HOLIDAY missions and ideas

I hope you all have fun with this thread!!! Please share ideas, recipies, traditions or any other goodies. And vent! The holidays can be a stress bomb.

I am always cramming a holiday plan together at the last second. And, I have been cramming the fly missions in an email folder to "read later." Typical me! The cleaning part ends up being crisis. I have to clean first because I move a lot of the house to decorate and 11 months worth of mystery dust poofs up. But then I look at it and it is all worth it. Kinda like giving birth...LOL!

I hate, hate, hate Thanksgiving with a passion. Christmas is nice but I tend to give myself way more guilt and pressure than tidings and joy. Last year I made sculptures as gifts during basketball games - I do metal stuff. I have an immense Santa collection that has been building since I was a child - huge I tell ya - and I look forward to getting them out. For Christmas, we follow my family tradition (German) and have a Christmas Eve celebration late at night with a dressy fondu dinner before gifts.

The running around the state to relatives happens on Christmas day or when we can. I don't like that part at all and the planning to go-go-go stresses me out. Pack, repack, try to keep the sugar highs in check, try to not listen to all of the other parents brag about how much stuff they gave their kids. I need some holiday spirtit my friends! All I want to do is have a nice quiet celebration with my sweeties and little visits with friends and family. SMALL GIFTS from the HEART! I want my kid to grow up with memories...not Barbies. Am I nuts??

This year...I have no idea what I will make. I'm terrified of canning but want to learn to make wine jelly. Cookie baking has been very back burner for the past few years but if I plan ahead that might be fun to do with Mandolin. She is at an age where she can really help and be fun in the kitchen. Any favorite recipies?? I'm very big on kids giving homemade gifts.

Oh! Kid craft project idea!! Snowguys. The grandmas loved these last year and it is very likely you have most of the supplies at home. I didn't use all rice. I put rice on the bottom and batting in the rest. http://www.gerberlife.com/gl/view/h2/newsletter/dec06/article3.jsp

Now Halloween and Easter...those are my days. I have the Halloween decor out and we (the adults) have already consumed the "never gonna make it to the kids" candy. It's a tradition. I cut some large purple plum tree branches (dark leaves that wilt well) and placed them in a vase for the Halloween tree. Mandolin decorated it with purple lights and ornaments she made. All of the witches and ghosties are haunting our house. All I need is some gauze to decorate the porch and the pumpkins. The gauze ripped and pulled makes a great haunted mansion looking display for the kids with spooky eyes lit up behind it. And it is super cheap. Oh, and a thrift store run for a costume base for my little zombie. Better get busy this weekend!

hi there. I love this thread. In fact, I wanted to ask you all long ago about the typical cookies served in places like starbucks. I mean those cookies with chocolat chips (sometimes you get them with white chocolat and walnuts). The consistence is different from the butter cookies. I don't know how to get that "rougher" consistence, so if someone knows what I mean, and can give me a hand, I would really apreciate some hints (or a recipe). the cookies I'd like to bake look more or less like this:


In Spain the tradition is to celebrate Christmas Eve with a late night dinner (after service) and Christmas Day big lunch, but in Barcelona we only celebrate Christmas Day and Boxing day big lunches.

The traditional xmas lunch consists of a very complete stew with veggies, meat, etc and a stuffed peasant chicken.

The traditional boxing day lunch consists of caneloni (supposed to be made with the leftovers from the previous day). nowadays we hardly get any leftovers, so we buy specifically for caneloni.


I would also appreciate a recipe for muffins, please. yum yum. gotta go before I start salivating too much

thanks a lot.

Banana Muffins,makes 12 ones.From All Recipes.com

1 1/2 cups all_ purpose flour

1 ts Baking powder

1 ts baking soda

1/2 ts salt

3 large bananas , mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter melted

Preheat oven to 350 F ( 175 C ).Coat muffin pans with non_stick spray.Sift together flour,B.P , B.S. ,salt.
Combine Bananas , sugar,egg, melted butter in a large bowl.Fold in flour mixture,mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 mins.
You can bake and freeze. Defrost in fridge overnight.

Hope you like it.

yum yum. i'll go shopping on monday and see if I can find baking soda (I know about baking powder, but never heard of baking soda) and give it a try next week. thanks a lot, Lina

I need some help again (sorry for being so demanding). Does anybody know what plugin do I need to watch the videos in wbir? the holidays missions. I have real player and quicktime (the one that installs iTunes).

Here we have two holidays coming up: Sinterklaas en Kerst (Christmas)

Now, shall i tell you all a little story of how Santa Claus came to be? Part of Europe had a really old holiday, of a saint, called sinterklaas in dutch, translated it would be saint claus, which was celebrated on the 5th(or 6th there are some discussions about that)... see where im going. When the dutch went to america they took saint claus, santa claus with them and somewhere along the way it went from the beginning of december to the 25th:)

So, we dont have Santa Claus with Christmas, we have it the 5th of december. You give eachother gifts, sometimes with a surprise where you have to find the gift in.
Christmas depends on whether you're religious or not. If you are, its all about christ here, otherwise its more about family and love and food

I grew up in a catholic home but i dont really have a religion myself. I love both holidays and so i always love making something of it. Normally i start too late, people get there christmascards after newyears, etc. So i love the fact that we are now kept on track.

For Sinterklaas i dont need to do much. I will make sure everyone has someone to buy a gift for and then make my own surprise and buy the gift (ok, that will require some time)

Christmas is a whole other matter. I love the mood/feeling that hangs around christmas, and i would love to decorate my house.. but we only have stuff for in our tree. And that while BF and I both need to decorations and feeling to get into the mood of christmas, otherwise it is over before we even get in to the mood. So now i want to make stuff for the holidays, like small centerpieces, maybe an adventcalander (i saw such a cute one that can be made with embroidering at which im quite good), and table stuff. I really could use some fun tips of things that will make my house more holiday-ish without too much time, cause otherwise these will end up a lot of halfway finished projects.
Btw, the reason i might have the feeling i need stuff for my house for the holiday is that i still dont feel like this is home yet, and now that its getting colder and dark early in the evening i even notice that feeling more..

My bf and i noticed the difference between our parents very well the last 2 years, his parents dont give much about it, only they exchange presents, my parents dont want to do presents with christmas, they do it at sinterklaas, so christmas is about religion and family - the second was a lot nicer, at his family we felt almost unwelcome (though we werent at all) So this year I asked his parents to come to have a dinner here, that is something i really want. Luckily im a great chef (hehe) so that wont be the problem and the other day we are going to my parents.

Music for christmas is also something we could use tips with.. We only got 2 cds and believe me, that is getting boring after a while

Ok, sorry for the ranting, i hope you can make sense of my post

it makes a lot of sense for me because it happens the same over here. at the beginning of december Sant Nicolás was celebrated, then, at Christmas, children hit a log with a stick and this log sort of "poos" sweets and treats to be eaten during the holidays. the presents are exchanded on the 6th of january, and it is the 3 Wise Men who leave them at our balconies. I am not religious but I have a lot of respect for tradition, so we do the meals and gather with all the family (both sides) and all. we also exchange presents. the christmas tree is not traditional, but most people put it up.

BTW, it sometimes gets a bit out of the budget, all this presents thing, so what we do is sort of a blind friend. The adults put their names on a piece of paper and mix them in a bag. Each adult takes one paper out and is responsible for getting this person a present. This way, we only have to buy one present, and we all get one. If we agree on a budget of 60 euros, we have to stick to it. The children get presents from all families, they do not know where the presents come from

April, I right clicked on the video,then clicked ( about ) a small window opened that said :Windows Media Player . Version : 11.0.6000.6336

Hope it helps,it's really nice *seeing* the missions

thanks a lot, lina, I'll go see if I can fix it. you're a summer sun

I love hearing about traditions! My mother was born in Metz but then lived in Berchtesgaden, Germany (Eastern Alps.) Here is what my family passed on...

The Weihnachten tradition starts with Advent on Dec. 6th. We use an Advent calendar and I never quite understood why it started on Dec. 1. Dec. 6 is also the day the Turkish Nikolaus, dubbed the protector of children, was sainted. That is the day kids found the shoes they left out filled with fruits and nuts. As a child, that is pretty much what I got on Christmas. Candy was placed in the home but not in the stocking.

Due to the whole Prodestant vs. Catholic issues during the Reformation the Catholics made it so Christ, Christkindl, gave the gifts on Dec. 24th. Nicholas became the guy who came to judge kids on his day - naughty or nice. Well, sorta. He had helpers. Krampus (there are ton of guys depending on where you live but this was the one I was taught about because my family is Bavarian) visited homes with a sack slung over his shoulder. He was a tough cookie! Those children that slacked in their religious commitments got the switch or were threatened with being hauled off in a sack. Those that were good and could answer religious questions got treats. Here is a picture. The guys with him...the Krampusse!

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1209/p07s01-woeu.html

The Krampusse are like scary trolls. My mother still recalls the Krampusse stuffing her rotten little sister Iris in the sack and dragging her out into the snow. Iris deserved it and at age 3 you can bet she peed her pants. My mother tells the story and threatens the grand kids with this every year.

The Christmas tree is taken down on January 6th, Epiphany, and the kids get to eat the cookies and candies used as decorations. Brilliant...makes them want to help take down the tree...LOL! I need to reinstate this tradition with Mandolin. The fir tree represents everlasting life and replaces the Pagan oak. So much of our traditions are Pagan ones reinvented. We decorated our tree in December but one of my favorite memories as a child was on Christmas Eve my Oma (grandmother) would light the small white candles on her tree.

Oma took us to midnight services which was usually the only time I stepped into a church all year. On Christmas morning we munched on Stollen - a sweet bread made with nuts and fruits. I'm not a religious person by any means but I do celebrate the traditions of my family the best I can. It is much simpler than the American version which I find highly commercialized to the point of being anti-Christmas. But, when you have kids you sure do get wrapped up in it for them!

Lina, thanks a bunch!! I've been able to download Windows Media Player and watch a few missions in video Watching is better than reading, makes you want to jump and start flinging hehehehhe

You are welcome anytime April , I'm glad I could help

well, I did the muffins yesterday. they were delicious, but I have a few questions as to technical details.

1. are they supposed to be crusty on top or I'd better use only the botton of the oven?

2. is the dough supposed to be sooo hard (as when you bake bread and you must work it with your hands) or the measure convertor I used wasn't working?

3. any suggestion about how big each muffin should be?

thanks a bunch girls.

1. I didn't understand about the bottom of the oven thing ! And they are not supposed to be crusty on top , they are alwasys soft as any other cake.

2. This is so surprising ! The dough is never hard ! I use a wooden spoon , never needed to use my hands as in breads. I even substitute 1/2 cup of all purpose flour with whole flour and it's very easy to handle. It's just 1 1/2 cups flour , it shouldn't be hard at all. Try to use 3 small bananas instead of 3 large ones, maybe.

3. As for their size , I put a full TB. of the dough in each paper cup . This doesn't make big muffins and they take less to finish ( about 20 mins.)

Hope this helps , I make these muffins often and they disappear fast

thanks lina,
the bottom part of the oven I mean without the grill. my oven gives heat from the bottom, from the top, or all over, so next time I'll use only the heat from the bottom. I'll check the measure conversors because maybe I mistook dry cups for liquid cups or something, because the dough was soooo hard and dry that I had to add half a glass of milk to be able to mix it. Thanks a lot, honey.

Cups are a measurement in America that is hard to change, because it depends very much on the substance how much it is in kilo or liters. Only trying out will work or someone in America will have to make the muffins for you but before throwing it in look at how much kilo/pounds it is

Well, I don't know much about measuring cups . I only have 2 that I never used . AND I use the same cup for everything . I pick any glass in the kitchen , measure the dry ingrediants first so the glass will stay dry then I use it to measure the liquids. So ,April , maybe you can try it this way . I was really happy to tell about this recipe b/c it's so easy and yummy , I still hope it will work for you

oh my, look what I've found!! conversions.

I've just realised that the convertors I had used were no good, because they converted 1 cup into 230 grams. Now I've seen here that a cup OF ALL PURPOSE FLOUR equals to 125 grams. No wonder the dough was too hard!!!!

I'll try again tonight and let you know if I got it right. Thanks girls, and Lina, the recipe was absolutely delicious, no problem at all. Only strange that it was so stiff, but the taste of the recent muffins was awesome.

Ohhhh talking christmas food or thanksgiving foods!!!

I was telling heidi-ho that I wanted to have thanksgiving this year (last year it was right after mom passed and we didnt do the holidays) ... and now I have to figure out how to downsize my recipes. Im used to cooking for like 5-6 big eaters... now its just TWO of us. if Imnot careful we'll be eating dressing in february! hahahahaha

Rhonda

Drat - Guess I should read ALL the threads before I try to reply to any!! This not getting e-mail notices any more messes me up big time & I get behind fast!!

I was just postulatin' elsewhere whether or not you were cookin' "in" or wandering down the road on Turkey Day! Anyhoo, doing it for 2 was always great for us aways back - I would fix a great BIG bird & we had snacks galore, no matter when we got hungry, for awhile! So roast away & enjoy!!!

marie

Cooking for two should be ALOT easier. I still vote we get a honey baked ham. Thtas gooooooooooood stuff.

a lil cornbread dressing
broc/rice/cheese
cranberry sauce
and another vege maybe.

ADDED: oh and a pumpkin pie for honey! He loves that!

yeah. Im done. As far as I know - we are staying at home.
Eating . and hopefully A NAP FOR ME! hahahahhaha

It will be fine! (crosses fingers)
Rhonda

Yano...since I am staying at home I should go get a pie or two and some whipped cream. Yah...pecan and pumpkin. OMG! I just realized that I get to see the WHOLE Macy's Parade!!! And I can watch it in my jammies eating pie! I miss it every year due to football channel flipping and it was my favorite holiday opener as a kid. Santa at the end, lip synced Broadway shows, the Rockets, the Underdog balloon that always has one arm deflated. Okay...now I am excited. Pie, parade and peace. I can do this up right.

I've never gotten to watch the parade, mostly cuz I was in the kitchen elbow high in cornbread dressing! Well okay, thats my fav and Im STILL gonna go there. But alas, I can stay in my pammies too!

Geeh, should I be christmas shopping too!?!?!?

eek!
Rhonda

Hi April , I saw this recipe and remembered you wanted sth. like it . Hope it helps.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-Lite/Detail.aspx

Hi Lina, you are so sweet I'll give a try to those low calories cookies. now that i got a set of american measurers from a friend who went to the USA everything will be easier with the $%&%$% cups