday meals, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, or what-have-you.

If I was hosting such a dinner, I'd actually prefer to keep holiday meals basic, just a big bird or chunk of roast or something, with fairly plan mashed potatoes (with gravy of course), veggies, etc, to allow for more versatility in the utilization of leftovers (which I will probably post about at some point, like the day after Thanksgiving), but some people like to have some fancy-schmancy holiday sides too and others may wish to just have these sides whenever.  We had these potatoes last night with venison steak and glazed carrots and it was good!  Definitely one I'll be making over and over!

Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

about 1 1/2 lbs potatoes

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp chives, finely chopped

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

salt to taste

Peel potatoes, rinse, and cut into chunks.  Place in a saucepan with water just to cover.  Place over high heat and boil until soft, about 20 minutes.  Pour potatoes into a colander and set aside.  In the same saucepan, place butter and chives and heat over medium heat until butter melts, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Return potatoes to pan.  Add sour cream, 2 tbsp of milk, and the cheese.  Mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth.  Add more milk if necessary.  Salt to taste and serve.