My trifle bowl recipe roundup is now being featured at FoodieView Blog – Recipe Roundup: Trifles: No Trifling Matter.

Trifles are terrific to make with kids since you can use ingredients like store bought sponge cake, instant pudding and premade whipped cream. The layers of cake, pudding, cream and fruit are also fun to put together – and even more delicious to eat. Making a trifle would be a fun family cooking project for a birthday or Super Bowl party.

If you don’t have a large trifle bowl, you can use any type of glass (like a wide mouthed drinking glass or a sundae dish) to make mini-trifles.

So here’s to a happy and delicious New Year!

Disney continues the Little Mermaid franchise with The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea. Ariel and Eric must hide their precious daughter Melody’s mermaid heritage to protect her from Ursula’s revengeful sister Morgana. But when the lure of the sea proves too strong for Melody, they call upon King Triton and all land and sea creatures to help rescue their daughter.

For once in a Disney film, there’s no princess pining over a prince. Or any dead parents to make you feel sorry for the main character. So in this, The Little Mermaid II is perfect for the younger set who are in love with mermaids like my five-year-old daughter Lucie. She especially loves the songs and doesn’t care that the animation isn’t quite up to Disney standards.

Mermaid snacks and recipes

If you’re looking for some mermaid food to snack on while you watch the movie, check out MermaidMary.com from Lynn E. Hazen. She’s the author of Mermaid Mary Margaret, about a ten-year-old girl who accompanies her recently widowed grandmother on a cruise to the Greek Islands (for ages nine to 12).

Lynn has recipes for Blue Jello Mini Oceans, Octopus and Other Sea Creature Pretzels, and Mermaid Cookies, as well as mermaid activities and projects for teachers, parents and homeschoolers.

If you’re looking for more recipes, check out the The Mermaid Cookbook, which offers ones perfect for mermaid, ocean voyage, treasure island, and pirate parties for kids. (Or just for watching an Arial movie!)

This spiral bound cookbook offers an abundance of fun recipes including Paradise Pineapple Fruit Dip, Sea Foam Floats, Treasure Island Trail Mix, Goldfish Gorp, Mermaid Hair Salad, Sea Turtle Cookies, Little Luau Cakes, Water Fairy Ice Pops, Rainbow Fish Fudge, and more. Includes salads, fruit dishes, and main courses as well as snacks and desserts.

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As a mom, I think the Power Rangers TV shows and movies are pretty cheesy, but in a harmless, ‘60s sci-fi, Godzilla destroys the world sort of way. However, my kids gobble them up like so much sugary breakfast cereal.

At least their interest in Power Rangers got them involved in martial arts. Lucie and Nathan have taken karate lessons for over a year and a half and will be getting their brown belts next month. And did I mention that Lucie was a Power Ranger for Halloween?

So when I heard that there were two new Power Rangers movies, I had to get them for the kids for Christmas.  First, there’s Power Rangers: Jungle Fury – Into the Jungle (Vol. 1). The fury of an ancient evil is unleashed, calling for three new teenage heroes to rise up and defend the world. The valiant skills of the Order Of the Claw have kept a 10,000-year-old spirit completely caged…until now. Dai Shi has escaped and three new warriors must find and destroy him.

Then there’s Power Rangers: Jungle Fury – Way of the Master (Vol. 2). Our heroes team up against the evil Dai Shi forces once more. This time the Power Rangers are trained in the ways of the master by members of the Kung Fu clan. But can they learn new weapons, work closely as a team, and harness their jungle pride? (Oh my, the drama! I have to laugh.)

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If you were watching the the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! closely you may have seen Horton from Horton Hears a Who come to life as an enormous balloon. First a book, then a movie, then a balloon? Boy, that Horton gets around a lot!

Dr. Seuss’ classical tale, Horton Hears a Who, imparts to children and adults alike the meaning of compassion, forgiveness and faith. A Horton themed gift set would make great holiday present. You can give them the original, classic Dr. Suess book , and the DVD movie version with an all-star voice cast including Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett.

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Cole Family Christmas tells the story of a special Christmas that happened to author Hazel Cole Kendle and her family in  the coal mining town of Benham, Kentucky.  When an unexpected snowstorm delayed Santa’s arrival, gifts were given and received that no one could have predicted. More than 80 years later, the story not only continues to bring this family together, but is now inspiring families across the nation to write down their own memories this Christmas.

Jennifer Liu Bryan, who co-authored Cole Family Christmas with her grandmother-in-law, based the book on a cherished story passed down through generations of the Cole family. Originally intended as a brief work to be distributed at the family reunion, the project evolved into a nationally praised children’s book, and involved more than 20 family members.

For more information on the book, check out the Cole Family Christmas website.

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So many wonderful new Christmas books have across my desk in the past few weeks that I want to share with you! Here are two wonderful additions to your holiday book basket.

More fun from Toot & Puddle

Toot & Puddle: I’ll Be Home for Christmas – We already have Toot & Puddle: Let It Snow and Home for Christmas is a terrific holiday companion to it. For ages four to eight, Toot promises to be home for Christmas after visiting his aunt in Scotland. But ice storms and delayed flights threaten to spoil the holiday plans, until an unexpected fellow traveler with a handy sleigh (hint, hint) saves the day.

My daughter, Lucie thought that the pigs’ names were beyond hilarious since “toot” is a popular word for flatulence among the kindergarten set. I loved the illustrations and the sweet relationship between friends.

There is also a Toot & Puddle: I’ll Be Home for Christmas DVD and a Toot & Puddle: I’ll Be Home for Christmas Gift Set featuring a 7×7 hardcover edition of the book along with two plush pigs all in a red and green gift box.

Just ask Mrs. Claus

We have a few oddball Christmas traditions in our family. We tell the kids that Nana has Santa Claus’ phone number and all teachers and parents have his email address. We also tell our kids that any man who looks like Santa (white beard) is a spy for the real Santa, including Joel our postmaster, who recently grew his mostly white and grey beard out just before Christmas. (Coincidence? I think not!)

Well, if you want to get the real scoop on Santa and what’s going on up there at the North Pole, check out Mrs. Claus Explains It All: (At Last) Answers to the Questions Real Kids Ask! by Elsbeth Claus. (Oh, you didn’t know Mrs. Claus’ first name was Elsbeth? Neither did I.)

This book is marvelous! It explains everything from what Santa likes to eat (cookies and mac-n-cheese!) to if she’s worried that Santa’s too fat. (He works out one hour a day in his state-of-the-art underground gymnasium.) Mrs. Claus also answers questions about the elves and how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night.

Mrs. Claus Explains It All: (At Last) Answers to the Questions Real Kids Ask! is a hoot and will come in handy when your little elves ask all those questions about the fat man in the red suit. For all ages, even the kids who are too old to believe in Santa.

Many parents are troubled by the commercialization and secularization of Christmas. If you are looking for books that show the “reason for the season” check out these two offerings by Zonderkidz™, a division of Zondervan, a leader in Christian children’s communications.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth by Daley Mackall takes kids back to the origins of another Christmas tradition – the baking of Christmas cookies to share with friends, neighbors, and the less fortunate.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth shows kids that Christmas is about helping others and sharing the spirit of Christmas giving. The story is about a child named Jack, follows young Jack during a Christmas season during the Great Depression. Jack’s father has hopped a freight train West, hoping to find work, and wont’ be home for Christmas.

Jack is surprised to find his mom baking cookies to give away to needy people a church. Treats are a luxury his family has done without for  long time. While he helps his mother make cookies, she tells him the story of the Christmas cookie. He learns that the real gift of the Christmas cookie isn’t just sharing with a homeless man, but sharing the love of Jesus with him as well.

I liked this simple story because it explains to children the joy in giving during Christmas and how God gave us his only Son. It also shows that Christmas isn’t all about getting presents and stuffing your face, but helping others, too.

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