New Year's Eve
31 December

  

Hallmark has some free ecards for New Year at:
www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet

If you're hosting a party for adults or family with older kids, the old parlour game "Who is it?" always goes down well.  If you remember the sports quiz "They Think It's All Over", this is the last game that was played in every episode of the show.  You can buy (quite expensive) card games to play this, or you can just print off the following 6 pages, cut out each of the names, pop them all in a box or bag and play a more traditional version of the game!

Who is it?1 
Who is it?2 
Who is it?3 
Who is it?4 
Who is it?5 
Who is it?6
 
The easiest way to play is to divide your guests into two teams. One of the players takes names out of the box one at a time and describes, to the rest of his team, the person whose name appears.  They can use words, catch phrases or even charades to get the meaning across as quickly as possible.  Keep going for one minute and, at the end of the minute, the team keeps all the names they guessed correctly.  Those that they couldn't guess are returned to the box.  If the reader doesn't think he can describe a name he can "pass" and return it to the box, but he can only pass twice on his turn.  Repeat for the opposing team.  Make sure each member of both teams has a turn to be the reader.  Carry on playing until you run out of names or enthusiasm.  The team that guesses the most names wins.

Here's a lovely idea for frazzled parents on New Year's Eve, it's a Pyjama Party and sleepover which instantly solves the problem of guests not being able to drink and drive.  The details are to be found at: http://home.ivillage.com/holiday/0,,8jmf72x5-2,00.html
The author of this article is not really thinking of including kids, but if you got together with just a few families you get on well with and adapted it a bit, it could be great fun!

An interesting activity for kids would be to give each of them a smallish candle and ask them to push a pin through it.  Apparently the phrase "you could hear a pin drop" comes from the tradition of pushing  a pin through a candle, which when burned down, dropped out at midnight.  See whose pin drops out closest to the time (and see if you can hear it) - this might be one way of getting a quiet moment! 

There were some great ideas in an American magazine called "Family Fun".  These included getting the kids to make big cardboard placards with each of the numbers 1-10 on them to hold up one after the other at the countdown until midnight.  Just before the countdown, play Hunt the Clock  (if the clock has a nice loud tick it adds a whole new dimension to the game).  You can make your own New Year's Balloons by filling balloons with homemade confetti (colored paper cut out with a hole punch) before blowing them up and tying them.  These can then be burst at midnight for a colourful explosion of confetti.  The last idea was a very clever one.  Encourage the kids to write a New Year's resolution on a piece of paper, then put each of these into the appropriate Christmas stocking before storing them.  This way they will not be seen again until almost 12 months have gone by, plus they will be something else to enjoy in the run up to Christmas.

Play End of the Year Charades by compiling a list of important events, songs, movies or books from 2008 and getting your guests to act them out.  Most of the newspapers have already started printing such lists, so you shouldn't be short of ideas.

When the time comes to all link hands and sing "Auld Lang Syne" be prepared by printing off the lyrics from this website:  http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_syne.htm
There is even an MP3 version of the song sung by Kenneth McKellar - now there's a blast from the past!

After all the midnight celebrations, make sure you have someone tall, dark and handsome to "First Foot" your house (by going out and coming in again!)  According to Scottish Hogmanay tradition, your first visitor of the year will determine how lucky you will be.  The most luck is brought by a tall, dark handsome man bringing a gift of either a loaf of bread or a lump of coal.  (That way you can be sure of being warm and well fed throughout the New Year).   

Christmas
25 December

Download your own FREE desktop Christmas tree to sit on your screen and sparkle festively!
http://www.get-xmas.com/

Take a digital photo of your child's face and this site will turn it into an animated elf.  
Alternatively you can select a random face instead.  You can then send it  to a friend, for whom the elf will do a little dance! 
http://www.elfyourself.com/ 

For a quick nostalgia fix to get you in a Christmassy mood click on this link for the poem
"The Night Before Christmas"
www.christmas-tree.com/stories/nightbeforechristmas.html

There's a lovely spoof version here:  
Politically Correct Christmas Story

There are dozens of free e-cards to send to your friends and workmates at Hallmark.  Simply click on your choice of card and follow the instructions:
www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/

Make gorgeous origami decorations using the templates or by watching the animated instructions on:
origami-club.com


http://origami-club.com/en/

If you need to make any last minute Christmas cards, or your children have school projects to do over 
the holidays, this website is just perfect:
www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/static/cs/uk/11/clipart/home.html
Those lovely people at Dorling Kindersley have decided to make their beautiful photographic images available
 to all as clipart for home or school use.  
The images are filed in categories (Christmas, history, animals etc),  so you can find the image you need and copy it.  Homework will be looking very professional from now on!

Thanksgiving
27 November

This is a lovely excuse for a celebration, but as it is a time for families to come together, I have no suggestions that would not include the kids.  So, I'll just direct you to the Tinies and Tikes Celebrate pages where you should be able to find more than you need.

Bonfire Night
5 November

If you're celebrating Bonfire Night at home, don't forget to stock up with sausages, baking potatoes, 
soup and marshmallows to toast on sticks - it wouldn't be a true Bonfire Party without those!  

Recipes

If you want to follow the American example for camp fire parties you could try 'Smores.  They get 
their name from the fact that everyone always wants some more!

You'll need:
A packet of Digestive biscuits
One large bar of chocolate
A large pack of old fashioned marshmallows (not the new fluffy kind)
Some kebab sticks

All you do is melt the marshmallows on a kebab stick in the fire, then sandwich them between 2 Digestive
biscuits.  If you squeeze a square of chocolate in there too, it melts and goes a bit squishy as well.  
Can't imagine why everyone always wants more! 

You can make easy Chocolate Sparklers by dipping chocolate finger biscuits into warm water for a second and then into a dish of and hundreds and thousands. The kids can help make them biscuits and they're bound to be a success!

For some more elaborate recipe ideas try:
www.hookerycookery.com/bfire-menu.htm
   and:
www.fireworks.co.uk/party/recipes.html

Both of these have a recipe for Parkins, which are synonymous with Bonfire Night in the North of 
England.  They're full of oats and Golden Syrup, so they're always well-received.  The second link also
 has a recipe for Cointreau Hot Chocolate, which should ensure the grown ups have as much fun as
the kids! 

BBC Good Food has lots of yummy recipes:  www.bbcgoodfood.com

There is also a nice simple Bonfire Warmer Soup recipe to be found here:
www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recipebook
You should have most of the ingredients in your cupboards.

For filling vegetarian jacket potatoes try the recipe at:
www.vegsoc.org/cordonvert/recipes

Here are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Bonfire Night:
www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/bonfire-night

Just to be on the safe side, you may wish to download a copy of the Fireworks Safety Code:
www.berr.gov.uk/fireworks

Halloween
31 October

Just like the Hindus, the Celts used to celebrate their new year at the end of October.  They believed that 
at the beginning of this season of long dark nights the spirits of the dead would return to earth, so they lit 
bonfires to frighten them away.  Once Christianity came to Britain, the 1st of November became "All Saints" 
or "All Hallows Day", (Hallow is an old word for saint) so the last night of October was the eve of All Hallows 
or Hallowe'en.  This was a time to remember all the Christians who had died for their faith.

Adult Parties

Ideas for an adults only Hallowe'en party can be found at ivillage.com

There are some good adult halloween party games at partygameideas.com/halloween-games-adults
The site is very American, but the ideas are all perfectly adaptable.

There also some great ideas for organising a last minute party on howstuffworks.com

My family's favourite Halloween Party Game is the "Feely Game".  It needs a small amount of preparation, 
but is well worth the effort.  You need to prepare a number of items and place them on a table either hidden
 inside shoe boxes (with a hand hole cut in the side) or simply under separate tea towels.  All the party 
guests stand outside the door and are brought into the (darkened) room one-by-one to feel the items 
on the table and guess what they could be.  The most effective items are as follows:

2 hard boiled and shelled eggs (these will feel like eyeballs).
1 rubber glove (preferably the thin transparent kind) filled with flour and secured at the arm end with a 
rubber band.  
(This feels remarkably like a human hand, if you put enough flour inside.)
1 old wig (feels horrible in the dark)
plate of cold cooked spaghetti
a piece of pumpkin cut into the shape of an ear
1 raw sausage (you'll obviously need to wash your hands after this.)

There are lots of other things that you can do.  It's most fun to pretend people are feeling various body 
parts - especially as it's Halloween.  The best way to play this game is by encouraging the most hysterical 
guest to play first.  Their shrieks only add to the tension felt by those waiting outside the door!  

Another good game is Nelson's Eye.  

Only one person needs to be the "victim" as everyone else gets to watch.  It is probably best to choose
the person with the strongest stomach!  The person who has been nominated / who's volunteered 
waits outside the door while the scene is set.  One person is going to be Nelson and another is the story's 
narrator.  The rest are simply the audience.  

The person who is going to be Nelson needs to be dressed appropriately in a heavy jacket.  
He needs to put only one arm into the jacket and have the other sleeve hanging empty.  
A pirate patch is also a vital prop.  
Your last prop is a soft boiled egg with the top cut off.

The volunteer needs to be blind folded before coming into the room.  Stand the volunteer in front of "Nelson"
and tell them that you are going to introduce them to Admiral Horatio Nelson.  
Ask them to shake Nelson's left hand.  
Explain that he cannot shake hands with his right hand because he lost that arm in battle, then let the 
volunteer feel the empty sleeve.  
Tell the volunteer how brave Nelson was and how he won the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, 
directing the fighting from his famous ship "The Victory".  Tell how Nelson had not only lost his arm, 
but also his right eye in another battle, then let the volunteer feel the eye patch on Nelson's face.  
Explain that he has to wear an eye patch to cover his lost eye because it is so hideous. Now tell the 
audience that Nelson is going to show them what his face looks like without the patch, but the volunteer 
must not look.  
(At which point all the other guests must scream horribly!)  

Now tell the volunteer that although they can't see Nelson's missing eye, you are going to let them feel it instead.  
At this point you guide the volunteer's finger to the soft boiled egg and poke it into it.  The audience can then 
enjoy the volunteer's reaction!

Invitations and Cards

I've created some pages of ideas for Halloween cards and party invitations.  It's always difficult to print 
straight onto card, so I suggest you print off the page you want, cut out the relevant picture and glue it to 
an A5 card folded in half.  You can then write your own message inside.
Halloween page 1
Halloween page 2
Halloween page 3
Halloween page 4

Pumpkin Carving

There is a very good tutorial to be found at Halloween Pumpkins
They have also generously included a number of free templates like the one below.

Copyright www.halloweenpumpkins.be

Recipes

As usual the BBC has come up with the best recipes, this time from their Good Food magazine website.  You'll find spooky spider cakes and that essential pumpkin pie recipe:  www.bbcgoodfood.com

There are also some good recipes, including a very simple Gingerbread Skeletons & Ghosts one at the baking goods company Supercook's website: www.supercook.co.uk/find-recipe-ideas/

The Pond Water Jelly recipe on the same site is so impressive it's almost too good for kids!
www.supercook.co.uk/find-recipe-ideas/pond-water-jelly-recipe

Wanda's Halloween Cookbook doesn't take itself too seriously and it has some really lovely recipes for 
Pumpkin Pie and easy Marshmallow Ghosts. 

The BBC website has lots of great recipe ideas for Halloween celebrations, the chocolate brownie one looks
particularly delicious!  bbc.co.uk/food

If your kids are a bit worried about ghosts you'll find out everything you need to prove they're not real at:
science.howstuffworks.com

 

Diwali  - Festival Of Lights  
21 October

Diwali celebrates the Hindu New Year.  In preparation for this, people spring clean their homes and open 
windows to let in Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.  To light the goddess' way, little lamps are lit all over the 
house.  This is a real family party time, as delicious food is prepared and fireworks are set off to ward off 
evil spirits - a bit like our Halloween.  On the last day of Diwali, sisters cook for their brothers, who give 
them presents in return.

There is a nice printable picture of the goddess Lakshmi for the kids to colour here:
http://www.balagokulam.org/images/la-lakshmi.jpg

There is a really yummy Diwali pudding recipe at this BBC webpage:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bananaandsemolinashe_73018.shtml

Lammas  - 
Celtic Festival of the First Fruits & the Ripening Corn.  
1 August.

"Lammas" is a Saxon word meaning "loaf festival" as it celebrated the harvesting of the first corn for 
baking into bread.  It was traditionally a time when communities would gather together to celebrate their 
harvest with lots of feasting and drinking.  It was also one of the four ancient Celtic Fire Festivals.

If you'd like to celebrate Lammas, the nicest way to do it would be to invite friends and family for a picnic 
and bonfire.  The food should reflect the season and feature lots of fresh local fruits and, of course, the 
all-important bread.  (You could prepare for the picnic by picking your own fruit at somewhere like 
Sharnfold Farm.)  If you want to be really authentic, you will need to find a genuine corn dolly to take pride
 of place on the table (or picnic rug) where she can represent the spirit of the harvest.  Truly pagan types 
can then keep her until the Spring, when they should plant her in the garden to ensure a bountiful supply 
of good things next year.

Keep an eye on the weather over the next few days, too.  There is an old country saying:  
"If the first week of August be warm, then the winter will be white and long".

Midsummer's Day
24 June

If you would like to celebrate Midsummer, you could have a picnic of traditional summer foods,
such as gooseberry fool, strawberries and raspberries.  You could even bake some little round
biscuits or cakes and decorate them with smiley sun faces.  Then you might like to either dress
up as fairies and pixies or hunt in your garden to see if you can find any hiding there on this 
special day.  In the evening you could have a bonfire to dance around, just like our ancestors did. 

If you like the fairy hunt idea, I've made a sheet of printable fairies for you to cut out and hide.  
To do this click here.

You could then go back to the Mums Organize page and also print off the beautiful fairy gazebo
from the link there.  Again, you simply print this off, cut it out and glue it together.  Once made, 
it can be a fairy resting place.  This was originally put it for Tooth Fairies, but it works just as well 
for midsummer fairies!

Easter
21-24 March

  

I've created some printable sheets for an Easter Egg Hunt Challenge for the kids on the Tikes and
Tinies Celebrate pages, this is one to do indoors if the weather is unreliable.

For some helpful hints on how to stage an Easter Egg Hunt  outdoors for your kids try:
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/easter/egghunt_backyard.html

If you're brave enough to consider an Easter Party (or just want to have some fun with the kids), 
there are lots of ideas for games and activities at:
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/easter/party.html

The Top 10 Easter Recipes (according to UKTV) can be found at:
http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/Food.homepage/sid/5894

If you fancy making craft items yourself (or with the kids), these really simple Jelly Bean Pots would 
make great, cheap centre-pieces for a table or little Easter gifts:
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/15182.xml&catref=cat1050033

There are some wonderful free downloadable activities for your kids at the American Family Fun 
magazine website.  Choose from:

A caterpillar to make with lots of ideas for things to do in the Springtime attached to his body:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/0306_Activity_Bughead_Template.pdf

A lovely Easter picture to colour in before hunting for all the hidden eggs:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/0306_Egghunt_Template.pdf

A cute Easter basket to make and keep all your tiny chocolate eggs in:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/0306_Easter_Basket_Template.pdf

Some Easter themed colour pictures to use when making your own cards or just as decorations:
http://a.familyfun.go.com/Resources/global/printables/0306_Spring-stickers.pdf


St Patrick's Day
17 March

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and the 17 March is his national day.  
St Patrick was captured by pirates when he was a boy and spent six years as a slave before 
he was able to escape.  He trained as a missionary and went to Ireland to convert the Irish 
to Christianity.  Ireland is famous for not having any snakes on the island and the Irish believe 
that it was St Patrick who drove them all away.

For a recipe to make St Patrick's day cookies visit:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/recipes/cookies.shtml

There is a lovely, fun site with everything you ever needed to know about St Patrick's Day at:
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/stpat/stpat.html

The simplest St Patrick's Day dinner is of course Irish Stew and the simplest recipes to follow
are always Delia Smith's, so here's the link:
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes


Valentine's Day
14 February

You probably know by now that Valentine's day is on February 14 and the day is named after a 
3rd Century Roman priest called Valentine.  He became the patron saint of lovers and it is customary 
to you send something anonymously to your sweetheart on this day.  Look in the Celebrate pages 
that relate to the ages of your children for ideas and activities to do on this day.

For some nice ideas for how to celebrate Valentine's day on a budget try:
http://www.holidays.net/amore/budget.htm


Chinese New Year
7 February

This is the biggest celebration of the year in China and this year it falls on 7 February.  
New Year in China, as everywhere else, is a time to get together with your family and wish everyone 
good luck in the coming months.  However, the Chinese calendar is a bit like our zodiac and is made up 
of a cycle of 12 years.   Each year is represented by a different animal and (like a horoscope) the Chinese 
believe that you are born with the characteristics of the animal representing your birth year.  
This year is the Year of the Rat
.  

If you'd like to know which animal represents your birthday, you can put your date of birth on to this page:  http://www.topmarks.co.uk/ChineseNewYear/Default.aspx 
and find your Chinese horoscope.
Chinese customs for New Year include hanging red and gold paper down the doors to keep in good luck.  
These are called Hui Chun.  Red is a lucky colour in China and gold obviously signifies wealth!  
If you'd like to make a banner with the kids for your own door then follow the instructions at:
http://www.chineseparade.com/pdf/CNY%20banners.pdf
New Year's Eve is celebrated with a family feast, (including tasty little moon cakes) after which the family 
plays cards, with all the lights turned on, until midnight.  At midnight fireworks and crackers are set off to 
ward off evil spirits.  On New Year's Day children are given lucky red envelopes containing money or sweets 
and everyone says "Kung Hei Fat Choy!"
Find an easy recipe for traditional Chinese moon cakes at:
http://www.dltk-kids.com/recipesdb/view.asp?rid=52

The Celebrate pages that relate to the ages of your children have lovely links for crafty activities.
Why not celebrate Chinese New Year this year?  (It will brighten up the dark days before Spring!)  
If your feeling lazy, you could always get family and friends round and simply order in a takeaway.


Shrove Tuesday
5 February

Shrove Tuesday in the Christian calendar is the last day before Lent.  (Lent is the 40 days before Easter).  
As Lent was a time of abstinence and fasting, Shrove Tuesday became the day when all the fats, cream 
and sugar needed to be used up.  (In France, Shrove Tuesday is called Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday).  This is 
why we traditionally eat pancakes on this day.  In Scarborough they celebrate Shrove Tuesday by skipping 
(with skipping ropes) for a mile along the seafront - maybe we should introduce this custom to Eastbourne!

There are all sorts of facts, rhymes and recipes to be found at:
http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/pancakeday.html
You'll find a classic Delia Smith recipe for pancakes at:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/basilpancakswithsuga_66226.shtml
There is also Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Banana and Toffee variation at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bananaandtoffeepanca_8834.shtml



Burns' Night
25 January

If you're planning a Burn's Night Celebration, you might want to look at this BBC page, which is packed 
full of ideas and info about it.  The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/burnsnight/suppers/index.shtml
You'll find everything you need to know, from info about Robert Burns to how to cook haggis and how to 
address it (to find out what addressing the haggis means, you'll need to look at the website!)