Holidays | Grin and Bake It!

Category Archives: Holidays

Written on January 19, 2012 by Kate

This post is really for my sister today. She will not be following my pins on Pinterest because she is masterful at setting boundaries for her life and has the willpower to not get sucked into cyber space (unlike her younger sister). Basically, she isn’t enabling my new addiction, which I still have yet to admit is a problem! But sometimes I find something that screams cuteness and makes me feel compelled to share it with my sister. So here are a few of my finds for you sis and for anyone else looking for some inspiration.

Valentine Round-up: All of these were created by some very talented bloggers, and they are all available for us to use from their sites for little to no cost. Don’t you love not reinventing the wheel?

Seriously, where is my Mr. Darcy? My sister will appreciate this 8×10 print since she is in agreement that Pride and Prejudice is the best novel ever written. I think I am going to frame this and put it in my room until my Mr. Darcy. shows up. This print, from Etsy, does cost money, but totally worth it!

These are SO cute. Gumballs with the printable label designed by Love the Day. Kate from CupKate’sEventDesign sells these clear packaging tubes in 8″, 10″, and 12″ on her site, as well as other fun packaging products.

Love this card… For some of us this means we love the person A LOT!

These milk cartons are made from a free printable at The Sweetest Occasion. They’re the perfect little treat filled with some homemade cookies.

This card maker is kind of clever. You go to the site, type in your message, and it puts your message in a heart template. I think little ones would have fun making these for their grandparents and other special people.

Goldfish valentines …so simple and so cute! The pillow boxes can be ordered online at Papermart. I’ve really liked all of the products I’ve gotten from Papermart. They have a huge selection.

Don’t you always see millions of these at Michaels in the check-out line for practically nothing? Really, don’t you wonder how many billion of these glow sticks exist. This freebie is on The Teacher Wife Blog.

I haven’t seen this ball valentine idea before, but I do know kids love all of the little crap. Sorry, I don’t know what else to call it (and crap is not considered a bad word in my house). Post birthday party, in our house, we dump out the favor bag, look at all of the fun crap we’ve gotten, never ever play with the crap, but refuse to part with it, and then it somehow magically disappears once the boy has forgotten about it.

This one is simple and can be personal to your valentine. It’s a fill in the blank treat bag. I love you more than ______________ loves _____________.

These soda sayings are other fun ones I hadn’t seen before.

I also like the “Keep Calm” print because lord knows I need to be reminded to keep calm on a regular basis. This Saturday is the biggest event of the year that I coordinate. We are testing over 1200 kids, double what our big day normally is. I’m praying I can keep calm and trust that things will go smoothly. By the way, rain is predicted Saturday… 2400+ wet children and parents. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend! I hope you’ve set aside at least a little time to do something for yourself!

A Few of My Favorites..., Favors, Holidays, Parties

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Written on December 3, 2011 by Kate

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Hope you’re enjoying the weekend! I’ve been home with a sick boy all weekend. Poor boy is missing an important baseball tournament ~ five games in one weekend and I don’t think he will make any of them. Every few hours he wakes up from the couch and tells me he is ready to pitch in the next game. He calls his dad to hear a play by play of what’s been going on, and then he goes back to sleep. What’s a mom to do? Needless to say, my detox from carbs has come to an end and the KJ bottle has been opened. See this peppermint bark above… I’m stuck in a house with a sick boy, his naughty dog, and this. Take pity on me please.

I made these peppermint bark cookies last holiday season after seeing a recipe in Gourmet magazine (original recipe posted here). I decided to try it again with a secret shortcut. This time of year gets crazy, so I embrace any shortcut in the kitchen, as long as it doesn’t compromise the taste. Thanks to Betty… Betty Crocker that is, these cookies are even simpler and equally as yummy as the original recipe.

Here’s how it all comes together:

The secret shortcut involves using a package of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix. The only other ingredients you use are a stick of butter, an egg, a cup of chocolate chips, and a few candy canes.

The dough comes together quickly with little mess. The trickiest part is smoothing it out in the pan. If you take a handful of dough at a time, flatten in your hands like a pancake and put it in the pan, it works much easier than trying to spread the dough. Don’t skip the parchment paper in the bottom. It allows you to lift it out of the pan and cut it into pieces when it’s done.

Once the dough bakes for about 18 minutes, sprinkle a cup to a cup and a half of chocolate chips on it while it’s still hot and let it sit for three minutes.

After three minutes, the chocolate chips have melted enough making it a cinch to spread on top of the cookie crust.

Immediately, sprinkle with crushed candy canes, and if you like drizzle white chocolate over the top. Put it in the fridge for a half hour or so to set and then cut into pieces.

These cookies can be easily varied. Switch out dark chocolate for semi-sweet, add Reese’s or Oreos instead of candy canes… the sky’s the limit.

I’m hoping to take these to a party tomorrow night with some of my girlfriends. Crossing my fingers the boy feels better, or I’m going to be stuck with two batches of this yumminess! Someone come save me!!

Click here for the printable recipe.

Brownies & Bars, Candy, chocolate, cookies, Desserts Galore, Holidays, Parties, Recipes

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Written on December 1, 2011 by Kate

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I’ve tried to instill in the boy that it’s better to give than receive, but a few days ago it became quite obvious that I haven’t done a very good job. I sent him to school with fifteen dollars cash to spend in the school’s holiday shop and when he came home, he proceeded to empty the contents of a rather large shopping bag. A small rope toy for the Naughty One fell out and the rest of the things he bought were gifts to self. So apparently, he missed the entire point of the holiday gift-giving shop.

Don’t get me wrong, I too have embraced the gift-to-self concept. I just believe in gifts for everyone, including self. So in the spirit of giving ~ gifts to yourself or to others, here are a few things anyone who loves to bake would appreciate.

I know a lot of baking friends that share in my fetish for cake plates. I love this Rosanna Rococo one in black, so classy!

Baking is messy, so if you’re going to get messy, at least do it in style. This Reversible apron is from Debbie’s Etsy storefront, DebzDoodlez . She has lots of other prints to choose from.

You might have read one of my posts about this before, but it’s worth repeating. I think this Wilton 50 piece decorating kit is the best out there for someone getting start. It’s reasonably priced and comes with tips, couplers, gel colors, spatulas, bags, and more!
Ruffles are all the rage, and this ruffle pie plate is on sale for $19.99 and ships for free. If you know someone with a cake plate fetish, it’s probably an issue with pie plates too.

If you’re looking for cookbooks, here are two great reads. As much as I love pretty cookbooks, I find most of the recipes I try from the Internet. These two books are not your traditional cookbooks. They explain the science behind cooking and baking so you can be successful in creating your own recipes. Ratio came out in 2010 and Ruhlman’s Twenty was just released this fall.

This is the only baking sheet worthy enough to go in my oven. These Airbake sheets are only $14.99 at Target and by far the best and only sheet I will use at this point. Just don’t submerge it when you clean it, trust me on this!

I love my Babycake Cake Pop Maker. When I bought one for my sister’s birthday in September, I bought one for me too. Happy Birthday to me! They are currently sold out online at Kohl’s, but they should have them in stock in the store. It’s on sale for $26.00 and with the $10.00 coupon they send every month, that makes a great present for a great deal. If you can’t find it at Kohl’s, you can also buy it at the BabyCakes online store.

When decorating cookies, I could not live without Kuhn Rikon squeeze bottles. Sur La Table is selling a new cupcake set which includes a cupcake corer and silicone baking cups. It’s $30… a great price for everything you get.

Anyone who bakes will tell you that measuring cups are not all created equal. I happen to think Williams Sonoma makes some of the best. They have a gift set right now with all of the cups and spoons for $39.00. It’s worth the investment.

Prince Charming, really you can skip the jewelry this year and get me this. Yes, I’m picking a Kitchen Aid mixer over diamonds. This KitchenAid® 7-Quart Bowl-Lift NSF Commercial Stand Mixer is the Rolls Royce of Kitchen Aids. Now I happen to LOVE my aqua blue 5 qt Martha Stewart Kitchen Aid. If there was a fire in the house, I’d grab the boy, the Naughty One, and the mixer. That’s how much it means to me. But I’m pretty sure I could fall in love with this one too. Christi from Love From the Oven was given one to try out (I am seriously jealous!) She wrote a great review of it on her site. The best part is this can make up to 14 dozen cookies at a time. But if you don’t generally make 14 dozen cookies at a time, go check out the rest of the stand mixers that Kitchen Aid has to offer. You’ve got to love the rainbow of colors.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Gift Ideas, Holidays, Other, Products

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Written on November 18, 2011 by Kate

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If you read my post from yesterday, I have to tell you there are not enough rum soaked cherries in the world to ease a mom’s anxiety of the first playoff game. The game was intense. During the last inning, our team was up by one with the bases loaded, and our coach (the boy’s dad) brings in the boy to be the closing pitcher… no pressure. Last night the boy was the hero and struck the next two batters out to win the game. It really was a great moment for him. He was exhausted and so was I! I’m not sure whether to be thankful or not that this team is still in the playoffs and now scheduled for an entire weekend of baseball games. (Did I mention I’m out of rum soaked cherries? We’re taking the Bailey’s and hot chocolate for tonight’s game!)

Here is something to be thankful for… these free Thanksgiving printables from some of my favorite blogging designers. Enjoy!!

Don’t tell me you’ve already made your Thanskgiving grocery list, please lie to me. Your honesty will only make me feel bad about the current lack of organization in my life. When you finally do get around to making your list, this is a great way to map it all out. Love this Menu Planner made by Wendy at Weswen Design.

Amy always shares great printables with her readers. I love how simple these are to put together. You can print the Candy Bar Wrapper at her blog Living Locurto.

I love these festive patterns and colors Rebecca at Somewhat Simple used when she created these flags. It’s as simple as printing, cutting, gluing to a toothpick, and sticking in your Thanksgiving treats.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sunflowers and thought this Sunflower printable pack was a great Thanksgiving motif created by the amazingly talented Kim of TheTomCatStudio

If you want simple and elegant these Place Cards by Kim of Today’s Creative Blog would look great at each place setting.

How clever are these? I’m not a left-over kind of girl, Thanksgiving is my only exception. These Leftovers Tags are perfect to have ready to go when sending guests home with food. These were made by Tricia at Worldlabel.com

This complete set is a freebie too created by Ashley of Cupcake Express posted at Catch my Party .

I am of the philosophy that kids should be kept busy during Thanksgiving dinner, so that parents can enjoy their wine and turkey dinner. These Placemats are perfect for the Kiddie Table (created by Kirsten at Embellish)

It’s Written on the Wall has posted this Thanksgiving Subway Art plus eleven more to choose from. You can print them on your home computer or have Costco print them in an hour.

Beth from It is What it is created these favor tags in four different color schemes. She posted several ideas on how to use them that you must check out. My favorite is the tag attached to the wine bottle…perfect to bring to the Thanksgiving hostess.

Wishing everyone a great pre-Thanksgiving weekend!

A Few of My Favorites..., Favorite Foodies, Favors, Holidays, Parties, Table Setting Ideas

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Written on November 11, 2011 by Kate

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Happy Friday everyone! I can’t believe how fast this month is flying by. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, so it’s time to start thinking about turkey treats. My parents are heading out on their first road since becoming homeless, and they will be gone for Thanksgiving. I know what you’re thinking, how dare they leave me on a major holiday (okay, that’s what I was thinking). I might have been a little bitter, but my sister and her family are driving here from Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. The boy and I are SO excited to have them with us. Usually, they stay at my mom’s and we have to share them, but now that my parents are drifters, we get them all to ourselves. My sister and I are excited to make Thanksgiving dinner together. We’re of course making the traditional Thanksgiving pie, but we also need something festive and sweet for the non-pie lovers. I went in search of some adorable turkey treats created by other food bloggers and here’s what I found. Now comes the tricky part… figuring out the cutest.

Two Oreos, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and a Whopper disguised as a turkey? This is my kind of dessert posted at ourbestbites.com .

Martha Stewart has a turkey cupcake how-to posted on her site.

I love these M&M turkey favors posted at the Party Animal blog. Wouldn’t they look cute at each place setting at the kiddie table?

How simple and yummy does this turkey rice krispie treat look that Ali from Gimme Some Oven created.

This turkey cake pop posted by Maria on Martha Stewart’s Dreamers into Doers page is the cutest one I’ve seen for Thanksgiving.

Turn a chocolate cupcake on its side, get some Nutter Butters and a few other goodies and you can make these turkey cupcakes (created by Jeanne Benedict)

I love this turkey cupcake cake for a big group posted at Atomic Cupcakes.

Why did I just buy the giant turkey cookie cutter when this cookie made using a circle and heart cookie cutter looks so much cuter. Bee in our Bonnet posted a step-by-step photo tutorial on how to make these.

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

A Few of My Favorites..., Favorite Foodies, Favors, Holidays, Other, Parties, Table Setting Ideas

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Written on November 6, 2011 by Kate

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My new roommates moved in last Sunday, so it’s been quite a week. I never planned on having roommates. In fact, when I got divorced there was even a discussion about not having roommates in the best interest of our boy. For six years, I’ve kept good on that promise, and in doing so, our house has become the boy’s safe haven.

So I’ve broken a promise… sort of, but I really did find the best roommates possible. Roommates who cook dinner and do my laundry. Roommates who pick up my groceries and watch the boy when I need them to. They’re also roommates who plan on traveling the world and staying here in between vacations. Most importantly, the Naughty One approves, and is in fact in her glory with them here. Our roommates are named Grandma and Grandpa. My parents have given up their huge party house and are moving on to the next chapter in their lives, destination unknown. We are excited to be their home base when they need a break from traveling. They’re here for ten more days before heading out on a 30 day road trip.

Prior to the move-in, we hosted our annual pumpkin carving party. I’ve decided there are two types of food/party bloggers… those who pretend to have parties and blog about them, and those who actually do have parties, forget to take pictures at their parties, and when they actually remember to take pictures, the pictures turn out pretty crappy. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have a fabulous party with crappy pictures than vice-versa.

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead. I’ll be back this week to share photos of the baking orders I somehow found time to cram in during moving week.

cookies, Holidays, Parties, Recipes

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Written on October 25, 2011 by Kate

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Our pumpkin carving party is this Friday night. It’s one of my favorite celebrations that we have all year. Good friends, good food, martinis, desserts, and prizes… it doesn’t get much better than that. I have some grand party plans, but seeing how it’s only a few days away, we’ll see how much I can pull off.

I’m serving Mexican food, a crowd favorite around here. It also happens to be the easiest dinner for me to put together for fifty or more people. But as much as I love Mexican food, cocktails and dessert are still what it’s all about.

The boy and I have been on a cake push-up pop kick for awhile, so we decided to create Halloween cake push-up pops for the party. The boy came up with the idea of a push-up pop graveyard, so this is what I’ve come up with… now to make a bunch more and a graveyard!

The push-up containers can be purchased from a variety of vendors. They can be purchased in bulk, but if you’re not in the market for more than 100, go visit Cupkate’s Event Design online storefront and buy them from Kate. She has them in stock. The goal of these was to keep it simple. The biggest time investment was making a Duncan Hines chocolate cake, pretty simple. I am of the belief that some occasions require homemade buttercream, birthdays, showers, and Valentine’s Day to name a few. However, there are other occasions where taking the shortcut is your best bet. This is where the pre-made icing comes in. Milano cookies were used to make the tombstones. I had black royal icing on hand to pipe on the cookies. As an alternative, the Food Writers made by Wilton, or melted chocolate chips or candy wafers could also be used for the design. The little candy bones are also from Wilton. We buried them in the layers of chocolate. Finally, we topped them off with chocolate candy rocks that we found from the candy store.

Want some more Halloween Push-up Pop inspiration? See what Christi of Love From the Oven created. I love the candy corn colored push-up pop! I might need to make some of those too.

Cakes, Cupcakes, Desserts Galore, Holidays, Parties, push-up pops, Recipes

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Written on October 6, 2011 by Kate

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I’m constantly giving away my sweet creations to friends and family… Spread the love, spread the calories, that’s my mantra. I like the treats I give away to be wrapped up and looking cute… it’s all about presentation (I learned that from my mom!). Lucky for me, I’ve discovered a few graphic design bloggers, who create awesome printables and allow the rest of us download their artwork for free.

Here are some of my favorites for Halloween…