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A Practical but Fun Way to Bless People in Need

December 2, 2018 by Laura 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I originally shared this idea back in 2015, but as God continues to show us more about loving others, I wanted to bring back the idea again this year. Truly this is a very practical but fun way to bless people in need this winter!

Here’s my original post from 2015:

I picked up several pairs of fun Christmas socks before Thanksgiving, so as expected, I bought some toothpaste and pencils to go with them. This is the obvious action to take when gifting Christmas socks. Everything I do is normal.

What actually happened is that I bought the fun Christmas socks with our adopted college students in mind. I figured I would package them up with some other goodies and put them in their campus mail. But then I came across the fun idea on Pinterest to fill the socks with treats and little gifts, and before I knew it (which really translates to several days and hours later) – I had six sets of these:

Christmas Sock Gift

These gifts were terrifically fun to put together! I went with basic wool socks for our three male adopted students, as you’ll see below. Since I’d gotten so many pairs of fun girly Christmas socks on sale, I decided to mix theirs up a bit. While it looks like they’re receiving mis-matched pairs, I actually rolled up the second sock of each pair and stuck it down inside the toes. So the girls are getting two pairs of cute socks. Sorry boys – yours are much more practical!

Christmas Sock Gifts

Speaking of practical – I included a few other practical items inside the guy’s socks. What college student wants to actually spend money on toothpaste and soap? Not to worry, I’m here to help. Their socks included soap, toothpaste, pens, candy cane chapstick, a small flashlight, gum, and candy (because not everything must be practical and at least I included toothpaste to brush away the sugar).

The girl’s socks were a little more on the fru-fru side because my inner girl rarely gets to come out in this household of men and all that I’d been holding back exploded in the dazzling Christmas aisles at Walmart. I got the girls sparkly lip balm and glittery nail polish, Christmas nail files, snowman pencils, face scrub, gum, and candy.

Our family then worked together to come up with a punny gift tag idea to attach to our socks. Our gift tag creativity hadn’t woken up yet that morning, however, so all we came up with was “Hope your Christmas doesn’t sock.” (Get it? Don’t try too hard.) Since that idea didn’t come close to making the cut, I searched online and came up with this:

mistle toes4

Yes. That’s better.

I then created a generic tag for all of you in case you’d like to steal this idea.

Mistle Toe Socks Gift Tag

Download FREE Mistle Toes Gift Cards

A great way to bless people in need!

Beyond using this idea as a fun gift option, consider using this idea to gift those around you who are less fortunate. Filling wool socks with practical items and turning them into fun gifts like this would surely be a blessing to recipients going through a tough time. In my town, we don’t have many homeless, but we do have many low-income individuals and families. I’m working on putting together packages for several people we’ve met and become friends with this year while volunteering at our local mission. I’ll write more about this experience sometime. :)

This time of year is so much fun!

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The BEST Toys That Are Worth Buying

November 27, 2018 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Ready to see a giant list of the BEST toys that are worth buying for your kids?

We never know the changes one year might bring. This time last year, I shared this “Timeless Toys You’ll Want to Keep Forever” list. I began that post by talking about how my four sons were all grown up and I was looking ahead to the empty nest years and eventual grandchildren.

Then God reminded me in a very big way that our plans are not always hardly ever His plans. God brought us a 4-year old foster son in April 2018, as well as several babies to care for here and there. This Christmas, our house is filled with a bit more wonder and awe as we are all enjoying the season with our newest little bonus boy. Wow, wow, wow. What a God we serve!

True to the original post shared, there are some toys that are of the highest quality and that are worth buying and saving forever. We proved that this year as we pulled out the few golden toys we’ve saved for 20 years so that our new kiddo could enjoy them. It’s been such a joy to see him play with toys the older four brothers played with for so long!

The BEST Toys That Are Worth Buying and Saving

legoduplos

Building Toys

  • DUPLO
  • LEGO
  • Knex
  • Lincoln Logs
  • Tinker Toys
  • Wooden Building Blocks

green_toys

Cars and Trucks and Toys that Go

  • Green Toys (I think these are fabulous!)
  • Hot Wheels
  • Wooden Train Set

melissa_and_doug

Puzzles of Good Quality

  • Wooden Puzzles with Peg Handles
  • Melissa and Doug Wooden Puzzles
  • Melissa and Doug large floor puzzles

HiHoCherryOGame

Board Games

Click over to look at our great big list of family Board Games! But for younger kids, we recommend:

  • Hi-Ho Cherry-O
  • Candy Land
  • Memory Game
  • Connect Four
  • Uno Attack
  • Spot It!
  • Life
  • Blink
  • Headbandz
  • Sequence
  • Clue
  • Apples to Apple Junior
  • Boggle
  • Monopoly
  • Sorry
  • Yahtzee
  • Farkle
  • Pass the Pigs
  • Huskerdu (great for younger kids – still fun for adults)
  • Skipbo

Doll

Dolls and Accessories

  • Lottie Dolls and Accessories
  • Melissa and Doug Dolls and Accessories

green toys shape

Toy Sorters and Stacking Cups

  • Green Toy Versions
  • Fischer Price Stacking Cups (I remember my babies playing with these over and over!)
  • Melissa and Doug Wooden Sorting Toy
  • Playgro Rock and Stack Toy

Tools

Tools

  • Melissa and Doug Wooden Pounding Bench
  • Learning Resources New Sprouts Fix It Tool Set (the cutest!!)
  • Fischer Price Drillin Action Tool Set
  • Little Tikes Tough Workshop

CashRegister (1)

Toy Cash Register

  • Boley Kids Toy Cash Register
  • Fischer Price Cash Register (a classic!)
  • Learning Resources Cash Register

little people barn

Fischer Price Little People

Check out the huge variety of toys and play sets!

Little People Toys and Play Sets

Kitchen

Play Kitchen with Toy Food and Dishes

  • Melissa and Doug Wooden Play Kitchen
  • Melissa and Doug Wooden Food Pieces
  • Melissa and Doug Kitchen Accessories (Pots, Pans, Dishes)
  • Green Toys Cooking and Dining Set
  • Green Toys Tea Set
  • Green Toys Pizza Parlor
  • Learning Resources Dinner Food Basket

What are some of your family’s favorite toys that you plan to hold onto forever?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Want to get a toy for free?!

TopCashBack is currently offering new members $15 off a $15 or more toy purchase. This means you can get a toy for free!

Note: I’ve been a TopCashBack member for years and trust their offers. :)

Here’s how it works:

1. Click here for the special Walmart offer and sign up for a new Top Cash Back account. (Be sure to confirm your account via email.)

2. Look around and make a toy purchase valued at $15 or higher. Choose in-store pickup to avoid shipping costs.

4. Within 21 days, your Top Cash Back account will receive a $15 credit. This pays you back for your purchase!

5. After you receive the $15 payment in your Top Cash Back account, you can choose to transfer it to your bank account or request a Paypal payment.

Isn’t that cool? It’s really easy to take advantage of this offer. Simply open an account, confirm, shop, pick up your free toy at your local Walmart, then watch for the money to be reimbursed to your account!

This offer is for new TopCashBack members only, but they do allow you to open an account for multiple family members.

This offer expires November 2, 2022.

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

How to Prepare Your Holiday Meal BEFORE the Holiday

November 6, 2018 by Laura 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I’ve been talking about this for years, and with good reason. It truly is possible to prepare your holiday meal BEFORE the holiday. I love using these methods so that I can enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas just as much as everyone else!

For several years, I’ve been sharing how to easily make most of our Thanksgiving or Christmas dishes ahead of time. Truly! You can get ahead, then when the big day comes, you don’t have to spend hours cooking and cleaning. Imagine actually savoring the turkey and side dishes you slaved over. (Except that you don’t have to actually slave over them because I’ll show you how to make them the easy way!)

Enjoy the following recipes and preparation guide to help you get ahead this holiday season!

How to Prepare Your Holiday Meal BEFORE the Holiday

One Week Before Thanksgiving

  • Pies made and frozen
  • Cheesy Mashed Potatoes made and frozen (OR wait and make this amazing Instant Pot Mashed Potato Recipe the day of!)
  • Stuffing Muffins made and frozen
  • Green Bean Casseroles made and frozen
  • Sweet Potatoes baked, mashed, and frozen
  • All remaining groceries purchased

Two Days Before Thanksgiving

  • Turkey baked and de-boned (yes, you CAN make your turkey ahead of time!)
  • Turkey Broth made
  • Cranberry Sauce made 
  • Prepared frozen food moved from freezer to fridge

One Day Before Thanksgiving

  • Tea brewed and chilled
  • Sparkling cider chilled
  • Pineapple Fluff Salad made and chilled
  • Cream whipped
  • Tables and chairs set up

Thanksgiving Day

  • Enjoy a large cup of steamy coffee in my recliner for a very long time (because I can)
  • Everyone on their own for breakfast (probably cereal)
  • Mix dry ingredients together for Stir-and-Pour Rolls (for easy, no-brainer mixing about an hour before meal time)
  • Put Cranberry Apple Cider into a crockpot to heat (this is a huge hit with guests!)
  • Set out butter to soften for rolls
  • Plates, silverware, cups, and napkins set out

About 1 1/2 hours before serving time, I will bake or re-heat prepared foods. Then I will make gravy and bake the rolls. Easy peasy!

Here are the quick links to all the recipes you’ll need:

  • Make-Ahead Turkey
  • Stuffing Muffins
  • Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
  • Mashed Potatoes in the Instant Pot
  • Oh Good Gravy
  • Green Bean Casserole
  • How to Make Frozen Pies
  • Simple Whipped Sweet Potatoes
  • How to make Whipped Cream
  • Whole Wheat Stir-and-Pour Dinner Rolls
  • Cranberry Sauce
  • Simple Cranberry Apple Cider

Get our FREE Holiday Prep Guide!

We’ve got a fabulous freebie for you today!

Grab our Holiday Prep Guide Packet filled with 9 fun printables to help you get ahead for the holidays! Sign up here to receive it for free!

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How to Serve Festive Holiday Food Without Food Coloring

December 7, 2017 by Laura 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I have all kinds of ideas for serving festive holiday food without food coloring, and it’s likely much simpler than you think!

no food dye2

I’m not opposed to someone going out of their way to make real food dye with natural colors that won’t turn our insides purple and our teeth blue. I just don’t personally have the time to do that during this season in my life. There are actually fun options for purchasing natural food coloring, the ingredients of which are made with vegetables. They are pricey, but worth it if you enjoy frosting your Christmas cookies different colors. Check them out here!

But if you want to have fun with food and avoid the trouble and expense of natural food dye, here are some great ways to serve festive food without any food dye at all!

How to serve festive holiday food without food coloring

1. Use real food with real, natural color

It’s too simple, right? If you want something red on your holiday treat, use red food (pomegranates, strawberries, raspberries).

no food dye5

Add a little bit of 100% juice to Cream Cheese Frosting to naturally and easily turn your frosting into pretty colors. Garnish with fresh fruit if you can find some in season!

no food dye12

2. Serve your holiday food on pretty, festive dishes or on a pretty holiday table cloth

It doesn’t even matter if the plates are made of paper and the tablecloth is made of plastic. These items make serving holiday food so much fun! Or save up and add a few real holiday dishes to your collection each year when they go on sale after the holiday.

no food dye11

3. Use ribbon

It’s amazing how a bit of fabric or colored ribbon will change the look of a food gift!

Sweet gingerbread cookies on the wooden background,selective focus

4. Use cookie cutters

Don’t just limit your use of cookie cutters to cookies! Use small festive cookie cutters for your pie crust too. Here’s our favorite Whole Wheat Pie Crust recipe.

no food dye4

5. Use special holiday muffin and cupcake liners and toppers

It is ridiculous how much fun these are! Cupcake and muffin liners are such a simple way to dress up holiday treats. I watch for them to go on sale after a holiday and I stock up for the next year. (Here are 23 Muffin Recipes, by the way.)

no food dye10

We had a little bit of fun with this idea and made some printable Muffin and Cupcake Toppers for you. Print them in color to cut and use, OR print them in black and white and let your kids color them before you cut them and put them together!

Get this fun, FREE Muffin and Cupcake Topper Printable when you join our Learning Zone. Membership is entirely free and will give you access to this and many more printable family learning resources!

Christmas Muffin and Cupcake Topper Printable

6. Decorate with candy canes

Fine. These have food coloring. But you can buy plastic ones OR you can buy the actual candy canes and use them entirely for decoration. We use them to brighten our table and living room, but we hardly ever actually eat them. They are a perfect way to make your holiday table more festive!

White and red peppermint candy canes in bucket on white background.
7. Serve festive drinks in special mugs and teacups

Somehow they just taste better this way. :) Here’s a link to share 7 holiday drinks that include all real food ingredients. But even my good ol’ Javita coffee tastes better in a holiday mug!

Cup of hot cocoa and heart shape cookies on wooden background

What fun ways do you serve festive food without using food coloring?

How to Serve Festive Holiday Food Without Food Coloring

 

Some of these links are affiliate links.

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Simple White Hot Chocolate

December 3, 2017 by Laura 1 Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Pardon the pun, but we are going to fudge just a little bit on this Simple White Hot Chocolate recipe.

white hot chocolate22

On second thought, do not pardon the pun. Puns are great. Puns make life more fun. Embrace the pun. Long live the pun.

puma pants

But for real.

So back to fudging on the Simple White Hot Chocolate recipe. We fudge on this {chocolate} recipe because it contains actual sugar. I hereby declare that at Christmas, we can let our hair down just a little bit {insert rabbit puns here} and enjoy a sweet treat or two. Should we overindulge? I certainly don’t recommend it. I actually only suggest indulging on the treats that are your favorites and really, really, really appeal to you {insert banana puns here}.

white hot chocolate12white hot chocolate34white hot chocolate44

If you’re a white chocolate fan, this one is for you. And no doubt, if you are a fan of easy recipes (who isn’t?), you will definitely love this delicious holiday drink!

Simple White Hot Chocolate

Simple White Hot Chocolate
 
Save Print
Author: Laura
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 6 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Heat milk and chocolate chips in a saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Cook and stir until chocolate is melted (do not boil!).
  3. Remove from heat and add vanilla.
  4. Serve right away!
3.4.3177

*I get my White Chocolate Chips from Olive Nation. They offer some with a little bit cleaner ingredients and I love their quality. (Yes, there’s still sugar in these. It’s Christmas. Enjoy the treat. Just don’t drink the entire pot.)

By the way, Olive Nation loves Heavenly Homemakers readers so much that they give us a 20% discount on our orders! Shipping is free when your order is $50 or more. Use the code home for the discount!

For a fun twist, add a teaspoon of Peppermint Extract to this Simple White Hot Chocolate recipe!

Simple White Hot Choclate

Want more fun holiday drinks?

  • Homemade Hot Cocoa
  • Warm Vanilla Soother
  • Homemade Healthier Eggnog
  • 100% Juice  Punch
  • Chocolate Caramel Coffee Creamer
  • Chocolate Whipped Cream for Coffee
  • Peppermint Cream Cocoa

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.

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

Celebrating a Simple Christmas: Is it Possible?

November 30, 2017 by Laura 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Let’s throw this idea around together shall we? Is a celebrating a Simple Christmas even possible?

christmas-ornament-vector-element_fk4nWpw__L

Every year at this time, I play tug of war between wanting to keep our holiday super simple and wanting to do everything possible to make our Christmas extra special. I bobble back and forth between wanting to make all the fun crafts then refusing to even get out the glue gun or ribbon. I decide that we should spend hardly any money on gifts then teeter over to the “but it’s Christmas” money mindset.

I make a huge list of Christmas goodies I want to make, then scratch most everything off and narrow it down to just a few of our traditional family favorites. I fall in love with all the amazing Pinterest Christmas suggestions (because who are the geniuses who think of these fabulous ideas?!) then I get mad at all the Pinterest Christmas suggestions (because who are the crazy people who have actually taken time to think of and execute these ridiculously impractical ideas?!).

So in summary, each December I decide that I want to do everything and I also want to do nothing. God bless us everyone.

christmasdecor0913sm

Now that we have officially entered the Christmas season, I believe I’ve landed on some sort of happy middle ground. We’ll do a little more than nothing but certainly not everything, so I guess it will look like something. Do I know how to celebrate a Simple Christmas or what?

Sigh. Do you do teeter back and forth like this? Is it only me?

Here’s what I’ve been working on to share with you this month. As you read through the list, you’ll be able to see clearly that nothing is difficult or requires much effort (you’re welcome). But we’ll still have us some simple holiday fun and we’ll get to eat chocolate (because God is good).

Simple Christmas posts you can look forward to this month:

  • Simple Chocolate Peanut Clusters recipe
  • Simple Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Cider recipe
  •  Chocolate Pie Crust recipe
  • Dozens of LEGO Sets for Less Than $10
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie recipe
  • Simple Trick to Serve Festive Treats without Food Coloring
  • Homemade White Hot Chocolate recipe

Truly, I don’t mean to overdo the chocolate. It’s just what happened as I started putting ideas together for the Christmas season. My Simple Christmas started to turn into a Chocolate Covered Christmas.

Is celebrating a Simple Christmas even possible

 

Share your thoughts! Do you prefer a Simple Christmas or an elaborate one? What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

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Favorite Family Games List 2017

November 28, 2017 by Laura 27 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

It’s become tradition around here. For several years, I have shared a list of our family’s favorite games, adding to the list each year as our shelf fills more and more. Welcome to this year’s Favorite Family Games List!

What Are Your Favorite Family Games

I LOVE that each year, you share your family’s favorite games in the comments. This has helped us decide which new games to get for our kids each Christmas. So keep the comments coming! Read through this list, then add your favorites in the comments section to give us all more idea!

Favorite Family Games List 2017

  • 5-Second Rule
  • Spot It!
  • 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
  • Farkle
  • Pass the Pigs
  • Huskerdu (great for younger kids – still fun for adults)
  • 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

I love that many of these are small enough to put into stockings. I love that these are gifts the entire family can enjoy together. And I love that there is really no end to all the great games out there!

Ok, your turn! Tell us what your favorite family games are!

Many of these links are my affiliate links.

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30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday Recipes (with a throw-back picture from 2007!)

December 8, 2016 by Laura 10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I’ve shared nine years worth of holiday recipes here at Heavenly Homemakers. Nine! 

You guys. Our boys looked like this back in 2007 when my site first became a thing:

boysbytree2sm2

Now they look like this. As you can tell, we got a taller tree. (I’m sure that’s the first thing you noticed.)

family-christmas700

Isn’t that a nice picture? Yes. Of course, this one is more normal:

family-christmas-silly700

I can’t get over how quickly my boys turned into men. I was there, and now I’m here, and I’m not sure how it happened. With love, prayer, tears, and lots of green beans, no doubt.

Today I decided to share 30 of the recipes that I’ve posted through these many Christmas seasons. You can bet the recipes that used more sugar were from my earlier blogging years! Slowly but surely, we’ve cut back on sugar content in our treat recipes. Somehow, the boys have still grown and lived to tell about it.

If you come across any of these older recipes and you think, “Hmm. I wonder if I can cut the sugar down in any of these?” the answer is most likely yes! The treats will still be delicious and your family’s Christmas will still be merry.

30 of Our Family’s Favorite Holiday RecipesYum

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

Peppernuts

peppernuts_9

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

chocolate mint mousse 3

Hot Cocoa

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

Peppermint Cream Cocoa

White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn

White Chocolate Popcorn

Cranberry Orange Scones

Orange Cranberry Scones

Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Popcorn With No Corn Syrup!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Balls

chocolate_peanut_butter_balls_2

100% Juice Sparkling Punch

Christmas Brunch Punch {with 100 juice!}

Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffle

christmas_truffles

Christmas Spice Cookies

christmasspicecookiessm

Chocolate Snowballs

snowballcookies3sm

Reindeer Cuties

reindeercookies5sm

Snickerdoodles

snickerdoodlessm

Coconut Macaroons

coconutmacaroonssm

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

pbchocstartreats

Peppermint Patties

Homemade Healthier Eggnog

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

Warm Vanilla Soother

warmvanillasoother2sm

Sweet Pepper Fritata

Quick Eggnog Muffins

Vanilla Muffins with Crumb Topping

Strawberry Christmas Salad

Strawberry Christmas Salad
Christmas Sourdough Biscuits

christmasbiscuitssm.JPG
Christmas Graham Crackers

christmasgrahamcrackerssm.JPG

Christmas Pizzas

christmaspizzassm.JPG

Christmas Donuts

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You’ll want to pin this so you can make these treats from now until the new year! —>

30-favorite-holiday-treats

 

Please leave a comment to tell me how long you’ve been reading here! Were any of you around when my boys were as little as that first Christmas picture?

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Merry Christmas! A FREE Chocolate eBook for EVERYONE!!

December 24, 2015 by Laura 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Instead of a giveaway where you have a chance to win, we decided to give copies of our What to Do With the Cocoa in Your Kitchen eBook to every one of you! After all, chocolate is a great way to celebrate Christmas, right?

cocoakitchencover

How to get your Christmas gift from us:

Head to our Heavenly Homemakers Shop. Scroll down to find our What to Do With the Cocoa in Your Kitchen eBook. (It’s one of our very first eBooks and therefore toward the bottom of our shop page.) Add the eBook to your cart. Use the code COCOACHRISTMAS to get the book for free!! This code is good through Monday, December 28.

Have a Merry, Merry Christmas!

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Free Printable for Christmas Menu Planning (Plus our Christmas Menu and Recipes)

December 20, 2015 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I function much better when I have a list. I like my lists better when they’re cute. So I made this for all of my cute list-making needs. I thought you might want or need it also as you plan a menu for this week. So here you go!

Christmas Munchies Free Printable

Download FREE Christmas Munchies Menu Planner Here

Last week, I sat down with the boys to get some ideas of what they wanted to munch on the week before Christmas, and especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. (We’ll be home – just the 6 of us – this year. Then we’ll travel to visit extended family after Christmas!) I want to make our favorites but take a break from the kitchen too. That’s why you’ll see some compromise foods in our list. It’s Christmas, right? Bring on the pre-made pizza. :)

Snacks

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans, Spicy Avocado Dip with chips, Real Food Velveeta and Rotel Chip Dip, Coconut Fudge Bars, Easy Veggie Dip

Easy Veggie Dip 1

Sweets

Low Sugar Frosted Sugar Cookies, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse, Hot Cocoa, White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn, Cranberry Orange Scones,

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

Christmas Eve

Summer Sausage, Cheese, Crackers, Olives, Fruit, Carrots, Cucumbers, Take-and-Bake Pizza, Sparkling Juice, Caramel Popcorn

Caramel Popcorn With No Corn Syrup!

Christmas Breakfast

Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Easy Breakfast Casserole, Fruit

egg_casserole

Christmas Dinner

Lasagna (recipe in Oh, For Real!), Tossed Salad, Green Beans, Strawberry Christmas Salad, Sparkling Juice

Strawberry Christmas Salad

This Strawberry Christmas Salad recipe is coming up tomorrow!

Other Christmas Break Meals

Crepes with fruit and/or Cream Cheese Filling, Tacos with homemade tortillas, Barbecue Brisket, Spiral Cut Ham, Bacon Ranch Hashbrown Casserole

Bacon Hashbrown Casserole

It’s so nice to take a break from school work, music lessons, basketball practice, and all the hubbub of normal days! More than anything, it’s great to have Asa home from college for an extended time. (He nailed his first college semester away from home. We’re super proud of how hard he worked to keep his grades up. Now it’s time for him to catch up on some sleep!) I’m looking forward to some down time, movie watching, and game playing with the family during the next few days!

What special meals and snacks are you eating this week?

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