Christmas Word Scramble

A Christmas Word Scramble has been posted here:

https://brainrecker.substack.com/p/christmas-word-scramble-2022

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Christmas Songs Cryptograms 2022

A new post featuring a Christmas Songs Cryptograms has been added here:

https://brainrecker.substack.com/p/christmas-songs-cryptograms

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Christmas Carol Fun Page

How many words can you make from the words:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Note: Add some fun twists and turns to your game with the info in this post.

A Christmas Carol Fill-In

Finish The Phrase: Christmas Carol

Christmas Carol Related Activities

Prepare A Victorian Meal

Do a quick search for Victorian Era foods and make an old fashioned meal with them. Recipes can be found online. Check your local library for cookbooks that feature Victorian Era meals too.

Your meal can be a simple breakfast/lunch/dinner, or something more “upper class” like a full table spread with beverages and table settings. Prepare the meal with other family members or friends.

If you decide to prepare a Victorian afternoon Tea, complete with finger sandwiches, soup, seasonal fruits, dessert and tea, consider dressing up the table as well as yourself. While you are enjoying your meal, read, listen to, or watch A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

After your meal, play parlor games, and listen to Victorian Era music.

A variety of versions of A Christmas Carol can be found online:

Read: http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTzyC9CZuOA

Librivox: https://librivox.org/a-christmas-carol-by-charles-dickens/

Online Activities

Online Puzzle: Dickens Village– How long will it take you to do this online puzzle?

Coloring Pages: Christmas CarolChoose from a variety of pages to print.

Videos

Related Posts

The following topics can be found on FranW.com

Fun Pages

Charles Dickens

Victorian Information, Games, & Resources

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Sweet and Spicy Nuts


Sweet and Spicy Peanuts are a BIG favorite in my family, and my kids and I often make large batches to give to family and friends. 
I hope your family and friends enjoy them as well!

To make them, you will need…

2 T Melted Butter
1/4 c Honey
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 lb Raw Spanish Peanuts, Almonds, or Pecans
Mixing bowl
Spoon or spatula
9×13 Pan
Optional: Parchment paper

What to do…

Mix the butter, honey, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt together in a bowl, then add nuts and mix until they are thoroughly coated. Pour onto parchment paper, place pan a 325 degree oven and cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Be sure to mix the nuts every 10 minutes with a heat-proof spatula.
Leave them on the pan until cooled, then store in an air-tight container.

Helpful tips…

Use parchment paper.

As the honey cools, it creates a delicious candy-like coating. Parchment paper not only makes the nuts much easier to remove, it makes clean-up faster and easier too!

Store nuts in an air-tight container.

An air-tight container keeps the nuts fresh and crunchy for up to 2 weeks….if they last that long!

Adjust the recipe to taste.

Quite a few of my family members LOVE really spicy nuts, so I’ll add much as a tablespoon+ of cayenne pepper to their batch. If you want to kick-up the heat, add an extra 1/8 tsp at a time until you get to the heat level your family enjoys.

If you have family members that don’t like garlic, then leave it out. The sweet, spicy flavor can hold its own! Consider adding a bit more salt instead.

Adjust the salt level to fit the needs of family and friends.

If peanuts are a problem, then use another kind of nut. I’ve made these these with raw almonds and the results are just as delicious, if not more so!

A great gift or party snack!

I’ve been known to put these nuts in jars or festive containers and add them to my gift baskets as a sweet and spicy treat, but they make a great party snack too!

My kids enjoy making their own labels and gift wrap for an extra special touch when gifting them to friends and family members!

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Nutcracker

Information

Nutcracker Pic

Storynory: A Christmas Nutcracker – Listen to the 28 minute story online, download the audio file provided on the page, or read it on your own.

Librivox.org: Nutcracker and Mouse King – Download the audio file or listen to short segments told by Sandra Cullum.

Archive.org: Nutcracker and Mouse-king – Read the story online or download a copy.

Nutcracker Museum: Wordsearch #1 – Making a NutcrackerPrintable puzzle.

Daily Jigsaw Puzzles: Nutcracker Decorations Jigsaw Puzzle Game – How quickly can you solve this Nutcracker Jigsaw Puzzle online?

nutcracker-jigsaw.jpg

Videos

Nutcracker and Mouse King Full Audiobook by E. T. A. HOFFMANN by E. T. A. HOFFMANN

The Nutcracker New York City Ballet, 1993

The Nutcracker Tchaikovsky Mariinsky Theatre Gergiev

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker – Music From The Original Soundtrack

How It’s Made – Nutcrackers

How To Draw A Christmas Nutcracker

Toilet Paper Roll Nutcracker Craft – The Nutcracker Ballet DIY Ideas

Nutcracker snowflake…

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Nutcracker FW

Fun Christmas Resources

FranW.com: December Activities – Activities Include A Candy Countdown Calendar, a Christmas House, Santa Activities, Holiday Cards, 3-D Ornaments, Snowflakes, Word Games, Star – Shape, and much more. These fun learning activities can be found on this blog.

The following sites have fun printables and things to do for the Christmas Season. Each will take you to a site off FranW.com, unless otherwise noted.


Family Education: 12 days of fun (and cheap!) Christmas Activities for Families – Use the arrows to scroll through the pictures to see the ideas.

All Things Topics: Christmas – Offers the following FREE Downloads: Spot the Differences Speaking Activity, Christmas Shopping, 20 Questions about Santa Claus and others.

The Spruce – 50 Fun Teen-Oriented Holiday  – A list of fun things older kids will enjoy doing.

Kids Activities Blog: 70 FREE Christmas Printables – Links to activities off site.

Print Activities.com: Christmas Printables for Kids – Christmas Word Searches, Dot to Dots, Mazes, Word Scrambles, Cryptograms, Boggle Pages, Coloring Pages – Scroll Down to access the activities.

Education.com: Christmas Worksheets – This site offers a variety of printable items such as: Coloring sheets, spot the difference, Dear Santa Letter template, story map, list template, puzzles and others.

DLTK: Christmas Worksheets – Printable activities include: Christmas Anagrams, Writing prompts, puzzles, cryptograms, bitsy books, mazes, math, and more.

Adril Booker: The Ultimate List of Family Advent Activities & Christmas Countdown Fun (Free Printable)From the site – 150+ Advent Activities (or Christmas Countdown Activities) by Category – The categories include: Serving Others, In the Kitchen, Faith-based Activities, Decorating, Outings, Craft & Create, Fun At Home, Watch Your Favorite Christmas Movies, and Winter-Specific Activities. If you give your email to the site, you will get a FREE downloadable version of all 150 ideas.

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Poinsettia Resource Page

Information
University of Illinois Extension: Poinsettia Facts – Interesting facts and information about Poinsettias. Includes anatomy info, history of the plant, and number facts.
 
The Spruce:  Poinsettias – Keepers or Compost? – Caring For Your Holiday Poinsettia and Getting It To Bloom Again Next Year (How To)

Teleflora: Meaning & Symbolism of Poinsettias – This short article talks about the many names given to the poinsettia, some history about the person it is named after, and what it symbolizes in different cultures.

Why Christmas.com: Poinsettias At Christmas – Where this plant comes from, how it was used by other cultures, plus an old Mexican legend.

Wikipedia: Poinsettia – Description, Religious and Other Traditional Associations, Creation of the American Poinsettia Industry, Cultivation, Diseases, and Toxicity claims.

 
Crafts
 
The following sites have instructions for how to make the craft suggested.


DLTK: Paper Poinsettia Flower & Poinsettia Paper Plate Craft

First Palette Kids’ Crafts: Poinsettia Ornament

Planet Smarty Pants: Poinsettia Crafts for Christmas – 12 Crafts suggested, most made from recycled items.

Artists Helping Children: Christmas Poinsettias – Three poinsettia crafts are offered on this site: One using cardboard tubes, a coloring page, and a finger print picture.

Super Coloring: Poinsettia Coloring Pages – 6 pages offered.

Coloring.ws: Mistletoe and Poinsettia Coloring Pages – 7 poinsettia coloring pages offered.

Videos

YouTube: Poinsettia Playlist –  Learn about the history of poinsettia, how to care for them, make some crafts, and listen to a story read by the author.

Here’s one of the videos in the list… How to fold a poinsettia flower, origami

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Gingerbread Activities

History


Wikipedia: Gingerbread House  – Gingerbread house history, modern times, Guinness World records, and Gingerbread houses.

PBS: History Gingerbread – Article talks a bit about the history of ginger, and where the first gingerbread recipe came from and the inspiration to decorate gingerbread

Fun Activities

DLTK Site:
Kidzone: Gingerbread Man Theme Unit – 5 Day Theme Unit and Resource List
Felt Gingerbread Man – Links to the poem and a mini-book version as well.
Gingerbread Man Dot Page – Printable activity page.
Gingerbread Man Activities – Clip art, coloring pages, recipes, and craft ideas.
Gingerbread House – Online Jigsaw Puzzle

Enchanted Learning: Gingerbread Man –  Site offers a picture story about the Gingerbread Man and craft ideas. Some activities may need a membership to print.

Mathwire: Winter Math Activities: Gingerbread House – Scroll down to the ginger bread house activities.

ABCya!: Gingerbread House – This site offers people a chance to build a virtual gingerbread house. Choose from an array of items to help you build and design a one of a kind house. Flash Player required to play.

Make Your Own House
 

Martha Stewart: Swedish Gingerbread House How-To – Scroll through the pictures to see how to construction this house using caramel syrup as the glue!

King Arthur Flour: Construction Gingerbread for Gingerbread Houses and Gingerbread House Cakes – Recipes

Food Network: Gingerbread House – Recipe

PBS: Zoom: Graham Cracker Gingerbread House – An easy to make house made from Graham crackers.

Little Red Window: Tiny Cardboard Gingerbread House – Instructions for making a gingerbread house from recycled cardboard.

FranW.com: Christmas/Holiday House – Make a holiday house from a milk carton!

YouTube: Gingerbread Playlist – Make an origami house, learn how gingerbread house kits are made, and watch an gingerbread house competition.
Here’s one of the videos in the list…
History: Holiday Foods-Gingerbread Houses

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Picture by Becka Hons

Bells

 
 

Wikipedia: Bell– Etymology, history, styles of ringing, church and temple bells, bellfounding and more. Also,
Campanology – The study of bells.

Owlcation: Interesting Facts About the History of Bells – Article includes information about: Introduction of Bells Across the World, How Were Bells Made, Tuning of the Bell, What Are Handbells?, Bell Towers, What is Bell Metal?, and a list of Famous Bells Around The World. Site includes photos and videos.

Discover Bell Ringing: Site offers a way to find local ringers, music of the bells, history of bell ringing, up the bell tower, learning to ring, technique of ringing, bell mechanism, and other bell related things.

Brosamer’s Bells: Bell History – Offers a short article and a photo gallery of old bell information that includes pricing information, informative text, descriptions, part names, and more. Pictures can be viewed on line or downloaded.

History of Bells.com: History of Bells – Information about the cultural history of bells, and bell facts. There are more featured articles on the bottom of the page.

How To Draw Cartoons Online: How to Draw a Cartoon Bell

🔔🔔 Please use caution when downloading things from the Internet. 🔔🔔


Tim’s Printables: Christmas Bell Templates, Colored Christmas Bell Templates

FreePatternsArea: Bell Shaped Christmas Decoration Craft Cut Out Pattern – Download the pattern, print it out, and cut it. Right click on your mouse to capture the pattern you want and save it to your computer or copy and paste it into a file graphic.

 

First Palette: Bells – Offers a page with 4, 2, and 1 bell to download and use.

DLTK: Christmas Bells and Christmas Bells Coloring Pages

Videos

YouTube: Bells Playlist – This list includes more than 30 bell related videos about the history of bells, listen to bell ringers, learn how to draw bells, and origami bells, and bell crafts.
Here’s one of the videos in the list…

 
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Christmas Stockings

Smithsonian: The Legend of the Christmas Stocking – The history behind the tradition of hanging stockings.

Wikipedia: Christmas Stockings – The history of stockings and information about the world’s biggest Christmas stocking.

Altogether Christmas: Christmas Stockings – An article about the legends behind Christmas stockings.

First Palette: Paper Christmas Stocking – Instructions for craft.

DLTK: Christmas Lacing Crafts – Instructions for craft.

Activity Village: Christmas Stocking Theme – Printable stocking templates, games, colouring pages, crafts, and more.

Videos
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History of the Candy Cane

Why Christmas: Christmas Candy Canes – Brief information about candy canes.

Spangler: Candy Cane History and Legends – Historical and religious information about candy canes.

WikipediaCandy Cane – Origins of the candy cane/peppermint stick and the production of this holiday treat.

Today I Found Out: The Origins of the Candy Cane – An article about the history of the candy cane.

DLTK:
Candy Cane Poem – Printable pages.
Candy Cane Reindeer – Craft idea.
Coloringws.com: Candy Cane coloring pages.

About Family Crafts.com: 26 Candy Cane Crafts – All made with real candy canes!

Fun-A-Day!: 50 Candy Cane Activities For Kids – Ornaments, experiments, crafts, recipes, treats, and more! Links take you to other sites.

From ABC’s to ACT’s: 25+ Candy Cane Crafts, Snacks, and Activities for Kids –  Links to you to other sites.


Videos

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‘Twas The Night Before Christmas

Poetry Foundation: A Visit from St. Nicholas
Poem by Clement Clark Moore

Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas
Information includes: The poem, plot, the history of the author and more.

DLTK: ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Printable mini book.

Messy Little Monster: Twas The Night Before Christmas Footprint Craft – Use your child’s footprint for this activity.

Videos
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Twas The Night Before Christmas

By Clement Clarke Moore

 ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
    On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
    To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
    Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

    And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

    He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes–how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
    “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”