The 413 Mom

Family Friendly NYE Events as seen on Mass Appeal #newyearswithkids #celebrate #community

Looking for some local, affordable family fun for New Year's Eve? Check out this clip from today's Mass Appeal show-- we're highlighting all the local events taking place on the last day of 2018. #happynewyear

Where do you visit Santa? #believe #christmasmagic

Where do you usually visit Santa? We had the most magical visit last night with Santa at Mittineague Park in West Springfield. He's there Monday through Friday evenings from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30-4 p.m. and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Santa was amazing -- he knew exactly how old Faith was and was able to chit chat with her about her requested toy. Each family gets to visit with Santa in his house alone so there is no loud crowd distracting from the visit. It was perfection. 

Bring your own camera for a photo in Santa's beautifully decorated house. There is no charge to visit Santa but please leave a donation in the collection box to support the West Springfield Park and Recreation's Operation Santa campaign.  Our local park and rec departments bring so much to our communities -- don't forget to offer thanks. 

In the past we have visited with the head elf at Santa's Trains at Look Park or at the Holyoke Merry Go Round which are both lovely (and also free), but I really appreciate the quiet and privacy of visiting Santa's House at Mittineague. I think we have a new favorite spot. 

Santa's House is located right on Route 20 (1695 Westfield Street) in West Springfield. There is plenty of parking and a port-a-potty on site. Each family gets to visit with Santa in his house individually so there may be a small wait time on his front porch -- don't forget to bundle up.  There were four other families ahead of us in line and we waited about ten minutes for our turn. I hope you love Santa's House as much as we did.  #believe #christmasmagic

Simple Pumpkin Caramel Muffins (3 Ingredients!) #allergylife #cookingwithkids

 

 

 

There's nothing I love more than a quick, easy, and delicious recipe so I was psyched when Goetze's Candy invited me to participate in their 100th anniversary recipe contest featuring their renowned caramel cream candies. I wanted to create something that required minimal ingredients, was sweet but not too bad on the tooth decay scale, and of course it had to be allergy safe. Ta-da! Introducing my quick and easy Pumpkin Caramel Muffins.

 

You only need three simple ingredients: 

 

• One box of cake mix (I used white cake, yellow or spice cake mix also works well)

 

• One 15 ounce can of pumpkin

 

• 12 Goetze caramels

 

 

Instructions: 

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

 

• Fill a 12 count muffin tray with paper muffin liners. 

 

• In a large bowl combine cake mix and pumpkin. Mix well. 

 

 

• Fill each cupcake liner halfway with batter. 

 

• Add a Goetze caramel to each muffin cup. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Cover each caramel with additional batter. 

 

 

 

• Bake muffins for 25 minutes. 

 

 

• Enjoy!

These make a great weekend treat, are easy to transport to parties, and pack well in lunch boxes. They're not only perfect for Halloween, but are a simple treat throughout pumpkin season. If you pick up canned pumpkin and boxed cake mix when they're on sale (you can easily get each for around $1 or less) it's a bargain recipe as well. 

 

Goetze's Caramel Creams were first introduced in 1918 and they are just as delicious and relevant today as they were then. Still made in American and still nut free (shout out to #allergymoms everywhere). You can find a list of local stores that carry the candies here. Happy Pumpkin Season! 

Fourth of July upcycle crafts for the kids #celebrateamerica #makesomething

Happy Fourth of July! I have a few simple upcycle craft ideas to help you celebrate with the kiddos today -- the firework confetti poppers are so fun for the littles. And the big kids will love to make swirly Patriotic decorations from plastic cups. Learn all about it on this link from the Mass Appeal show. 

Easy Patriotic Wind Spinner Craft #craftingwithkids

Looking for a simple red, white, and blue craft to make with the kiddos? All you need to make a Patriotic Wind Spinner is:

• Paper plate
• Red paint, marker or crayon
• Blue construction paper

Check out this easy tutorial -- as seen on the Mass Appeal show on WWLP. You can find the link here. Happy Crafting! #unpluggedfun #craftingwithkids

"Force" spring with simple paper hyacinths #springfever #craftingwithkids

While we're still waiting for some spring blooms outside, I've got a super simple paper flower craft you can work on today to help springify the house inside. These paper hyacinths are perfect for Easter! All you need to make these beautiful blooms are construction paper, scissors, and a glue stick. Instructions can be found on this clip from Mass Appeal. Enjoy! 

St. Patrick's Day Crafts #craftingwithkids

I have two super simple, super fun St. Patrick's Day crafts to share with you today! You can check out all the fun on this clip from the Better Western Mass show on Western Mass News! 

Breakfast for Dinner (Shrove Tuesday) #krusteaz #shrovetuesday #allergylife

Who's eating pancakes for dinner tomorrow? Shrove Tuesday dinner is one of my favorite meals of the year. (Actually, we do breakfast for dinner like once a week all year long because my love for pancakes knows no bounds -- but Shrove Tuesday makes me feel like we're actually part of something special). 

Shrove Tuesday (in case you were wondering) is also known as Pancake Tuesday and is another way to celebrate Fat Tuesday -- in the traditional sense of using up the butter, fat and eggs in the kitchen before the fasting of Lent begins on the following day -- Ash Wednesday. 

As you know, egg allergy abounds in this household and although I do have a from scratch egg-free pancake recipe perfected -- I've lusted after the simplicity of a delicious, egg-free box mix for a long time now. And I've finally found it!  Kruteaz Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix is a-ma-zing! Just add water and mix. Delicious pancakes in seconds. A dream come true for this pancake-loving, allergy mama. (Full disclaimer: while there are no eggs listed as ingredients in the mix, the box does come with the disclaimer that it 'may contain' eggs, soy and tree nuts. If your child is affected by these disclaimers do not use). 

While my egg-free recipe is OK and I love that my girls can eat the pancakes, the Krusteaz mix actually tastes like the pancakes I want to eat. Rich, sweet and buttery. And so much quicker than scratch!

Krusteaz also makes a Protein Buttermilk Pancake Mix (egg free) and a Belgian Waffle Mix (requires water, oil and egg). So worth checking out for Shrove Tuesday or any day you want pancakes for breakfast...or breakfast for dinner! 

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

Be My Punny Valentine

Today on the Better Western Mass Show on Western Mass News I shared some simple ideas for classroom Valentines. Whether you've got a big kid, or a little, or whether you can share a snack or no food is allowed at school -- I hope you'll find a fun idea here to help spread the love this Valentine's Day. Check out the video link here. 

 

DIY holiday storage (elf on the bookshelf...literally)

Our holiday book collection is a a bit out of control (shocker) and every year I struggle with how to keep the books accessible and organized. Can't believe I didn't think of this until today so I'm sharing here in case this not-so-genius-solution-right-under-my-nose is helpful to someone else.

Gather together your out of control holiday collection (AKA that pile of Santa hats and reindeer antlers, holiday stuffed animals or those seasonal Little People or Plamobil sets). 

Find yourself a sturdy lidded box. Wrap the box in some lovely festive wrapping paper. 

Corral collection inside lovely wrapped box and voila: instant, festive storage! (Elf butt on top is optional). Now we can find our holiday faves whenever the mood strikes but they're not scattered all over the living room. And the book collection is ready to go back into storage when the holidays are over. Easy peasy! #raisingreaders #stayorganized #upcycle