Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Consumable Christmas Gifts – Not Just Food!

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This year, I’m very focused on consumable Christmas gifts for our family. Let me explain why!

As most of you know, we had gotten to a point in life that we’d traded our gifts of toys and snuggly jammies for gifts like video and music equipment. I only kept a few toys around that I felt were worth saving for our future grandkids. AND THEN. Then God brought us more babies.

Woohoo and wow. The past two Christmases we have enjoyed building up our toy supply again. And not only that, for the first time ever, some of those toys are of the GIRLY variety.

Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know we shouldn’t put a gender label on toys for kids, but listen. My big boys never asked for a dollhouse for Christmas. Nor did they request baby dolls and lip gloss. Last year though, all of our little kids (both boys and girls) got a dollhouse. With a pink roof. The girls play lovingly with the dollhouse dolls and furniture. Meanwhile, the toddler boys strip the dollhouse dolls naked and send them sailing down the dollhouse staircase to see how far they’ll fly. Fun is had by all, so yes, dollhouses can be gender-neutral. But anyway…

This year, we don’t need many more toys.

As we’ve accumulated toys the past few years, we’ve also accumulated even more children. There are a lot of people living in our house – currently, ten to be exact. Lots of people take up lots of space, and so do their shoes, backpacks, clothes, and naked dollhouse dolls.

Also, our 7 and 6-year-olds struggle to share, put things away, and get mad when their “really important toy” that they leave out on the floor gets chewed on by a baby or hurled across the room by a toddler. I don’t want to give them more “stuff” that will ultimately create more conflict. So between that and the fact that – did I mention we have a lot of kids – this year, I’m very focused on:

Consumable Christmas Gifts

Am I only wrapping food and putting it under the tree this year? Nope! Not that kind of consumable. Though food and drinks definitely make great gifts and there will be some of that for sure!

As I’ve been planning for Christmas this year, I’ve been excited about how many items are really fun to open but can be used and not accumulated! Like craft projects. Office and school supplies. And yes, food and drinks.

DON’T TELL MY KIDS! But here’s what they’ll all be getting this year. It’s both fun and practical, and woohoo, not terribly expensive! Each person will get:

  • Something to Make
  • Something to Bake
  • Something to Do
  • Something to Chew
  • Something to Drink
  • Something with Ink
  • Something to Wear
  • Something to Share

Here are a few more details to help you understand what I’m planning:

  • Something to Make -craft kits and supplies for the littles plus the adult girls, kitchen/foodstuff for the guys
  • Something to Bake – fun muffin, cookie, or cake mixes (we almost never buy things like this so it will be a real treat for the kids!)
  • Something to Do – a book to read, a game to play, a puzzle to put together
  • Something to Chew – favorite snacks
  • Something to Drink – hot cocoa, coffee, Martinelli’s, tea
  • Something with Ink – new pens, markers, or sharpies
  • Something to Wear – anything from clothes to gloves to socks, depending on what they need
  • Something to Share – something they can use with the whole family (littles) or with friends at college and beyond (bigs)

There will be 14 of us at Christmas this year with Matt and me, all of our kids, plus the oldest two boys’ wives! I am having SO MUCH FUN putting all of these gifts together!!!

Tell me who you’re shopping for and what your gift plans are. This is so much fun!!!

Some more consumable gift ideas:

We go through cases of applesauce pouches at our house. But these Brainiac snacks are a step above and would make a great stocking stuffer that your family would consider a great treat! Get free shipping on orders over $35, which makes this even better!

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Our friends at MadeOn skin care have been helping people fix their dry skin with their 3-ingredient Beesilk lotion bars for years. I LOVE using their products, and all of my kids do too. That’s why I put several lotion bars and lip balms in all my kids’ stockings. I’m going to buy them anyway, might as well use them as gifts, right?!

THIS LINK will get you $3.00 off the regular-sized lotion bar. Plus use the code: HH10 for an additional 10% off your entire order!

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Why I Don’t Make a Traditional Christmas Dinner

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What? I don’t make a traditional Christmas dinner at our house? Well, it’s traditional…for us. But it’s not normal for most.

First, let’s talk about how much I love Christmas. I MEAN I LOVE IT. So much. I go all out at Christmas and I don’t feel bad about it. (Though it’s going to look different from past years simply because we have so many kids now! It’s going to have to be smaller simply because we’re bigger. Eh?)

Current family count: 14
2 parents, 6 sons, 4 foster daughters, 1 daughter-in-law, and 1 very serious girlfriend.
This is amazing.
Side-note: If you’re going to date a Coppinger, you need to love babies.

Christmas last year looked like this:

But of course, that was before we filled our “loving room” with people.

And I mean FILLED. It gets nuts. The baby gate can’t handle how crazy this is. I have so much fun spoiling everyone at Christmas and in short: I don’t want to cook that day.

But Laura. You love to cook!

Yes, but not on Christmas day. I don’t want to miss one second of our Christmas fun! And there’s something else:

We eat turkey at Thanksgiving. Sometimes ham. Plus several days of leftovers. So we kind of want something different for Christmas.

What is our traditional Christmas dinner?

Lasagna, baby. It’s a family favorite and after so many years, it is now our Christmas favorite.

My personal favorite thing about lasagna for Christmas is that I can make it weeks ahead of time and freeze it. Then I pull it out and bake it low and slow while we’re enjoying our gifts. Mid-afternoon when we come up for air, we head into the kitchen and eat lasagna with salad and sparkling juice.

It’s easy. It’s delicious. It’s one of our favorite traditions!

I’m chuckling at this picture because it’s an old one from back in the day when one 9×13 pan would be enough to feed our family. Now I usually make huge lasagnas in these. They freeze great. And then we throw the pan away.

(Wow have I changed a little bit from back in the new HeavenlyHomemaker days, huh? Aluminum pans? Chuck it after using it? Yes. I’ve learned that people are a much more important focus and I don’t feel bad about taking some shortcuts so I can instead focus on people.)

How to Make Lasagna Ahead of Time

  1. This is the easiest way to make lasagna ahead of time. I make several at once.
  2. Freeze it.
  3. Cover it with foil, put it into a COLD oven, turn the oven to 250 degrees, and let it bake for 3 hours or until cooked through and through.

So there you have it. We enjoyed turkey at Thanksgiving. We got tired of turkey. I don’t want to mash potatoes on Christmas day. We eat Lasagna.

God bless us everyone.

What’s your traditional Christmas dinner?

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80+ Christmas Side Dish Recipes

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Not sure which side dish to take to your family Christmas dinner this year? We can help! Here’s a list of 80+ of our favorites that Bethany put together!

80+ Easy Side Dishes for Christmas

Can I let you in on a little secret?

My favorite Christmas treat is always found on the side dish table.

Yes, I love the turkey and the ham and the desserts (you know I love the dessert!) but there’s something extra special about being able to eat a plate full of mashed potatoes, salads, stuffings, and dips. I think it is because I don’t usually prepare a lot of side dishes for our every day life (I tend to pull out easy side dishes, like Laura suggests in this post). Adding fresh fruits and veggies is the easiest way to help my family eat healthier, and add variety to our meals!  So when Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around, I love being able to enjoy the potluck of side dishes. There’s just so much goodness there!!

If you are hosting this year or even if you are simply looking for a dish or two to contribute to your family’s holiday celebration, we’ve got you covered! Here’s a master list of my favorite side dishes for Christmas. 

Delicious Veggie Side DishesYum

Delightful Dips

Fun Fruit Side Dishes

Yummy Bread Side Dishes

Easy Salads

What’s your favorite Christmas side dish? Share below!

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Best Gifts: Teachers, Women, Men, Coaches, and Kids

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Need ideas for the best gifts for all the people in your life? Here’s a list of lists!

Best Gifts: Teachers, Women, Men, Coaches, and Kids

This post is short and sweet. But boy does it pack a punch of ideas! Click on any of the links to get so many wonderful gift ideas!

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Count Down To Christmas Without Spending Money!

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I wanted to share a fun way we are counting down to Christmas without spending money this year. It’s also giving us some great family fun time too!

Every year I buy new games for Christmas. But this year? I’m not letting myself. Why? Because we have SO MANY GAMES. And many of them we’ve hardly had a chance to play.

So this year? I’m determined that we’ll spend some extra fun time playing games and reading books in the evenings leading to Christmas.

Count Down To Christmas Without Spending Money!

One day when all of the little kids were at school or napping, I dug out a pile of our favorite games, plus some that our elementary-age kids haven’t played before. I grabbed some of our Christmas books too. I wrapped them all and piled them on top of the mantle.

I ended up with 16 packages total, so beginning December 9, we’ll begin taking turns unwrapping one package each evening. We’ll get all ready for bed, then play a game together before our family singing and prayer time.

My hope is that this will become a new family tradition – and not just at Christmastime! During the long winter nights, I’m hoping we get into a habit of pulling out games to play together or books to read together.

Hopefully, I’ve picked out games that our younger kids can play and our older kids will still enjoy! Our game-gift pile includes:

  1. Spot It!
  2. Memory
  3. Uno Attack
  4. Connect Four
  5. Blink
  6. Headbandz
  7. Yahtzee
  8. Farkle
  9. Pass the Pigs
  10. Huskerdu
  11. Racko
  12. Pictionary
  13. Plus several Christmas books from the library!

Need more great family game ideas?

Find a huge list here. 

What about books?

If you don’t have many Christmas books, and you don’t want to spend the money to buy some, head to the library. They are free, you can wrap and enjoy them, then take them back to the library by their due date!

More Count Down to Christmas Ideas

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The Easiest Way to Make a Gingerbread House

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Have you always wanted to make a Gingerbread House but found yourself frustrated because it’s so difficult? Try this way instead!

Listen, if it isn’t easy, I don’t do it. And that’s not just because I have 387 kids now (plus-minus). I’ve always been this way. Complicated projects don’t work for me. I’m not a perfectionist. I’m not super detail-oriented. I’m most definitely not super artsy. So I only make easy projects.

Hahaha, I just re-read what I typed up there. “If it isn’t easy, I don’t do it.” HAHAHA. Well, that is not even true. I do hard things all day long. #387kids  I’ll do the hard things if I feel like it matters. My babies most certainly matter. People matter. Love matters. Detailed projects don’t matter to me.

But shucks if I want to do fun projects with all of these kids that I love! Especially during holidays! Gingerbread houses always sound like such a fun idea to make together. So I finally found a way to make them that is easy!

Here’s what you’ll need to make the Easiest Gingerbread House:

  • Frosted Strawberry Poptarts (like this, because they already look Christmasy!)
  • Frosting Tubes (like this, only I usually just get several tubes of white)
  • Hard Candy Peppermints
  • Red and Green M&Ms
  • Gumdrops

What I avoid:

  • Graham Crackers – They break too easily.
  • Tubs of frosting or homemade frosting – Hard for little hands to use. Big hands for that matter
  • Gingerbread House Kits – Expensive and break easily

But Laura! I thought you never bought Poptarts and Candy!

Oh, I do when we make Gingerbread Houses. :) This is for an art project, yo. This stuff doesn’t get eaten because “sorry kids, the houses have been sitting on the mantle for too long and now they are yucky to eat. bummer.”

How to make a Gingerbread House the easy way:

I’m going to give credit where credit is due. I saw this idea here. She does a lovely job sharing how to do this. Go watch the quick how-to video here. SO EASY!

Bonus tips:

  1. Start with paper plates. If the houses are built on paper plates, we can easily transfer them from the kitchen table to their final destination (at our house: the mantle so everyone can see them!).
  2. I (the mom) cut the poptarts for my kids. They enjoy watching and the poptarts are cut correctly this way. Cutting is hard for little guys and we want this project to be fun!
  3. We use the frosting tubes like glue. Magic.
  4. The kids point to where they want the “glue” and I (the mom) squeeze it into place for them. This makes it easier to actually get the glue where we want it and really? The kids are only excited about placing all the candy on their houses anyway. I provide the glue blobs for their candy-placing pleasure.

This is the only time you’ll ever hear me say this: Go out and get yourself some poptarts, candy, and frosting tubes. :)

Enjoy making these super easy Gingerbread Houses with your family!

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Junior Chef Club Registration OPEN AGAIN – One Week Only!

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Did you miss out on getting your Junior Chefs signed up a few weeks ago? Great news!! We’re all caught up with our initial registrants and able to give you one more chance to get your kids registered!

Get all the details here!

But here’s a quick breakdown of this week’s final offer:

  1. Subscribe to our Junior Chef Club – hurry to use the coupon (LASTCHANCE10) to get a super great discount on the entire year’s subscription!
  2. Yearly subscribers receive a big packet of bonus materials to help their Junior Chef get started with an amazing cookbook binder.
  3. Every week, beginning December 22,  we’ll send you a packet of Recipe and Serving Ideas Printables to print and give to your Junior Chef. They can add it to the 3-ring binder Junior Chef Cookbook they are building and they can have a blast trying new recipes!
  4. This offer officially ends Friday, December 3, and will not be available again until November 2022.

Sign up for the yearly subscription and get these right away:

Can’t wait to add your Junior Chefs to our list!

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Simple DIY Coconut Milk

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Simple DIY Coconut Milk

by Tasha Hackett

diy coconut milk

Dairy-free milk is good to have on hand these days. This simple DIY coconut milk is going to wow you, I’m sure of it. Even if you’re not on a special diet, the chances are high you know someone who is! Of all the nut milk options, coconut milk is the one I’ve landed upon for all my dairy-free baking and cooking. After almost a year of eating paleo to combat migraines, I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to try to this simple method. (Hi! Tasha, here.) If I wanted a yogurt or cream substitute, I used canned coconut milk or coconut cream. If I wanted simple coconut milk for smoothies and baking, I bought the jugs and ignored any added ingredients.

I finally tried making my own coconut milk.Yum

Don’t get too excited. I’m not out there foraging coconuts and shredding the meat into milk. #aintnobodygottimeforthat. But I am side-stepping buying water in a jug. I had convinced myself that making my own was going to be too complicated. Silly Tasha. Once I mustered the proper sense of adventure and ingenuity, there’s really been no turning back.

Not only is this simple DIY coconut milk unadulterated with added ingredients, it is significantly cheaper, and saves the landfill and the factories from dealing with those obnoxious plastic/cardboard jugs. And because I Subscribe and Save my canned coconut milk from Amazon, I don’t even have to think about buying it. It just magically appears on my porch. Poof!

Simple Coconut Milk Recipe

I’m really stepping out on a limb here to call this a recipe. But if Laura can tell you to pour salsa on the chicken in the crock pot and call it a recipe, than we’re calling this a recipe.

You will need a half gallon glass jar and a can of coconut milk. I currently use this brand. I’ll go over all the steps very slowly for you, just be sure you can keep up: Open the canned coconut milk. Pour it into the jar. Fill the jar the rest of the way with water and leave an inch or so at the top. Put the lid on the jar. In case you missed it, that last step is very important. A lidless jar is hazardess. Shake your lidded jar before using the coconut milk in smoothies, pancakes, muffins, and any recipe that calls for milk! As it happens, I pour a splash of it into my coffee each morning.

DIY Coconut Milk Recipe in Pictures

Because this recipe is very complicated, I decided to go the extra mile and show you the process step-by-step. I hope this clears things up for you.

Set out your supplies.

canned coconut milk

Open the canned milk and pour it into the half gallon glass jar.

 

diy coconut milk

Fill the remainder of the jar with water.

homemade coconut milk

I hope you don’t mind, but I combined a step in this picture. See how the lid is on the jar?

Store in the refrigerator and give it a shake before using. That’s all, kids! I hope you enjoyed learning a new skill that will impress all of your friends the next time you’re at a party in need a parlor trick.

homemade coconut milk

 

Tasha HackettTasha Hackett is a friend of Laura and loves to eat homemade chocolate bars, potato chips, and yes, even salsa on chicken. A homeschooling mom of four, author, and recovering DIY addict, she loves to take a walk on the prairie as time allows. Her debut novel, a historical romance set in 1879 Nebraska released Summer 2021: Bluebird on the Prairie. (Print and Kindle options available.) Though Tasha likes to do All The Things, most of her time is spent with four chatty children and an incredibly supportive husband. They give her the kind of love people write books about.

To learn more about Tasha and her works of fiction, find her at www. TashaHackett.com.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Family Game Night: Favorite Games!

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I love sharing our favorite games!

It’s much trickier now to find time to play games as a family – mostly because we have a lot of little ones who like to put game pieces into their mouths. But whenever we can, we like to pull out a game to play with our 6 and 7-year-olds. And once all six little ones are put down for the night, we can get out some of the more detailed games for the grown-ups!

In case you’re looking at games to enjoy during the holidays with your family, we wanted to share these lists again. We’ve added new ones too!

Favorite Games List

Family Games Little Ones Enjoy

  • Hoot Owl Hoot (my favorite to play with the kids!)
  • Pop the Pig
  • Spot It!
  • Candyland
  • Memory
  • Hungry Hippos
  • Trouble
  • Don’t Break the Ice
  • HiHo Cherry-O
  • Uno Attack
  • Farkle
  • Pass the Pigs
  • Huskerdu (great for younger kids – still fun for adults)

Family Games for Bigger Kids and Adults

  • 5-Second Rule
  • Connect Four
  • The Game of Things (Great fun for a group!)
  • Rummikub
  • Settlers of Catan (With extentions, which you’ll need if you have more than 4 players.)
  • Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights (This is an expansion of Settlers of Catan. This is our favorite add-on to regular Setters.)
  • Seafarers of Catan (Also an expansion of Settlers.)
  • Ticket to Ride
  • Carcossonne
  • Bohnanza (This one is unique. Great for older kids and adults. We love this one!)
  • Life
  • Risk
  • Manhattan
  • Guestures
  • Taboo
  • Blink (A great stocking stuffer!)
  • Headbandz
  • Acquire
  • Sequence
  • Clue
  • Apples to Apple Junior (This is probably our favorite group game. We don’t recommend the regular version of this game because the cards are less familiar to the kids.)
  • Scattergories
  • Pictionary
  • Cranium
  • Boggle (This game totally counts as school work, but no one knows they’re learning.)
  • Monopoly
  • Sorry
  • Quelf (I’ve actually decided that I very much dislike this one. The kids like it though.)
  • Racko
  • Balderdash
  • Yahtzee
  • Mastermind
  • Skipbo (We’ve played hours of this game through the years!)
  • Wits and Wagers
  • Anomia (One of my new favorites!)
  • Pandemic
  • Castle Panic
  • Mars Attack
  • Codenames
  • Tsuro
  • Avalon

Your turn to weigh in! What are your favorite family games?

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The BEST Pumpkin Bars

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Are these really the BEST Pumpkin Bars? I guess you’ll have to try them to see!

I love how moist these are! And how cool is it that they are made with whole grains and no one can tell?! (I use freshly ground soft white wheat, which is a whole wheat pastry flour, to make these.) I love that they are lightly sweetened instead of loaded with sugar. And this:

I LOVE THE CLOVES.

There’s something about the flavor that the cloves gives this recipe that makes is so very good. Cinnamon? I’m always all in with the cinnamon! Sometimes I skip other spices just so I can enjoy the cinnamon in a recipe.

But don’t leave out the cloves in this one. Oh, it makes the Pumpkin Bars – well – it makes them the BEST Pumpkin Bars.

The BEST Pumpkin BarsYum

The BEST Pumpkin Bars
 
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Author:
Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole grain flour
  • ¾ cup brown sugar or sucanat
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 4 eggs
  • 16-ounce can pureed pumpkin
  • 1 cup melted coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves.
  2. Add eggs, pumpkin, and oil, stirring until batter is smooth.
  3. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking dish.
  4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Here are more Pumpkin Recipes you’ll love. Twenty more to be exact!

  1. Pumpkin Spice
  2. Make-Ahead Pumpkin Donuts
  3. Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
  4. Easy Low Sugar Pumpkin Whip
  5. Pumpkin Cheesecake
  6. Easy Flourless Pumpkin Muffins
  7. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
  8. Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
  9. Pumpkin Pie
  10. Cream Cheese Pumpkin Muffins
  11. Pumpkin Bars
  12. Low-Sugar Pumpkin Roll-Out Cookies
  13. Simple Pumpkin Pancakes
  14. Simple Pumpkin Waffles
  15. Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
  16. Whole Grain Pumpkin Bundt Cake
  17. Warm Pumpkin Custard
  18. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
  19. Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares
  20. Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eaters
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