Friday, March 21, 2014

Make Your Own Fairy Garden

Make Your Own Fairy Garden


Gardening is an activity that is fun for old and young alike – it’s something the entire family can enjoy together. But not everyone wants to commit the time, money and effort required to make and maintain a large-scale garden. With that in mind, smaller versions can be the ideal alternative. In this case we are referring to ‘fairy gardens’.

Getting Started

Fairy gardens are perfect for decks and patios. But they can also be added to almost any outdoor space. Plus, you can use a variety of ‘garden’ containers. This includes everything from an old suitcase to a picnic basket, wooden box or a discarded wagon. Other options include a non-working outdoor fountain with a large base or a large concrete planter.

The basic step is to fill the container with dirt and add plants. Small compact plants, such as succulents and ground covers are good choices. Since this is a fairy garden you should try to use plants and other items that are small-scaled, but that are interesting.

The Fun Begins!

After you have the plants in place you can begin the fun part – accessorizing the garden to make it the perfect home for fairies!  Keep in mind, this will probably be an on-going process – because as time goes by there will likely be new ideas and items you and your kids want to try.

One important consideration is pathways. You should add paths that will take the fairies through the garden. These can be made with any type of small rocks – a good choice is aquarium gravel.

You may even want to use some aquarium decorations in your garden. You can find great-looking caves, houses and castles that any fairy is sure to love. You can also find some items that make wonderful ‘statues’ for the fairy garden.

Use your imagination to create the perfect garden. Want a gazing ball for the fairies’ front lawn? Just glue a pretty marble to a golf tee!  Want a pond in your Fairy Garden? Partially bury a small dish. Check out the idea of using small knick-knacks to decorate your garden.

Besides using aquarium accessories and knick-knacks you may already have you might also want to visit the craft aisle of your favorite department store. You will find things like small bird nests, birds, butterflies and bees that can be added to the garden.

Be creative and have fun – the fairy garden will be a magical place that your family will enjoy for the long term.


Debbie Allen writes about everything from real letters from Santa to home decoration and gardening tips. Visit this Package From Santa blog regularly to stay informed.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Traditional St. Patrick's Day Meal

Traditional St. Patrick’s Day Meal


Maybe you’re like millions of others – you don’t have a lot of time but you still like to make holidays fun. And with that the thought of planning and cooking something special probably doesn’t sound too appealing. But the good news is – you can make a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal very easily – in fact, you can use a crock pot!

Corned beef and cabbage is the traditional meal most people associate with St. Patrick’s Day.

Main Ingredients:

  • Corned Beef Brisket (3 pounds) & Spice Packet
  • Small Red Potatoes (10 -12)
  • Red Onion (1 - diced)
  • Carrots (5 – peeled and cut into small pieces)
  • Head of Cabbage (cut into small wedges)
  • Water (3 cups)


Cooking Instructions:

  • Add vegetables to crock pot. Combine contents of spice packet with 3 cups water – then pour over vegetables. 
  • Add brisket to pot – then top off with cabbage.
  • Add cover and cook on low for approximately 8 – 9 hours. Meat and vegetables should be tender at completion.
  • Place cabbage and vegetables in separate bowls. Add broth to bowls. Place brisket on a platter and slice to serve.


Don’t Forget About Dessert!

What could be more appropriate for a St. Patrick’s Day dessert than a rainbow cake or cupcakes in a jumbo size? And the best part is – this recipe is easy!

Ingredients Needed:

  • White Cake Mix - 2 Boxes
  • White Cake Frosting – 2 Containers
  • Water – 2 ½ cups
  • Vegetable Oil – 2/3 cup
  • Food Color – Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green

Directions:

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare paper muffin cups or you can choose to make a rainbow cake.
  • Add cake mixes, egg whites, vegetable oil and water to large bowl and mix until thoroughly blended.
  • Separate mix into six smaller bowls. Add food coloring to create the following colors: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Orange (add 10 – 12 drops of yellow color and 4- 5 drops yellow), and Purple (9-10 drops red color and 5 – 6 drops blue).
  • Begin each muffin (or the bottom layer of the cake) with 1 tablespoon) red batter.
  • Build the color layers of the rainbow as you desire using all 6 colors you created.
  • Bake for approximately 35 minutes (test by lightly touching center of cake/muffin or by inserting a toothpick).
  • Cool for 10 minutes before adding frosting.

There you have it – a delicious way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

Debbie Allen is a regular contributor at Package From Santa blogs. She writes about everything from everyday lifestyle tips to craft projects and recipes and even about holiday traditions like writing letters to Santa .

Friday, March 7, 2014

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day


You don’t have to be Irish to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This is a holiday that offers lots of ways to make time with your kids fun and meaningful. You can celebrate by creating some delicious treats and you can make some great decorations and craft items.

St. Patrick’s Day Treats

Let’s start with some St. Patrick’s Day treat ideas. One of the very simple treat ideas for this holiday is cookies that are decorated in green. Green M&Ms can be pressed into freshly baked cookies or you can add green frosting or other decorations. You can do the same with brownies and cakes.

Miniature pretzels can be perfect for creating special treats for any holiday. Just spread a sheet of wax paper to add your pretzels to. Then melt white or milk chocolate in the microwave. Drop a teaspoonful of chocolate onto each pretzel – then decorate using 3 green M&Ms for each pretzel – which now becomes shamrocks. A bit of green icing be used to create a ‘stem’. The same process can be used to create treats for other times of the year – just use appropriately colored M&Ms and skip the stem!

Cool Drinks For St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick ’s Day drinks include everything from lime-flavored Kool-Aid to green smoothies and shakes. Get creative – add vanilla ice cream, milk and a few drops of green food color to your blender – just blend and serve! You might also want to consider serving up a green punch and add some scoops of green sherbet for interest. Top your St. Patrick’s Day drinks off with a bit of whipped cream and some green sprinkles.

Craft Project For St. Patrick’s Day

Shamrocks and leprechauns are the traditional icons used for St. Patrick’s Day decorations. As our image indicates, St. Patrick’s Day is often associated with good luck or even with good fortune. After all, everyone knows that leprechauns love gold and jewels. Leprechauns are small and they visit our homes on St. Patrick’s Day. 

With this, trapping a leprechaun can offer the promise of something exciting. It should be remembered that leprechauns are clever – they can always escape from traps. But if your trap is one they like, the leprechaun(s) will leave behind something special for you. This could be candy, money, or other items. Parents should be warned, just as kids look for ways to ensure they receive real letters from Santa – they will also want to know if the item left really came from leprechauns.   
     
Obviously, creating a leprechaun trap can be a lot of fun – and there are lots of ways to do this. One way is to use a Quaker Oats box. Of course, leprechauns like the color green, and they like rainbows and pots of gold. Keeping those things in mind the box should be decorated accordingly. Placing the box on top of a paper plate that has been decorated in a similar manner will help make box look like a leprechaun hat. The top of the ‘hat’ is the trap. 

You can cut a few slits from the outside rim of the lid to the center. This ensures that if a leprechaun walks across the lid he will ‘fall in’ to the trap. You should add something to the box top that will lure leprechauns in. This could be a small trinket, candy, or other items. You can even make a ladder to help them scale the side of the hat (box). Just glue some twigs together to create a ladder.


The hardest part about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is deciding which option(s) you will go with. All we can say is, choose wisely – best of luck!