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Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Family fun picks for the school holidays
A few ideas for holiday fun for the unexhausted.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, it’s all over now. We’re exhausted and the house is a mess. Today we’re cleaning up and moving toys where they belong. If you’re not completely wiped out, here are some ideas for fun while your kids are home from school:
Cooking
Monkey bread - My girlfriend made a version of this at our mom’s brunch a few weeks ago, and it was delicious. I didn’t get her recipe before they left town but I found a bunch on the Internet. I made this recipe the day before Christmas and the reheated Christmas morning. It turned out pretty well. Here’s one recipe but the site also has a link to other versions. See what you think. The kids can totally help make it.
Pillsbury’s already rolled-out sugar cookie dough - My kids love to use cookie cutters but I’m always worn out after making the dough and rolling it out. So, we bought the already made, rolled-out dough. I got icing in little squirters in the baking aisle and lots of sprinkles.
We ended up doing one of the packages on Christmas Eve morning. They did a great job with it. It was very easy and just the right thickness to make very nice cookie cut-outs. We cut out the cookies on wax paper with a little bit of flour sprinkled on it.
Pretzels dipped in chocolate - One our friends gave these out as goodies. They were so festive but had to be easy to make. She took the large pretzel rods, bought the chocolate you melt in the microwave to dip them in, and then covered with cookie sprinkles. We tried it a week ago and they were very easy and tasty. Our biggest problem was I needed something long and thin to hold the chocolate to dip the pretzels in. I ended up just sort of rolling the pretzels in the chocolate and it didn’t look as pretty. But it did keep them occupied.
Easy gingerbread houses - If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, you can make little gingerbread houses. Many of you may have made these before, but I’m sure there are some new moms out there who haven’t seen it done. Here are the quick and dirty directions:
You need a school milk carton-size box - grocery stores have the little Tropicana boxes that would work just fine. Buy graham crackers, canned white icing and different types of candy (Twizzlers, red hots, candy canes, Skittles all work well.) Spread the icing on the sides of the little box then stick the graham crackers on to make the house. Then use the icing to stick the candy on the house to decorate it.
We also used large marshmallows and pretzel sticks to make snowmen. Use one pretzel stick to spear the three marshmallows together to make the snowman. You can also use the pretzel sticks as arms. Another cute touch is to use sugar ice cream cones turned upside down as Christmas trees. Tint the icing green and spread it on the little tree.
On the entertainment front, here are some things we’ve seen:
Movies
“Enchanted” - Three adults and one teenager took one 6-year-old girl to see this movie, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It was funny, cute, sweet and very tolerable to adults. I’m not sure if my 4-year-old would have liked it. It was pretty girly.
“Alvin and the Chipmunks” - A big fan of the Chipmunks, I took my 6- and 4-year-old and met my brother, his wife and their 6- and 2-year-old to see the new movie. The kids loved it. The parents suffered. There are a lot of gas passing jokes, and you really have to suspend disbelief. While I was checking my watch wondering why Jason Lee would agree to play Dave, the kids were cracking up.
“Bee Movie” - It’s still out there and if you haven’t seen it, it is worth checking out. It was cute for the whole family. The story hangs together pretty well. The animation is good. The jokes are funny to kids and adults.
The Water Horse - This movie opened on Christmas Day and my kids are fascinated by the trailer. One review I read said it had some pretty scary parts to it. So I’m not quite sure whether to take them or not. Let us know if you see and what you think. How old can kids be to go? Did you kids like it?
Stone Mountain Park Christmas - My parents took our 6- and 4-year-old a few weeks ago to the park for all the Christmas stuff. It isn’t cheap, but the kids really had a great time. They spent about six hours there. My kids sat still for all the live shows and loved seeing the Snow Fairy at the end of the parade (happens at the end of the night). They also liked riding the train. All I remember from years past was that food service was slow and expensive. The Christmas stuff is there through Dec. 30.
Fun at home:
We recently discovered that Comcast cable has Karaoke on the On Demand section under music. It’s free. They have holiday songs, as well as ’80s, country, current hits, and all kinds of categories. It’s fun for the whole family - or at least those members that can read. (Only kidding, kids would love to see their parents be silly.) Side note: Jesse’s Girl, they have “Jessie’s Girl”!!! I did a fantastic job on it — would have made you proud!
Disney’s Scene It - Santa brought this game last year and it’s very fun for all ages. We play in teams - girls against boys often. My parents like to play with us. Even the 4-year-old can get answers right in this game.
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