Cake In A Jar

Ingredients

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
  • 8 straight-sided wide-mouth pint canning jars with lids and rings
  • Icing

Directions

  1. Prepare the cake according to package instructions, or use any cake recipe.
  2. In pint size, straight-sided wide-mouth jars, put 1 cup of batter in each greased jar. Make sure to keep the rims of the jars clean. Put in preheated oven 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place jars on a cookie sheet to keep from tipping over while baking.
  3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
  4. While they are baking, have your jar lids boiling in a pan of water. When the cake is done, take one jar out at a time and add the hot lid and screw on your jar ring and let set and cool.
  5. It will seal as it cools. Place the jars on the counter and listen for them to ‘ping’ as they seal. If you miss the ‘ping’, wait until they are completely cool and press on the top of the lid. If it doesn’t move at all, it’s sealed.
  6. After it cools it will pull away from the jar and when you are ready to eat, open and pop out the cake and enjoy.
  7. Unsealed jars should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within 2 weeks. Sealed jars may be stored in a freezer.

 

Icing: If sending this to a loved one include a small amount of icing in a can. If you give this to someone in person you can top the jar with icing right before you give it to them.

If mailing these wrap securely with bubble wrap!

When giving as a gift, top with a ten inch square fabric tied on with a ribbon and tag. You can also attach a little baggie with sprinkles, chocolate chips etc.

Happy New Year – January 1st

New Years Eve Fun

Whether you and your family view New Year’s Eve as a time for reflection or as an opportunity to have a huge party, it is a date steeped deep in traditions. This year, invite your clan to start a new first night ritual. Here are some ideas to get your creativity started:

1: Make and frame a photo collage of the past year’s events….. A poster sized frame can be obtained and everyone can have a hand in helping create a masterpiece to display all year around in an entryway, hallway or nook.

2: Deliver a plate of home made goodies to a neighbor… a great time to say hello and to keep up with current happenings in each home so that the other has ideas of what is happening at each others homes…. safety is always a big concern for all of us and if a neighbor knows some of what is happening in your home they know what to look for and vise-versa.

3:Make something old – new again: glue images cut from your old postcards/Holiday cards your family received onto postcard-sized pieces of posterboard or index cards, add a wish for the new year…. and mail them off to those you love.

4:Cover they floor with bubble wrap…. and have the family stomp their way into a new year…. while you start off that resolution to be more energetic and shed the extra pounds.

New Years Noise Maker

Paper Fortune Cookies

During the 15-day celebration of Chinese New Year, children and adults alike will take part in dances, feasts, and parades, all meant to clear the way for a happy and prosperous year ahead. One tradition families enjoy is writing and displaying chun lian, simple expressions of wishes for good fortune in the coming year. Your own well-wishers can easily create these colorful, fortune-filled paper cookies for their friends and family.

Materials
  • Paper
  • Paper cupcake baking liners
  • Markers
  • Craft glue
Instructions
  1. To make a batch, first help your child write a host of fortunes on small slips of paper.
  2. For each one, fold a paper cupcake baking liner as shown, slip the note inside, and apply a dot of craft glue to the bottom of the liner to secure it in place.