At our house, December is probably our MOST laid-back month. I know that sound ridiculous but it is! We have Ella's and Rob's birthdays to celebrate but for the most part, I love the serenity of December. We have very little soccer due to the holidays, I wrap up most of my classes in the first part of December due to the holidays, very little school homework/projects, due to the holidays. Get the picture? We've always kept Christmas simple here at the Schueler's and by extension, December is lovely as my normal hectic schedule slows, so I actually manage to focus time on the much-need house and day-to-day living that gets pushed aside at times. Like Family Birthday Gifts and Cards!
And one of the things I despise about myself is that I'm horrible about getting birthday gifts and cards out in a timely manner. We have a lot of family in the far reaches of the Unites States and while Amazon.com is fabulous, I can't always enclose an adorable handstamped card. (Someone should talk to someone there at Amazon and see if we can fill that void!) And if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, one SHOULD probably send a handstamped card, right? See the vicious circle?
So I'm getting caught up on sending out the family birthday presents…yeah. I think it will be a resolution? One of my nephews turned three this YEAR (and I will not confess to the actual month of his birthdate!) and at Target, we were shopping for a gift and Ella thought that it would be a good idea to make him some Play-dough (of course, she thought she needed a batch too). All my kids LOVED play-dough and I don't think we EVER out-grow that love, do we? I'm pretty sure I've got photos of my mom and Adria sporting playdough jewelry from years back. So I pulled out my ever handy VERY simple recipe for playdough and whipped up a batch for him. (I'm going to make Ella's batch later this week and we are going to scent it with gingerbread spices so that she can "make" gingerbread cookies! Google-it, gingerbread play-dough recipe).
This simple recipe will buy you HOURS of playtime for your littles while you enjoy the crackling fire and a fun beverage of your choice. Take a minute to create your own Play-dough castle, nest, jewelry or what have you. It's a wonderful way to spend a snowday. Making this play-dough brought ME full circle. My very dear Grandma Ramaker used to make this every Christmas and each of us could depend on a new pair of flannel jammies and a big bag of our own playdough for our gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. Perfect Christmases! So I spent the evening thinking of my wonderful grandma and wishing I could be making a little playdough jewelry with her tonight. Love you Grandma!
Play Dough – from Little Learners Preschool (Adria and Denver's pre-school)
- 1/2 c. salt
- 2 1/2 c flour
- 1T. Cream of Tartar
- 2 c. water
- 3 T. oil
- Food Coloring
Combine dry ingredients. Combine all liquid ingredients in a 2 qt sauce pan. Heat to just a boil (small bubbles rising) Add dry ingredients and mix well. While mixing it, when it becomes thick and sticks together, remove from heat. Knead on wax paper. Cool and play. (I'm going to add various gingerbread spices to the dry ingredients to make Ella's)
That's it! They are calling for snow tomorrow so take a minute out of your holiday preparations to mix up a batch. I work again tonight so I'm glad that it's held off for a bit. I stress a little about GETTING TO work, and I'm not so worried about coming home. I have all day for that! Drive careful should the storm hit and make a little playdough.
