5 Interesting Facts on St. Patrick's Day!

16 more days to go until St. Patrick's Day! Have you started planning for a get together or a party yet? Here are some interesting facts about the holiday and its patron saint in case you are looking for conversation starters!

1. An Irish toast: “The Scots have their whisky, the Welsh have their tongue, but the Irish have Paddy, who's second to none!”
2. The first church founded by Saint Patrick is located at Mag-inis. The ground is considered holy.
3. Believe it or not, the colour of St. Patrick was not actually green, but blue! In the 19th century, however, green came to be used as a symbol for Ireland.
4. An Irish blessing: “May you always have...
   Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain
   Tea beside the fire, Laughter to cheer you
   Those you love near you
   And all your heart might desire.”
5. What's good luck on Saint Patrick's Day?: Finding a four-leaf clover (that's double the good luck it usually is). Wearing green. (School children started this tradition of their own -- they used to pinch classmates who don't wear green on this holiday). Kissing the blarney stone.

A Leprechaun's role in St. Patrick's Day

Do you know just exactly how leprechauns are associated with St. Patrick's Day? We celebrate certain holidays but we may not know where every idea and aspect of the holiday stem from. In this case, I wanted to know how leprechauns came into the picture...

 

How do you perceive leprechuans? The mean looking one on the left or Lucky from Lucky Charms Cereal on the right?

St. Patricks's day, March 17, is an Irish holiday that honors St. Patrick. Leprechauns, little Irish fairies, are also associated with this holiday in Irish mythology and folklore. They are sometimes called the "wee folk". Leprechauns were originally depicted as grumpy little old men only about 2 feet tall. They had pointed ears and beady little eyes. They were said to live in large grassy hills and forests. They were shoe makers and dressed with a hat and a leather apron. According to Irish legend, leprechauns were not very friendly. They lived alone and spent most of their time making shoes. Now the interesting thing about leprechauns is that each of them were said to possess a hidden pot of gold. Leprechauns must always be on guard because as they are making their shoes, the noise of their hammer leads greedy people to them to try to take their pot of gold away.

If a leprechaun is caught, he can be forced to reveal where his pot of gold is hidden. But leprechauns are not easy to catch because they are so fast. And once caught, the captor must keep an eye on the leprechaun at all times or else the leprechaun would vanish and hopes of finding the pot of gold would be gone. Leprechauns were notorious for tricking their captors into looking away so they could vanish and save their pot of gold.

Leprechauns are also said to be very good musicians. They played some of the traditional Irish instruments including tin whistles and the Irish harp. It is said that leprechauns had wild music sessions at night. During these sessions, leprechauns would gather about to dance and sing and drink. The sessions might go on all night. They like to drink Poteen, moonshine. Now the cluricauns are Irish cousins to the leprechauns. The cluricauns are drunken little creatures who wreak havoc at nighttime. Leprechauns and cluricauns are totally different, according to Irish mythology. And leprechauns do not like to be mistaken as cluricauns. In a word, cluricauns are trouble makers.

The cheerful leprechaun that we know today is mostly an American invention that goes well with our celebrations on St. Patrick's Day. Eat, drink, and be merry. Drink all the green beer you can! Shoot the blarney! Sing Irish songs! Have a good time! After all, who wants grumpy little old men running around ruining the fun?

via associatedcontent

St. Patrick's Day Ideas for Teachers

St. Patrick's Day is exactly a month from now! We are counting down to the days. Don't you just love holidays? Holidays are definitely something exciting to look forward to. For now, we are still scoping out for good ideas and tips for you to figure out what you want to do for your celebration.

If you are a teacher, you are in for a treat! We have found classroom ideas from Teacher's Corner for all instructors.

St Patrick's Day Party Activities and Crafts

POT 'O GOLD - Have your students cut small pots out of gold or black construction paper (have cardboard patterns or ready-made die-cut pots available to trace). Have students decorate their pots with gold glitter and coins cut from gold foil! Save these pots to use later for the game described below or decorate classroom with them.

LUCKY CLOVER - Have your students cut clover shapes out of green construction paper (have cardboard patterns or ready-made die-cut clover available to trace). Save these shamrocks to use later for the game described below or decorate classroom with them.

SUGAR COOKIE FUN! - This activity can do double duty - when kids are finished decorating the cookies, they can eat them as a snack! Have a station set up with plenty of sugar cookies cut out in shamrock shapes (if possible - if not, use scalloped or round cookie cutters). On each individual plate, place one cookie and a plastic knife. Provide green and white frosting and sprinkles for decorating.

St Patrick's Day Game Ideas

PIN THE POT ON THE RAINBOW - Paint a rainbow on a piece of poster board or let students paint a rainbow with poster paints. Give each student their construction paper "pot of gold" (made earlier as an activity) to attach. (idea: place velcro on back of each pot) On their turn, blindfold the students, spin them 3 times, point them in the right direction and let them try to "pin" the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

LUCKY TRIVIA - Write trivia questions on the back of shamrocks cut out by students. The questions should be facts about St. Patrick's Day or naming things that are green - depending on age of children. Divide the class into two teams. Place shamrocks in a black kettle (pot). Have students take turns picking a question from the pot. Teams get one point for each question answered correctly. The team with the most points in the end - wins!

POT OF GOLD - Fill a clear container (pot shaped if possible) with gold wrapped candy kisses or other gold wrapped candy. Have each child guess how many pieces of candy are in the container. The student with the closest guess wins the candy!

St Patrick's Day Snack Ideas

SNACK IDEAS - The following snacks are easy to make, and many are simple enough for children to make. Some can do double duty, and work well as table decorations or crafts and then eaten later as a party snack.

LUCKY CLOVER! - Make sandwiches using favorite ingredients and cut out shamrock shapes using shamrock cookie cutters. For a healthier options, cut different foods into shamrock shapes using a variety of sizes! Try melon or cheese.

JELL-O® TREATS - Children always enjoy Jell-O® Jigglers! Cutting green Jell-O® with a shamrock shape cookie cutter is an easy way make a party treat! Or use lemon jello and use circle cutters for gold!

SUGAR COOKIES - This snack can do double duty - as a treat and activity! Use cookies students decorated earlier or bring purchased sugar cookies in St Patricks theme shapes.

IRISH GREEN - Add green food coloring to milk, mashed potatos or any food easliy colored.

Who was St. Patrick?

We have celebrated this holiday ever since around the 17th century, however we never have a complete understanding of how this holiday came about and who St. Patrick is. I searched for information online and found great information for the origin of this Irish holiday and tradition. If you guys wondered who St. Patrick was and why we celebrate this holiday, read on!

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Taken Prisoner By Irish Raiders
It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

Guided By Visions
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

Bonfires and Crosses
Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. (Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick's life became exaggerated over the centuries-spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.

via History

Partying for St. Patrick's Day

If you want a reason to throw a party, why not throw one for St. Patrick's Day? This holiday is coming up in about a month (March 17th), and it would be a great idea to start planning for it now! We have gathered up some great party ideas for you to steal. 

Four Leaf Invitations
Fold white card stock or construction paper in half to form a card. Create a shamrock from green construction paper by cutting out 4 small hearts and a stem. Glue the shamrock to the front of the card and outline with gold glitter or gold glitter glue.


Decorating
Inflate several balloons in white and different shades of green. Yellow balloons will add some color and represent gold. Hang streamers in rainbow colors from the ceiling and walls, and use green cups, plates and napkins for serving your goodies.

St Patrick's Day Foods
Serve as many green and yellow foods as your imagination will allow. Think green crunchy celery and cucumbers coupled with ranch dressing for dipping. Yellow squash sliced into rings make fun edible “coins”.
For sweet treats, mix white cake batter and a few drops of green food coloring. Make cupcakes and decorate with green tinted frosting, topped off with yellow and white sprinkles. For a different twist, use white frosting topped with yellow decorating sugar. Round cookies can be decorated as coins, or use a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter and decorate with green sprinkles or sugar.

To wash it all down, choose green juice or add a little green food coloring to milk for a fun green drink!

Quickie St Paddy's Day Crafts
Provide your guests with 1 or 2 green chenille stems as they arrive. Form the chenille stems into shamrocks that they can either glue to their goodie bags or take home to show to their family.
Print out some of our St. Patrick’s Day coloring pages. Hand them to guests as they arrive and ask them to help decorate by coloring the pages. When they’re finished hang the pages on the walls for display.

Games to Play
Any traditional party game can be transformed to fit a holiday. The classic game of pin the tail on the donkey, for example, can be made into pin the stem on the shamrock, or pin the hat on the leprechaun. You can also make a typical bucket toss game into a pot of gold toss by wrapping black construction paper or felt around empty coffee cans or similar containers, and have children toss fake gold coins into them. The idea is to stand behind a designated line and try to get the coins into the bucket to win a prize.


Party Favors
Here’s a fun and creative project to put together before the kids go home. Have them decorate their goodie bag when they arrive by using markers, construction paper, glue, scissors, stickers and glitter glue. Be sure their name is on their bag and set them aside to dry while they enjoy the party. When it’s time to go home, fill their decorated goodie bag with their take-home treats!

via Kaboose

Valentine's Day etiquettes!

Not sure what to do with or for your valentine today? Here's an article that can help you fine tune appropriate Valentine's Day approaches toward your special someone.

Surveys show that couples exchange 36 million boxes of chocolates and 189 million roses on Valentine’s Day. But when you’re in a new relationship, chocolates and roses may not always be the right gift to give. “Valentine’s Day means different things to different people,” says Toni Coleman, a licensed clinical social worker in McLean, VA and founder of www.consum-mate.com, a relationship counseling website. “Doing too much or too little when the other person doesn’t feel the same way about February 14th could spell trouble for a new relationship.”

If you’re unsure how to handle Valentine’s Day dating and gift etiquette, read on for advice for when you’ve just met someone, when you’ve been dating for a few months and when you’re in a committed relationship.

When you have just met someone
Planning the day: It’s unrealistic to expect a big, romantic celebration at this stage of the game. “If you’ve had a date or two, it’s OK for one of you to say, ‘Hey, Valentine’s Day is coming up, and even though we’ve only gone out a few times, I thought it would be fun to do something together, like catch a movie.’ If the other person wants to do that, that’s great,” says Coleman. However, if the other person hems and haws, you should back off and schedule a date for a different day. It could be something as simple as this person has already made plans, or maybe the other person isn’t ready to be with someone on Valentine’s Day, since the day comes with a lot of expectations.

Getting a gift: What if you two do get together that day — should you bring a present? “It’s fine to give something small,” Coleman says. For example, if you know your date collects things with pigs on them, giving her a pig refrigerator magnet says, “I pay attention to what you like.” Similarly, if a guy has mentioned that he loves reading Stephen King novels, picking up the latest one for him is thoughtful, not a huge profession of undying love. Just remember that you should never give a gift with the expectation of receiving one in return. Be prepared for the fact that the other person may not have thought to get you something, and make sure you can handle that before offering up your gift.

When you have been dating for a few months
Planning the day: Sometimes you spend a few months with someone and you know: “I’ve met The One.” Other times, things are going well, but you couldn’t say for sure that you would expect to spend the rest of your life with this person. Nonetheless, if you’ve been going out for a few months, it is reasonable to expect that you’re going to make plans to do something for Valentine’s Day. Coleman suggests broaching the topic lightly: “You could say something like, ‘Valentine’s Day is in two weeks… do you want to pretend it doesn’t exist or do you want to do something?’”

How the person reacts to the idea of spending Valentine’s Day together is a good litmus test for a budding relationship. It may be an important occasion for your sweetie… or perceived as a bogus, commercial holiday. Just another day on the calendar. If your opinions differ, try to compromise out of respect for each other. “If your date says, ‘For me, Valentine’s Day has always been kind of hokey, but if it matters to you, let’s do something together,’ then that’s great,” advises Coleman. However, if he or she refuses to acknowledge a preference to spend the day together or refuses to budge from the typical wine-and-roses plan to celebrate the day, then this couple has more to worry about than what to do on February 14th. Adds Coleman, “It’s all about how you negotiate this stuff where you don’t see eye to eye.”

Getting a gift: No matter how giddy your sweetie makes you feel, give something meaningful but not inappropriately extravagant. So giving the sports buff tickets for the two of you to attend a Big 10 basketball game would be wonderful; renting out a skybox at a stadium and catering it would be completely over the top. Also, giving a gift that the two of you can enjoy together — tickets to an event, a night away together — can guarantee more shared good times ahead.

When you are in an established relationship
Planning the day: A funny thing happens on the way to Valentine’s Day once you’ve been dating for a long time — people tend to take the emphasis off of it and treat it just like any other day. Coleman says that it’s important not to take a relationship for granted at this point and not making an effort to do something special is a mistake. Take the opportunity to celebrate together. It doesn’t have to be a classic candlelit dinner. Maybe it’s going shopping together at your local farmers’ market and putting together a little picnic while watching a DVD of a good movie you two missed. Anything that can make the night about enjoying each other’s company will be a valuable gesture.

Getting a gift: Probably the biggest minefield when you’ve been dating each other for awhile is whether or not to get engaged on Valentine’s Day, a popular time for popping the question. The expert advice is, don’t give in to the pressure unless you’re really feeling it. “If there is any doubt in your mind about whether or not proposing is appropriate, pick another day to ask that question,” says Coleman.
If you’re not at that stage yet, a gift that shows how well you know each other’s lives can be wonderful. It may not be the most romantic thing, but some silk long underwear for a honey who’s always cold or pre-paid golf lessons for a someone who’s always wanted to learn the game can be a terrific way to reflect how in touch you are with each other. 

via Yahoo!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you are spending this special holiday that celebrates love with your loved ones. If you are staying in and not hitting up the restaurants for a fancy dinner, you might be at home snuggling up in front of a fireplace with your beau, watching a movie together. For that I have found the top 10 romantic movies for today! Enjoy :)!

Casablanca

 African Queen

Love Story

 Dirty Dancing

 Ghost

 Sleepless in Seattle

 Jerry Maguire

 Titanic

 Love Actually

 The Notebook

 

 

Chinese New Year sayings

It is the year of the Rabbit soon! 

For those of you who are going to celebrate Chinese New Year on February 3th, we have a treat for you! In case you forgot or completely do not know any of the Chinese New Year greetings in Mandarin, we have found some phrases for you to practice to show your friends and family how cultured and prepared you are for the wonderful Chinese New Year festivities! Join us in learning a little bit of Chinese. 

Happy New Year - xīn nián kuài lè - 新年快樂

Happy New Year (another saying) - gōng hè xīn xǐ - 恭賀新禧

Congratulations and Prosper - gōng xǐ fā cái - 恭喜發財

Wishing you prosperity every year - nián nián yǒu yú - 年年有餘

(Said if something breaks to ward off bad luck) - suì suì ping ān - 歲歲平安

Replace the old with the new - chú jiù bù xīn - 除舊佈新

Good luck for the year - nián xíng dà yùn - 年行大運

What is your Chinese Zodiac sign?

In the west, we have horoscopes. In the east, they have Chinese zodiac signs. The idea of these zodiac signs are similar to horoscopes, except horoscopes are monthly in a year whereas Chinese zodiac signs each takes up an entire year. Therefore a whole cycle of these zodiac signs would be 12 years as horoscopes cycle in 12 months. Have you ever wondered which Zodiac sign you are? We have provided you a chart right below! Find the year you were born and match it to the "animal" that corresponds it. Share this with your friends and family members and see which animal they are and if you are compatible with each other with the graph right under it. Have fun!

Rat	1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996	2008
Ox	1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997	2009
Tiger	1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998	2010
Rabbit	1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999	2011
Dragon	1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000	2012
Snake	1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001	2013
Horse	1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002	2014
Sheep	1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003	2015
Monkey	1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004	2016
Rooster	1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005	2017
Dog	1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006	2018
Pig	1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007	2019

The 3 animals which are evenly spaced from one another in the zodiac circle are generally considered to be good matches. Rat, Dragon and Monkey ; Ox, Snake and Rooster ; Tiger and Horse and Dog ; Rabbit, Sheep and Pig are suitable for one another. Matching symbols on the Zodiac chart indicate compatible signs. 

The signs that are opposite each other in the Zodiac Circle chart are poor matches. Generally a Rat and Horse; Ox and Goat; Tiger and Monkey; Rabbit and Rooster; Dragon and Dog; Snake and Pig will not get along with each other. These signs make poor partners in love and in business. Family members who have opposite signs may experience friction and disharmony in the home.

 

Each person is a combination of the sign of the year they are born in as well as influences of the time of day and the larger cycles of the zodiac. You may find that even though a person was born in a year that would seem to make you a poor match, the other influences that you share balance the ill effects of incompatible signs and make for a very good relationship — or cause problems in even the most compatible signs! 

This year is the year of the Rabbit. Is this your sign? 

via Chiff.com

Origin of Chinese New Year

Do you know how Chinese New Year came about? We weren't quite sure ourselves, so we performed a small research to find out all there is about this holiday. 

The Origin 
Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar, so it is also called the Lunar New Year. And it is also referred to as the Spring Festival since it is the beginning of the Spring term, which is the first term of the 24 terms on the lunar calendar.
 
It was recorded that Chinese started to celebrate Chinese New Year from about 2000 BC, though the celebrations were held on different times under different emperors. They started to celebrate Chinese New Year on the first day of the lunar calendar based on Emperor Wu Di's almanac of the Han Dynasty.
 
Legend says the celebrations of Chinese New Year may be related to a beast known as Nian. The beast Nian came out to eat people on new years until an old man found a way to conquer it. Then people started to observe and celebrate Chinese New Year. The word "Nian" now has the same meaning as Chinese New Year, which is used as commonly as Chinese New Year. And people often use the term "Guo Nian", which may originally mean "passed or survived the Nian". Now everyone loves Guo Nian.
 
The lunar calendar is represented by twelve animals. Each year is represented by one animal. The twelve animals in order are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The Chinese zodiac is also based on the 12 animals.

Traditions and Activities

Preparation 
Usually the preparation starts a month before the new year. The preparation includes thoroughly cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes, preparing enough food for at least two weeks. The decorations are highly symbolic with a lot of lucky words, printed paintings and red colors everywhere. Kids are busy in shopping for different kinds of firecrackers. Everyone gets a haircut before the new year. So everything and everyone looks new and fresh on the new year.

New Year' Eve
The New Year's Eve is the time for families. The New Year Eve's dinner is the biggest dinner of the year, much like Thanksgiving dinner in the United States. The dinner is full of symbolic meaning, such as Chinese dumplings implying wealth since they have the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. Everyone, even children, drinks a little Jiu (usually hard liquor), which symbolizes longevity since Jiu has the same pronunciation as longevity in Chinese. Then the family chats while watching national TV shows or listening to radio together until the coming of the new year. In China, the national TV shows have been prepared for a few months by a group of famous entertainers.

Firecrackers 
Firecrackers are set off as soon as the new year arrives. You can hear or see firecrackers everywhere and this usually lasts for a few hours. Some people will continue to play firecrackers occasionally through out the first half of the first month. Traditionally fireworks are the sign of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Fireworks are now banned in China, so this tradition is history.

 

 Red Packets   
Giving Hongbao or red packets during Chinese new year is another tradition. A Red packet is simply a red envelope with money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth. Red packets are typically handed out to the younger generation by their parents, grand parents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends. 

Dragon and Lion Dancing

Dragon and Lion dancing is another tradition of Chinese New Year. Traditionally, two people wear a huge lion or dragon costume and dance. The lion dance dates back to the Han Dynasty (205 B.C. to 220 A.D). It is an important tradition in China. Usually the dance is part of festivities like the Chinese New Year, grand openings of businesses, and weddings. If well-performed, the lion dance is believed to bring luck and happiness. Let your children jump, bounce, hop and leap with a lion dance costume to help bring happiness and luck. Also, the lion head makes a unique Chinese New Year's decoration.  

via Party Details

Food for Luck- New Year's Eve

Cultures around the world have different beliefs that eating certain types of food will symbolize good luck for the next year. We have tracked down these interesting practices-- maybe you can try eating some of these food and see if your luck becomes even better!

In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.

Due to pigs' dining habits, many countries, including Austria, Cuba, and Spain, view pork as a good-luck food. As pigs root for food, they keep their feet planted and push their snouts forward, signifying progress and future properity.

Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the new year. Plus, the legumes plump (with water) as they cook, symbolizing growing wealth.

In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools.

via delish

Classy New Year's Eve party ideas

Christmas has passed...now time to prepare ourselves for a grand new year's celebration! I have found some cute ways to celebrate this year's new year and party into 2011 with style. Some of these ideas are also great because you could recycle your Christmas decorations to make these!

Make Some Noise- Rattle in the New Year by dropping a few pink peppercorns, popcorn kernels or jelly beans into clear plastic ornaments.

Use those lights- For a festive New Year's night, hang strings of Christmas lights from the ceiling about a foot apart along a blank wall, using extension cords to plug each into an outlet. Hang semi-sheer fabric in front (not touching the lights) to create a light wall.

Blue Eyed- We never need an excuse to eat candy, which is probably why we loved those potted lollipops from Dylan Lauren (of Dylan’s Candy Bar). For a wintry version, just fill a small pot or planter with white gumdrops (or yogurt-covered candies) and “plant” some rock candy sticks. Your New Year's guests will love snacking on the candy all night.

via Rachel Ray mag

Cupcake Frenzy! Christmas Holiday edition Part 2

Hello again to Cupcake Frenzy Christmas edition! I hope you all tried out our part 1 of Christmas cupcake baking ideas, and are ready to tackle this one! I wouldn't say that this second batch of ideas are hard to implement, they are all relatively easy to try out! 

Since we don't want you to have to worry about baking three dozen cupcakes the day before the big family Christmas dinner, you can bake the cupcakes a week in advance and freeze them. However, do not decorate them until the night before. You have have your children or friends help you with this as a fun Christmas Eve activity! Remember that most of these cupcakes are Vanilla or Chocolate cupcakes, iced with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which is perfect for spreading thin layers or sculpting into thick mounts of icing-- whichever you prefer.

Snowman Cupcakes

Snowman Cupcake How-ToThis snowman wears a fine winter hat: a chocolate-covered mint beret. His plump figure is two marshmallows -- cut a slice off the top one and squish to make it smaller. Dabs of icing hold parts together. His eyes are chocolate sprinkles (poke holes first with a wet toothpick), and his nose is cut from a gummy fish.

 White Christmas Tree Cupcakes

• 12 waffle cones (2 to 2 1/2 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, perferably Dutch-process
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Frosting for Christmas Tree Cupcakes
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Serve this snowy dessert this holiday season. Cupcakes are shaped like trees, covered with Snowy Frosting, and sprinkled with sanding sugar. Save some sugar to create beds of "snow" for serving. Makes 1 dozen!

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Invert two 9 1/2-by-3-inch disposable round foil baking pans. Using a craft knife or a paring knife, cut six X shapes in bottom of each, spacing them evenly, to make 1 1/2-inch openings. Fit a waffle cone snugly into each opening, standing the cones upright. Line each cone with parchment paper, and then place a dried bean or a hazelnut in bottom to prevent batter from leaking. Place pans and cones on parchment-lined baking sheets. Line a 12-cup mini-muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. With a mixer on low speed, gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture, beating until just combined. Raise speed to medium, and beat for 3 minutes. Carefully pour batter into cones, filling each two-thirds full. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup (these will be the tree bases).
3. Bake until a skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes for cupcakes and 35 minutes for cones. Let cakes cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from cones and parchment. Let cool completely on the rack. (Cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days before assembling.)
4. If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim top of each cupcake to create a flat surface. Place a dab of frosting on top of each cupcake, and position a cone cake on top. Insert toothpick through each cupcake base and into "tree" to support it (remember to remove toothpick before eating). Place frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip (such as Ateco #3) or a small plain 1/8-inch tip, and pipe frosting decoratively all over tree. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Trees can be refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 6 hours before serving. 

Snowflake and Wreath Ginger Cupcakes

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulphered molasses
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 recipe Butter Glaze
• 1 recipe Chocolate Glaze
• 1 recipe Meringue Buttercream

Use large cupcake papers and two jumbo muffin tins to bake these cupcakes. They are glazed with either a chocolate or butter glaze and then piped with meringue buttercream. Makes 10!

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 jumbo muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
3. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

via Marthastewart.com

Christmas Decorating DIY ideas

If you want to decorate your home with something more than a wreath, here are more crafts work steps to follow to achieve chic and affordable holiday decorating.

Card Garlands

The season's first greeting cards, arriving weeks before the family tree goes up, are enough to stir most people's decorative impulses. This year, festoon mirrors with Lametta tinsel and use the sparkly wire to display your collection of cheerful tidings. Under the garlands, nestled in compotes, ribbon-lined candy pouches make sweet, simple party favors.
Steps to making Card Garlands

1. Lametta tinsel -- thin, flexible wire covered in shiny tufts -- is available at crafts stores or by mail order. Narrow ribbon and twine work, too; use metallic finishes for maximum shine. Drape several strands across a mirror; affix to back of frame with thumbtacks. Hang cards with 1-inch double-ring paper clips.2. Our pouches recycle 2- to 3-inch-wide ribbon scraps. Align ribbons; we paired sheers with solids so the treats would be visible. Trim ends with pinking shears, and stitch together lengthwise. Cinch one end of pouch with narrow ribbon or yarn, slip in mints, gumdrops, or peppermint sticks; tie other end.

Everlasting Garland

 Steps to making Everlasting Garland

1. Measure the length of your mantel, and multiply by 1 1/4; cut ribbon to that length.
2. Using a ruler and a pencil, mark ribbon at regular intervals. (We marked the ribbon every 6 inches for the larger garland.)
3. To create swags, mark a second ribbon at regular intervals, with spaces at least an inch greater than that of the first ribbon; leave several extra inches on ends. Make creases on second ribbon wherever marked.
4. Apply hot glue to top of first crease, and attach it to the first ribbon where marked, holding crease at a 45-degree angle across width of first ribbon; hold in place just until glue sets. Repeat. (For additional swags, repeat step 4 with more ribbon, and use hot glue to attach swags at creases.)
5. Trim ribbon ends at an angle.

Paper Evergreens

Step 1 For large Christmas trees, use an adjustable circle cutter to make 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-inch-diameter circles from green card stock (for small trees, omit the 6-inch circle).

Step 2 Fold each circle in half 4 times with a bone folder. While circles are folded, snip off the tip of each piece, forming a very small hole in center.

Step 3 Place smallest circle on the pointed end of a wooden skewer (we used 12-inch skewers), letting the tip poke through the hole in circle. With a hot-glue gun, dab underside of circle, where paper and skewer meet. Hold for 10 seconds to secure.

Step 4 Working 1 at a time from smallest circle to largest, slide remaining circles onto skewer; secure with glue.

Step 5 Insert bottom of skewer into a spool; remove, and cut skewer to desired height (we cut ours to 6, 9, and 10 inches), keeping in mind that only spool should be visible beneath standing tree. Return skewer to spool; secure with glue. Add a dot of glue to top of skewer, and attach a gold bead.

Have fun crafting!

via Martha Stewart

Next: More Like This

Cupcake frenzy! Holiday Christmas cupcakes edition

Once again, we are going to introduce our cupcake frenzy segment for all of you cupcake lovers to make! If you have been keeping up with our blog or have went back to October and read our previous cupcake frenzy posts, then you can see that we definitely have some very creative and easy ideas for you to make your holiday cupcakes. These fabulous ideas are not our own, but enjoy and hope you made the best cupcakes for your guests to try!

Jolly Santa Claus Cupcake

Cupcake

White and red icing

Mini marshmallow

Shredded coconut

Blue and pink gel icing

Red candy

1.        Frost the cupcake with a layer of white icing. Add the red frosting hat, curving it around the side of Santa's face, and a marshmallow pom-pom.

2.        Sprinkle on a ring of coconut to make Santa's beard and hair. Draw on his eyes and cheeks with gel icing, then top it all off with a red candy nose

Edible Ornaments Cupcake

Cupcakes

Colorful frosting

Red and green candy such as M&Ms

 Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

 Pretzels

1.        To make them, frost a batch of cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe) with colorful frosting.

2.        Decorate with festive icing and candies (we used red and green M&Ms Minis), then top each one with a miniature Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and a pretzel piece for an ornament hanger. Don't forget to save one for Santa.

Mistletoe Cupcakes

Cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe)

White icing

Grated coconut

Green gumdrops

Sugar, for sprinkling gumdrop leaves

Red candy for holly berries (M&Ms work well)

1.        Frost the cupcakes with snowy white icing and top with grated coconut.

2.        Then use a rolling pin to flatten green gumdrops on a piece of waxed paper sprinkled with sugar. Use an aspic cutter or butter knife to cut out holly leaf shapes.

3.        Arrange two or three leaves and a few red candy "berries" on top of each cupcake, pressing them into the frosting just enough to hold them in place.

That's all for now folks! I am off to make my own Christmas cupcakes! Enjoy! Part 2 of Christmas Holiday Cupcake frenzy will be up very soon!