Author Archives: Aunt Mo

April Fools Day Food

Posted on by
Reply

It has become tradition at my house to have “funny” food for one of our April Fools Day meals.  For many years I made “Flannel” pancakes.  I don’t know why but I fooled my family for probably 5 years in a row with my flannel pancakes. 

This year I have the greatest idea ever- actually I got this idea from my friend and amazing hair stylist, Stephanie.  How about cauliflower mashed potatoes?!?! 

Mashed cauliflower looks and some people say the taste is similar to mashed potatoes but with fewer carbs. I experimented with making mashed cauliflower so I would be ready for April Fools Day and I have to tell you it’s pretty delicious.  I think once my family gets over the shock of their mashed potatoes actually being mashed cauliflower they’ll be happy I made it.

If you’re not sure your family will get fooled by Mashed Cauliflower give one of these other fun ideas a try.

Mashed Cauliflower


What you need:
1 medium head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into small florets (about 6 to 7 cups)
1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cauliflower and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and then drain well and transfer cauliflower to a food processor. Add oil and reserved water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and mash cauliflower with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

Flannel Pancakes

image
When cooking pancakes put a piece of white flannel, about 3”x3”, and cook as usual. Flannel makes pancakes impossible to cut and eaters will become quite frustrated until they realize they’ve been fooled. This is an easy trick to do when serving many people. Put one flannel pancake on a plate with two or three other pancakes.

Non-drinkable Juice

image
What you’ll need:
Clear drinking glasses, Jell-o, Straws

The night before make some jell-o in clear juice glasses.  Use a flavor that matches the juice they drink – such as grape, orange etc. Fill the glass about ¾ full and after it starts to set, insert a drinking straw. Once it is set, it will look like a normal glass of juice with a straw in it. Simply set it at their place at the breakfast table.  Provide spoons so they can eat the gelatin when they realize they can’t drink it.

Wormy Apple

image
What you’ll need:
Fresh apple, Gummy worm
Use an apple corer to remove a piece of the apple and insert a gummy worm.  The worm will be hanging out some.

Make a naked egg.
Simply by soaking it in vinegar, you can remove the shell from an egg, even an uncooked one, leaving the rest of the egg intact. Imagine someone’s surprise when they reach into the egg carton and extract a real raw egg that is squishy and elastic!

Silly Utensils

image
Instead of using traditional plastic utensils use kitchen utensils to eat with such as an ice cream scoop, a spatula, or pancake turner, the stranger the better.

Aunt MO

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.  ~Chinese Proverb

April Fools Pizza Cake

Posted on by
Reply

show of talent aprils fool day 003

Bake your cakes according to the package directions. Don’t fill your pan any fuller then 1/3 full. You don’t want the cake to go up over the edge of the pan. You’re looking for a large round flat cake.

Frost cake with red frosting.  If you are using canned frosting heat for a few seconds in the microwave to make it spread easier.

Grate white chocolate and sprinkle the shredded white chocolate on top of frosting.

show of talent aprils fool day 001

Cut circles out of red fruit roll ups for the pepperoni, use a small bottle cap to get the round shape. It’s easier if you cut the fruit roll ups before you remove them from their backing. After you cut your pepperoni, remove the backing and stick them on the pizza.

Make banana peppers by slicing a thin strip of a yellow fruit roll up. Stick the ends of the strip together to make a loop.

To make onions, pineapple and green peppers roll gum drops or gummy candy until flat and cut into small bits.

Make black olives with black gum drips and use a paper punch to make a hole in the middle.

Serve your “pizza” on a pizza pan or a pizza box.

Baby, Bronco, Backpack

Posted on by
Reply

 

If you’re looking for a fun game that any number of people can play and that doesn’t need a lot of advance preparation or props then “Baby, Bronco, Backpack” is the game for you.

Gather your group together and have them split into groups of two.  It’s usually best if groups are fairly evenly matched- same size and strength etc. but mismatched teams can add to the fun.

Explain the three poses teams must be able to form.

 

image

If the leader of the game says “BRONCO” one person in each group of two will jump down on all fours and the second team member will sit on their back as if they are riding a horse.

 

image
If the leader says “BABY” one of the players in each team of two will jump into the arms of the second team member as if they are being cradled like a baby.

image

If the leader says “BACKPACK” one of the players in each group of two will jump on the back of the second player like they are getting a piggy back ride.

The last team of two to form up the combination is out of the game and teams are eliminated until there are two teams left and the winning team is determined.

 
For larger groups you may need to say that the last three are out.
As teams get a little more experience you can make the game more fun by yelling out combinations of movements such as “BABY, BRONCO, BACKPACK, BABY, GO!” The teams of two will frantically go through all of those until they perform the last “BABY.”

BABY!

HINT: One rule that may help you keep some control of the game is to explain before hand that the teams can not move until you say “GO!”

In-Laws, Outlaws and Offspring- a New Family Reunion Song

Posted on by
1

Family Reunion Helper gave away a free family reunion theme package  to one of our lucky subscribers, Dana Jo Forseth.  What a wonderful surprise to make a new friend and learn more about this talented songwriter and singer. 

Dana Jo has written a lot of songs and  her latest album. “Driven”, features a family reunion song called, “In-laws, Outlaws and Offspring”. I love, love, love the lyrics of Dana Jo’s reunion song- oh, the picture she paints through her words.  I can just see family members lip syncing the song at our reunion talent show. Smile

“One hundred people scattered through
Some dozen rooms we rent
And whoever can’t deal with their mother-in-law
Is free to bring a tent”

image

You can listen to her song on Dana Jo’s webpage
http://danajoforseth.com/category/audio/

You can purchase the song on Amazon where you can also listen to snippets of all the songs on her latest album, the mastered versions , and that way they have a link to purchase right there. 
http://www.amazon.com/Driven/dp/B006QYO5C8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330196058&sr=8-1

Dana Jo and I have corresponded through email the last month or so and I had the opportunity to learn a little more about her passion for singing, songwriting and family.

AUNT MO: Dana Jo, tell us a little about yourself.

DANA JO: I was born and raised on a farm outside of Fairfield, Montana, and I’ve always loved music.  I studied Business in college and work now as an accountant at a utility company in Montana, but I love to write, play and sing.  I’ve always wanted to record, and I hope I’ll have more opportunities to do that in the future.

AUNT MO: Where did you get the idea for your family reunion song, "In-laws, Outlaws and Offspring"?

DANA JO: I come from a very large family (there are over 150 people on my mother’s side of the family) and every 3 years, we gather for a week, usually at a lake or in the mountains somewhere.  Growing up, I’ve always known members of my family, and even though many of us get together all the time for holidays and weddings, these reunions are to credit (blame? Smile) for how close we are as a group.   The memories I made there are as much a part of my childhood as the place I grew up. 

image

(A favorite family reunion activity- kids playing in the lake (“flying off the rope swing” etc) back in the 80s.)

DANA JO: A few of my relatives (more-so, the “outlaws”) were good with a guitar and I spent hours with my cousins sitting around a campfire, wishing I knew how to play one.  This was one of the first songs I ever wrote—and while I am nostalgic for our reunions (and they do still go on), I approached it almost with an irreverence…because, well, that’s how my family approaches a lot of things.

image

(This is a picture of all eight of the Ward sisters doing a chorus line styled leg-kick back in 1975.  This became somewhat of a tradition at every reunion for as long as they all could do the kick.)

AUNT MO: I love the lyric that says "playing guess whose kid that is."  I think that is so funny- sounds like you’ve spent some time at family reunions. What are some of your favorite family reunion traditions?

Back when I was a kid, we would plan a lot of activities for the evenings that would get us all together as a group.  We’d have a trivia night, Water Olympics, an award ceremony, talent/skit show, game/tournament nights and the like for everyone, then as the younger and older would wander off to bed, we’d stay up and tell scary stories around the campfire, or (when I got older of course) play poker and drink a few beers.  Another favorite activity was cooking meals in the kitchen with our cousins and siblings, or learning from the aunts how to bake cinnamon rolls or potato bread.  One year we tried a karaoke night.  I don’t think we ever did that again…

image

(The the evolution of reunion activities to playing “Just Dance” on the Wii.)

AUNT MO:  I love the song title, “In-Laws, Outlaws and Offspring”- how did you come up with that?

DANA JO: I didn’t come up with it—my Mom, Caroline Forseth, did.  I stole it from her after realizing I’d never heard the term anywhere else.  As to how she came up with it?  I’m not really sure…but I just think she’s a genius.

AUNT MO:  Tell us about the first song you ever wrote.

DANA JO: I wrote lyrics for years before I ever finished a song.  When I was a junior in high school, I was just starting to put together enough music theory to understand how to pair the music with the words.  So I finished my first whole song that Easter, and played it publicly for the first (and only) time at my high school’s spring concert.  It was also the first time I ever sang a solo in front of people—so talk about nerves!   I hadn’t told anyone about it other than my band teacher—my parents were very surprised and I think a little delighted.  The song was nothing special—it was called “So Far From Yesterday” and the register was so high I could hardly sing it. But I could only play it in the key I wrote it in.  Luckily, the critics were silent and the night ended with some really great pizza in a neighboring town.

AUNT MO: What a great story, you’ve come along way from high school spring concert- you’ve just released a new album- who do you hope will hear the album?

DANA JO: I’m just trying to get it out to the ears of the people who will love it—and that could be anyone at all.  Even though it (and I) came from a rural place, I feel like there’s something on this record for everyone.  It celebrates family roots, grieves losses and explores sadness, deals with a bad day, enjoys love, and shakes off heartbreak.  The emotions are universal, and being mostly-acoustic, many of the songs are so stripped down that fans of all different genres can enjoy them.  I really enjoyed writing these songs, and I’m so excited that people finally get to hear them.

Good luck to Dana Jo and her family and just in case you’re wondering- Dana Jo choose Book One of the Pipe Chimes books so I bet the Forseth family will be making music on the conduit pipes at their next family reunion.

Aunt MO

Family Reunion Road Rally Scavenger Hunt

Posted on by
Reply

A road rally scavenger hunt can be a fun activity at your next family reunion or party.  A road rally scavenger hunt is really nothing more than an  scavenger hunt using cars.

image

There is no limit to the number of teams you can have with a scavenger hunt just be sure you  have a seat belt for each person in your car and an adult driver for each car.  Give each team team a digital camera or ask teams to bring a camera on your invitation to the reunion.  Require that photographic evidence be taken of each task that is completed.

Create a list of tasks that are safe and time friendly.  Give each task or challenge a point value.  The photo that would the hardest to get should get the highest points.  You can award additional points for creativity or for extra effort.

Set a time limit for the group to be back. It should be reasonable-anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, enough time to get the amount of photos in the scavenger hunt.

When the group comes back, compare pictures. It is most fun to project the pictures up on a large screen or wall so that everyone can see the photos the other teams took. There will be lots of cheering and booing but being able to view all the photos just makes the activity that much more fun.

Award prizes to the winning team and consider giving the driver of the winning car a gas card.

Road Rally Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Below is a list of suggestions for your road rally scavenger hunt:

1.  Find a gumball machine and buy one gumball for everyone in your car.  Take a picture of everyone blowing a bubble- score 1 point for every bubble in the picture.

image

2. Find an out of state license plate take a picture.  Score 1 point, 2 points for an Alaska or Hawaii plate.  Or perhaps license plate with the letter "Q" on it.

3. Make a human pyramid in front of the fountain at the Mall. Ask someone to take a picture for you.

little black camera 238

4. Take a picture of someone walking a dog.

little black camera 231

5.  Find someone to dance on Main Street and take their picture.

little black camera 253

6. Do a Chinese fire drill at a stop sign.

little black camera 249

7.  Take a picture of a moon. (This photo scored extra points for creativity because the team went into a book store and found the moon on a book.)

8. Find a phone booth. See how many of your team can fit into the phone booth. Have someone take your picture.  Score one point for each person in the booth.

9. Go to a Department Store and act like mannequins until someone notices you. Get a picture in the store.

image

10. Go to a gas station and put 1.00 worth of gas in your car- take a picture of the pump with $1.00 on it.  Deduct one point for every cent you are over or under.

11. Go to a motel or hotel and take a group photo by room number 222.

Girls Camp 2011 angel moroni 071

12. Go to the slide of the nearest playground and get of picture of each team member going down it.

13. Go to a convenience store like 7/11 and have everyone walk in backwards up and down the aisles. stop at register, buy a candy bar and walk out backwards. Take a picture of the 7/11 door.

little black camera 240

You can also ask teams to get pictures of a spire, school or perhaps a sign with your family name on it.   If you are getting together during a holiday season ask teams for pictures of holiday decorations- for instance, a turkey at Thanksgiving time or someone sitting on Santa’s lap during the Christmas season.

little black camera 237

NOTE:  You can also plan a scavenger hunt using public transportation but will need to budget more time for the activity.

You can find more automobile themed party ideas in a blog Aunt Mo wrote about a Family Reunion Hot Wheels Party.

Shoe Box Floats for Your Family Reunion

Posted on by
Reply

It seems everyone is making “shoebox floats” for their Mardi Graw celebrations and it got me thinking- how about a shoebox parade as a family reunion activity.  

048

A shoe box float is just a shoe box flipped over with the lid attached to the back to form a backdrop.  These boxes are then decorated like a parade float.

image

To decorative your shoe box float gather objects such as glitter, buttons, costume jewelry, feathers, sequins, tissue paper, scrap paper, small shells or rocks, tinsel, foil, markers, paint, crayons, photos, pipe cleaners, buttons, dolls or action figures, or small toys.

Place the large part of the shoebox upside down and attach the lid of the shoebox at one end. Paint the boxes, or cover with paper and decorate.

050

Choose a theme for your shoebox float parade.  At a family reunion, you could ask participants to decorate their float to represent themselves- a great “getting to know you” activity or assign each family an ancestor to research  and then decorate their float to represent that ancestor.

image

Rules you might want to consider for your shoebox float parade:

1. Do not place the shoebox on a piece of cardboard larger than the shoebox.

2. Do not create a diorama float using the inside of the box.

3. Float dimensions: The shoebox float must be made of a cardboard shoebox no larger than 13” x 9”. A completed decorated float should not exceed 15 inches in height..

Of course, you’ll want to give out a few awards for the “Most Beautiful”, “Most Creative Use of Materials”, “Judges Choice” and Most Unique floats.

I found a great website for step by step instructions for shoebox floats that might  be helpful.

http://blog.mardigrasoutlet.com/2011/02/create-mini-mardi-gras-parade-float-out.html

When planning your 2012 family reunion consider a shoebox float parade and see just how creative your family can be.

Aunt MO

Glow in the Dark Volleyball

Posted on by
4

Anything you can play on the dark with glow sticks and black lights is sure to be a huge success at your family reunion or party.

Played in the dark, the net, ball, out-of-bounds line and related equipment come alive with the glowing magic of glow sticks, bracelets, tape and black lights!

end of 2011 166

You will have to do some advance planning and gather the following equipment for your glow in the dark game.

end of 2011 160

Purchase glow in the dark tape to wrap around volleyball, beach ball, plastic play ball or purchase a real glow in the dark volleyball available at Family Reunion Helper.

end of 2011 156

image

Glow Bracelets

Buy lots of glow bracelets.  You will need them for the net and for everyone to wear. Glow bracelets are pretty inexpensive- a hundred for under $10.00 in the Family Reunion Helper store.  Glow sticks are also fun to hang on the net.

image

image

end of 2011 163

Black Lights

You can rent black lights for about $10.00  a day but we found black light strips at Walmart for under $20.00 which included the light bulb and stand.  We only needed two lights to light up our small gym.

end of 2011 157

Other black lights as are available.  Tape to the wall for added fun.  Don’t forget extension cords for all these lights.  

end of 2011 161

White T-shirts

Ask family members to wear white t-shirts for extra fun.  Some will forget but it won’t interfere with the game.  Most shirts that are 100% cotton will glow in the dark under black lights.

You can play glow in the dark volleyball using just glow sticks but adding black lights really gives the game an illuminating boost!

For refreshments serve glow in the dark lemonade- the secret to glowing food is tonic water (diet tonic water works too).  It contains quinine, and guess what happens when you expose quinine to black light yep, it glows!  Tonic water can have a bit of a bitter taste to it so use as little as possible.  Hint:  Serve glow in the dark Jell-O by replacing some of the water with tonic water.

“It’s better to illuminate than merely to shine.”

Aunt MO

Six Fun Ideas for Your Reindeer Themed Christmas Party

Posted on by
Reply

image

Magic Reindeer Food

reindeer pictures 009

When you sprinkle magic reindeer food on your lawn on Christmas Eve, it leaves a glittering path–and a sweet treat–for Rudolph and Blitzon and their  friends.

Make a bag of Magic Reindeer food for each family that attends your party or as an inexpensive stocking stuffer for each child.

Package this simple recipe in zipper food storage bags, and add a free printable gift tag containing the Magic Reindeer Food poem to make Magic Reindeer Food easy to make–and to give.

November 057

Magic Reindeer Food Recipe

In a large bowl or container, mix:

1/4- 1/2 cup uncooked oats
1/4 cup red or green sugar crystals
Small sealable bag
Magic Reindeer Food poem (You can find a free printable of the poem at Magic Reindeer Food Poem)

reindeer pictures 005
Package Magic Reindeer food in small food storage bags or holiday gift bags.

HINT: You can use craft glitter in your magic reindeer food but colored sugar crystals (as used for cake decorating)are safer for other animals or birds that may ingest it.

Reindeer Noses

reindeer pictures 011

Another fun reindeer games party favor is a bag of reindeer noses.

I wanted the perfect gift for you-
But couldn’t decide just what to do.
I almost sent you a dozen roses-
Instead here’s a bag of…
reindeer noses

Reindeer noses are simply seven brown candies such as “Whoppers” and one red candy (to represent Rudolf). I used sour cherry candies for my red nose.  You may find a free printable of the reindeer nose poem at Reindeer Noses Printable

November 059

Log Reindeer Centerpieces

Log reindeer are the perfect project for your centerpieces. Simply reuse scraps of wood and timber from your woodpile, drill a few holes, and glue it all together. You’ll need a few thicker logs for the body and head; long, thin sticks for the legs, and pronged branches for your reindeer’s antlers. Add bow, bells or tinsel to complete your project.  After the party you can give away part of your herd as prizes or save them to give as neighbor gifts.

reindeer games photos 011

reindeer games photos 010

Reindeer Cupcakes

Bake cupcakes according to package directions and frost generously with chocolate frosting.  Top with pretzels for the antlers, a Nilla Wafer for the face, white frosting dots for the eyes, back pearl sprinkles or black icing for the eyeballs, and brown and red candies for the nose.

reindeer games photos 018

reindeer games photos 039

Santa Pancakes

HINT:  We made the pancake base of our Santa pancakes before arriving at the party.  Because they are a little time consuming we began decorating them in advance.  We noticed that the whipped cream started getting soft and didn’t look as cute.  Solution- get more help with the decorating so that you can make them on the spot.

reindeer games photos 046

Reindeer Games

We used the “Minute to Win It” format for our “reindeer games”.  We divided into four teams- team Rudolf, team Blitzen, team Dasher and team Donner and competed in 8 different challenges. We projected a countdown clock on the wall so that everyone could join in the drama as the seconds counted down.  For more information on Minute the Win It games check out the following link.

http://familyreunionhelper.com/blog/2011/10/minute-to-win-it-party-2/

reindeer games photos 188

reindeer games photos 199

Tips for Successful Christmas Caroling

Posted on by
1

image

Gathering your family together for Christmas caroling or a family sing-a-long can make your family party fun and fairly fuss free.  Of course the most important element of your musical party is the music and you can download a free copy of caroling lyrics at www.familyreunionhelper.com.  Consider these helpful tips when planning your family caroling party.

Choose your caroling route.

My family went caroling on Christmas Eve.  Mom would choose 3 or 4 families that she knew would enjoy a caroling visit and she always made a few goodies to give them.  (Perhaps as payment for listening to us sing off key) We would complete our caroling at a local nursing home.  Many of the children were reluctant to sing at the nursing home but as the years have gone by caroling at the nursing home has become one of their most talked about memories of the season.  HINT: If you visit a hospital or a nursing home, ask for permission ahead of time to make sure your visit comes at a good time and that they can accommodate a large group.

Provide Carolers with a List of Carols

Caroling will be successful if everyone has the same list of carols.  One song sheet for every 2-3 carolers is plenty. Specify how many verses you will sing of each song.  To build your song list you can type and print your own caroling sheets or make copies of the family reunion helper caroling book by clicking here- caroling song book.  The book is designed so that you only have to print off the music that you will use for your caroling such as- Santa songs, snow songs or spiritual songs etc.

image

Choose songs that are short, easy to sing, and fun. You should plan on singing 1 or 2 songs per house and end with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

Consider Using a Variety of Instruments

Jingle bells, cymbals and drum sticks are an easy way to make your caroling fun.  Carolers that are too shy or just don’t want to sing can participate by keeping the beat with drum sticks or shaking the bells to the beat.

Dress for the Weather

If caroling outside dress for the weather.  When sending out invitations for your caroling party be sure and let your guests know that you’ll be caroling outdoors so they can bring their hats, gloves and scarves.  A fun party favor for your party could be hand and toe warmers.

You can dress things up by asking everyone to wear a fun Santa hat or reindeer antlers.

Plan Refreshments for Your Carolers

At the end of your caroling party meet back at your house or rec hall and provide your carolers with bowls of chili and mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows or cider.  You can keep your refreshments warm in slow cookers while you’re caroling.

image

If you are looking for a little Christmas caroling inspiration check out this amazing seven year old, Rhema Marvanne.

 

Rhema Marvanne