November 2008: Share the fun!

[Ren]

The holidays are fast approaching and I know I could use a dose of inspiration! So let's share our favorite holiday rituals (whatever holiday(s) you celebrate) and some of your family's best tips for projects, outings or games.

Do you make handmade gifts?
How do you save money and make every holiday feel luxurious?
Share photos of your past celebrations and talk about what parts mean the most to you.


Unschoolers are really great at thinking outside the box and I'll bet there are some great ideas out there about celebrating in meaningful ways. Personally, I'd love to see recipes too.:)

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Final entries for the November Blog Carnival:


Pam Genant of "Meanderings of Gentle Gull" shares some lovely traditions including "wish bread". I was so inspired by this idea, I just
might make my own "wish bread" this year!
http://gentlegull.blogspot.com/2008/10/holiday-traditions.html

Melissa Gray of "Startling Lives" shares about their holiday season and all the rituals that make it special for their large family.
http://startlinglives.blogspot.com/2008/10/holiday-traditions.html
She also shares a very sunny, colorful day at the pumpkin patch where one of her children takes a developmental leap forward!
http://startlinglives.blogspot.com/2008/10/did-you-see-my-pumpkin-a...
And a very sad pumpkin carving tale:
http://startlinglives.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-carvings.html

Jean Dorsey at "Freckles filled with love" gives us some of the favorite traditions from October through the end of the year. There are snuggly pajamas and pumpkins, apple picking and family meals.
http://frecklesfilledwithlove.blogspot.com/2008/10/favorite-holiday...

Cid at "Cid's Zoo" walks us through several holidays full of friends and food and much warmth. There's even a sweet potato casserole recipe as a bonus!
http://cidszoo.blogspot.com/2008/10/holiday-yumminess.html

Faith Void over at "Bearthmama" shares how to celebrate when faced with financial challenges. She shares about grappling with their own version of "holiday" when family members have different needs.
http://faithvoid.blogspot.com/2008/10/tis-season.html

Nancy Machaj at "A Happy Childhood Lasts Forever" writes about what an authentic holiday means for her family. Lots of yummy handmade gifts are part of her joyful celebrations. Her photos are inspirational!
http://happychildhood.homeschooljournal.net/2008/11/01/home-for-the...


I have a couple of old posts to share, as we're so busy celebrating with friends right now there doesn't seem to be any time to write.:)
Last year as we were preparing for Halloween I wrote a late night stream-of-thought about kids growing up and the idea of celebrating this life every day:
http://radicalunschooling.blogspot.com/2007/10/random-late-night-st...

Then there was the usual Christmas hubub and a new tradition was born; Sushi on Christmas Eve: http://radicalunschooling.blogspot.com/2008/01/christmas-in-no-part...

Lisa at "Perpetual Joy" talks about coming to terms with Christmas after leaving the Christian faith and what makes this time of year special for them. A Christmas birthday is part of their family traditions (but not the birthday many people celebrate at Christmas.;))
http://perpetualjoy.blogspot.com/

[Frank Maier]

This doesn't have a lot to do with unschooling specifically, but it's a renewed family tradition. And it's a recipe! (wink!)

Rosie's Christmas Cookies

I dunno where my mom got this recipe originally but we made these cookies almost every Christmas when I was a kid. It's a very dry batter so we took turns stirring by hand because our 1950s Sunbeam home mixer couldn't handle it. Hard work! When our girls were little, I decided to make these cookies with them in order to pass on the tradition. Ronnie had to leave the house before we were half done; it was just too crazy messy for her! By the time we were finished, our entire (red) kitchen was thickly covered in white flour from our inept and childish efforts to stir the batter. The girls both had white hair which turned into library paste the minute we put them in the tub. What a hoot!

We didn't repeat the effort to make these cookies until a coupla years ago. What a difference a professional-strength mixer makes! No muss, no fuss, no exhausted arms, no vacuuming the kitchen using multiple vacuum bags, and no library paste in anyone's hair. Wow! Ronnie was ecstatic. Me, too.

Fair warning: This recipe produces the cookie equivalent of fruitcake. It's, shall we say, an acquired taste. I love 'em but not everyone does. Oh, and most importantly, this recipe requires MACE. Now you know what that stuff is for and have a reason to buy some next time you're at the store.

Then:

and now:

Rosie's Christmas Cookies

Ingredients:
3 eggs
4 cups sifted flour
2 cups candied fruit (chopped fine) (We kinda prefer using mostly sweet-type candied fruit rather than citron type)
1 cup nuts (chopped fine – I use my mouli grater)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp clove
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp mace (Yep! There it is! Mace. Cool, huh?)
1-1/2 cups sugar, plus some for dredging (killer white - These are cookies, not health food!)
Cream sugar and eggs. Add everything else. Use your sturdy mixer with a dough hook or have a coupla strong high school boys handy to hand mix. Roll into logs and refrigerate for an hour. Slice thin and dredge in sugar. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 350 F.

In theory, you're supposed to store them in a closed jar with sliced apple for a coupla days to soften 'em up. I've never done that. We eat 'em fresh from the oven.

Merry Christmas!

[Cid]

I forgot to mention....there's a recipe :)

[Ren]

Things have been really busy and crazy around here so if I missed any blogposts, please email me a link. I can always add them! Enjoy the November Carnival everyone.:) Thanks for participating.

[lisa]

you all are such an inspiration!
i finally created a blog, and hope to be ready to submit for the next blog carnival!

[Ren]

Lisa,
No pressure, but if you feel up to blogging on the topic you can still send me a link. I can edit the above at any time and I'm always open to adding posts.:) So don't hold back girl!

[Bekah]

Ren,
I feel bad because I haven't submitted blogs for the past two carnivals and I was using it as motivation to get my feet wet with blogging. I think I am going to try to write two posts in the next weeks about your past topics...tribe and traditions..and go ahead and give you the links if you think you can still add them. If not no biggie..I need to try to do this anyway. :)
Motivate...motivate...
How do you guys do it...your blogs are so gorgeous...

[Ren]

haha!! You should go back to the beginning of MY first blog. Booorrrrinnnnggg. No pics or anything.:)
I would love to add posts after the fact. I think it's a great way to archive certain topics and use as a reference for people that might have questions. It's fun to see what other unschoolers are up to anyway.
So please submit anything you'd like.

Remember, all of this comparing to each other is leftover SCHOOL think!! icky-poo. Let it GO.

[Frank Maier]

There are people like Ren who have gorgeous blogs. There are people like Sandra (Dodd) who have blogs/websites chock-full of useful stuff. And then there are those of us who have mere pedestrian blogs. Mine is mostly just postings from the sewage pit of my subconscious and places behind and beyond.

Make yours what you want it to be.

[Kimzyn]

Bummer, I missed this one! I look forward to everyone's tips though. I'm in high gear hand made mode here.

[lisa]

ren, i tried to send you a private message but i couldn't figure it out. then i tried to invite you as my friend, so i could send you a message, but i don't know if that worked!
so here is my blog link
http://perpetualjoy.blogspot.com/

if its too late, thats fine. i had a fun time writing it this morning, even if it was a bit rushed. :P

[Monica Manzano]

we did sushi last Christmas. I ordered a huge platter from heb. monica

[Ren]

Hey Lisa,

I got your link just fine and it's already been added! Thanks for playing.:)

Monica,
You should read my second entry above...one of them is about our new Sushi on Christmas Eve tradition.:) I do love Sushi!