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Experience a First Night Celebration

December 26, 2009 By The Recipe Mom 1 Comment
2010

2010When it comes to family fun on New Year’s Eve it’s hard to pass up a First Night celebration. It’s a great way for the community and families to celebrate the beginning of a new year.

This idea began in Boston, Massachusetts. While celebrating the bicentennial in 1976, the inaugural First Night was a part of that celebration. Since, then it has caught on as a way for communities to reach a common ground and have fun at the same time.

First Night is celebrated in cities all across the United States along with three other countries. One place to celebrate is the birth place of First Night, Boston. It’s definitely a celebration of the arts.

From painters to dancers, artists to sculptors, the night is filled with fun for the entire family. It wouldn’t be a celebration if the night didn’t end with fireworks and Boston has their fair share. There are two fireworks displays for those who knock off early and those who can see the night through.

If you live out west, think about First Night in Spokane, Washington. Here the artistry of the cultures in the area is celebrated. Depending on your tastes you might get into the rhythm of gospel, rock or Salsa. View ice sculptures and other artistic displays.

If you live down south, think about taking in First Night in Austin Texas. Like the other locations, families can enjoy music, food and participate in various activities. Here, kids can join in a chalk drawing presentation. For the person who likes games, try your hand at chess or checkers.

Try a First Night at the Penn State community for a First Night celebration. The streets are filled with ice that sculptors will turn into art as well as parades, music, interactive activities and food.

Down in the southeast, Florida offers a First Night celebration in St. Petersburg. Feel the beat with bluegrass music, drum presentations, Caribbean music and other tunes. Families can visit local museums and other attractions set up for the event.

Why not create your own First Night in your city? Talk it over with the local legislature and the artistic community. Bring a new unity at the end of the year and also a new tradition.

Are you trying to decide what to do for New Year’s Eve? Support a community and have a good time at a First Night function.

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Neon Party Brownies

December 14, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
brownies

browniesWhat You Need:

1 (19.8 oz.) box of fudge brownie mix
1/2 C of vegetable oil
1/4 C of water
2 eggs
1 (16 oz.) can vanilla ready to spread frosting
Neon food coloring
Multicolored candy sprinkles

How to Make It:

Allow the oven to preheat to 350 degrees.
Place foil into the bottom and up the sides of a 13X9 baking pan leaving enough foil over the ends to use as handles.
Spray the foil lightly with a non stick cooking spray.
Place the brownie mix into a mixing bowl.
Pour in the oil and water and mix until just moistened.
Add the eggs and mix until well blended.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake the brownies for 28 minutes or until set.
Cool the brownies for at least 45 minutes.
Remove the brownies and foil from the pan.
Using a 2 inch round cookie cutter cut the brownies into 20 pieces.
Separate the frosting into 4 different bowls.
Microwave each bowl of frosting for 30 seconds or until smooth.
Tint each bowl of frosting with a different food color.
Frost the brownies with the tinted frosting.
Sprinkle the tops with the candy sprinkles.

Makes 20 brownies

To remove the brownies from the pan grab the handles of the foil and pull the brownies straight up. Flip them over on a flat surface and gently remove the foil. For an even easier removal place the brownies in the freezer for about 30 minutes to harden them just a little. Have left over brownie pieces are cutting? Freeze them. They will stay fresh for up to 1 month and make a great ice cream or pudding topper.

Preparation Time: approximately 45 minutes
Baking Time: approximately 28 minutes
Cooling Time: approximately 45 minutes
Total Time: approximately 1 hour 58 minutes

Nutritional Information per brownie: (approximate values)
Calories 280; fat 11 g; sodium 85 mg; carbohydrates 44 g; sugar 38 g;

Filed Under: Cakes and Cookies, Desserts, Kid Friendly, Party Foods, Recipe Cards Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Making Your New Years Eve Celebration a Family Affair

December 10, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
happynewyearpastel

happynewyearpastelStaying at home to celebrate New Years Eve? What a great way to start out the New Year. Spending time with your family at home can start a new tradition with a lot of wonderful memories. Here are few ways to share a New Years Eve celebration with those who mean the most to you.

• Board games. On a regular night it might be hard to get everyone together to have a family game night. On this night, everyone is at home. Bring back a little of those childhood years with games like Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, Life or even card games. Old Maid, Crazy Eight and War are at the top of the card game list. For a large family, set up more than one game station then everyone can play what they like.

• Team games. This is when people traditionally play charades, drawing games, trivia games and other type of games such as these. Divide into teams and see who can put on the best game face. Keep changing teams so that each family member gets to be on a team with each other. You can also make up your own games like a team scavenger hunt throughout the house.

• Watch movies. There will be enough time before midnight for everyone to throw a movie they like into the mix. You can give your movie night a theme. Choose a variety of movies celebrating other holidays in the year. You’ll have scary, funny, romantic, dramatic and jingle bells thrown in for good measure.

• Reminisce. Bring out the photo albums. Who is that kid in the plaid pants and butterfly collar shirt? It might be you. This is a great time to bond as a family and reminisce of old memories. There may be a few pictures of folks you don’t remember. Tell some interesting stories about some of the photos. Before you know it, everyone’s sides will threaten to burst from laughter.

• Bake. All this other fun may make you want to feed your sweet tooth. For those who want to, let them make a dessert for the family to try. The more desserts you have, the more yummy goodness you can enjoy.

If you spending time at home with the family this New Years Eve enjoy. These five ideas offer fun for the family who wants to spend time celebrating together.

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Celebrate July Fourth at a Park

July 7, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
parktablewater

parktablewaterOn the 4th of July, in small town, USA, there really isn’t much to do! But some of the neighboring towns have some great firework shows and some all day activities that are great for the family to partake in.

Our nearby town has an art show, and face painting for the kids, and they usually have local bands or barbershop quartets at the bandstand that everyone wants to hear. So planning snacks can be a challenge. There are usually food vendors available but snacks and drinks and one meal can be packed from home. All you need to do is pre-plan.

Make sure to pack foods and drinks that are easy to use and get to. Snack foods and munchies can be packed in individual bags for handing out at any time. Drinks can be stored in a cooler along with some of the snacks that don’t require a lot of refrigeration but might be better kept at a cooler temperature.

The trick to packing a cooler is to remember to place your drinks on the bottom then pour ice on top then add your snacks on top. One cooler is usually enough since there are drinks and snacks also available at the park.

Packing snacks can be easy and healthy at the same time! Fruits like apples, grapes and even dried fruit are great choices! Add some nuts, maybe some dried cereal and you have created your own special trail mix. This is a treat that young and old will enjoy. Add some pudding snacks on top of the ice or some cheese cubes or slices and some crackers and another healthy snack is available at any time.

For drinking, try packing small bottles of water and the flavored packets they make now that you can add to it. Gatorade in small bottles is another great choice or even juice boxes in various flavors. This should satisfy even the most discriminating tastes.
Don’t forget the lawn chairs and the blankets! Even in July, sometimes the nights get a bit chilly and a light blanket is always appreciated. Besides, if you don’t use it to cover up with, you can always lay down on it to watch the fireworks overhead!

To clean up with, use the new hand sanitizers or baby wipes that are available in travel sizes. They don’t take up much space but can remove the sticky from anyone’s hands.

These are just some simple ideas for a great day at the park…do what seems to work for your family. Remember be safe and have a great Independence Day celebration.

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Independence Day Celebration Made Easy

June 27, 2009 By The Recipe Mom Leave a Comment
flagflying

flagflying4th of July is a great day to celebrate! It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to entertain your friends, family or guests. Food, decorations, and fireworks are what the day is all about.

For decorations, all you need to think about is the colors of white, red and blue! Cover your table with a red tablecloth; add some blue plates and white cups and white silverware and you have a very festive background for your 4th of July.

For centerpieces, try a red vase with some white carnations and add a blue ribbon around the vase. Presto, a great centerpiece was created for very little cost! Flags are also a good idea! Line your driveway with them or use them as the centerpiece on your tables. You can use them in any way to make your party special, you choose. The choice is never wrong.

Why not make your food fall into the same easy choice? There are a lot of choices to use white, blue and red to make your food fall into the 4th of July theme. Take some strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream and mix them together in a glass bowl and serve! White, red and blue…isn’t that the theme?

Jell-o is a great idea for the 4th. It’s cool on a hot summer day. Take blue jello and add strawberries and add some whipped cream on the top. Then add some strawberries and blueberries on the top, slice and serve. Even the kids will like it! How about making some sugar cookies and alternating white, blue and red icing with different color sprinkles? Try this on the white cookies sprinkle blue, on the red cookies sprinkle white and on the blue cookies sprinkle red. Festive and cute is a great idea!

Try blue cheese dip on slices of red pepper, or sour cream and salsa on blue tortilla chips for a great appetizer.
Why not take a slice of garlic bread and add a slice of tomato and a slice of mozzarella cheese and broil for just a minute and make a quick bruschetta? This will be a great Italian 4th of July!

Independence Day punch is a great way to celebrate the 4th! Take 3 c. of ginger ale, 2 c. of cranberry juice, 6 c. of orange juice, and a 20 ounce package of strawberries and serve in a punch bowl. Serve in blue, white and red cups to make your punch a festive treat on that day! Even though it is not white, red or blue, sweet tea is a great American tradition and a great thirst quencher on a hot summer day!

What about a great summer freeze drink? Take ½ c. of frozen blueberries, 1 c. of whipped cream, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and some sugar to make it taste right and blend together. Add some strawberries on top and you have a white, red and blue taste sensation!

White, red and blue should be the colors of the day! Wear them and be proud to be an American! Play God Bless America, the Star Spangled Banner and Proud to be an American as background music to this great day. And if you have a flag be sure to fly it with pride! With all of our troops all over the world, let’s make sure they know we support them in any way we can!

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