Preparing your space for the holiday season
Hallowe’en lasts for one night, but the winter holiday season seems to encompass two full months. So, now that All Hallows Eve is a whole two weeks behind us, it must be time to start decorating your home-away-from-home for whatever winter holiday you celebrate.
Your room or apartment is too small for a Christmas tree, you say? You can create a colourful, pre-decorated, mini evergreen out of an old magazine! To do so, fold each page – including the front and back covers – diagonally, bringing the top of the page into the centre fold. Fold the page diagonally one more time, leaving a triangle at the bottom of the page. To finish, fold this triangle up to create a flat bottom. When you’ve done this to the entire magazine, use tape or glue to attach the front and back covers, and voila! A mini Christmas tree (or Hannukah plant, if you’d rather).
Your landlord or residence don won’t let you light the candles on your menorah? Don’t fret! You can make a non-flammable substitute out of toilet paper rolls, pretty wrapping paper, and yellow construction paper. Cover the toilet paper rolls with the wrapping paper, and use the construction paper to cut out nine paper “flames” to attach to the “candles.” If you don’t trust your skills with scissors, you can paint clothes pins (which you can buy by the hundreds at the dollar store) yellow to act as your menorah flames.
It’s not snowing yet, so it doesn’t “feel” like the holidays? For a quick, easy, and non-denominational decoration, get your nostalgia fix and cut some snowflakes out of paper. If you don’t remember this grade-school craft staple, here’s a quick recap: fold a regular piece of printer paper in half twice. Then, fold the square you’ve made diagonally to make a triangle. You can fold diagonally one more time, or you can just start chopping away. When you’re done creating your one-of-a-kind pieces of art, you can string them together and hang them across your window or from your ceiling.
You’re less into crafts and more into cookies? This sugar cookie recipe is foolproof, and the result can easily be decorated as a dreidel or a Christmas tree. There’s no better way to get in the holiday spirit than eating your weight in sugar cookies.
You’ll need:
1 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Icing or sugar for topping
Mix butter and sugar in a large bowl, combining completely, for about two minutes. Add in egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until completely combined. Roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper, then chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Cut dough into desired shapes and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 12 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before eating.