Winter, Christmas, Advent Activities

A bunch of links at CatholicMom.com (how funny!). Some look great, but I haven't explored them much yet.

A fun link from that list on making old fashioned gum drops! (Refrigerated.)

Recipe: Old Fashioned Gumdrops

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 6-oz. package any flavor fruit-flavored gelatin
2 envelopes un-flavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Additional granulated sugar for coating

Directions

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.

2. Spray a 9 x 9-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.

3. Pour the gelatin mixture into the pan and refrigerate for 3 hours.

4. Cut the set mixture into 1-inch squares and carefully remove them from the pan.

5. Roll the candies in sugar until coated.
Your candies will be sticky. Keep a wet rag handy.

Refrigerate to store.

A link to other projects HERE.

Christmas Cookie recipes HERE.

All sorts of ornaments HERE.

And a recipe for Christmas Ornaments from Salt Dough.
Why link to it when I can copy it here? (I would probably not microwave them. I wonder what the directions for baking are? "Bake at 200 until hard. Huh. Ok, another link that says 250 for 2 hours.)

Oooh, but cool instructions for different kinds of salt dough ornaments, beyond cut-outs! Look HERE.
What you Need


4 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Salt
1 1/2 Cups of Hot Water
Holiday Cookie Cutters
Decorations, Glitter, Paint, Beads, Etc.

Knead the dough and roll it out to cut out shapes with cookie cutters (just like if you were making sugar cookies). Place them on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Paint and decorate as desired. Most of all, be creative and have a lot of fun!

An alternate:
Salt Dough for Christmas ornaments

Salt dough ornaments have been made by generations of children, they are so much fun to create, and oh so easy for you to whip up a batch of dough. You can even experiments by adding food coloring to the dough before baking.

1 cup salt
1 1/4 cup water
3 cups flour
drinking straw
cookie cutters
string

Dissolve salt into water, then slowly add flower, stirring until mixed. Knead and roll, then cut out with shaped Christmas cookie cutters. Use a straw to poke a hole in each near the top. Bake at 200 degrees until hard. Add string to hang.

These can be painted with regular paint, and glue adheres well for decorating.

Fall and Thanksgiving Craft Links

I just found this fantastic website with a Freedom Feast program - telling this history of the first Thanksgiving, the constitution, and more. It turns Thanksgiving into a true celebration of American heritage and an educational event! Here is the link to Freedom Feast.

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A must-do Thanksgiving craft, a Turkey Hat! And in case the link breaks, here are the instructions:

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Scissors
Brown paper bags
Cardboard (cereal box)
Glue stick
Colored construction paper
2 small white pom-poms
Black permanent marker
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. From the brown paper bags, cut a circle 3 1/2 inches in diameter for the turkey's head. Next, cut a 3-inch-wide band to fit around your child's head.

2. From the cardboard, cut a strip 5 by 1 1/2 inches to use for a neck. Fold it three times accordion style, then glue one end to the back of the paper circle.

3. For a beak, fold yellow construction paper and cut out a small double triangle (1 1/2 inches along the fold). Cut a rounded L from red paper for the turkey's wattle.

4. To create eyes, draw a black circle on each pom-pom with the marker. Glue the eyes, wattle and one side of the beak to the head. Let them dry. Then, glue the loose end of the neck to the center of the headband.

5. Now, wrap the headband around your child's head; mark where the ends overlap, then remove the band and glue the ends. Finally, glue on construction paper feathers and wings.

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A leaf garland. Make two dozen or more leaves and write something for which we give thanks on each as added. Each person should add one each evening.

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Carmel apples! Yummy!
1 1/2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
6 tbsp. water
Popsicle sticks
8 to 10 apples (McIntoshes work well)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and water. Stir until it has a smooth consistency. Gently bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 3 minutes, until the pan's sides get steamy and the mixture is thin but somewhat sticky. Remove from heat. Pierce the center of each apple with a Popsicle stick, then swirl in the caramel syrup until coated. Place apples on a greased cookie sheet to harden. Refrigerate for at least 1 to 2 hours. Serves 8 to 10.