Relaxation and the Holidays – IT IS POSSIBLE

It’s only 3 short weeks until the Holidays are here.  Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanza, it will be here before we know it.

Ask yourself, “When was the last time you had a really relaxing holiday?”

From Preparation of dinners, traveling between parties and even shopping. 

IT IS POSSIBLE!! All it takes is a little organization and planning.

Here are some trendy tips to get you started.

·       Make a budget. Unless you’ve got more money then you know what to do with, it is easy for the holiday season to turn into a financial headache. Ninety-nine percent of that stress can be eliminated by thinking ahead and making a budget. Financial sanity doesn’t come from having a ton of money; it comes from spending it wisely.

·       Avoid the shopping marathon. Unless you really do enjoy the thrill of “shop ’till you drop” skip the marathon mall sessions. Shop in small bite size pieces and skip the all-day shopping trips. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done by picking up an item here and there while running everyday errands. You will also find that you will save money and find gifts that are more personalized and won’t cost you a bundle. The secret is to sit down, make a list of the people you need to shop for, and stick to it.

·       Keep your list with you and keep your eyes open.Cross off a few people each week and you’ll be done with your Santa list in no time. Gifts don’t have to be large in size, keep your eyes peeled for stocking stuffers and small items. And for those of you who raced out for Black Friday I hope the wounds you endured and the aggravation you felt saved you enough to pay for the Prozac you needed when you got doneJ .

·       Wrap as you go. Don’t put all of your wrapping off until the last minute. As you pick things up, wrap them as soon as you get a chance. Keep a basket of wrapping essentials – wrapping paper, scissors, gift tags, tape, etc. The easier you make it for yourself, the more likely you are to get it done.

·       Simplify, simplify. No matter how cool your friends and family might play it, you are NOT the only one who gets stressed out around the holidays. If the stress of preparations is getting out of hand, don’t be afraid to propose a simplified pot-luck dinner instead of a more elaborate affair, it’ll be a small relief for everyone involved. When it comes to reducing you holiday workload, every little bit helps.

·       Make friends with the Internet. Take the plunge and skip the traditional shopping. Internet shopping has come a long way and is a safe and easy way to find gifts quickly inexpensively and can be shipped directly to your home. You can easily compare prices and can generally find good deals on shipping that will guarantee arrival in plenty of time for the big day.

·       Cheat. Unless you really enjoy preparing mass quantities of food from scratch, there’s no reason not to take advantage of a short-cut or two. Particularly when it comes to the dessert menu, there are plenty of quick and easy mixes that can help you shave some serious time off of your meal preparation schedule. Just go to the grocery store and find a few easy-to-make offerings or buy something from the deli. For a special touch you can dress your desserts with extra holiday sprinkles or a squiggle of chocolate sauce across the plate for a very restaurant-looking presentation. Most stores offer deli platters, dessert trays and because they prepare them in quantity they can do it at a fraction of the cost.

·       Remember your priorities. Take shortcuts where it really doesn’t matter: buy cookies instead of baking them or barter a task you don’t like for one you do. Cut out as many social engagements as possible if you want more family time—you can’t go to a school musical when it’s more convenient. Kids appreciate happy and relaxed parents’ more than perfect decorations. Don’t be Martha Stuart be MOM

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Technorati Tags: black friday, financial headache, Holiday, holiday season, Holidays, organization, Preparation

FALL recipes perfect for thanksgiving  

Glazed Carrots

Serves about 8
water
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut in large chunks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large saucepan over medium heat, in 1 inch boiling water heat carrots and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until tender-crisp; drain. Add butter, sugar, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return mixture to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until carrots are glazed.

Pecan Stuffed Squash

Serves about 8
2 (13-3/4 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 small acorn squash, halved and seeded
2/3 cups butter or margarine
4 cups dry herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 (2-ounce) packages pecan pieces
2/3 cups seedless raisins

Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Reserve 1-1/3 cup broth, then pour remaining broth into a shallow baking dish. Place squash cut-side down in the broth. Bake 30 minutes. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat reserved broth and butter or margarine until the butter (or margarine) melts. Stir in stuffing mix, pecans and raisins. Remove squash from oven, turn squash over, cut side up. Spoon stuffing into squash cavities. Bake 20 minutes more or until squash is is done, basting with broth every 10 minutes.

Butternut Squash Crisp

Serves about 8

For the filling:
3 large eggs
3 cups cooked butternut squash, mashed
1-1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

Cranberry Nut Cake

Serves about 12

Cream together and serve in a small to medium size carved out pumpkin and serve with ginger snap cookies. 

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Technorati Tags: Card, family, Holiday, PaperShout, PERFECT, Traditional

Halloween Parties Made Easy Traditional Trick or Treating door to door is only one way to enjoy Halloween.  How about a Spooktacular neighborhood Halloween party?  

 Frightful Fingers

This fun finger food is the perfect bit size snack. Just for fun serve them on a platter with a bowl of BLOOD (Katchup) 

Mini Hot Dogs or 1 package of Franks cut into 4ths

1 package crescent dinner rolls 8 rolls

1 small package of Almond Slivers

Hide the Hot dogs into the crescent rolls (kind of like a pig in a blanket) press a fork on the top to create the illusion of finger wrinkles. Take 2 almond slivers and poke them into the end as if creating the look of the nail of a finger.  Bake in the over 375 and Bake for 12 minutes.

Tombstone Cookies

These ghoulish goodies make great party tray decorations. For a fun presentation, stick them in a “graveyard” of chocolate frosting or pudding and invite the kids to scoop to their hearts’ content.

2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
1 c. powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, beaten
1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

Mix flour and sugar together well. Add remaining ingredients and combine well. Divide dough into two sections and wrap well in plastic wrap or put in zipper-lock plastic bag. Refrigerate at least two hours or overnight.

Put the kids to work making cookie cutters out of cardboard, or find the cutters at your local party store.

When the dough is chilled, roll each section to about 1/8-inch thickness and let the kids go to work with their cookie cutters. Older kids can even use plastic knives or pastry cutters to cut their shapes from the dough. If desired, use cookie stamps to put things like “RIP” on the tombstones. (You can make a cookie stamp out of a potato. Just cut in the desired stamp design.)

Bake on parchment-lined cookie sheets at 350° F for 10-12 minutes. Cool on racks.

Worms And Dirt Cupcakes

This one is great fun for even the youngest kids. You can even make the decoration one of the party events!

Bake your favorite chocolate cupcakes, either homemade or from a boxed mix.

Frost them with chocolate frosting, then top with a generous sprinkle of crushed chocolate cookies (Oreos work really well).

Cut the Gummi worms in half, and stick them into the tops of the cupcakes so they look like they’re crawling out or burrowing in.

The kids can do as much of the decorating as their age and patience will allow, from the frosting through the worms.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party Music Playlist

Lil’ Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs

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