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.

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!

Have Your Trail Mix Your Way!

Now days you can buy various kinds of Trail Mix at your favorite grocery store. However, this limits you to choosing from what is available. The reality is, you can create delicious trail mix treats very easily. And when you make it yourself you get to choose exactly what goes in. In other words, you can have your trail mix your way!

Typical Trail Mix Ingredients

Although there is not a right or wrong ‘mix’, the typical ingredient choices include nuts, seeds, dried fruit, grains, sweets and seasonings. Obviously, within these choices you can go very healthy or create a mix that is heavy on calories and fat content.

Cooked, Roasted or Raw

Some people prefer a ‘cooked’ mix. That is, the sweets, such as chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips may be melted and combined with the dry ingredients. Nuts and other ingredients can be roasted or added raw.

Mix It Up

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Seasonings and spices can make even an ordinary Trail Mix more exciting to eat. You can create a sweet mix, a salty and sweet mix, a spicy mix, or whatever sounds good to you. Add in some surprises – for instance, you could add a few wasabi peas or M&Ms. These ingredients can make the mix more interesting and fun to eat.

Debbie Allen is a regular contributor at Package From Santa blogs. She shares tips and ideas about everything from real letters from Santa to recipes, kids’ health, home decor and ways to save money. You can read more of her content at The Things Women Want.

Dyed Rice – Instead Of Glitter

Dyed Rice – Instead Of Glitter

If you read this blog on a regular basis you have probably seen several posts that mention a craft box. A well-stocked craft box can help keep your kids busy – even when they’ve been snowed in for days! The best part is, you can stock your craft box with things you already have. For instance, dyed rice is a perfect alternative to glitter.

Uncooked rice can be colored with food coloring and used to create and decorate various types of craft projects. For instance, a simple picture can be outlined on poster board and filled in with the colored rice. This can be much more fun than using crayons or markers!

You can also use the dyed rice to create seasonal decorations. For example, a heart shape cut out of poster board can be generously covered with colored rice to create a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s decoration.

Here’s how to dye uncooked rice:

What You Need

• ¼ cup Rubbing Alcohol or White Vinegar
• 2/3 cup Uncooked Rice
• Gallon Size Zip-Lock Bag or Large Jar
• Food Coloring
• Wax Paper or Folded Newspaper

How To Dye Rice

• Add the rubbing alcohol or white vinegar to your bag or jar. Add 3 or 4 drops of the food coloring and mix.
• Pour in the rice.
• Seal the bag or jar and shake until rice is evenly covered.
• Allow the content to sit for 5 – 10 minutes.
• Spread the rice out on the wax paper or newspaper and wait until it is dry before using. This should take about 30 – 60 minutes, but if the rice is soaked it can take up to 24 hours.

When ready the dyed rice can easily be added to craft projects. Just cover the item in glue and apply the rice just as you would glitter.

This blog offers information about everything from real letters from Santa to craft ideas, recipes, and much more. 

Choosing Real Christmas Trees

Choosing Real Christmas Trees

For many people, Christmas would not be Christmas without a real Christmas tree. Real trees add a touch of authenticity to your holiday décor that cannot be matched with artificial trees. The fragrance of live trees is an essential part of the holiday season – so much so that air fresheners in pine scents are often used to create the smell of fresh trees.

Shopping For Real Christmas Trees

In most cities across the nation you can find Christmas trees being sold at retail lots. But if you have never shopped for a real tree before there are some things you need to be aware of. Read the tips below – they will help ensure you select a great tree!

First things first – measure the space you intend to place the tree. Sometimes it can be misleading when you see a tree at a lot. It is easy to miscalculate how large the tree really is. With that in mind, be sure to take along a measuring tape when you shop for your tree.

Consider the type of decorations you will be using. Some types of Christmas have very stiff, short needles and others have needles that are softer and longer. And some have branches that are fuller than others. Learning a bit about the various species of Christmas trees can help prepare you to find the perfect tree for your needs.

Check the Tree for Freshness

Although you may not be able to find a tree that is truly ‘fresh cut’ it is important to check the tree for freshness. Grab a branch and run it through your hand. If needles fall off very easily you know the tree is drying out. Also, branches should be flexible and pliable and the tree should smell fresh; it should have a pine scent – it should not smell musty.

Debbie Allen is a writer for Package From Santa. Besides writing about holiday traditions like Christmas trees and real letters from Santa she also shares tips about ways to save money, home décor, recipes and more.

Quick Ideas For Thanksgiving Day Leftovers

Quick Ideas For Thanksgiving Day Leftovers

If you are like most people, right about now you have more Thanksgiving Day leftovers than you ever wanted. After all, eating the same foods – even if they are delicious foods – can get old after the second day. So what do you do with all those leftovers? We’re offering up some ideas…

Leftover Delights:

Sandwiches – You can make turkey sandwiches with the meat as is or you can make turkey salad (made just as you would make a chicken or tuna salad- get as creative as you like!).

Turkey Soup – Make this just like you would make a traditional chicken soup. You can turn it into a turkey vegetable soup or turkey noodle soup.

Turkey Pot Pie – All you need is 2 pie shells and the contents (just combine cubed turkey, thawed frozen vegetables, diced onions, cream of chicken soup & a small amount of milk). Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees – fill first pie shell with contents, then add the second pie shell to create the top. Poke a few holes in the top of your pie and bake for about 40 – 45 minutes.

Turkey Tetrazzini – Line a 13x9 inch prepared pan with cooked egg noodles. In a large skillet sauté 6 ounces of sliced mushrooms; then mix in 2 cups diced turkey, 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, 1 cup sour cream, and small amount of salt and pepper. Spread mixture over noodles. Top off with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese – bake at 350 degrees for about 20 – 25 minutes.

Mashed Potato Pancakes – just add a beaten egg to 2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes. You can add shredded cheese, sugar, salt, or even add shredded vegetables. Fry pancakes in butter and enjoy!

Thanksgiving Day Casserole – This single dish is a great way to use up all or most of your leftovers. Add ingredients in layers – start with turkey, then add stuffing, followed by a layer of vegetables (whatever you might have leftover); next you can add a layer of shredded cheese or if you like and have it on hand, you can add a layer of cranberry sauce – mashed potatoes make the perfect final topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Debbie Allen is a professional content writer and editor. She loves sharing tips about things that relate to the holiday season – in fact, she often writes about traditions like real letters from Santa and holiday decorating ideas. When she’s not writing about these topics you will find her working on her site – The Things Women Want.

Black Friday

Shopping On Black Friday

For many people the day after Thanksgiving is ‘the day’ to do Christmas shopping. If this sounds like you planning for the big day may be part of the process. In fact, you may have to get up early in order to catch the sales of the day. Stores offer extreme discounts on Black Friday and many of them start at zero-dark-thirty-am! This is definitely a time when the early bird gets the worm – or at least, the best deal!

Getting Prepared

Besides being armed with a list of gift ideas you should obviously try to get plenty of rest the night before. One of the benefits of gathering with friends and family on Thanksgiving Day is that it gives you the perfect opportunity to quiz everyone about what they would like for Christmas or to get information about sizes, color preferences, etc. Plus, because you will be so busy on Thanksgiving Day, you will likely want to go to bed early – which will make it easier to rise and shine for the earlier morning sales.

Be Where You Need To Be First

Like any worth doing – this is worth doing well – and that means you should take the effort to plan your time. Try to find out which stores are having special discounts on the items you need or want at which times. Many stores publish their bargain sales several days before Black Friday. They publish the bargain prices and store hours in major newspapers. Some stores also post their items on web sites. This makes it possible for you to go directly to the items you want, get them, pay for them and be out of the store in a short time. Plan ahead and strategize.

For example, if one store is offering a $100 discount on a TV that is usually $800 at 5 am and at the same time another store is promoting a $50 discount on a $300 stereo you will need to consider both the savings opportunities as well as your priorities. It is obvious that both stores will probably sell out of their discounted items – and you can’t be at 2 places at once. So decide which store is offering the best discount or the item that matters to you the most and go there first. Or, if possible, you go to one store and get a friend or family member to go to the other store.

Another Option

Some stores may offer their items online. The online prices might even be cheaper than the items in the stores. But do keep in mind that you only have a limited amount of time to spare – you should not waste time browsing through all the web sites. Use the online search features to find the items you need.

Consider This

One of the most practical gifts in many instances may be the gift card. This is a very practical and logical gift if you are not sure what would be the appropriate gift for the person. Gift cards are always available and in varying amounts. You can always find a gift card online.

Debbie Allen is a content writer that shares tips about holiday traditions. She believes real letters from Santa will help keep the magic of Christmas alive.