Christmas Recipes, Crafts, and Fun Ideas
December 15, 2021
Deborah Wuehler
She Who Believed
A Few of Our Favorite Things
Holiday Fun Ideas
Timeless Thoughts
Reflections for the Holiday Seasons
Four Pillars to Look Back on this Year
Faith, Hope, Knowledge and Future
| Be sure to scroll to the bottom to enter the contest and see the freebies of the month! |
For more holiday ideas visit these special sections in this issue :
Mercy Every Minute
Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor
She Who Believed
When Luke recorded the very first Christmas celebration, we see that the celebration began well before that baby was even born. We can also celebrate all month with wonderful outings, decorations, caroling, special recipes, crafts, and fun ideas.
When Mary went to visit Elisabeth, they both began to celebrate the coming birth of Christ. Elisabeth knew immediately she was in the Lord’s presence and was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Am I able to recognize the Lord’s presence here with me?
Is all of this fuss for nothing, or can I go about this holiday filled with the Holy Spirit as Elisabeth? The answer to finding the presence of the Prince of Peace with us is to begin searching for Him in all we do until we find Him, a humble babe who laid the glories of heaven down and put on our flesh to give us the gift of His life.
Am I holding on to a promise that only God seems to really understand?
The answer for peace in the unanswered lies in Elisabeth’s response: “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45).
Keep celebrating, keep believing, keep searching for Him, and make the best of this holy-day, holiday season as you find the presence of Christ in all you do this month.
Below are some wonderful ways to celebrate . . .
A Few of Our Favorite Things
Holiday Fun Ideas
Enjoy this collection of some popular articles from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine® and Homeschooling with Heart blog offering fun ideas for kids of all ages.
Creating Holiday Fun with the Littlest Ones
Start small, and make sure your expectations match reality. Most preschoolers have an attention span that doesn’t extend beyond the swiping of a glue stick, so remember that when you’re pulling a plan together. Read more . . .
Mixing Books with Life Skills Learning Fun in the Kitchen
Your kitchen can be a fun place to teach your child life skills, build relationships, and make wonderful memories. Read more . . .
Christmas Car Games
Whether you’re heading over the river and through the woods, or are just heading to the store for some eggnog, these games are perfect. They’ll help keep everyone’s mind busy and cut down on bickering. Read more . . .
Winter Break Bucket List
As much as we enjoy our cozy home, making memories outside of it is just as important as the moments we share inside. Read more . . .
Fun & Games: Unleashing the Power of Play
Think about what happens when you sit down to play a game. Initially, the world shrinks to the people around the table. You stop worrying about homework, projects, and whatever you need to do before tomorrow. Instead, you are focused on the now. Read more . . .
Timeless Thoughts
Reflections for the Holiday Season
Take a break from the hustle and bustle to recharge your spirit with timeless messages from these contributors to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine® and the Homeschooling with Heart blog.
Having a Holiday Heart: Seven Reasons to Celebrate (Even if you don’t feel like it)
God is whispering to you to celebrate Him. Seasons of our life will change, but He will never change. He is worthy of celebration. Read more . . .
Comfort and Joy, or Stress and Exhaustion?
For me, this time of year spelled S-T-R-E-S-S. How am I supposed to pull this off and maintain my schedule for homeschooling—or maintain any semblance of order, for that matter? Read more . . .
Life in the Margins
Life can feel hectic, especially this time of the year. With the Christmas season winding to a close and New Year’s around the corner, it’s the time of year we think about change. Read more . . .
Four Pillars to Look Back on This Year
Wrap up the year with these evergreen articles—one in each of our four homeschool support pillars.
Pillar of Faith
Be An Example
What is one of the best roles we can play? That of being an example. Our children need godly examples to look up to.
Pillar of Knowledge
Embracing Teachable Moments
Creating an environment of relaxed learning helps children to learn more and allows the parents to homeschool with less stress.
Pillar of Hope
Praying Not to Mess Up
Keep the focus on what you can do. Enjoy the journey and fill the time with love and laughter. Make the time together as valuable as the activities.
Pillar of Future
Is It Time to Rewrite Our Holiday Traditions?
It has been important to hold on to those holiday routines that are most meaningful to us, letting go of others that cause excessive stress or conflict.
Winter Recipe Resources
Pumpkin Apple Cake
Ingredients
- ½ c butter (softened)
- 1 c sugar (or ¾ c. honey)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled and diced (1½ cups)
- 1 c pumpkin puree
- 2 c whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ½ c raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream together butter and sugar, or honey.
- Add in eggs; then stir in vanilla, apples, and pumpkin.
- Mix together dry ingredients.
- Mix together wet and dry ingredients, adding in raisins.
- Pour into a greased 9×11 pan. (May also be baked in a 9″ Bundt pan.)
- Bake at 350° (or 325° if using honey) for 25-35 minutes, or until it tests done.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or drizzle with powdered sugar frosting, if desired.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream. (optional)
Looking for more holiday recipes? Try these:
Holiday Craft Corner
Gift Box Ornament Craft
Equipment
- Box template PDF (see instructions step one to download)
- Scissors
- Tape or glue
- Markers, crayons, paint, glitter, or stickers (optional for decoration)
Ingredients
- Paper for printing box template. (Regular computer paper is easy to fold but not very sturdy as a box so if you need something sturdier then use cardstock. With cardstock it may be harder to fold depending on the thickness. Choose what you think will work best for your kids to use.)
- Ribbon or small bow (any color)
- String or thread (any color)
Instructions
- Print the box template PDF (download here) on white, colored, or patterned paper.
- Follow the directions on the template to cut out and and assemble the box.
- Decorate the box using whatever embellishments you like. If you're using a patterned paper, you might want to leave it as is.
- Tie a ribbon around it or place a little bow on top as a final touch.
- If it’s a gift, you can make a little gift tag and attach it to your gift box.
- Attach a string or thread loop for hanging it on the Christmas tree.
Video
Looking for more fun craft ideas? Try these:
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Need a quick craft idea? Try shaving cream art and make some Christmas cards for your friends and family. This simple craft is easy to do with just a few items you likely already have on hand. Use your imagination and create some masterpieces for Christmas! Grab the instructions for the Shaving Cream Art Christmas Cards from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.
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Contest Corner
for the month of December
Breaking the Spanish Barrier Online and Breaking the French Barrier Online
Breaking the Barrier
http://www.tobreak.com
The Breaking the Barrier program consists of the online resource, where most of the work will occur. The homeschool package contains a print copy of the student workbook, a print copy of the answer key, the printed Oasis booklet for the respective language, a print copy of the test program, a print copy of the homeschool pacing guide, a disc of pronunciations, and a code for access to the online program. The online program code gives 12 months of access.
Breaking the Barrier Online does cover everything in the workbook. It also adds digital flashcards, audio samples, pronunciations, video clips, and interactive answers. In merging the online with the workbook, Breaking the Barrier Online immerses the student in the language through cultural experiences and images, showing the countries that speak that language. This benefits all students with a varied approach to learning. If the student learns best with written lessons, they are included. If the student learns best with audio lessons, they are included.
Both Breaking the French Barrier and Breaking the Spanish Barrier have three levels of instruction – beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The beginner level covers basics in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. It is easier to focus on the trickier parts of the language, such as verb endings, by spreading it out over two weeks. One level in each language is one year’s worth of material when a lesson is covered every two weeks. The pacing guide will help the homeschool family decide how quickly to work through the material.
Read the full review on our site from a mom with extensive details about the programs.
Go to the contest page of our site where you can ENTER TO WIN Breaking the Spanish Barrier Online and Breaking the French Barrier Online.
Freebies
Sally Matheny, www.SallyMatheny.com
Writer and homeschool mom Sally Matheny offers inspiration, encouragement, and resources to help parents tell the next generation wondrous things. Get a free digital download of forty (twenty different designs) high-quality JPEG images sized 1242 x 2800 pixels, perfect for all mobile phone screens. Save the images to your photo files. Set them
as your mobile phone wallpapers. Use them to help with memorization. Most of all, enjoy reminders of God’s truths every time you check your phone. Download the free digital file at www.sallymatheny.com.
This free product and more are found in our 2022 Freebie Directory: TOS Freebie Directory – The Old Schoolhouse®
FREE e-book!
Holiday Digital Supplement 2010
This FREE 176-page digital magazine is packed with all new content for 2010 and takes you around the world to explore Christmas in other lands. Inside you’ll discover festive ideas, fun crafts, special recipes, and activity pages for your children. Plus, as a special bonus, we’ve included articles full of homeschooling advice and encouragement from our 2010 Fall Schoolhouse Expo speakers.
Find more freebies at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Store: Freebies Archives – The Old Schoolhouse®
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