Hershey Kiss Pretzels

Looking for a fun, easy treat to make today?  

Grab some pretzels, a bag of Hershey Kisses and some M & M's and let's go!

Hershey Kiss Pretzels

what you need: 

Pretzels

Hershey Kisses

M & M's *

parchment paper (or silicone baking mat)

directions:

Oven 200F.

Place your parchment paper (or baking mat) onto a cookie sheet.  

Place pretzels on the baking sheet.

Unwrap Hershey Kisses and place one on each pretzel.

Put in oven for 3-5 minutes (or until Hershey Kiss is soft).  Place M & M on top of Kiss and press down into pretzel.  

Let cool completely.

Store in airtight container or in the refrigerator.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*Feel free to use mini twist pretzels, mini snap pretzels, or the circle pretzels (usually found during the holiday season)

*You can use any type of Hershey's Kiss (Hugs or candy cane kisses) You can also use Rolo candy.

*These can be made year round.  Just buy the holiday package of M & M's

Enjoy!

Night Before Night

 Every year we get to reenact a little play that the youngest child made up when she was little.  This little play starts out with all of us pretending to sleep by the Christmas tree in the living room.  One of us wakes up and proceeds to wake everyone else.   We all then make our way to the family room.  We stand by the fireplace, look at the stockings and realize that Santa visited while we were sleeping.  We then run back to the Christmas tree and jump and shout, Santa!

It's fun to see how excited children are the days before Christmas.  This story was created last week when the child was in kindergarten and is something we try to do every year.

This year, we are making sure to enjoy every minute playing our parts, remembering all the little details.  Seeing as this might be our last Christmas in our house, we want to remember everything.  

Do you have any fun Christmas traditions that you do with your family?

Monopoly

 That long boring game you loved playing as a kid.  The game that could last for hours, sometimes days.  RT refers to the game as, "monotonous."

When Monopoly first came out, there were no tokens in the box.  You were encouraged to use buttons, pins, etc. from your home.   In 1935, Parker Brothers took over distribution and added tokens.  The original tokens were the battleship, boot, canon, thimble, top hat and iron.  Within the year they added the racecar, purse and rocking horse.  The original pieces were made of a mixture of lead and tin. During the war, they needed these metals so wooden pieces (like pawns in chess) were added to the game.  These pieces were painted different colors.  Some of the pieces were made of sawdust and paper.  Those didn't hold up very well (but they are a collector item).   After the war, pewter was used for the tokens.  They also added the wheelbarrow, horse and rider and the Scottish terrier.  The car remained and the canon was replaced with a howitzer.  Oh, and an airplane was introduced to the game.  Of course, by 1950, some of these pieces changed.  The current tokens available in the newer editions of Monopoly are the penguin, rubber ducky, dog, cat, battleship, top hat, racecar and thimble.

Whether you played the game as a kid or still play the game now you probably had a favorite token that you used when playing.  Was it the:

top hat

shoe/boot

iron

dog (Scottie)

racecar

rubber ducky

thimble

horse and rider

wheelbarrow

rocking horse

t-rex

hazel cat

money bag

My "go to" tokens were the shoe, iron, thimble and the dog.

What are your favorite Monopoly tokens?

Retail Problems - The Christmas Song Nightmare

 I was told that by playing Christmas music, customers are a lot happier and enjoy their shopping experience.  They are also more likely to spend more money during their shopping visit.  

Meanwhile, us retail employees find ourselves in Dante's Inferno in one of the nine levels of Hell, listening to the same nine Christmas songs over and over for eight hours.

My Weird Dog - Yard Work

 I had a little yardwork to do out front before winter digs it's heels in and decides to stay for a while.  I thought it would be fun to bring my weird dog Pippen outside with me.  

I hook Pippen up on a chain and he "helps."  Actually, he walks around and sniffs everything.  He wants to be where I am and forgets he is on a chain and gets tangled.  He tries to trip me gets excited and runs circles around me when I make my way to the garage.  Of course, he is always on the lookout for intruders (other dogs) so he can protect me.  If nothing is happening, he walks towards the garage and stares me down.  That just means that he's tired from all of that work and needs to go inside and take a nap.

Saint Nicholas

 There are many stories about the life of St. Nicholas.  I found my information here.  The following is a quick summary.  Click on the link to read more details.

St. Nicholas came from a wealthy family.  His parents died when he was very young.  He grew up in his faith and strongly believed to give to the poor.  He became Bishop and was know for his generosity, love of children and concern for sailors.  Under the Roman Empire he was persecuted for his faith.  He went to prison.  He was released and died on December 6.  The anniversary of his death became a celebration known as St. Nicholas Day.

There are many variations of the story of St. Nicholas. He gave money for three poor girls dowries, he helped children, gave to the poor. Do a little research.  You will even see how Santa Claus evolved. 

If you put your shoes out by the door, Saint Nicholas visits and leaves candy inside them.  

This is probably the last year that I will get to participate with our little Saint Nicholas tradition.  I might have to mail care packages out to my children next year. 

Do you have any special traditions you do with your family during the holidays?

Christmas Crafts and Holiday Gifts

  It's that crazy time of year again!  

Snow 

Holiday Parties  

Snow  

Crafts  

Gifts  

Gift wrapping  

Snow  

Cookie making  

Hot Chocolate 

Sledding  

And more snow

Don't forget all of the Christmas music!

I put together this page and included some links from my blog to some easy Holiday Crafts and Gifts that you can make yourself, with kids or even a Girl Scout Troop.  Some of these are a great activity for those days when you are stuck at home because of the snow or cold weather.

Enough talking, lets get going! 

Christmas
Animal Ornaments 
Brazilian Holiday Flower (great children's craft)
Candy Cane Sleigh 
Christmas Cards and tags
Felt Heart Ornament 
Foam Gingerbread House (children's craft)
Foam Ornament Gift Tag 
Jingle Bell Bracelet (children's craft)
Mitten Gift Tags 
Mosaic Christmas Tree (children's craft)
Picture Frame
Snowman Ornament 
Stocking (out of construction paper) (children's craft)
Winter Scene (children's craft)
Snowman Ornament
Snowman Winter Craft (children and adult craft)
Ugly Christmas Sweater Felt Banner


Gifts
Homemade Bubbles
Bath Bombs
Laundry Detergent (powder)
Homemade Hair Detangler
Homemade Liquid Hand Soap
Homemade Lip Balm
Homemade Lotion


Miscellaneous Crafts/Gifts
Bangle Bracelet (wrapped)
Blank Books 
Bubbles (homemade)
Book Mark
Bottle cap necklace
Cork Board using Old Picture Frame
Decorative Wrapping Paper 
Dryer Balls
Fun Scrapbooks
Gift Box
Paint Chip Monthly Calendar
Pumpkin Soap Recipe
Twine Napkin Holders 
Note cards  
Homemade Sidewalk Paint 
Sit upon (a cushion to sit on)
Wrapped Bangle Bracelet


Don't forget to make some cookies this season.  They go great with hot chocolate!  (Well, cookies go great with everything!)  Here are some links to cookies that appear on the blog:

Cookies:
Butterscotch Chip Cookies
Avocado Chocolate Cookies 

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Chocolate Chip Blondies
Chocolate Chip Blondies (vegan)
Chocolate Chip Chokies (Mom's famous recipe)
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Hershey Kiss Pretzels 

Icing for Sugar Cookies 
M & M Cookies
Nutella Cookies 1
Nutella Cookies 2
Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Raisin Bran Cookies

Pfeffernusse Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Raspberry Lemon Cookies  

Red Velvet Cookies 
Sugar Cookies
Vanilla Pudding Cookies

If you make some sugar cookies, make sure to check this out for an easy Sugar Cookie Icing recipe.

Check out the Recipe page for other sweets recipes.

My favorite cookies are the pumpkin cookies, M & M cookies, Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies and of course the Pfeffernusse Cookies.