Oh Christmas Tree

Cinnamon rolls and Christmas trees make for a tasty combination.

Christmas is the most magical time of the year! We have been busy here with fun making gingerbread houses, doing Christmas crafts, , and enjoying the antics of our Elf on the Shelf.  

With a week to go until the big day its time to start thinking about some food ideas. I did this one last week for my 3 yo who loves colored scrambled eggs. It turned out cuter than I expected.

One of our favorite thing to make are those Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. They are so darn easy and fast that we eat them a lot. I figured that something could be done to make these easy rolls a little more fun. I came across this idea and thought I would try it out. It would make for a perfect breakfast on Christmas morning while the kids are tearing open their presents. For the parents, just add coffee!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Unbaked Cinnamon rolls (we used Pillsbury but there are a few others in the remade dough section at the market)
• Scissors
• Sprinkles

HOW TO DO IT:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove all the rolls from the packaging and cut each one into quarters (4 equal parts.) Then roll them into balls.

Next, you will want to create the layers of your Christmas tree by putting them into groups. I did a group of 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, and 1. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Next warm up the icing; about 15 seconds in the microwave. This makes it easier to spread or drip.

Now comes the fun part. Take your biggest layer and place on a platter (or whatever.) Then spread a layer of icing (I let the icing drip from a spoon) and sprinkle the sprinkles. Continue building them up.

After all 6 layers are put together you have yourself a delicious Christmas tree!

This was a big hit with the small people. They loved pulling apart each cinnamon roll from the tree. Needless to say between the 3 of us we ate the entire tree.

Merry Christmas!

The Best Elf on the Shelf Ideas EVER!!!

Pretty soon it will be time to find that Elf on the Shelf and get to work. You do remember which box you put him in right? This year you have made a vow to yourself that you will get more creative with this little guy in red. He will not just sit on the same shelf all month!! 

To help you kick it up a notch and bring some real magic into your house I am providing you with 25 ideas. Some are naughty and some are nice, all are amazing.

1. Starry Night

2. Let us in...

3. Tree trimming

 4. Fairy Elf

5. bringing home the tree

6. Too much maple syrup

7. Michigan Sucks

8. How high can you go?

9. Get me out of here!

10. Hitting the slopes

11. Waterboarding to get the truth on who has been naughty or nice

12. Rainbows and Unicorns

13. Interelf rivalry gone wrong

14. Candy Cane Blow

15. Slumber Party

16. Mele Kalikimaka

17. Cards Against Humanity 

18. Baby, it's cold inside.

19. Candyland fun

20. Caught by the hot tub with Ariel after a night of debauchery. Oh the shame!

21. Movie night

22. Sharpie fun

23. Mission Impossible

24. Do you want to build a snowman?

25. Never trust an Elf

Trick or Treat Smell My Feet

Halloween is a time when we seem to glorify the scary creatures come out at night to feast on any who dare to wander after dark. We decorate with tombstones, witches with warts and broomsticks, zombie attacks, blood, skeletons, ghouls, ghosts, oversized spiders, you name it... And we eat spooky looking food. It really is a weird holiday if you think about it!

Having small kids I keep Halloween decorations more on the cutsie side.  I convinced my 5 year old that zombies are trying to grab people because they like to give cold hugs. That RIP means "Read in Peace."  Ghosts are happy and friendly and like to keep us safe. Mummies are just people who got cold and needed to be wrapped up to get warm.  I think the only real Halloween thing that they are scared of are the spiders. But living in Arizona large, furry spiders are a real danger.  Add bats and scorpions to the list too.


Here are 5 fun Halloween treats to add something special to your Halloween.

1. Mummy Pizzas

I cut out a pizza man shape with the very versatile gingerbread man cookie cutter. Then I spread on some pizza sauce and criss crossed sliced mozzarella cheese on top. Add in some candy eyes for the ultimate mummy effect!

2. Spider Cakes

These bites were made with mini cupcakes and broken pretzel parts.

3.  Bagel Bites

You need an idea to make your Halloween morning  as easy as can be then check out these. I used google eyes from the craft store and those fun, fake dracula teeth that you can get at any market right now. No cooking is even necessary!

4. Used Band Aids

This snack was a big hit. The girls ate them up! Some grahm crackers, cream cheese and a dollop of jam created the ultimate boo boo treat!

5. Bloody Finger Hot Dog

I tried this one out on my kids thinking that they would get a laugh out of it. They were so grossed out by it. I thought it was pretty funny! If you want give someone the finger just be sure to cut the lines on the hot dog before boiling to get the real finger effect. The finger nail can be sliced off with a sharp knife after cooking.

**Trunk or Treat Idea**

Many schools and churches have a night of Trunk or Treating. This is when people decorate the back of their cars and the kids walk from car to car trick or treating. It is a safe and fun way for little kids to celebrate Halloween. 

This year at my kids school I decorated my car as Elsa's castle. As you can imagine all the little princesses loved it! I painted pumpkins for the theme as well. To top it all off my sister and I dressed up as Elsa and Anna to hand out treats. Seriously, I have never felt so popular in my life. Dressed as Elsa at a preschool was pure magic! 

"Let it go..."