How to Make Simple Cinnamon Ornaments on a Budget

Homemade gifts are the best, especially when they come from the littlest members of the family. 

Here’s a great recipe for cinnamon ornaments to make with your little ones:

Mix 1 ½ cups of applesauce with 2 envelopes of Jell-o and let it sit for about 4 minutes.  Then place the mixture in a pot and simmer for a few minutes.  Remove from the stove.

To the warmed applesauce and Jell-o concoction add ½ cup of cornstarch, 2 ounces of cinnamon and 6 tablespoons of ground cloves.  Knead the ingredients together, seal in plastic wrap and then set aside for 10 minutes.

Take the cinnamon ornament dough out of the plastic and roll it out onto a flat surface.  Cut the dough with decorative holiday cookie cutters and poke holes in the tops of each one for adding ribbon or string later.

Let the ornaments sit out on the counter for 2 to 3 days.  Turn them everyday, then add ribbon and deliver your homemade cinnamon ornaments to family and friends!

Kid's Halloween Party Ideas

I think I love Halloween just as much as the kids in my family.  It’s by far my favorite “holiday.” So, I have come up with some spooky ideas for your next kid's Halloween party!

Every Halloween party should consist of the basics:  costumes, candy, cupcakes, bobbing for apples, spooky music and scary stories.  I’ll be focusing on the scary story aspect of the party.

After the distribution of candy, cupcakes and apples, sit the kids down in a candlelit room and put on a CD of eerie tunes.  Proceed to tell a haunted tale about a mad scientist who created creepy concoctions in his laboratory. 

Have dad walk in wearing a lab coat, glasses and a crazy wig. Tell a tale about a mishap at the lab that left bags of various body parts behind. 

Have the mad scientist pass the bags around so that the kids may touch what is inside: 

Use grapes as eyeballs. 

Make some Jell-o and tell the kids it’s a slimy brain.

Buy gummy worms and let the kids believe they are intestines.

Crush up some uncooked pasta noodles and tell the kids that it’s a bag of toenails.

Then turn up the lights and have the children write down what they thought the mystery items really were and then award the winner with some candy, of course!

A Sport's Themed Boy's Birthday Party

Enough with those indoor bouncy gyms and glamour spas!  Personally, I think home-based kid’s birthday parties are the best! 

And here is a fantastic, yet economical, plan for a boy’s sports themed birthday party:

Use what you have, I always say!  And if you have boys you most likely have the following items:  basketball net, soccer goal, golf clubs, tee ball, etc.

Set up the above sports stations around your yard and have the boys compete at each event.  Give them approximately ten tries at every sport and award the winners with ribbons.  Be sure to present all of your guests with ribbons just for participating!

You can also set up an obstacle course and time each guest at your sports themed party.  Or conduct a long jump event, measuring how far your guests can leap.  A shot put is another great idea and is easy to conduct using just a large softball.

Serve sports themed food at your sports themed birthday party like hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and ice cream. 

Give each guest a wiffle ball and bat from a dollar store for a fun and thrifty sports themed birthday party favor!

Here is another fun and economical idea for a girl's birthday party:
http://mybudgetland.blogspot.com/2011/07/girls-birthday-party-themes-cake.html