Sometimes these packages just make me giggle. I'm sure my missionaries just roll their eyes...and then chow down of course, because well, they're boys after all. I sent this with the camping 'photo book' from our family camp out to years ago...and we just returned from this year's camp out...yup, I'm that far behind on posting. Lame, I know. Matt loved it though and said they were super yummy. Don't know what the 'photo book' is? Click here for that post... On to s'mores, 'cause who doesn't love a good s'more?!
Materials Needed:
half-pint jars
mini marshmallows
graham crackers
chocolate candy bar or chocolate chips
Recipe:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
milk chocolate candy bar
(roughly chopped)
or use chocolate chips
Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until well combined. Add 2 Tbs. of crumb mixture to the bottom of each jar. Add chocolate pieces to cover crumb mixture. Add mini marshmallows for the third layer. Repeat all three layers ending with marshmallows. Secure lid. (Yield: 5 half-pint jars)
Click here to download the jar topper and recipe card.
Make sure to line your box and wrap each jar in bubble wrap. I also included some red tissue paper and brown shredded paper - Matt said they got there just fine. Top it all off with the instruction card.
Don't forget to write a note on the back of the topper
if you're not including a letter or card...Why?
I didn't used to do this. I would send letters or I would send packages. Not usually both at the same time. I should clarify a bit: I send letters but to help them get more mail I didn't usually include a letter in with the package. The letter was always separate. In Matt's mission (and I think most missions that are stateside) all mail had to go through the mission home. I don't like it but I understand the reasons why so I'm ok with it. Letters would receive an address sticker and be forwarded immediately to the missionaries. Packages would stay in the office until the Zone Leaders came in weekly to pick up supplies or when the senior missionaries or mission president went to the area where they were. Here's the problem: When Matt arrived in his first area whoever typed the address into the computer typed it in wrong. For 30 days...his first 30 days in the field, Matt didn't receive one single stitch of mail. Nothing. Nada. Zilch...and we had NO IDEA until we started getting letters back 'return to sender'. Why does it take two days to receive a letter but 3+ weeks to get it back when it's not deliverable! It's a mystery...but Matt thought we just weren't writing. Just makes me tear up writing about it. He did receive one package. His 'greenie' package and on that one package, I had taken the time to write a note on the back of the package topper. He needed that. He needed that boost. He needed to know, right then, that we hadn't forgotten about him. From the moment I read that in his letter, I decided that I would always write a note in each package because you just never know when that might be the only mail they receive.
We have a tradition surrounding General Conference at our house: FOOD! A lot of our traditions revolve around food. It started out when our kids were quite young and I wanted them to enjoy Conference and stick around during the talks without having to resort to Satan's plan i.e. making them sit there. I make a big spread of assorted appetizers and have them in our great room and we just sort of graze all day long. It takes a bit of prep work but there's usually enough that it lasts the whole day and I don't have to worry about what's for dinner that night. I wanted to send Matt and his companion some kind of healthy Conference treats and while these probably weren't super healthy...there is after all, a ton of salt in Chex Mix...lets face it, it's a lot healthier than all the sugar I've sent the last few months...and Sister Murphy listed it as her favorite treat on her "My Favorite Things" printable. Her mom was kind enough to share the recipe and this helpful hint: "Double the sauce-ie bit of the recipe to make it truly addictive." Thanks, Marcie!
Chex Party Mix
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex cereal
3 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 cup small pretzels
1 cup nuts
1 cup mini bagel chips
(like in Gardetto's - I found them by the deli at the grocery store)
1 cube butter
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
Tobasco sauce, to taste (optional)
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
(or 3-4 fresh cloves garlic, crushed)
1/2 tsp onion powder
In a large bowl add the cereals, pretzels, nuts and bagel chips. Stir to combine.
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and add the seasonings. Stir to combine.
Pour over cereal mixture and stir until everything is coated evenly.
Spread evenly onto a baking sheet and bake uncovered for 1 hour in a 250 F. oven, stirring every 15 minutes.
This will allow the mix to dry out and become slightly golden.
Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
I may have mentioned this before: My husband LOVES sugar cookies - Grandma Christensen's recipe, thin and slightly crispy with frosting. Me? Well, IF I'm going to make them (which I rarely do because they take a freakishly LONG time from start to finish) then I like them thick and soft. We both agree on the frosting bit though...
I stumbled upon an egg cookie cutter and because of it's unique shape - small on one end and larger on the other - making these Easter sugar cookies wasn't too bad at all. I could use up most of the dough on the first roll out and with sugar cookies the less you roll the better because each roll out incorporates additional flour into your dough which effects the outcome of the cookie. Less is better, unless we're talking about frosting,...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Grandma Christensen's Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1 cup milk
7 3/4 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Cream shortening, butter, and sugar thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla to milk and beat into creamed mixture alternately with the sifted dry ingredients. Note: the dough may seem soft but don't add more flour). Cover or wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. Cut off a workable amount of chilled dough and place the remainder back in the refrigerator. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 400 F. 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.
When cookies have cooled completely you can begin to decorate them. First you need to add your base layer. If we were just eating these at home I would most likely make a nice buttercream frosting. Because I need to mail them, and because I want to decorate them I like to use royal icing. It looks great; it's smooth; and it dries hard so I can wrap them and stack them. Here's the recipe that I like to use:
Royal Icing
1 cup water
6 Tbs meringue powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 lb bag of powdered sugar
Mix the water and meringue powder in your mixer until it is foamy. Add the extracts and mix. Add the entire 2 lb bag of powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated.
Mix on high until icing becomes stiff. Cover unused frosting with a damp towel
because it will harden SUPER FAST...
You will need different consistencies of icing for different types of frosting techniques. For piping words and detail, you will want the dough pretty stiff (like what you just made). For other techniques like floating, you will need to thin it out a little. You do this by adding more water, a teaspoon at a time. To test the consistency, make an indent in your frosting and count how long it takes for it to smooth out.
I used small squeeze bottles to decorate my cookies. One batch of the Royal Icing was perfect for the whole batch of Grandma Christensen's Sugar Cookies from the above recipe. First I decided on two base colors: pink and yellow. Using only a portion of the colored icing, I piped around the outer edge with a stiff icing. Then thinning the icing slightly, I filled in the center. Make sure to pop any bubbles that form with a toothpick. Gotta watch out for those bubbles. They are the enemy of a beautiful cookie. Do one cookie at a time and don't be discouraged. It really doesn't take too long for a simple cookie shape.
When your cookies are all frosted you are ready to move on to decorating. For this you want a stiff icing like you piped with at the beginning of the process. I chose quite a few different pastel colors and divided out my frosting. As you're mixing in your colors, be sure to stir each VERY well. Otherwise you may just end up with a colored streak...not pretty. Spoon each into squeeze bottles (or piping bags) and have yourself some FUN! I used a mug to hold each of my squeeze bottles. Just invert so the tip is pointing down inside the mug. It's easy to tell which color is in each bottle and the icing stays at the end of the tip which saves LOTS of time.
Make sure that the icing is completely hardened before you wrap them up to send to your missionary. I put mine into small cellophane bags, folded down the top, taped them closed with a cute piece of washi tape, and boxed them up in some boxes left over from my Christmas candy making. Add a bit of shredded paper and a cute bow and voila! All done. Your missionary and their companion will love them AND...your family gets to eat the leftovers...or your Visiting Teaching ladies...or your husband's Home Teaching families...or YOU!
For more ideas on mailing cookies, click here or here...
My friend, Kristen is a new missionary mom. In fact, her son just arrived in Finland a few days ago. She put together an awesome Valentine's Day package for him when he was in the MTC and was kind enough to 'share the love' with us other missionary moms. She made this adorable 'Hugs & Kisses' printable to fit inside a regular snack size reclosable baggie filled with Hershey Hugs & Kisses...of course. So cute!
One is missionary specific... (click here to download)
...and one is for all the other people that you love! (click here to download)
Here's Kristen's finished product...Isn't it adorable?! I absolutely LOVE the doily on the outside of the box. So cute! I love the polka dot cookie canisters (to find out how to create your own, click here; don't want to send quite that many cookies? Click here and scroll almost to the bottom of the post). Kristen used wrapping paper instead of scrapbook paper on her canisters. Lots cheaper especially if it's some that you already have laying around.
You've probably seen these on Pinterest but they are so adorable that I just couldn't resist making some and sending them to our missionaries. Truth be told, I think when I first saw them I may or may not have let out a little scream of excitement. Yup. They are just that cute. They are super easy, way fast, relatively inexpensive (I say 'relatively' simply because they make a TON so you can send out lots or give some away to family and friends), and YUMMY!! I'd give credit but these are seriously EVERYWHERE on the web...
Supplies needed:
Mini Vanilla Wafers
(I found these in our local supermarket.
They come in the same size box as the regular Vanilla Wafers.)
Hershey Kiss candy
Peanut Butter Chips
(Like chocolate chips only peanut butter!
You can find these by the chocolate chips
in the baking section of your local grocer.)
Caramels (optional)
Begin by unwrapping your Hershey Kisses then melt a small amount of your peanut butter chips. The peanut butter chips will be your 'glue' to attach everything together OR you could use peanut butter chips to attach the acorn's stem (because it's the same color and shows more) and then use melted caramel to attach the cookie to the kiss. If you opt for the peanut butter/caramel version you will only need a small amount of melted chips and your finished version will taste just like a Twix candy bar. Seriously YUMMY!!
Dip the bottom of your Hershey Kiss into the melted peanut butter chips or caramel. Wipe off some of the excess on the edge of the bowl and apply your Mini Vanilla Wafer. I've also seen this done with Mini Nutter Butter Cookies and while I do like the added texture to the top of the acorn, I didn't want to have to take the cookies apart. You don't need very much 'glue' otherwise it will squish out around the edges and look messy. Yup. Learn from my experience. On the bright side: You can eat your mistakes! Lay them aside on a cookie sheet to set up a bit.
Following the same procedure, attach the peanut butter chip 'stem' to the top of your acorn and set aside. It doesn't take long for them to set up.
Note: Please excuse the fact that I was multi-tasking and making dinner at the same time as I was making acorns...and the black in my nails is actually Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint from yet another project earlier in the day. I tend to cram a LOT into my day's off work.
I sent out quite a few of these acorn bites so I came up with two ideas for packaging. I loved the little paint cans that I found at the craft store ($2.99) but they were too large to send in the small flat rate boxes from the post office so I only sent those to my son and his companion. I found the 'Count Your Blessings' free printable online at yellowblissroad.com. They were the perfect size for the center of my paint can. Then I tied scraps of coordinating ribbon and fiber to the handle (see the photo at the beginning of the post).
I made a bag topper for the other Acorn Bites that I was sending out. Just put your acorns into a regular sized reclosable sandwich baggie, seal closed, place your folded bag tag over and staple. I folded down the top part of my baggie because I didn't fill them all the way full. Sorry that I forgot to take photos of the finished product. Don't know where my brain was...
Print the bag topper onto white cardstock and fold in half.
Click here to download the free 'Give Thanks' printable.
Exciting weekend around here...we received a FIVE PAGE letter from Elder Brown and a camera memory card. PHOTOS!!. Oh, happy day!! One of the things that he asked for was his winter things. Matt is a big time snowboarder so he has lots of cold weather gear and it seems that the temperature is dropping in Seattle and he's getting a bit chilly on a bike so during General Conference I whipped up this family favorite. Double batch. Some for him and his companion and some for us 'cause what's Conference without treats? Good thing it only comes around twice a year...
White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies
3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
Heat oven to 375 F. Combine Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat egg into creamed mixture. Combine flour, salt and baking soda into mixture. Add nuts and white chocolate chips. Bake for 8 minutes. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.
My daughter Maren and I went to a Silver Beaver award ceremony for my dear friend, Janice last week and following the event we stopped in at Kneaders Bakery for a little treat. They had the most adorable shamrock sugar cookies ever! The next day after work I popped in to my very favorite little kitchen store, Gygi's in Salt Lake City and picked up my own shamrock cookie cutter and a decorating tip to pipe the edges of the cookies.
I should mention here that I don't actually like to make sugar cookies. They take a ton of time! You've got to make the dough. Chill the dough. Roll out the dough. Cut the dough. Cook the dough...repeat that whole process a gazillion times and then you have to get to frost them. Makes me tired just thinking about it. Yeah, we only make sugar cookies around here on Christmas Eve and that's only because it's Jeff's family tradition. At the end of this post I'll tell you about one of the best Christmas gifts I ever received.
Have I scared you away yet? Hang in there. It'll be worth it. Life changing in fact, like when I told you about frosting cupcakes. Yup, that good.
Normally...ok, the one and only time each year that I make sugar cookies, I frost them with the Best Ever Buttercream Frosting (really, that's the name). While it actually is the best ever and while it does set up ever so slightly I didn't think it would travel very well and the frosting would get smooshed in transit and why work so hard if they aren't going to look fantastic, right? With the help of the oh so kind employees at Kneaders they walked/talked me through the easiest way ever to frost sugar cookies. I looked up some recipes online and with my son Connorton as my official taste tester, we've got this all figured out for you.
Let's start with the sugar cookie recipe:
Nicole's Sugar Cookies
1/2 cup butter, has to be the real stuff
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tarter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cream the butter and the shortening. Add the sugar and mix. Add the eggs and mix just until the eggs are blended in. Add the soda, cream of tarter and vanilla but mix just until blended - you don't want to over mix once the eggs are in. Add the flour. The recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups but you will need more than that. The key to keeping the cookies soft is adding enough flour. Add the 3 1/2 cups (one cup at a time and mixing after each addition), then use your fingers to determine how much more to add. It will be different every time you make them because your eggs will never be the same size. Pinch the dough. If it is sticky and you can pinch through it easily, you do not have enough flour. You want the dough to be soft, but not really sticky. You want to have some substance to it. Just keep adding 1/2 cup of flour, mix and pinch until it is just right. Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes and bake at 350 for 8 minutes. They are not going to look like they are done yet but take them out anyway. Be careful when transferring to rack or other cooling surface they will be really soft. As they cool they will become easier to handle.
Cool completely and frost.
This recipe is from my friend Nicole who knows that I don't like to make sugar cookies and knows that they are Jeff's favorite (his very favorite are Pumpkin Chocolate Chip...yeah, I don't make those either) so every time she makes a batch she shares with him. I have really great friends. Jeff's bookkeeper makes him Pumpkin cookies so don't feel too badly for him.
Tips & Tricks:
1. These are a few of my favorite cooking tools:
My rolling pin - I love it. It is long and has no handles. I have the other kind but I never, ever use them. I've had this one since I got married and my kids will probably fight over it when I'm gone. Never soak them in water. Just wipe them clean with a damp cloth. Mine is wood but they have a composite one at Gygi's that is very affordable.
Mini-spatula - I love these. Came from Gygi's, of course. They are very inexpensive - usually .99 - and are the perfect size for dishing up little desserts, cookies and bars - 2 1/4" wide. In this case I used it to help me lift the sugar cookies off the counter. Dip it in flour to prevent dough sticking.
Scraper - I use this tool all the time. It's a great tool for dividing dough and scraping clean your kitchen counter (see figure 3)
2. Dip your cookie cutter into flour in between each cutting and your dough will never stick to the cookie cutter. When lifting the cut cookie off the counter, dip your spatula into flour and press down on the counter while inserting under the dough. Dough will not become misshapen and will easily slide off spatula and onto the baking tray.
3. As I mentioned above: Clean up is made much easier with this handy little scraper. They have one similar to mine at Gygi's - usually .99. Scrape the flour and cookie dough gunk from the counter and sweep right into the garbage. Wipe counter down with a damp cloth and you're good to go.
Jeff always says: "Right tool for the right job." He's a smart man.
On to the frosting!
This is life-changing...
Vanilla Dipping Frosting
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
In a saucepan, combine powdered sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches a temperature of 92 degrees F (33 degrees C). Mixture should be thin enough to pour, but thick enough to coat the cookie. Do NOT let the temperature get over 100 degrees F or the icing will not dry shiny. Dip the baked and cooled cookie in the icing. Lay the cookies out single until icing is dry. IF it does go above the 92 degrees F, do NOT throw it away. It just won't be shiny but it will still taste great. It's all good.
I used the Vanilla Dipping Frosting to frost the tops of the cookies. So FAST!! Just hold onto the sides of the cookie and dip the top into the frosting, lift the cookie up and let some of the excess drip off then flip it over onto a cookie sheet to dry. This frosting dries really quickly so I did find that I needed to give it a quick stir prior to dipping each cookie and once or twice I needed to turn the element back on and warm it back up slightly to keep it the consistency that I wanted. This will dry hard to the touch but not as hard as royal frosting and it won't break into bits when you bite into it. I was able to frost the entire batch of 48 cookies in just a matter of minutes with not much frosting left over. I just left the frosting white - mostly because it didn't even occur to me to add color to it but it would be totally darling to have it tinted a light green then pipe with a little darker green. Cute!
Now for the piping frosting...
Cutout Cookie Icing
3 egg whites, room temperature*
Whip for 2 minutes at fast speed until stiff
Add:
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups (1 lb) powdered sugar
Mix all together.
Add:
2 Tbs shortening
coloring, if desired
Mix on low speed until smooth. If you want to make a glaze from this,
just add a little hot water. This frosting dries firm to the touch but again it is not as hard as royal frosting. It's pretty and tasty and it dries very quickly so you can stack the cookies.
Keep the frosting stiff if you plan on using it for piping.
You can also use this to frost your cookies but it won't be as fast as the dipping frosting.
*Room temperature eggs: If you forget to get them out of the fridge in time for them to come to room temperature, just put them into a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.
Let's get piping!! This may look a bit intimidating if you've never done it before but it's really not bad at all. Just practice on a cookie or on a bit of parchment paper or wax paper...or a plate. You'll be fine. Promise.
First we need to load our bag with frosting:
I like to use a disposable pastry bag because I'm really pretty lazy about some things. You will need to fit your decorating tip into the bag to see where you need to snip the end off. Snip it off then insert your coupler inside, place the tip over the coupler but on the outside of the bag, screw the ring in place. Fold down the top of the bag ('cause we don't want to make too big of a mess).
Hold the bag with your hand (shown at left) and load frosting by the spoonful. Use the thumb that is holding the bag to scrape the frosting from the spoon. You can fill this pretty full just make sure that you leave enough head space so you can twist the top closed.
When you've loaded the frosting into the bag, fold the top back up and use your fingers to work the frosting down into the end of the bag (shown at left).
Twist the top and hold. You will keep your hand on this twist while decorating. Occasionally untwist and work the frosting down into the end again. Refill when necessary.
Cute!! I've included a little video clip of how I piped the frosting on. It really went pretty fast once I got the hang of it which didn't take too long. Let them dry completely then wrap them individually in syran wrap to insure freshness.
So, assuming that you're still with me...here's the story of one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received. I work outside the home. It's only part time but that's how we support our missionaries and it is what it is and most of the time it works out pretty well but occasionally (sometimes more often than that) I get a little stressed...or a lot. This year I had to work on Christmas Eve. Yeah. Mom's don't have anything to do on Christmas Eve do they? I thought I was doing pretty well getting done early what could be done early but some things just can't be done too early. One of those things was making sugar cookies with the kids for them to leave out for Santa. Jeff's family tradition. Jeff and I work at the same place and late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve he called me into his office and presented me with a gift from Mike (one of the other accountants) and his wife Nicole. A beautifully decorated clear box - it was a Sugar Cookie Kit!!! Full of Nicole's fresh baked sugar cookies (recipe above), red and green frosting (yup, you guessed it...her Best Frosting Ever recipe) and cookie sprinkles. I cried. Seriously. The weight that that gesture took off my shoulders was incredible. I'm crying again just thinking about it. The best gifts come from the heart. Thanks, Nicole...and I hope that you don't mind that I just posted your two favorite recipes all over the internet! Oh, and here's her frosting recipe!
Did you know - according to Google, Finland only receives between four and six hours of daylight during the winter? That is just crazy nuts! I was raised in Alaska and I remember it would get a little light during lunch recess. We walked to school in the dark and we walked home in the dark. I can't remember it really bothering me too much when I was a kid but then again, it was all I knew. I do remember loving the never ending daylight during our brief summers. I recall my mother saying, on more than one occasion, "David? It's two o'clock in the morning! We've got to get these kids to bed!" Funny how if it's light outside we think we need to be awake...and vice versa.
I'm currently serving as the Senior Primary Chorister (best job in the kingdom!) and our Primary pianist is serving a mission in Finland. This week we also had the honor to host a new friend, Elder Nepia from New Zealand. His plane arrived a day earlier than he needed to be at the MTC so we got to host him for the night. Way fun!! Well, it's summer in New Zealand and it is definatly NOT summer in Utah. We decided to send them both a Box of Sunshine to help with the dark winter doldrums. This package has been so much FUN to put together. It's so bright and cheery! How could you help but smile when you open this one?
I found this adorable printable (above) ready and waiting for me at olliebop.com. CUTE!! I printed them on card stock, cut them apart then handed them out to the Primary teachers. The teachers had each of the kids write a short note or draw a picture to Sister Luedtke at the end of class time and then turned them back into me. All I had left to do was tie them all together with a bow. Ta daa!! Done. You could easily hand these out to family, friends and neighbors instead of to a million kids. Not everyone gets to serve in Primary. I'm just really, really blessed. For Elder Nepia, we just sent notes from our family.
While wandering around OllieBop.com (cute as heck site!) I also stumbled upon this free printable (above). So, so cute and beyond perfect for the bottom of our Box of Sunshine. Love it! I just printed it out, trimmed the edges and put it at the bottom of our tissue lined box. Awesome! Thanks, OllieBop!!
Now is the fun part. Fill your box with goodies...just search for anything and everything that is yellow or orange. Avoid reds. It's not too long until the color scheme gets all muddy and the bright sunshiney effect starts to go away. Note: the green packages that you see in the background will get opened up and separated out into smaller bags (see below).
(everything comes in that cherry yellow packaging)
shower gel
Hawaiian Breeze air freshener
(it smells just like summer...or Hawaii, I forget which)
Post it Notes
small notebook
...you get the idea.
Some of the bags of treats had way too much in them for one person and I wanted to make it easier for Sister Luedtke and Elder Nepia to share with their companions. I made two sets of bag toppers that are designed to fit over the top of a Ziploc Snack size baggie. I dumped all the candy into piles, divided them up into individual bags for each person, zipped them close and placed one bag topper over two candy bags and stapled them shut. Is that as clear as mud? Two bags of the same candy will be attached together with one bag topper. Better? You can download the bag topper here = click here for #1 and here for #2. Print onto cardstock.
Note: Line up the 'fold line' on the bag topper with a straight egde.
Run your finger over the edge to create a nice straight fold.
Fold the tissue over the top of your package and place a cover letter on top introducing the treasures found inside. You can click here for the printable. Your printable will print out as 8 1/2 x 11. Just jot your message on a document and run the printable through your printer. Easy peasy!! What a FUN package to put together.
Dear Reader: My wholehearted apologies...I started this post ages ago and thought I had posted it. Alas, I had not. I am a slacker! Slap me silly with a wet, soggy noodle and consider yourself way ahead of the game with tons of ideas for NEXT year's 4th of July festivities.
The kids helped me get a 4th of July package together for our missionaries - my son, his girlfriend and my parents. Wow! I can't believe it's July already. Mason comes home in just a few very short weeks. We are so excited around here...but also just a little sad. I will miss having a missionary BUT we still have my parents and his "friend that's a girl but not his girlfriend" so I will still try my best to come up with creative, fun package and letter ideas.
This one is oh, so easy to pull together. Red, white and blue everything. Grab some festive patterned or plain paper/card stock and some coordinating tissue paper and you're good to go.
...is that enough to get your creative juices flowing?
Firecracker Cookies:
I found the recipe for these delicious cookies on Pinterest (of course!) from the Cookin' Cowgirl. They were so easy to whip up and look so festive for the holiday. The recipe calls for an 18.25 oz. box of cake mix. I don't know about your local grocer but mine only carries the 15.25 oz. size. I added an extra 1/4 cup flour and they turned out just perfect. The recipe also calls for lots and lots of sprinkles that are added to the cookie batter. Each container was $2.49...yikes!! And I needed 6 of them because I was making a double batch. I grabbed two and headed to the bakery to see if they had any that I could buy. They had a mix of red, white and blue stars. One cup for .99 ...score!!
Firecracker Cookies:
1 box French Vanilla cake mix
(18.25 oz. size or 15.25 oz. and 1/4 cup flour)
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup red sprinkles
1/2 cup blue sprinkles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and baking powder. In another bowl, mix together eggs, oil and vanilla. Combine mixtures and blend. Stir in the sprinkles and drop by rounded teaspoon or small cookie scoop* onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Place inside a clean Pringle's potato chip canister that you have covered in colored/patterned paper. Reseal.
*I use a #60 scoop (the higher the number the smaller the scoop)
I just mailed Mason's birthday package and thought I'd fill you in on what we came up with. First off - he comes home in less than four months so when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he of course said, "Nothing Mom. I don't need a thing." Well, how can I do that?!? So the challenge was to figure out something to send for his birthday that he would love but not have to turn around and haul back home with him. We came up with the PERFECT idea!
Mason loves to do things for others. There is just something inside him that lives to serve. He will sacrifice just about anything (including his grades) to do service for others. This year, for the boy who seems to think he has everything we are sending enough money for him to take his District out to lunch. We've noticed in his weekly emails that after weekly District Meeting they all go together and get something to eat prior to heading back to work. We thought it would be fun for him to treat others to lunch on his birthday. He is going to be thrilled and hopefully everyone else will be as well. Here's the step by step instructions of how we made this cute package:
Shopping List:
square Kleenex box
wrapping paper
adhesive tape runner (optional)
clear tape
scissors
coordinating tissue paper
topper (like the star in the photo)
money
1. Gather needed supplies.
2. Empty all the Kleenex tissues out of the box. You don't have to pull these out one at a time, you can takeout about an inch each time without destroying the box. Cut away the plastic at the top of the box opening.
3. Begin wrapping package. I used a scrapbooking tape runner adhesive so I didn't have tape showing. Cut down each corner until you reach the bottom of the box.
4. Trim down three sides and tape to box as shown.
5. Trim the remaining forth side to fit the bottom of your box. Apply adhesive runner to the edges of your box, fold down and press firmly. This should give you a nice looking bottom...to your package that is. (hee, hee...)
6. For the top of your package, cut down each corner until you reach the top of the box. Just like you did for the bottom. Trim down any excess paper that you may have. Fold over one side at a time and prior to applying the adhesive, hold with one hand and cut in order to be able to ease the paper smoothly around the opening (see photo 6-8).
7. After cutting, apply tape runner adhesive and smooth paper in place.
8. After pressing in place I cut away a "V" portion of paper from the center so I didn't have so much paper to work with. Apply a small amount of regular clear tape to each bit of paper that you're easing into the opening. Tuck under and press firmly.
9. Continue around remaining three sides and ta-da! Well done! Pat yourself on the back - the next bit is oh, so easy.
If you look closely at the finished project just below the star you can see the money attached. If you pull on the star the money will unroll and just keep coming and coming and coming. Fun, huh?!
The trickiest part of the whole project was figuring out how much money to include. Most Districts have 8-10 missionaries but this is totally up to the Mission President and I'm sure varies widely mission to mission throughout the church. You might want to casually ask your missionary how many are currently in his District or maybe you're one of the lucky one's that actually have a photo of their current District. In the end, I guess that they'll spend what you send and that will be enough. We sent mostly one dollar bills with a $20 and a few $5's and $10's thrown into the mix for surprise. It's pretty self-explanatory but here's the step-by-step procedure:
Item's needed:
money
clear adhesive tape
topper
(similar to the star)
birthday message
(on regular paper so it's easy to roll up)
1. Tape money together end to end using clear tape. Make sure that they are all facing the same way - It will look nicer but mostly I'm just a little OCD...depending on whom you ask. Meaning, some think I'm a LOT OCD. Mostly my kids.
2. Using tape, attach your topper.
3. Attach your birthday message to the bottom. You can download my birthday attachment here and include your own message.
4. Starting from the bottom, roll up...Insert into the opening of the box and surround with coordinating tissue paper. So CUTE!! Much more fun than just sending money in an envelope don't you think? Here's where we got the idea.
In his birthday box we also included two wrapped boxes of Hostess Cupcakes and a package of candles so his District could each have a piece of his 'birthday cake'. I put a few matches and a small strip of sand paper in a baggie in case they don't have a way to light the candles. Also some pistachio's, beef jerky, Sour Patch Watermelon candy just because he loves them...and of course birthday cards from everyone. Happy Birthday, Elder Brown!!
You can download my birthday package topper here.
