What do you get the kid who has everything?

Well, no kid has everything, but let me pose the following scenario to you. I have no doubt that many readers will be familiar with it--

Dick and Jane get lots of presents at Christmas.  Their parents go all out, as do both sets of grandparents along with assorted aunts and uncles. There's not room for everything under the tree; presents have to be piled on the kitchen table as well. Christmas Eve, or Christmas morning, the unwrapping gets underway, and two or three hours after starting, Dick and Jane are still at it. Paper and ribbon and bows everywhere; the place looks like it's been hit by a hurricane.

It's hard to buy for kids like this. First of all, there's the risk of duplication, especially if you go after this year's "trendy" toys.  But on a deeper plane, suppose that you feel like you want to get them something that's special, amongst all those other "special" things (read: special junk)....

Answer: Books. When the toys have lost their novelty a few months down the road, and joined the vast array of rarely-played-with toys that populate Dick and Jane's rooms, the books will still be there, beckoning. Well, maybe. This strategy probably works better with younger kids who are just learning to read, than it will with older kids who have discovered the allure of the video game. But even if the books go neglected, you will know that you gave it your best shot, bestowing upon them a time-honored, non-passive form of entertainment that enriches both mind and spirit. As opposed to glitzy crap made in Chinese sweatshops.

There's the added advantage here that you can, with some judicious shopping around in used bookstores, pick up like-new kids books at a substantial savings over the big retailers. Unless you think that spending more money on brand new books means you love Dick and Jane more, that God abhors Christmas thrift, or some other crazy idea along those general lines.

Another idea is art supplies. Most kids like to draw and color, so getting them crayons, colored pens and pencils, art paper, etc., is never a waste.

A fun project for kids: Make your own Christmas ornaments

Instructions: Paste each picture onto cardboard and cut out along the dotted lines (always use safety scissors so you don't cut yourself). Color with plain or glitter crayons,  with paint or felt-tip markers - whatever you've got. Punch out the black dots and string with bright ribbon, then hang them on the tree, over the mantle of the firepace if you have one, in your room, or wherever your folks say it's okay to hang them. These can also be glued to wood or cloth. Parents & guardians: younger children may require some help with this.

Click on thumbnails for larger images.

Thanks to Graylady.

Chocolate-frosted marshmallows/fruit on a stick

Your kids will enjoy helping with this recipe - and they'll be more than happy to eat the product of their labors afterwards. This is a great item for a kids' Christmas party, as well.

Ingredients:

15-20 large marshmallows
6 oz. semisweet chocolate
red and green sugars
waxed paper
toothpicks
cookie sheet or platter

Preparation:

Place a piece of waxed paper on cookie sheet or platter. Stick a toothpick into each marshmallow.

Heat the chocolate in a double boiler (or a smaller saucepan placed inside a larger saucepan of water if you don't have a double boiler) until melted. Take each marshmallow by the stick and dip in chocolate. Then pass it off to a kid who will then thoroughly roll it in red or green sugar.

Put the marshmallows on the cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

Sliced bananas or other fruit of your choice may be substituted for the marshmallows.

Chocolate Christmas Punch

A non-alcohol punch great for the kids - but an adult might want to add a splash of Bailey's Irish Cream in their cup--

Chocolate Punch

INGREDIENTS:

• (4) 1-oz. sq semisweet chocolate

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 cups hot water

• 2 qts. milk

• 1-1/2 t. vanilla extract

• 1 qt. vanilla ice cream

• 1 qt. club soda

• 1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped

• Ground cinnamon

PREPARATION:

In a large saucepan combine chocolate and sugar with the hot water. Bring to a boil, stirring for 2 minutes. Reduce heat and add milk. Beat in vanilla with a rotary egg beater or whisker. Remove from heat.

Chill, then pour into a punch bowl over the ice cream, and add the club soda.

Top with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon.

Yield: 12 servings.

Even more Christmas Coloring Pages Added!

Christmas Coloring Pages

Snow Day

I crawled out of bed this morning, and after acquiring a cup of Joe, I noticed it was snowing outside. A gentle, lazy snow - none of that wind-driven, white-out stuff. This suddenly called to mind an old Simpson's "snow day" episode....

The story goes that Bart has been doing miserably in school, and is in danger of being held back if he doesn't pass his next exam. That night, after getting corralled by Homer (such a good Dad) into putting off studying in favor of watching a King Kong knockoff, Bart resolves to at long last hit the books. But the hour has grown too late, and in desperation, he prays for a miracle, to buy him some time....

Voila, the next morning, it is snowing. And it turns out that school has been called. But instead of remembering his prayer of the previous night, he grabs his sled and snow goggles and makes a headlong dash for the door. However, waiting for him at that portal to a winter wonderland is Bart's perpetual conscience, his sister Lisa, who reminds him in a philosophical sort of way about his prayer of the previous evening.

So, Bart dutifully trudges back upstairs, and once in his room, a mental war ensues. "Stupid snow day," he says to himself, "how good can it be...?"

But it's good. Looking out the window, he sees a scene of winter joy unparalleled.The whole town is out there, having fun. The crooked, philandering Mayor Quimby even makes an appearance, and from a podium which just happens to be handy announces, "I hereby declare this SNOW DAY - the FUNNEST DAY EVER in Springfield..." Thereafter, everyone in town joins hands in a circle, and begins to sing "Winter Wonderland."

How does it turn out? Does Bart stick to the books and save the day, or does he yield to temptation?

If you haven't seen it, I guess you'll just have to find out.

Click here to watch the entire episode online.

"Make a Flake," online

Here's a fun little online flash utility, for making a digital snowflake. The program folds it for you, and you cut it out with digital scissors. It may take a few trys to get the hang of it, but "undo" and "start over" buttons are provided. Kids will really enjoy this.

http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

After creating and saving your flake, you have the option of saving it in .JPG format, or as an .EPS file (opens in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator), for further editing. You may also e-mail it to a friend directly from the website.

Don't forget to view the gallery! There are literally thousands of snowflakes there, and they are all downloadable.

Here are two I just created (click on thumbnails to enlarge):

Christmas Coloring Pages for Kids Added

I thought it would be a nice touch, so I've created a kid's coloring page. There's a link in the sidebar, as well.