What to do with all that left over wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon?

It's the afternoon of Christmas and it looks like your tree threw up everywhere.  You have piles and piles of wrapping paper, bows and ribbon everywhere.  But what to do with it.  You know it's wasteful to toss it but what do to with it.  Well I have some ideas, here they are.

• You can make paper bows with them for next year and save yourself some money in the process.  Win Win. 
• You can use them to make some paper ornaments for your tree next year, or for gifts for next year and have a real big head start.  Also it would make a great reminder of the years that past like a yearly ornament.
• I posted earlier about keeping your children writing this winter break and making thank you cards.  Think how cute it would be for your friends and family to get thank you cards made with some of the wrapping paper that their gift came it.  And knowing your child made it.  
• You can use it to make garlands, you know those paper chains.  For next year for the tree or decorations.  You can make them during the break with your children and put them up in a box or flatten and save the paper for next year and start making the chains after Thanksgiving.
• You can reuse the left over bows and ribbons on other gifts in the upcoming year as well.
• You can use the smaller pieces of paper to make gift tags for next year or when ever. 
• You can shred it or just wad it up and use it for packing materials.
• Use it to make Christmas cards for next year.
• Use it in your scrapbooking with your holiday pictures.
• Use it for stuffing for your purses, hats, shoes and boots and anything like that.  It will help them hold their shape while in storage.
• You can use them to make Origami a great craft to do with kids.  
• Use the back side as scrap paper by the phones and on the desks.
• Use it to line drawers and shelves for the year.
• You can use the wrapping paper with decoupage, from boxes (think shoe boxes) to anything wood like ornaments.
• You can use them to mat your holiday photos.
• Use time to line the envelopes for your Christmas cards for that extra special touch. 
• Use it to make clothes for a paper doll. Dolland clothes templates 
• Frame a nice piece and you have decoration for next here.  Find some great subway art to add to it.  Makes a great gift as well.
• You can use it to make book marks for your favorite holiday books.     
• Cover your holiday storage boxes with it.
• You can use it as book covers use the white side and it can be used year round and kids can draw on it
• You can use it as a liner in the kitty box or any other critter cage
• You can make place mats with it.  Attach it to cardboard and then laminate it. This would be a great craft to do with the kids.
• You can make coasters, you can use the same process as for the place mats or you can decoupage it to coaster size wood titles and seal it.  Same with normal tiles from the hard ware store.  This idea but with wrapping paper.    
• Use it to decorate picture frames, a great way to make the ones from the dollar store look nice
• Use it as filler in gift boxes and gift bags
• You can make magnets with it,  attach the wrapping paper to cardstock or a light weight card board and laminate it, then attach a magnet to the back.
• Make a festive bulletin board, take wrapping paper and cover cork board.
• Make paper jewelry.
• Use it to make Sculptures.
• Make paper with it.  For a how to video click here         

This list is a great starting off point, please be inspired and have fun.  And if you come up with an idea share it please.  I would love to see anything that you make with your left over wrapping paper.  It will be nice not to toss such pretty paper.

Merry Christmas! Merry Yule! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!

Family fun ideas and activites for the long winter break.

Winter break starts at the end of the week for me and I thought it's time to come up with fun things to do.  Winter break is different than summer break for me.  Winter break is more fun than summer break but it's so short.  So I sat and came up with some fun ideas of things to do.  Some can't be done everywhere because where you live but I am sure there is enough here to keep you busy or inspire you as well.  Please share your ideas.   Some of these ideas are meant to reduce the time if front of the screen too.

• Up first is one of our favorite things, we do this year round it's family game night.  Now we don't have many board games and it's hard to find one that everyone can play but we have fun.  We also play a lot of card games my 6 yo is learn rummy.  It's such fun.  Lately we put on Christmas Carols and find we can play for hours before we know how much time has passed.  We are going to do this on new years with finger foods to snack on during the day!

• Next is one that involves screen time but is something we enjoy.  We are a large family of six and we don't get to movies much so we do them at home.  My popcorn is better anyways LOL.  So have a family movie night.  If you watch out you can find a code for a free red box movie rental but this time of the year there are many on tv.  We tend to get new dvds for Christmas too so if that's the case we watch one of them or even an old one.

• Before Christmas, go caroling I know no one seems to do it much anymore but you can get a few neighbors and print out songs from here and go and have some fun make some peoples days. 

• I know with the cost of gas these days this is one some people might cut back on.  But take a drive take some or get some hot chocolate and look at Christmas lights.  Nothing I have found gets a child in the mood more than Christmas lights.  Play some carols in the back ground and you have a family fun night without a tv.  Your area might even have a special display.  I know that my area does.  We have nature in lights.

• I don't know about your children but mine love to cook you can have a pizza party and depending on your skills depends on how much you do.  You can use can biscuits and have your children flatten them and top them as they like with their favorite toppings and bake.  Or you can make the dough together  and then make your pizzas.  You can also buy pre made dough as well.  The options are endless.  And if you want to add reading and writing to the mix, have your child make the shopping list before you go shopping and have them read it to you while in the store.   Don't forget to add a salad and help round out your meal.

• This is one I plan on doing on Christmas eve and Yule as we watch holiday movies, have a hot chocolate bar.  Before had you can cover spoons  with chocolate and sprinkles or the end of candy canes with chocolate too.  Don't forget the marshmallows which you can buy or make the same with your hot chocolate too.  Get some fun mugs and just have fun.  Oh and don't forget whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

• You can also make Salt Dough ornaments for your tree and you can do hand prints and foot prints as well.

• Weather permitting you can talk a walk through nature, there is such beauty this time of year. 

• Make gifts for your neighbors.  This could be a great thing to get to know them as well.  It doesn't have to be pricey here are some great ideas for something simple.

• Bake or buy some treats and goodies and drop them off at fire house, police stations and er remember those that are working on Christmas and Christmas Eve.  Please call and check what the rules are before you do this in your area some may not allow this.  But some may and this is a great thing to do with your children.

• Check out your local library for story hour and maybe even your books stores.

• Take some toys and books and donate them to the children's ward or hospital.  Again this one may vary based on rules please call ahead of time but think of the children in the hospital for the holidays.

• This one may lead to a new member of the family but call up one of your local rescues and see what you can do to help from cleaning cages to just walking dogs I am sure they will have something you can do to help them out.  And it's a bonus if you fall in love with one and give them a forever home.  Just please make sure your ready to be that forever home.

• Make snowman soup, which hot chocolate, marshmallows and what other toppings you like.

• A good old standby favorite make cookies, (these make great neighbor gifts walmart has tins for about 2-3 bucks each and the dollar store too)

• Go visiting at a senior center, bring a book and have your child read to the members, bring cookies, sign have fun.  Call visit and see the what the rules are.  I believe you want the Rec. Director when you call.  They can also help you visit those that don't get very many visitors.  I know many seniors would love this and children too. 

• Puzzles, pick up a few for the holidays and then spend a day as a family putting them together.  It's funny how something so simple can be so much fun.

• Weather permitting, have a snowball fight or get the neighborhood in on and it and have a block wide snowball fight, then have a hot chocolate bar to warm everyone up afterwards.

• Weather permitting, have a block wide snowman building contest, or coloring contest something that is fun.  Make the prize something simple.  The stuff to make smores or a tray of cup cakes or cookies.  It's just for fun remember.

• Now if you can't go out.  It's time to build FORTS and TENTS.  I have yet to meet someone who didn't have fun doing this.

• You could turn your living room into a drive in make cars out of boxes and have some yummy food and watch a good movie together.  Just a different take on family movie night.

• Read with your child, have them read to you.  Reading is fun.

• Plan a trip to the library.

• Have your children make and then fill out thank you cards.  Or spend the day scrapbooking memories from the holiday or the year leading up to the holiday.

I know it's a long list and I missed some.  Please add yours. 

A wonderful Thankful meal

I hope that you had a wonderful holiday meal as we did.  Our day was spent watching movies, playing and just having fun spending time together.  I didn't go crazy over our meal this year but made some favorites and excluded some.  I can't believe the amount of food that is normal for our holiday meal blended from my husband's family and my own.  Thing we thought we had to have but this year we cut it back and I am glad the work was less but the meal still great.

We had bought a 20 pound turkey for the day and for the six of us.  Now I know that's a huge bird but we have plans to make it last.  We are already on day two of it and it's not even half way gone.  And I hot this turkey at a great deal.  I was .79 a pound but I had a coupon from this store for a free turkey up to 12 pounds or the credit for a 12 turkey off you bill so in the end my turkey cost me 6.92ish for the whole bird.  And honest I am sure I did the whole meal for about $20 with enough for two days of meals and more with the turkey.

But by far my favorite thing to make was my stuffing.  I make my own bread with all the spices and herbs in it so it tastes like stuffing.  I will be making more tomorrow for sandwiches with the left over turkey.  I am telling you this is a great way to have thanksgiving later in the year when you want that taste.  So I thought I would share my recipe with you.

Ingredients

4 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat, 3 cups ap is what I used)

2 packets of yeast

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tbsp sage (we love this flavor in our stuffing please add as much or as little as you like)

1 1/2 tsp rosemary

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups warm to hot water (start with 1 1/4 and add more should you need it depends on a lot of factors with your flour and who dry your home is if you need more than the 1 1/2 add it slowly with buy one tbsp at a time)

1 tsp sugar 

The herbs used are what I use in my stuffing so use what you like it doesn't have to be the same as  mine.  And please share if you change it up and what you used.  

 Add Salt to the bowl

 Add your spices, herbs, and seasonings to the salt

 Add your flour and make a well

 Add your sugar and cover with yeast

 Add water next

 Cover with plastic wrap and let the yeast do it's happy dance.

 About five minutes later it's happy time to mix

 Knead until it's smooth

 Place in an oiled bowl and oil the dough ball.

 Recover with the plastic wrap you used earlier and let rise until doubled in size.  Punch down and form into your loaf (what ever style you like) bake about 20 minutes at 425 until golden brown on top.  I top it with melted butter when it comes out.

 Mmm....yummy bread.  I don't think you can see the herbs and everything but it's there and it smells like stuffing.

 To use in stuffing I just cut it up into cubes and then make your stuffing as normal. I made mine with apples, sage, my bread, sage sausage (we like sage this time of year LOL) carrots, celery, onions and turkey stock.  Salt and pepper as needed.  It's about one third bread, one third veggies and apple, and one third meat (this is really under about one third)

 Apples, celery, carrots, onion Cook them in evoo and butter with salt and pepper and other seasonings.  I like a bite to our carrots so I don't cook them down like the celery and the onion, the apples I leave with a bit of bite too.

 Sage sausage browning in the same pan I cooked me veggies in.

 Once the sausage is cooked I add back the veggies and apple.

 Then I add them to the bread crumbs which after cubing I baked at 325 for about 20 minutes. or until dry.

 Add turkey stock that I made last month

 Mix add more stock if needed.

 Added to your turkey (if you stuff) or to a baking pan and cover bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes for a crunchy top.  (the pic above was taken before I added more stock but we like our stuffing not as wet as many out there so add what you need and want to get it how you like it)

 My plate of food it was too much but worth it. LOL

So who was your Thanksgiving?  Did you try anything new?  And if you try my stuffing bread please let me know and give me feedback and don't be afraid to ask any questions should you need them I am not in the habit of writing recipes so if I made a mistake please point it out.  And now the last questions....Did you go shopping today?  What is the deal you were seeking out?