Sunrise Creations Blog

Christmas is over.  It’s time to put things back where they belong.

Cleaning up after the celebration is something that has to be done and in fact, it is part of the whole holiday experience so why not treat it that way?  While cleaning is never our first choice for fun it can actually become fun if you think ahead.  And we know that fun leads to good photos, doesn’t it?

Equip everyone with a bucket, rubber gloves if necessary, dusters and polish or disinfectant, depending on what they are cleaning, and then perhaps have a race to see who can finish their tasks properly in the shortest time.  Don’t let them get away with a quick flick of the duster though because this job has to be done well first time round! 

In fact, make it a competition with prizes for the best results.  This could be a bar of chocolate, or the right to pick the first family movies etc.  It really doesn’t have to be much because it’s all in the name of fun anyway. 

Now, while they are all busy cleaning, pull out your camera and take a few photos.  Yes, really!  These photos will complete the record of your holiday season and it is at times like this that you get the pictures that you treasure forever.  Can’t you just picture your child with rubber gloves up to his elbows and soap bubbles on his nose?

Photography doesn’t have to focus on the ‘pretty’ events.  Record the fun times, too, even if they aren’t ‘pretty’.

Have you ever wondered where the tradition of leaving cookies and milk out for Santa came from?  I have, so I decided to do a little research. I found a couple of different explanations.

The first says that it began in the Great Depression, when parents wanted to teach their children the importance of sharing, no matter how difficult their life might have been.  The more likely answer is that it originated in Germany where the tradition was to decorate the tree with food items.  It seems logical that it would gradually extend to making a special gift of food to Santa.

This year, why not make your own cookies and let the kids make them really personal by adding a thumprint to them.  Yes, these are called Thumbprint Cookies.  They are simple to make and tasty to eat.  Santa will love them.

Thumbprint Cookies

Makes around 40 cookies.

Ingredients:

180g softened butter
½ cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
additional castor sugar
your favourite jam.

Method:
Add the butter and sugar to a bowl and mix until it's creamy. Add the ½ cup caster sugar and the flours and combine until well blended. It will form a dough. Chill until firm enough to handle easily.

Roll dough into small balls and place onto a lightly buttered baking tray with a little distance between them. Press your thumb lightly into each biscuit to form a hollow. Add a teaspoon of jam to the hollow.

Bake in a preheated (180°C) oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden.  Cool them on wire racks.

Christmas provides so many opportunities to capture special memories of your family, but also to turn those photos into something equally special.

The photos don’t necessarily have to be Christmas related, nor a professional shot. It can be any photo that you love, including snapshots or photos the kids have taken themselves.

An obvious craft idea would be creating a photo Christmas card for grandparents and other close relatives. Some blank cards, or cardboard cut to size and folded, with the image stuck to the front is perfect. Add some Christmas stickers, or glue on some tinsel and stars and it’s ready to send.

Photo crafts can also make fantastic gifts. Have a photo enlarged to A4 size, or create a photo collage on A4 paper and laminate it for use as a place mat or play mat.

Cutting photos into Christmas themed shapes, such as trees or stars, make unique tree decorations. Laminate the photo, punch a hole in the top and thread through some ribbon or gold string to form a loop.

Creating photo collages, or even single photos on coloured paper cut into star, Christmas tree, candy cane or snowflake shapes can be hung on walls or from the ceiling, or even turned into a festive mobile.

A gorgeous, keepsake wreath for your front door can be produced, either by surrounding your favourite photo with tinsel, holly, berries and stars, or creating the circle of the wreath using a collection of your favourite snapshots from throughout the year.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Like many of our modern traditions, the Christmas tree has it's roots in pre-Christian times.   Throughout history different cultures have used trees, especially evergreens, in their celebrations.  In the cold and snowy climate, the evergreen was a symbol of life.

The Christmas Tree Farm Network says "Late in the Middle Ages, Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees inside their homes or just outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. Our modern Christmas tree evolved from these early traditions.

Legend has it that Martin Luther began the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas. One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow, shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted in honor of Christ's birth."

From around 1700AD the Christmas tree as we know it began to evolve.  That's when we all got into the fun of decorating them.

Here is a little decoration that your kids will love to make.  Remember the paper chains you made at school?  Imagine how pretty they are when they are made of ribbon instead. This works best with wider ribbon.  The idea comes from Martha Stewart.

(image from Martha Stewart)

How to make a ribbon chain.

Cut your ribbons into 15 cm lengths.  Staple a piece of ribbon with the right sides together, 1cm in from the ends. Now fold the ends back against the ribbon with glue with a glue stick to cover the staple. Turn them back to right side. Now take another length of ribbon and pass it though this loop and repeat the process of stapling and gluing. 

There’s very little that is more special than watching your child’s face on Christmas morning when they discover the presents under the Christmas tree.

It’s even more magical when they see that Santa has consumed the milk and cookies you left out for him.

Imagine the look on their face when there’s proof the reindeer have been? It can be as simple as leaving out a carrot and a bowl of water so the reindeer don’t go hungry and thirsty on their long journey.

A touch of red food colouring in the now near empty bowl of water proves that Rudolph, himself, drank from that very dish.

Or, you might like to give the kids some additional, hands on fun, and have them create some Reindeer Food in preparation for Christmas Eve.

You’ll need:
• a small plastic bag per child
• rolled oats
• glitter (gold, sliver, red and green are prefect for the season)
• ribbon
• paper or post-it notes

Add a small handful of oats to each bag, and add some glitter. Close the bag and tie it with the ribbon. Shake gently to mix the oats and glitter.

Attach a note saying “On Christmas Eve, sprinkle this Reindeer Food on the grass in your back yard. The smell of oats will guide the reindeer to your home, and it will sparkle in the moonlight, showing them where to land.”

The sparkling of the glitter on the lawn as they sprinkle will bring magic to the night and will make a memorable tradition for you and your family.

 Kids are getting more interested in all things techno from a younger age, and if you’ve ever seen a kid with a digital camera it’s a joy to see the world through their innocent eyes.

Why not consider giving a kid suitable digital camera for Christmas and the little ones can start recording their own memories on film and video.  You never know, you might be encouraging the next Anne Geddes or Baz Lurhman.

Whilst the low end of the digital camera market can be accessed quite inexpensively, standard digital cameras don’t stand up to the knocks and bumps that little hands inflict. Whilst they don’t have the image quality of their grown up counterparts, kid’s cameras are a great introduction to photography until they learn to handle things with a little more care.

If you are looking for a cheap stocking filler with basic features the Vkids is the bottom end of the market at $14.98. Without an SD card or screen it is super simple and requires computer access to view any images which might not satisfy the kids for long but is a good test of their interest.

The Kid Tough from Fisher Price is a popular choice in pink or blue and available around the $100 mark and comes with good reviews from little people due to its durability and easy to use functions.

Slightly more expensive and with greater functionality the Kidizoom includes music, games and editing functions as well as point and shoot capability and interchangeable face plates so the kids can personalise their new piece of equipment.

If the child is a little older and more discerning in their techno tastes you might consider something more advanced.  A comprehensive guide to what to look out for in a digital camera for kids can be read at PhotoReview.

Give a camera for Christmas, and you may well be sparking a lifelong love of photography. What an amazing gift!

Have you ever wondered why we have candy canes at Christmas time?   This little poem explains it for Christians.

Look at the Candy Cane

What do you see?

Stripes that are red

Like the blood shed for me

White is for my Savior

Who’s sinless and pure!

“J” is for Jesus My Lord, that’s for sure!

Turn it around

And a staff you will see

Jesus my shepherd

Was born for Me!

But why candy cane?  Well, that is where the legend comes in.  Known as "The Legend of the Candy Cane", no one knows who wrote it or where it originated.  It is all over the internet and the story goes like this.

"According to legend there was a candy maker who wanted to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.

First of all, he used a hard candy because Christ is the rock of ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble a “J” for Jesus or, turned upside down, a shepherd’s staff. He made it white to represent the purity of Christ.

Finally a red stripe was added to represent the blood Christ shed for the sins of the world, and three thinner red stripes for the stripes He received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him. Sometimes a green stripe is added as a reminder that Jesus is a gift from God.

The flavor of the cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop. Hyssop is in the mint family and was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice. Jesus is the pure Lamb of God, come to be a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

So, every time you see a candy cane, remember the message of the candy maker: Jesus is the Christ!"

Nothing says Christmas is coming like a handmade card or decoration lovingly made by a child at child care or at school.  Or even better, at home!

Simple homemade decorations will not only add the personal touch to your home, but also make great gifts for friends, neighbours and teachers, and the person who drops in unexpectedly who you forgot to buy something for!

A visit to a craft shop will be fun.  Find little eyes, and cutouts to decorate flat sticks and they become characters to hang on your tree. Add a cardboard hat and a bead for a nose and every one will be unique.

A very simple but effective project for your Christmas table are Candy Cane napkin rings, that can be made inexpensively and to match your own personal decor with the help of kids aged 4 and up.  How exciting for a little person to see their handiwork being admired as the guests sit down to dine together.

A simple florists ball can be decorated without fuss and yet still produces a stunning result.  Just add plastic or paper flowers and stick them onto the ball with a craft pin.  Add a ribbon at the top and it's ready to hang.

Christmas crackers or Bonbons are another great project for children young and old, and can be as cheap and cheerful or extravagant as you wish, both in their decoration and the trinkets you include. Scratch Lottery tickets, chocolates and pens are popular inclusions on the cheaper side; with pen knives, cufflinks or costume jewellery good options should you feel more generous.   Christmas Crackers can serve a dual purpose as place cards, and can be personalised with sayings, jokes or a memory you share with the lucky recipient.  What an individual and thoughtful addition these would be at your dining table.

Paper garlands, Homemade gingerbread tree decorations or a gingerbread house, a family wreath for the front door, cards and wrapping paper or whatever takes your fancy. Christmas decorations can be made to suit any budget, skills and age group, and are a wonderful tradition to start or continue with your kids in preparation for a visit from the big man in the red suit!

Gingerbread men might have originated within the court of Queen Elizabeth the 1st, but you don’t need to be royalty to enjoy this tasty and decorative Christmas treat.  You don’t even need to be a grown up.

Baking and decorating Gingerbread men, and ladies too of course, make tasty baubles for the Christmas tree, a great gift for the teacher or the neighbours, and a fun activity for kids of all ages, after all, everyone is a kid at Christmas?

If you are a traditionalist, you can’t go past an old fashioned gingerbread cutter with basic decorations, but don’t be afraid to funk it up a little if you are more modern in your taste. You can decorate or dress your gingerbread people to represent family members, a cookie version of the popular ‘My Family” stickers if you will.  Royal icing in white is the most popular decoration, but you can colour the icing, or use dried fruit, silver cachous, chocolate buttons or just about anything you like to make your tasty little family come to gingerbread life.

The dough can be cut into any shape you like, and stars are popular as well as festive. Ninjabread men are a tongue in cheek version of the old favourite, and great for the family with active little ninja’s. 

If you don’t have a family recipe or favourite cook book to consult, thousands of versions can be found online.  You are sure to find one that takes your fancy.  You might like to try the Gingerbread Men recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly.

Making and decorating gingerbread as a family is a fun tradition you can start at any age, and a priceless memory to create for your kids that outlasts the lolly high and plastic toys.