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 .

Create Christmas Décor, Fun And Holiday Food You’ll Be Proud Of!

Decorating for Christmas is lots of fun but it can also be a bit of a hassle. After all – you have to shop for your decorating supplies and then you have to find a way to make everything work together and look great. I have some easy tips for you that will help. In fact, I am also going to share some ideas about some holiday fun and things that will help you have a wonderful dinner.

To start, let’s talk about the fun. One way to have fun during the holiday season is to add in some activities that everyone will enjoy. Little kids can be the easiest to please. All you need to make them happy is to put a focus on Santa Claus. I do this when I plan my Santa letter writing event. For this activity all you need is a well supplied craft box, an imagination, and maybe some patience.

Besides writing letters to Santa Claus my grandkids like to create various Christmas craft projects. The older kids pretty much tend to their own projects. When it comes to the younger ones we all pitch in to help.

We always have a special treat or two to munch on during the fun. In the end, young and old alike have fun. And the outcome is also that I get a new collection of hand-crafted decorative items to display.

Believe it or not – I do use those items as part of my holiday décor. My Christmas dinner table always has Styrofoam snowmen and decorated Santa cards and letters as a centerpiece.

I mentioned that there are easy ways to decorate and make things look good. What I do is simple. Every year I decide on either a primary theme or a color that will be used throughout my home. Two years ago I use snowmen as a theme. Besides the Styrofoam snowmen decorated by my grandkids I had countless snowmen everywhere. In fact, the kids even decided to use snowmen stickers on their letters to Santa Claus.

Other years I have used angels, Santa Claus, Reindeer, and stars as my holiday theme. Last year I simply used the color red. This meant that I used red ribbons and garlands throughout my decorations. Even my snowmen had red scarves tied around their necks!

The point is, this simple tactic works to tie things together – even if you are like me and use a mix of old and new decorations. Try it, I really think you will agree.

When it comes to Christmas dinner I’m sure you have your own traditions that include family favorite dishes. I know my family always expects certain things to be offered at our holiday meals. But just so things aren’t too predictable I always scope out at least one or two new dishes to have on a special occasion. To ensure the dish will be great I always do a ‘practice run’. 

A few weeks ahead of time I will fix the dish to see if it is well received. If it’s a winner it gets included on Christmas – and if not my search has to continue. I have found fabulous recipes online and in magazines.

Letters To Santa And Rudolph

If you are reading this chances are you have small children in your life. And if that’s the case you probably have been questioned about what Santa Claus does the rest of the year. You may have been asked about Rudolph and the other reindeer. In fact, kids sometimes wonder why they can only write letters to Santa during the holiday season.

When you think about it, that does make sense. Why can’t kids write letters to Santa Claus year round?

As a parent you might appreciate the fact that during the holiday season kids seem to have a desire to ‘be good’. This is because Santa Claus will be coming to town and most children have grown up believing that only kids that behave themselves will receive the gifts they want for Christmas.

This topic recently came up with my four year old granddaughter. She wanted to know what Rudolph and Santa do when the holiday season is over. After a discussion about the type of lifestyle these characters live she wanted to know if she could write them a letter to let them know what she has been doing since Christmas.

Of course I said yes. Madilynn (my granddaughter) then proceeded to spend 45 minutes making her letters. We used our trusty craft box supplies. To my surprise Madilynn seemed to have as much fun writing about her adventures at school and other stories as she did when she prepared her Christmas letters to Santa and Rudolph.

Now she wants to write them more often. According to her it is okay if they don’t answer her until Christmas time. Madilynn seems to think that because she is writing these letters more often she will surely be remembered by Santa.

I have to admit, my daughter-in-law and son were not so enthusiastic about the idea of year round letters to Santa. They expressed concerns about taking away from the uniqueness that the Santa letter-writing project adds to the holiday season.

You see, at my house we have always planned an evening around preparing the Santa letters and doing other easy Christmas crafts. I always prepare some special treats and it becomes a family event. Everyone gets involved – even the older kids and some adults. We just make this one of our holiday get togethers that turns out to be fun for everyone.

So now I am concerned that I made a mistake by encouraging the year round Santa letters. What do you think?

I plan to tell Madilynn that we will only write letters to Santa and Rudolph when something really important happens. And instead of using the time to write letters to them I will encourage her to spend the time writing letters to her granny that lives in another state. After all, she can share the same sort of stories and pictures with her granny as she would with Santa. And her granny will truly appreciate the letters. Besides that, Madilynn’s letters to her granny will not go unanswered so in the end I think she will have even more fun with the project.

I think that will keep everyone happy and it will keep the specialness of the Santa writing tradition alive.

The History of Decorating and Using Mistletoe at Christmas Time

The Christmas season is considered a special time in the entire year. Everywhere you will find people who are happy and also kind to each other during Christmas as compared to the rest of the year. Children are extremely happy during this season because they wait eagerly for the annual visit from Santa Claus. This happiness could be taken to a new level by parents by gifting their children personalized gifts and letters from Santa. The children would be doubly thrilled.

When they receive the letter as well as gifts they will jump with joy. The gleam in their eyes will make all your efforts and the money spent worth it. Every parent wants to see the look of joy and happiness on their children's faces. There’s no better way to do this than to give gifts and personalized letters from Santa. Do you wish to know the history of decorating and using mistletoe at Christmas time? The mistletoe is a partial parasite. It grows on the trunk or the branches of a tree and its roots penetrate the tree and absorb all the nutrients. It can also produce its own food with the help of photosynthesis. The mistletoe that is used as a Christmas decoration is found in North America. Since ancient times it has been considered as a secret, mysterious and magical plant. It is known to restore life, protect against poison and is considered an aphrodisiac. Kissing under this plant is associated with a Greek festival known as Saturnalia. In Scandinavia, it is looked upon as a plant of peace. Enemies or warring spouses kiss under it in order to declare a truce or to make up respectively. At Christmas, if a young lady is standing under mistletoe that is brightly trimmed with ornaments, ribbons and evergreens she can be kissed by anyone. The kiss could imply goodwill and friendship that would last or deep romance. It is thought that those who are brought together in such a way are sure to get married the next year. The Christmas mistletoe is burnt on the 12th night in some parts of England in case the couples who kissed under it do not get married ever. Many people look upon it as a symbol of frolic and fun at Christmas celebrations.

This custom of kissing under the mistletoe is still prevalent in Europe and Canada. If a couple kisses under it, it is looked upon as a commitment to marry and a prediction of long life and happiness. The legend behind the mistletoe is that it was a sacred plant of the Goddess of Love by the name of Frriga. She was the mother of the God of the Sun in Summer, Balder. When he dreamt of death his mother was greatly alarmed because if he died, life would end on earth. So, she went to all the elements and every plant and animal and took a promise from everyone that they would not harm her son.

Frigga forgot all about the lowly mistletoe that was not to be found on or under the earth other than on oak or apple trees. The God of Evil, Loki used the mistletoe in order to make an arrow tip and asked Hoder, the God of Winter to shoot it. Balder died and all the beings on Heaven and earth cried for him and tried to bring him back to life. His mother was able to restore him. Her joy knew no bounds and she kissed all those who passed under the mistletoe. This is why the mistletoe symbolizes love that can conquer death and is used as a Christmas decoration throughout the world.

Explaining the history and beginnings of Christmas traditions is often a part of the fun when families are working on Christmas craft projects and writing letters to Santa. Keep visiting this blog for explanations of other long cherished Christmas traditions.