Muffin Tin Monday


Happy Muffin Tin Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We are still in a little bit of the Christmas spirit, so I made a happy healthy, somewhat Christmas-y muffin tin lunch! 


In this Muffin Tin Meal:
  • Cheese sandwiches in the shape of presents and kids.
  • Turkey on tree picks. 
  • Tangerine pieces. Vanilla yogurt with sprinkles
  • Red Apples int he shape of stars
  • Cheezits (our guilty pleasure)
Have you caught the "fever" yet? Do you want to join in all the fun? We would love to have you! All you have to do is serve a meal in a muffin tin to your kids (or yourself if you want), snap a photo, blog about it or upload it facebook or another photo sharing site like flickr (we even have a muffin tin meals flickr group!) TO read more about MTM, be sure to visit the FAQ page 

Have you been liking the "MckLinky/Linky Tools" instead or our old photo thumbnail Inlinz? Let me know! 

No Need For The Sunday Paper


Here are a bunch of delightful New Year's links I know you will love!

Hoosier Handmade: Gorgeous New Year's Eve Cupcakes Love the champagne frosting! Found via The Cupcake Blog

Family Fun: Make Confetti Balloons. Fun to make and pop, not so fun to clean up....But I know my kids would love something like this!

No Time For Flash Cards (guest post by Nurture Store): Make a Wishing Tree. I mentioned this last year and thought it was so wonderful that I would mention it again!  A great way to help kids anticipate and celebrate the New Year.

Paper Source{image credit above}: Make Your Own Fancy Paper Party Hats Looks easy and instructions in a downloadable PDF.

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Revelation 21:5-6


He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

May your spirit be renewed in this coming year.

Merry Christmas!


"And you will find him wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger..."

-our peg doll baby Jesus, resting in a mini cereal box filled with paper straw.

Muffin TIn Mom's Most Popular Holiday Posts

Inexpensive DIY Holiday Dinner Placecards



Just For Fun:

Remember that Dollar Store Table Scatter I blogger about earlier this month (also used for an early learning activity) ? They also make great accent pieces for dinner table place cards...

Muffin Tin Monday Holidays

Welcome to Muffin Tin Monday. Today marks the last week of the Holiday series. Next week there is no theme. Three weeks in a row was a lot, but I knew everyone would have fun with the Holidays. And as far as cute holiday food ideas for kids, you all have been providing some great inspiration!

 I decided to honor our family's beliefs with a Muffin Tin Meal centered on the birth of baby Jesus. So....


In this Christmas MTM: 
Crackers and cheese spelled out "Jesus" (see below)
Zucchini bread Angels with frosting halos for "Agels We Have Heard On High"
Green Salad: "O Come 'Lettuce' Adore Him"
Cereal: Manger Hay
Vanilla Yogurt with "J's" (upside down candy canes)
Apple Stars: O Little Star of Bethlehem

I wanted to make some sort of baby Jesus out of food, but then I would feel a little weird having the kids eat baby Jesus. ;)


What did you make? You know the drill. Doesn't have to stick with the theme, just has to be a Muffin Tin Meal. Add your link below along with a photo.



This linky list is now closed.

No Need For The Sunday Paper



This week's wonderful links:

The Decorated Cookie Cookie in a Mason Jar Snow Globes: I think I just fainted from an overload of cuteness! See her post for a tutorial.

Muses of Megret: Inspired by Martha, Meg and her kids make colorful button wreath ornaments. so fun!

Cute Food For Kids{photo credit above}: Um, these Santas made from babybel cheese are unbelievably awesome. Her tutorial makes it look so easy. must....try....it for Muffin Tin Monday.

ABCya! : These fun and educational free online games for K-5th grade are so fun! My first grader and kindergartener can't get enough! Make your own pizza, build your own snowman, decorate a tree, do a little holiday math - there's so much to see, do and explore!

Katherine Marie: I have been waiting all year for this! I love how Katherine Marie celebrates the Heart of Christmas? The Nativity with her kids. Click over for her photographic journey.


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A Baby Changes Everything...

Decorate A Plain Gift Bag With A Glittery Snowflake


Christmas is almost here and the time for gift wrapping and getting those presents under the tree is fast approaching. You can give a plain inexpensive gift bag an extra special touch with a few easy steps

Draw out your snowflake design on the bag using a pencil. 
Trace a circle around a drinking glass for the center and draw out straight lines from the center.
Slip a piece of wax paper in the gift bag to protect the other side.
Trace the pencil marks with tacky glue and sprinkle with glitter before it dries.

Add a thumb print reindeer gift tag for a sweet personal touch.


Do you personalize your gift wrap? I would love to hear about your ideas!

Holiday Baking and Giving With Smart and Final



Baking during the Holidays is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the season! I make sure to surprise my neighbors, friends and family with a few sweet treats. I was so pleased to find out that Smart & Final has an ample supply of Holiday baking goods in variety of sizes that meet every budget and every family size. Long thought of as the "smaller, faster, warehouse store" Smart & Final offers up traditional grocery store sizes along with their bulk offerings.

Another wonderful thing Smart & Final is doing this year is giving me the chance to give back to my community. I was able to choose someone whom I could bless (along with some sweet treats) with a few items to get their own holiday baking going. I made Peppermint Bark, Sugar, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Chip Cookies (from one of their awesome mixes of course-why mess with a good thing) as well as candy covered Oreos for the residents of Michaelle House. Michaelle House is a non-profit AIDS care home that's mission is to:
"provide warm and caring homes where men and women disabled by HIV / AIDS can receive comprehensive care and supportive services in order to rebuild their health and return to independent living, or where they can spend their last days in comfort and dignity."

Due to privacy issues, I am not able to share with you photos from Michaelle House.

Here is my peppermint bark in progress...





I add both brown and white chocolate for added interest
you'll need:
1 regular or bulk pkg. semi-sweet choco chips
1-2 pkg. white chocolate/almond bark
2-3 cups crushed peppermint candies
Use the extra whole candy pieces to make these awesome peppermint lollies


ready to go!


The kids helped out with the candy covered oreos:

From Smart & Final you'll need:
1 pkg oreos
1 pkg white chocolate bark


Happy Baking and Making!

This blog post is advertisement and promotion for Smart and Final. All opinions are still my own and do not reflect that of Smart & Final. A very special thank you to Smart & Final for gifting me with a $50 gift card to get everything I needed for less and to make the season a little brighter for those in need! Thank you S & F!

Why Yes, Yes I Am