APRIL FOOLISHNESS: POETRY & A PRANK DINNER FOR YOUR FAMILY!

Need some fun reading for April Fool's Day? Try anything from Mo Willems or Dr. Suess. And don't forget about the poetry of Jack Prelutsky...

It's raining pigs and noodles,
it's pouring frogs and hats,
chrysanthemums and poodles,
bananas, brooms, and cats.
Assorted prunes and parrots
are dropping from the sky,
here comes a bunch of carrots,
some hippopotami.


It's raining pens and pickles,
and eggs and silverware.
A flood of figs and nickels
is falling through the air.
I see a swan, a sweater,
a clock, a model train -
I like this so much better
than when it's raining rain.

I mention FAMILY FUN MAGAZINE fairly often on my blog. When my kids were young, it was my go-to resource for fun ideas and activities.  They have some hilarious ideas for April Fool's Day.  I remember the year I served fish sticks (Zagnut Bars) and ketchup(strawberry jam), mashed potatoes and gravy (vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce) and green peas(sour apple Nerds or Jelly Belly candy peas & carrots) to my husband and children for dinner one year! 

Here are some more "pranky" foods from their website:

DESSERT that looks life meatloaf!

MEATLOAF that looks like dessert!

A TASHA TUDOR CHRISTMAS - "TAKE JOY"

I inherited my mother's copy of this book, published in 1966.  It was my first introduction to Tasha Tudor and her beautiful artwork.  TAKE JOY is full of Christmas stories, poems, carols, recipes, accounts of her own family celebrations and quaint illustrations.  I love her recipe for fudge:

SETH'S FUDGE
3 squares cooking chocolate
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chop up squares of chocolate and put in heavy saucepan with sugar, salt, milk and syrup.  Place of LOW heat, stir until mixture boils.  This takes a while, about twenty minutes, so have a book to read while stirring.  Then cook to stage where it will form a soft ball in water (234 degrees on a candy thermometer).  Remove from heat, stir in butter and cool to lukewarm.  Add vanilla and stir vigorously about 5 minutes and turn into a large bread tin, buttered.  Makes about a pound.  Cut when cool and wrap each piece in aluminum foil or wax paper.

TAKE JOY!  TASHA TUDOR CHRISTMAS BOOK

written and illustrated by Tasha Tudor. (ages 7 and up).  An old-fashioned Christmas book.



A TIME TO KEEP:  THE TASHA TUDOR BOOK OF HOLIDAYS
Month by month, Tasha Tudor's delicate illustrations bring to life the holidays of an earlier time. A warm-hearted celebration of family and tradition, this treasury of "times to keep" will be cherished and enjoyed all year long. (Ages 7 and up)

THE DOLLS CHRISTMAS by Tasha Tudor. (ages 4-8)

Christmas is a special time at Pumpkin House, where two dolls named Sethany Ann and Nicey Melinda live. Every Christmas they invite their friends to join them for an elegant dinner party and a marionette show. The dolls have fun getting ready for their party: they send out invitations to their guests by Sparrow Post, decorate their very own Christmas tree with silver nutmegs and golden pears, and prepare doll-size cookies and other treats for the party. Then at "candlelight-time" on Christmas Day the guests begin to arrive, and the evening isn't over until the last carol has been sung around the tree.

To read more about Tasha Tudor, read my past blog post about her.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Who was Saint Nicholas?  If you read yesterday's post, you know that people all around the world celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6th.  You can read the beautiful story of his life on  St. Nicholas Center.org, which is a wonderful website that has lots of history, recipes, crafts, and other ideas for celebrating St. Nicholas Day.  You might consider starting some fun family traditions to honor this good Bishop of Myra, who gave gifts and did good works in secret.

Illustrator: Elisabeth Jvanovsky

One story is that Nicholas tossed bags of gold through an open window of a destitute family.  The bags are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Kids can put out their own shoes or hang their Christmas stockings, but I found an adorable blog post by one of my favorite author/artists, Carol Baicker-McKee, with her tutorial on how to make paper shoes (or her new boot template) for "St. Nicholas" to fill (traditionally with gold coins, oranges, fresh baked gingerbread cookies, chocolates, or small gifts).

St. Nicholas Day is a perfect reminder that we shouldn't forget the less fortunate during this Holy season of Advent.  Take time with your kids to bring canned goods to a food bank, try to find a day to work at a local soup kitchen, make gingerbread cookies to take to a lonely neighbor or shut-in ...the list is endless.  In keeping with the "shoe" theme, consider a company like Tom's Shoes to buy gifts from this year - with every pair you purchase, Tom's will give a pair to a child in need.



The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Demi (ages 8 and up)


St. Nicholas:  The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer, illustrations by Chris Ellison. (ages 4 and up)


St. Nicholas:  A Closer Look At Christmas by Jim Rosenthal, Joe L. Wheeler.  This is a gorgeous coffee-table type book full of pictures and information about St. Nicholas.  Great for the whole family and a wonderful resource!

I wanted to share this yummy (and easy) dessert that I've made during the Advent Fast for St. Nicholas Day:
GINGERBREAD WITH LEMON SAUCE
2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. margarine, softened
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. molasses
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 9x9x2-inch baking pan.  In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and salt.  Stir in margarine, water and molasses until well blended.  Pour into pan.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out dry.  Cool slightly on wire rack.  Serve warm with Lemon Sauce (see below).  Makes 9-12 servings.

LEMON SAUCE:
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. corn starch
1-1/3 c. water
3 T. margarine
2 t. lemon zest
2 T. lemon juice
In 2-quart saucepan combine sugar and corn starch.  Gradually stir in water until smooth.  Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat and boil 1 minute.  Remove from heat. Stir in margarine, lemon zest and lemon juice until well blended.  Pour into serving bowl; cover with waxed paper or plastic wrap.  Cool slightly.  Serve warm on Gingerbread.  Makes about 2 cups. (can top with Cool Whip)