Popcorn Balls – They’re Not Just for Halloween

Popcorn Balls – They’re Not Just for Halloween

Be different - do your own thing - decorate your popcorn balls with candy!

Popcorn balls can be a delicious treat any time of year and for any occasion. The Package From Santa team has found a super easy way to make popcorn balls – in fact, it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients For 1 Dozen Popcorn Balls

• Popped Popcorn – 10 cups
• Large Marshmallows – 10 ounces
• Butter – ¼ cup
• Salt – ¼ teaspoon
• Candy Decorations - optional

Add popcorn to large bowl, cake pan or other large container.

Combine marshmallows, salt and butter in a saucepan – use low to medium heat and stir constantly until the mix is melted. Pour over popcorn and mix well.

Allow to cool slightly then with buttered hands, shape into 12 balls. Place on waxed paper and decorate with candy if desired – the melted mixture will act as a sweet-and-tasty glue!

Debbie Allen enjoys sharing tips and ideas that can make your life easier and more fun. She writes about everything from new ideas to try when your kids write letters to Santa, recipes, ways to save money and home remedies.

How Do You Deck Out Potato Skins?

Whether you’re planning a Super Bowl Party or just looking for an inexpensive way to feed your own family, a potato bar can be the ideal solution! When it comes to feeding a crowd, potato skins are a great option. They can be customized to each person’s preference and even if you ‘go all out’ with toppings, your overall costs will still be very low.

You can bake and prepare the potatoes yourself or you can purchase frozen potatoes that are already scooped out. This makes your prep time faster and easier.

We suggest that you set up a ‘potato bar’. This makes it possible for everyone to add the toppings they prefer. Not only is this convenient for your guests – it also takes the work off of you.

Variety is the key to pleasing everyone. Some people like to fill potato skins with meat and cheese and others prefer veggies. You can’t go wrong if you provide a bit of everything at your potato bar. Dice up the veggies and prepare the other toppings, then display them in small containers at your bar. This will look nice and it will add to the enjoyment of everyone.

While there isn’t a wrong way to top a potato, we do have some suggestions  – but of course, you probably have some ideas of your own!

Potato Skin Fillers

• ·         Chili
• ·         Taco meat
• ·         Diced ham
• ·         Bacon
• ·         Refried beans
• ·         Shredded cheese
• ·         Roasted peppers
• ·         Banana peppers
• ·         Onions (offer green and sweet red onions)
• ·         Jalepenos
• ·         Diced tomatoes
• ·         Salsa
• ·         Sour Cream
• ·         Cheese sauce
• ·         Bar-B-Q sauce
• ·         Herbs
• ·         Salt & Pepper

Set your potato bar up in a way that makes sense. You will need to include serving dishes and utensils and napkins. Since the potato is the foundation of this dish you will need to place the potatoes in a very convenient location.

Try grouping your toppings. Placing all the meats together will make it easier for everyone. A person that prefers only vegetables can easily be preparing his/her potato at the same time a meat-lover is creating a work of ‘meat art’.

Some items will be used by nearly everyone. Shredded cheese, creams and sauces fall into that category.

The idea is to make toppings as easily accessible as possible. That will make it easier for everyone – even kids, to prepare their potato their way. Plus, it means you can relax!

Debbie Allen enjoys sharing tips and ideas that can make your life easier. She writes about everything from new ideas to try when your kids write letters to Santa, recipes, and even ways to save money.

From Christmas Cards To Letters To Santa – Get Your Kids Involved!

From Christmas Cards To Letters To Santa – Get Your Kids Involved!

Making homemade Christmas cards with your kids is an inexpensive and fun way to prepare for the coming holidays and it can work hand in hand with the creation of letters to Santa. You can use items you already have around the house.  I will give you a few ideas to get you started. From there let your imagination and Christmas spirit take over. Now go and get creative.

Choose a theme for your Christmas card. Christmas gives us an endless array of possibilities. You can go for an elegant Victorian theme or a rustic woodland theme. Let your preference and style guide you. Most of the time kids have no problem picking a theme

If you wanted to do a Santa cards you could look through sale ads for pictures to cut out and glue onto your card. A real cute idea is to make a trim around the front of the card that looks like Santa’s nice list.  You could also make a Santa face and glue cotton balls for his mustache, beard, and eyebrows.  

Maybe there is a new arrival to your family. In that case you should do a baby’s first Christmas card. Pictures of teddy bears and other cuddly animals look adorable on these cards. Pearlized paint add a sweet finishing touch.

Grandparents love to get anything hand made by their grandchildren. Christmas cards give you the chance to combine the season’s greeting with pictures. I try to find a photo that has my parents and children together. If there are any interest they have in common incorporate that into your card.

Rudolph makes a charming theme. You could include a small envelop that contains reindeer food for the receipt to set out on Christmas Eve. For Rudolph’s nose use glitter or something else shiny to draw attention. Along the border of your card you could make hoof prints or the names of all of Santa’s reindeer.

If fancy is more your style use lace and glue on gemstones. Try to find paper with a metallic sheen. Look for old Christmas cards or catalogs to find pictures that can be used on your card. Look for pictures of fruit or birds. Hand cut snowflakes will look exquisite on these cards also.

Inside your card make sure to put in a personalized message for the person who will be receiving it. Help your child with what to write look through old Christmas cards or search the internet for ideas. Tell them to write something from the heart. Kids usually love working on crafts like this. Let them write special letters to Santa and messages to loved ones in Christmas cards.

Depending on their level of handwriting you may want to write the address on the envelope. Allow your child to put the stamp on and put it in the mail box.

  

Christmas Stress And Santa’s Nice List

It is easy to get caught up in the rush of the Christmas season. For moms it can sometimes seem a little overwhelming. There is so much that needs to be done and done by you. Here I will hope to show ways to relieve holiday stress.
Shopping is one of the major causes of holiday stress. Try to avoid shopping in the evening or on the weekends. These are the busiest times of day for stores. When you do go take a list and mark off each item as you purchase it. Don’t drive yourself mad trying to find the season’s must have item. I keep an envelope in my purse to keep track of receipts. The most stress free way to shop is online in the comfort of your own home.
At home you can take a long bath to help ease the stress. I get away with this by having my older children help the younger ones to write letters to Santa. If you don’t have older children have your husband help out. Light some holiday scented candles and let the water wash away your stress.
Couples sometimes disagree on the amounts of money being spent on the holidays. Before you begin shopping sit down together decide what you can really afford. There is no sense in putting yourselves in debt over Christmas.
Take time to do activities with your kids. You can do something simple like decorating a bowl to put reindeer food out in. We like to bake and decorate cookies as a family and deliver them to friends and neighbors. My kids like to make pretty cards to give to their teachers. Every year I help the kids write a letter to Santa.
When you bring home the gifts you buy wrap them so that you don’t have a pile to wrap at the last minute. Buy an inexpensive plastic tote to keep your tape, tissue paper, scissors, and gift bags together and handy. If you have gifts that are going to different places wrap the gifts for each place in a different color.
If you must travel during the holidays be sure to bring something to keep your child entertained. If you will be in a car for any extended time pack a few snacks and drinks. You are setting yourself up for frustration if you take nothing along for the ride. Look online for game ideas the whole family can play in the car. Put on some Christmas music and see how many songs you all know.
Take a deep breath and remember that you are building holiday memories your children will remember for the rest of their lives – and if it helps at all, I have it from someone of authority that moms always rank high on Santa’s nice list.

Christmas Stockings – With Care

A couple of years ago I decided to make all the grandkids a stocking. I took each one individually to the fabric store and let them pick their fabric and trim. I did have to set some limitations because my older grandson wanted camo and a skull pattern. The girls I have to say coordinated their colors very well. Once I had all of my supplies together I sat about sewing. At some point all of my grandkids one by one (except Mathew, of course, he’s not talking yet!) came and talked with me while I sewed the stockings.

My youngest, Madilynn, spent the most time at my side. She is never short on conversion, especially about Christmas. She bragged about being the only kid she knows to ever get a letter from Rudolph. She has never once forgotten to set out food for the reindeer. It was her idea that I make the stocking curve at the toe like elf shoes. It did give them a whimsical touch. She left me no choice but make her stocking first. I loved the blues and silver she had picked. The fabric glimmered like fresh snow. The trim on her stocking looked like icicles.

Savannah’s stocking was very elegant. Hers was trimmed with intricate lace trimmings. She even drew the pattern for the shape she wanted her stocking to be in. She is almost eleven going on 18 if you know what I mean. It seems that although she hasn’t hit the teen years yet she is still dealing with teenage dramas. I sew while she gives me a play by play of everything everyone said that week in school. I was glad to have the chance to be her friend instead of just grandma (actually it’s me maw).

My older grandson, Daniel, stopped by every now and then to give me a peck on my cheek, or ask what there was to eat. However, he did sit beside me long enough to write letters to Santa. He’s at that in between point – he knows that Santa Claus is not real but he likes the magic that Santa brings to Christmas. He would never let his friends know he wrote a letter to Santa – after all, Daniel is 12 years old! He only wrote it to make me happy. It’s one of those family traditions, and this will probably be the last year that I will be able to get him to write a letter of his own. I imagine he will stop writing them all together for a few years and then perhaps help the younger kids.

One by one I finished the stockings and they all turned out very pretty. The kids were so excited to hang them up and see what Santa would put in them.

Santa didn’t disappoint them. Along with all the goodies and toys there were letters from Santa. The kids took turns reading their letters while we ate Christmas breakfast. I am so glad that I made those stockings. It gave me the chance to talk with the kids and hear about the world from their perspective. We also now a have a new way to celebrate the Christmas holiday as a family.

Fill Your Home with the Fragrances of Christmas

Smell is a very powerful sense. It is capable of setting off innumerable responses in human bodies. It causes us to recall memories, vividly and accurately. It triggers the sensation of hunger or makes mouths water. It causes reactions that are physical like a smile and a deep breath when we smell delicious scent. The sense of smell is responsible for the way things taste. It is during holidays that scent plays an important part in one’s sense of memories, comfort and enjoyment. Here's how you could fill your home with the fragrances of Christmas.

When you bake something delicious in the oven that is when the smell will trigger the feeling that Christmas is round the corner. Be it pie, cinnamon rolls, gingerbread or cookies the scent of such delicious goods that are baked will result in a tempting scent wafting through the house. If you are not much into baking you need not worry. There are numerous frozen desserts, refrigerated dough and rolls that you could put into the oven. You could burn candles that are scented in order to add a festive scent as well as warmth to your house. You will find 100 scents in Yankee candles. Of these 40 are deliciously suitable for giving out a holiday smell in your house. The glow from these candles will make a cozy setting on a night that is cold and wintry. Many stores dealing in craft stock pinecones that give out cinnamon scent. This will result in the scent of cinnamon in the house. The pinecones could be used as Christmas decoration. You could place a basket full of pinecones that are scented on the hearth. Once the scent of cinnamon oily fades away you could throw the pinecones into the fire so that on burning they would release even more scent.

Since Christmas will soon be here now is the time to fill your surroundings with the fragrances and aroma of Christmas. You could make use of aromatherapy candles, stovetop scents and Christmas potpourri so that your house would be filled with lovely fragrances. You could always look around for the best deals when it comes to aromatherapy scents and candles so that you could benefit from the wholesale pricing. The Citrus Ginger Candle is a combination of a hint of seasonal citrus and warm, inviting spices. The scent embodies the holiday season and you could use it throughout December. The scent of the almond candle is similar to delicious marzipan. This can be used for get-togethers with friends in the afternoon. The Cashmere Mandarin Candle is exotic, light and spicy. You could use this aroma in winter in the bathrooms while you soak yourself after a long entertaining evening in a bubble bath.

Potpourri consists of heavily scented foliage, herbs and different flowers mixed together in order to fill your house with an attractive fragrance. It is also very beautiful to look at. You could display it in a favorite crystal piece, decorative bowls or baskets. The reality is that whether you are wrapping gifts or helping your children write letters to Santa or simply enjoying the wonderful holiday decorations in your home, the fragrance of Christmas adds a special touch to the season.

Snowflakes and Mistletoe Add To the Magic of Christmas

When Christmas is round the corner many children start counting the days because they are eagerly anticipating Santa Claus and his gifts for them. This is the time of the year when children have more fun than ever, but for adults it can be extremely hectic. Some advice for making this holiday season less stressful is ordering personalized letters from Santa Claus and also purchasing some pre-Christmas gifts early. This adds to the fun for the children and helps to relieve adults of last minute hassles.

Every year children in the United States, Canada and around the world write letters to Santa Claus so that they can tell him what they expect for Christmas. Normally, they do not expect an answer to their request except for an occasional note that says thank you on a plate that the children have left cookies on for Santa on the eve of Christmas. If you order personalized letters from Santa Claus for the children, a special spark would be added to the season and you would not be able to wipe off the smiles on the faces of your children. You can get these letters from many different suppliers but some are much better than others. Just like any other shopping, comparison shopping proves that some vendors are not concerned with creating a quality product. However, packages from Santa are available that are sure to please you and amaze your children.

You will have to give personal information to the supplier in order to personalize the letters. You have to provide the name, age, gender, as well as other details. All this is edited so that the letter looks like it is addressed to your child specifically by Santa himself. The illusion will be maintained that Santa knows everything about each child. The joy of your child will know no bounds when he thinks that Santa wrote a personal letter to him. Combine the arrival of this unique gift with inexpensive pre-Christmas gifts and your kids will be delighted. The waiting period that leads to Christmas can be made more exciting with the help of activity pads, gift items that are small and craft kits. Some activities of this kind will also give the adults a lot of fun. You could look around for specific craft projects that are designed so that the child and parent work together closely in order to complete it as per the schedule. This would make the countdown to Christmas a fun affair for both. You could personalize the small gifts. A personal touch could be added to the project that is completed with the help of items like ornament craft gifts to hold photographs, personalized ornaments and other items. It will make the project yours as well as your child’s.


You will all cherish the time you have spent together some years later. The period before Christmas can be very hectic but children enjoy this period because of the gifts that they are going to get from Santa Claus. You can make the season merry with the help of a Christmas package from Santa Claus while snowflakes and mistletoe will add to the magic.