EASY RECIPES FOR NEW YEARS EVE/DAY CELEBRATIONS

Found these 2 easy dessert recipes to put out for friends and family.  Great for a New Years Party!  Kids can also help roll truffles in nuts candies etc...  ENJOY! 

http://www.make-stuff.com/ccprojects/newyears/newyear-food.html
MINI-CHEESECAKES
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (or use chocolate crumbs instead)
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsps. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• toppings (see recipe below)

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter with a fork. Spoon 1 tbsp. of the crumb mixture into each of six paper-lined muffin cups (placed in a muffin pan). Press the mixture into the bottom of the cup. Bake at 325 degrees F for five minutes.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, juice, lemon peel and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add the egg and blend well. Fill each of the muffin cups with the mixture. Bake at 325 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cool before removing from the muffin tin. Chill well.
Add toppings of your choice.

Here are some ideas:

• crushed candy cane
• cherry pie filling
• chocolate curls
• dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of mint
• candied red and green cherries
• crushed nuts

TRUFFLES
Ingredients:

• 16 oz chocolate chips
• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• finely chopped nuts, chocolate sprinkles, finely chopped coconut

Combine chips and milk in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat until the chips are melted. Pour into a baking pan and chill in the fridge for two hours. Remove mixture from fridge and form into small 1" balls. Roll each ball in one of the toppings: chopped nuts, chopped coconut or sprinkles. Place on a baking sheet and chill several hours.

BIRD FEEDERS

MILK CARTON BIRD FEEDER
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/birdfeeders/Bird_Feeder_Projects.htm

Small milk carton (the kind at school)

• non-toxic poster paints                                  
• stapler and staples
• hole punch 
• yarn or string

1.Wash and thoroughly dry the milk carton.

2. Cut a small section from the carton and then staple the top opening closed.
3. Paint the container, if desired. Let it dry. 
4. Poke a hole in the middle of the top of the carton, and thread a piece of yarn or string through it to use as a hanger. (The string should be long enough for the feeder to hang where the branches don't rub against, but not so long that the feeder hangs too far away from the tree's leaf cover. Birds like to feel they have a hiding place to fly into quickly!)
5. Add birdseed and hang the feeder. (Since the small milk carton feeders are just the right size for the tiny birds such as finches, wrens, etc., you might want to use thistle seed. It is the finch's favorite food! Garden supply stores carry a sterile thistle seed just for bird feeding which is guaranteed not to sprout all over your yard).

ALSO:
Coat a pine cone with peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, and hang it from a tree branch

Punch holes on either side of a plastic soda bottle, stick a twig all the way through with its ends sticking out for perches. Fill with bird food.  Poke more holes nearby for the birds to pull the seeds out. Hang the bottle by tying a string around its neck.

Stick a piece of bread, a doughnut, or half of an orange, on a twiggy branch of the tree (the Orioles will LOVE the orange!)

LINKS FOR GAMES, PRINTABLES, AND CHILDRENS CRAFTS

http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/winter/fun.htm

http://www.theideabox.com/

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

http://www.craftsandgames.com/

                                                                                                             

Winter Crafts: The Mitten

The Mitten Story Craft
Winter Fun!
This is a really wonderful story to share with children. You can laminate the pieces to keep in plastic bags for later use.  Keep a large plastic bin full of them for easy access! My children love to use felt boards to tell their stories.  You can make a quick one by using a large cardboard square and hot glueing felt to cover it.  Glue velcro to the back of story pieces and they are off!   Amazon has tons of felt board story's and learning kits to use also. 
 
Print and color a paper mitten, then fill it with the forest animals. This craft accompanies the Ukrainian folktale called The Mitten.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/mitten/mittenandanimals/