Game on!

Here are nine of my family's favorite games to play on the restful evenings leading up to Christmas.

1. Apples to Apples - This is great if you're looking for a fun game that doesn't take a lot of thinking or concentration. We have the "Bible edition" as well as the original, although we usually end up playing the original because it gives more options of answer choices.
2. Jenga - My parents surprised us with a Jenga game last night (it's actually a knock-off of Jenga, but that doesn't matter). I was amazed at how much intense focus it took! The air was tense, and we'd all breathe out after someone's turn was over because we were so happy to see our little precarious tower still standing.
3. Dreidel - Okay, so the Festival of Lights is over, but we still have fun spinning for Bits-O-Honey.
4. Spoons - Have you played Spoons? It's fast, furious, and occasionally dangerous, especially when we play it with our entire family, including the cousins. Luckily, no one has broken any bones during it, yet.
5. Balderdash - It's all about your wonderful imagination. I love it.
6. Atari Flashback - Mom and Dad gave us this for Christmas a few years ago, and the boys enjoy plugging it into the TV and playing River Rage and other "old school" games like that.
7. My Father Owns a Grocery Store - What can I say? It's classic.
8. Boggle - My dad owns at this game.
9. Scrabble - Oh, my dad seriously owns at this game. We hardly ever play it with him because he figures out 8-letter words that spread all across the triple-letter scores. "Ooooh, looks like I got a 367 bonus..."

Eight is great.

While I was thinking about what to post for the eighth day of Kara's challenge, I remembered our eight little musical marchers -- Santa and his band of seven percussionists have been happily ringing in the holidays at our house for as long as I can remember. That would be right, because my mom and dad bought them on sale right after my older brother's first Christmas!

That year doesn't seem too long ago, but surprisingly, when I Googled our treasured traditional trinkets, I found out they are selling for pretty big bucks on eBay and Etsy. They are now considered antiques, so I'm sure Matt will be glad to know he is that old. Pretty soon I can tease him about being a caveman.

The band members typically perch in branches all around our Christmas tree, but this year, we have set them up above our fireplace. We turn them on, and they serenade us with everything from "Jingle Bells" to "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing." The bells and lights always make us feel jolly until the marchers decide to march right off the mantle. Still, I wouldn't trade them for anything, not even big bucks on the Internet.

Seven foods that taste like Christmas break

1. Angel Graham Bar Cookies - These tasty treats are best when made and served by your grandmother.
2. Summer Sausage - What says Christmas break like summer sausage? It is the thing for any holiday lunch.
3. Ritz Crackers - They're circular, buttery, and oh-so-out-of-the-ordinary. (We're saltine people typically.) You'll want these to pair with No. 2.
4. Block Cheese - Well, okay, these say Christmas break, too. Together, sausage, crackers, and cheese are the perfect trio of yuletide lunchtime goodness.
5. Munchos - We only have these crispy, melt-in-your-mouth chips on special occasions, like Christmas Break Lunch.
6. Coffee - I will say it again. Coffee.
7. Candy Canes - It wouldn't be Christmas break without a pail of candy canes sitting in the middle of the coffee table. Go ahead, take one. Taste the season.

That's a wrap.

We're halfway through Warbler Christmas. Here are six ways to creatively giftwrap all those lovely little presents you bought well in advance of crunch time. Okay, I seriously have not tried any of them this year -- I went the easy way and used store-bought paper and store-bought string. But thank you family and friends (Kara, number 2) for the ideas!

1. Dig out the Sunday Funnies. Tickle the funny-bone of your family comedian by wrapping his Christmas gifts in the comics page.
2. Find a new use for that despicable pattern. Delight your favorite seamstress by hiding her presents in a sewing pattern you know you'll never use.
3. Get lost in the fun of wrapping with mapping. Keep a cartography-enthusiast on track by exchanging your everyday giftwrap for a map you no longer need.
4. Spread good tidings with a gift swathed in newsprint. Your hands might get inky, but surprise a current event monster or hobby journalist by using newspaper to wrap her gift.
5. Make a sweet gift more magical with tulle. I always wondered what to do with those lovely scraps of tulle sitting in my room -- they look so fairy-like. Why not use it instead of humdrum paper to add a dash of pixie-dust to your Christmas presents?
6. Pull out your stickers and markers for a giftwrap that screams creativity. And pulling out your inner child -- or your little cousins -- too can really help turn plain brown or white paper into a work of art. Decorate the dullness, use it to wrap a gift, and present the finished product to somebody special. If you're like me and are clearly not an artist, make sure to use it on your mom, because she loves everything you do.

FIVE GOLDEN RINGS!

Isn't that everybody's favorite part of the song?

So celebrate this fifth day of Kara's Christmas Challenge by eating a few golden rings of your own -- glazed doughnuts! I recommend picking up some original Krispy Kremes, but I suppose if you're one of those handy kitchen types who's not afraid of a frying vat, you could make your own.

On second thought, you could just buy two Krispy Kremes and use them for a doughnut burger. Google it if you have any questions.

Fantastic Four

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! With a nod to the fourth day of Kara's blogging challenge, here are four things that reminded me of the season today.

1. Icicles - The extreme weather we have been having has left strings of ice glimmering everywhere you look. Our trash bin's lid now resembles a work of art. Take that, LED lights.
2. Snickerdoodles - I am not a chef; I am not a cook; I am not a baker. I'll put it to you this way: I do not like kitchens. I do not like food getting on my hands. I do not like messing with little apparatuses such as candy thermometers or (shoot me now) mixers. To this day, I will not use one of those giant connected-bowl-type mixers. They look like they could take off a hand or two, or a small child's head. If I use anything that whirs, I use a hand-mixer, and I keep it on power level one when at all possible. But in honor of my brother's Christmas break, and in trying to look like a real live homeschool blogger yesterday and today, I decided to bake cookies. And not ones from a cake mix. I made Snickerdoodles using a recipe from my little brother's coveted 1001 Cookies book. It took me about two times longer than the suggested prep time, but the (hand) mixer did not kill me, and the cookies turned out almost normal. They were quite puffy, which we attributed to my mistake of using baking powder instead of soda. However, Master Chef Robert checked over the instructions again and affirmed that I was correct in using powder; that is indeed what The Book had called for. Still, I don't really see the point of spending that much time making something that is only going to make me fat.
3. Friends - I got to see two good, old friends today -- and three good, old friends if you count my brother. The coming-home-from-school carpool is always a nice group to meet up with again.
4. Sweatpants - Okay, sweatpants go seriously wonderfully with snow days, and they definitely remind me of Christmastime. I guess I am breaking from my real live homeschool blogger streak right now, but you really should get a pair of sweatpants if you don't already have one. Wearing them is enough to make you sing fa-la-la-la-la.

Deck the halls with origami!

What are you supposed to do when the roads are too icy to drive on and all your finals are studied for and over with?

Break out your mad paper-folding skillz, that's what.

In honor of the third day of Christmas Quest at the Warbler's Nest, here are three simple origami models that are bursting with irresistible holiday spirit. You can glue them to handmade cards for some inexpensive yet festive embellishments, or you can tape some shiny red ribbon to the backs for a few new decorations for your Christmas tree. All of them are suitable for keeping a handful of wired kids entertained, too.

• Origami Candy Canes - These are simple and fun. All you need is a square piece of standard origami paper (white on one side and colored on the other) and the ability to neatly "roll" paper in one direction. Make sure you do not confuse steps four and five with the more complicated "fan" fold! This is easy holiday origami at its finest, folks. However, I do recommend curling the end with a pencil if you would like a more fluid crook shape.

• Simple Santa - This little guy isn't the fanciest St. Nick you could make, but he'll do for a quick and easy boredom blaster as well as for an adorable addition to your holiday decor. Try giving him wiggle eyes for added sweetness. You could paste the back flaps and add some string for an ornament to hang, or you can just leave him be and use him as a whatchamacallit. You know -- a thing to sit out and collect dust or to put on your table for people to admire. If you're into stuff like big holiday get-togethers, you could write guests' names on the coats and put little Santas out at every place to let everybody know where to sit. I don't know what those things are called. Dear Mr. Claus, you are again a whatchamacallit, but at least you can stand up on your own.

• Easy Origami Christmas Tree - There are several beginner-level origami Christmas tree models out there, but this Model of the Month by David Petty is the cutest I have seen. Be careful on step five, however; you may need to "work with it" to get the stump looking the way you want. You will probably also want to glue the back of your final model to hold it nicely together, especially if you plan to use it as an ornament. By the way, if you make this design with children, make sure you have plenty of markers, sequins, glue, and additional paper available. You might have been content with a simple paper star on the top, but  they will inevitably be way more creative. For an extra-special flair, you can fold this from patterned origami paper, such as imitation washi.