Christmas Workshop

Peppermint Cocoa

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, a cup of cocoa can warm you up at Christmastime.

5 small candy canes

1 cup powdered milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

Put candy canes in a zip-top plastic bag.
Have an adult help you crush the candy with a rolling pin or heavy object.
Mix all the ingredients together.
To make each serving, add 1/2 cup mix to 3/4 cup warm water.

Christmas Lemonade

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, this cold lemonade might taste good on a warm Christmas Day.

1 container of frozen lemonade (sweetened)

4 cups cranberry juice

4 cups cold water

orange slices (optional)

Mix lemonade, cranberry juice, and water together in a pitcher.
Cut the rind off the orange slices, and place an orange slice on each glass.

Dutch Spice Bread

On Christmas, children in the Netherlands like eating this sweet bread. On birthdays, parents hang pieces of it on string over the children’s heads. The children are blindfolded, and they try to reach up to get a bite!

By Kathleen Mulroy

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Wash your hands with soap and water.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (163ºC). Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with butter or shortening.
Put the corn syrup, brown sugar, and egg into a mixing bowl. Mix well.
In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately to the egg mixture. Mix well.
Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 80–90 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes; then remove it and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Wrap the bread in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let stand for 24 hours.
Slice the bread and serve it with butter or cream cheese.

Twelve Days until Christmas

You can make 12 tiny gifts and place them in an egg carton to be opened each day before Christmas, starting on December 14. You will need:

By D. A. Woodliff

1 egg carton

gift wrap and ribbon

old Christmas cards (optional)

glue

glitter

12 tiny gifts such as candy, a coin, a hair clip, a bouncy ball, an eraser, or jewelry

Decorate the top of the egg carton with gift wrap or by gluing pictures cut from old Christmas cards. On the inside of the egg carton, spread glue inside the egg cups and sprinkle on glitter. Let dry.
Choose 12 tiny gifts, wrap each one in paper, and place one in each cup of the egg carton. Close the lid and wrap the carton with a ribbon.

Illustrations by Thomas Child

At dinnertime, Dutch children don’t start eating until a parent says, “Eet smakelijk” (ate smah-KAY-lick).

That means, “Enjoy the meal!”