Happy Three Kings’ Day! Feliz Dí­a de los Tres Reyes Magos!

We did it. Last year, after not celebrating, I resolved to celebrate Three Kings’ Day this year. And, though it’s a normal work day and baby girl is at preschool today, she did get her gift this morning and participated in the traditional Three Kings’ Day celebration.

It’s nice for me to share this tradition with her and remember my own childhood memories of celebrating El Día de Los Reyes. I remember making my basket with my family, filling it with grass on La Víspera de Reyes (the Eve of Three Kings’ Day), and being excited the next morning when I found the grass had been replaced with candy and the kings had also left me a gift.

There was one particular year that I remember vividly because I did something that I regret to this day. I can remember that I wanted one of those Barbie motorcycles; I think they were a hot item back then. When I opened my gift, it was a Barbie scooter instead, or maybe it was a moped. What I know is that it wasn’t the motorcycle I wanted. And I said, in my little whiny voice too, “Esto no es lo que yo queria!” (This isn’t what I wanted!) I was of course quickly reprimanded and told to appreciate what the kings had brought me because other kids may not have gotten anything. But, I can still remember my mami‘s face right before she scolded me. When I was old enough and learned that my parents were the ones that actually provided the gifts and that it wasn’t actually Los Reyes, I felt horrible. I know that I apologized to my mom at one point or another, maybe even multiple times. I will probably apologize again today and we’ll laugh it off.

So, how do we celebrate Three Kings’ Day? I believe that each Latino culture has their own special way of celebrating Three Kings’ Day. I can only tell you how we personally celebrated Los Tres Reyes in Puerto Rico and what I am passing down to my children so they can learn about the tradition.

Traditions for Celebrating Three Kings’ Day (El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos)

1. First, you will need either a plain shoebox or a basket made from a shoebox. Here are the baskets my kids will be using this weekend, made by their abuela:
   
   The basket is normally decorated with bows made out of wax paper, but we’ve had trouble finding such paper. So, in the past, we’ve also used regular wrapping paper.
2. Then, the night before Three Kings’ Day, on La Vispera de Reyes – have your child collect some grass from your yard and put it in the basket. The grass is for the kings’ camels. This is analogous to setting out milk & cookies for Santa or carrots for his reindeer.
3. The basket then goes under the bed (or next to it if it doesn’t fit).
4. In the middle of the night, after your child is sleeping, throw out the grass and replace it with candy. Place a gift next to the basket.
5. The next morning, your child will be delighted to find the gift and candy that the Three Kings left behind!
6. Don’t forget to explain that Los Tres Reyes left a gift for him/her the same way they brought gifts for baby Jesus when he was born. That is the meaning behind all this and why we celebrate the holiday.

Los Tres Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) is a fun holiday and one I plan to continue celebrating each year so my kids can create their own memories and embrace this Latino tradition.

Have you ever celebrated El Día de Los Tres Reyes? Do you think you might next year?

Top photo: Cryo Mariena/Flickr

The months of November and December are a very hectic season for our family. I realize this is true for the majority of families since the holidays are always a busy time, but our family also has a couple of extra celebrations. You see, both of my children and my husband all have birthdays in December – in a span of three days – the week before Christmas. To say that the holiday season, particularly December, presents scheduling issues for our family is an understatement.

First, we have to get through November and Thanksgiving. Our November calendar typically fills up with various blogging events, as there are many holiday happenings the local theme parks and attractions want to share with families. It’s super fun, but means every weekend has something going on. We definitely have to choose wisely, since it can become overwhelming.

Then December comes and it seems like it goes by in a flash. We usually have a birthday party for the kids (luckily I can still combine both birthdays into one party), so we spend quite a bit of time planning and preparing for the party. There’s also Christmas shopping to do, along with every day life and obligations (school, work, housework, etc.). We pretty much spend the first three weeks of December running around. But, we do it together.

That’s the thing about this hectic holiday season. Even though we have a lot going on, we’re together. We attend events as a family, we plan, shop, and prepare for the birthday party together, and even do some Christmas shopping together. All that time – even the time in the car and in stores – is time for us to talk, laugh, reminisce and just hang out. Sure, there are moments of frustration or impatience, but overall, we have fun. There’s just no other way for us to get through it. Humor is a part of who we are as a family, so naturally, laughter is how we keep it together. I’m just lucky to have a family that keeps me laughing and that laughs along with me.

How do you keep the humor going during the hectic holiday season?

Disclosure: This story is sponsored by Hallmark through their Life is a Special Occasion campaign. As always, all stories and opinions are my own. To receive special offers and discounts from Hallmark, sign up for their e-newsletter!

Photo © modernmami

When Melanie invited me to participate in this Rice Krispies challenge I got very excited and I immediately started to brainstorm what would I create?? The challenge was to create a Holiday Show-Stopper. Just the name sounds pretty ambitious!

I haven’t made Rice Krispies treats before this, so I was nervous just of the fact that I didn’t know how to make them! But I soon found out that they are so easy to make. That helped. The basic recipe lends itself for many variations and additions, that’s why these challenges are here; with creativity and Rice Krispies there are a million options!!

I think I took it as a design project (I’m a graphic designer), I got really excited with all my ideas and kept thinking of more but there was a point that I had to stop and decide. Once I decided, I wrote my list of supplies and went shopping. It’s been a long time since I do anything this crafty, so I was so happy to go and start it. Then, during the assembly, my favorite part was deciding which icing color each set of balls gets and which sprinkles. Also, matching the colors to each tree, arranging the decorations plus taking the pictures, I think I loved every step! This is something that took me out of my usual computer design work and made me use my creativity in a different way, I love it! Click on the Rice Krispies badge and it will take you to a page were there is a link to all the other posts with the challenge, it’s really fun to see them all!

In my mind there are so many variations of this, you can make 1 tree only, you can paint the trees and balls in other colors (Even if they aren’t Christmas colors, it will look Holiday because of the cones and arrangement plus kids would love some rainbow color sprinkles, for example!), you can make other shapes as ornaments (candy canes, bells, stars, etc), you can add sparkle to make it shiny, add flowers and so on… I could keep going and going here!

I did get my 4 year old, Adrian, to help me with it and we had lots of fun. He helped me get the mix together, make the balls, paint the trees and when he ate them he said: it’s like a lollipop!! But I have to confess there were many moments that I wanted the project all to myself and the designer instinct kicked in more than the mami instinct; I had to balance it!

Without further ado, here is the recipe so you can make this Show-Stopper too if you wish:

Holiday Rice Krispies Trees

Ingredients for the ball ornaments:

• 9 tbsp of butter
• 3 regular bags (10 oz) of marshmallows
• 18 cups of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies (About 2 boxes)
• Bag of 100 Lollipop sticks (cut in 3 pieces each)

Directions for the ornaments:

1. In a saucepan melt the 3 tbsp of butter over low heat.
2. Once its melted add 1 bag of marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
3. Remove from heat and add 6 cups of Rice Krispies, stir until its all mixed. Let it cool for a couple of minutes.
4. Butter a baking sheet and butter your hands, start making the balls and place them on the tray. Try to make them no bigger than 3/4″ and the smallest you can will be probably about 1/2″. The different sizes will work well on the the different cone sizes.
5. Attach a stick to each ball.
6. Repeat step 1 to 5 for 2 times more. So in total you will make 3 ornament batches. The mix has to be molded warm so that’s why you have to work in separate batches.

Ingredients for the decorations:

• 2 tubes of white decorating incing (4.25 oz each)
• 1 tube of red decorating incing (4.25 oz)
• 1 tube of green decorating incing (4.25 oz)
• Assorted Sprinkles and icing to decorate
• 3 Styrofoam cones in different sizes (The biggest one is about 13″ tall)

Directions for assembly and decorations:

1. With a brush, paint the cones with the icing (If it is too thick add a hint of water) in 3 different colors, one white, one red and one green. Let it dry.
2. Meanwhile place each icing color on a little container (Again, if it’s too thick add 1 or 2 tsp of water) and dip the balls 3/4 of the way in the icing.
3. Top each ball with your favorite holiday sprinkle combination. Let them dry. You can use a Styrofoam base to stick them to dry and maybe place them in the fridge or let them dry overnight.
4. After they are all very dry, stick them to each tree in an imaginary ribbon of balls from top to bottom until you fill all the tree. You will need about 55 balls for each tree!
5. Have fun arranging the trees in a circular base with real or imitation pine!

Thanks so much Melanie and ModernMami readers for having me here and now there is a great giveaway for you readers!

Reader Giveaway

One of you will win a $100 Visa Gift card!

How to Enter

Required entry: If you’d like to enter this contest, simply leave a comment below letting me know if you have made other Rice Krispies treats recipes and which one is your favorite.

The rules of this giveaway only allow 1 entry per person, so just by leaving a comment answering the question above you’ll be entered.

All entries must be in by Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.) Winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Abbreviated Rules: No Purchase Necessary. Open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Subject to complete Official Rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: TheMotherhood.com

Disclosure: As a Rice Krispies Brand Ambassador for TheMotherhood.com, I was compensated for participating in this challenge.

When we recall pleasant memories of holidays past, we may be bringing up rosy memories because we were children and weren’t responsible for buying and wrapping gifts and decorating and cooking. Our mothers and grandmothers lacked many of the household conveniences we enjoy, and while there may have been a shared pleasure to a family going out to select and chop down a Christmas tree, or an extended family getting together to prepare a big holiday meal, they almost certainly felt over-extended and ran into frustrations with all the extra work surrounding the holidays, just as we do today.

The true secret to holidays then and now is to simplify. Be careful about what activities actually make it onto the family calendar, and be very careful about what commitments you make at this time of year.

Plan Ahead

• In November, sit down with the family and let everyone express what is most important to them for the holiday. A good way to elicit this information is asking each person to complete the following sentence: “It wouldn’t be our family’s holiday if we didn’t __________.” If your eight-year-old doesn’t even remember the skating expedition you took him on last December, that’s a good activity to cut from the list.
• Write on the family calendar any school concerts or performances. Also, consider how you want to help out at school. Baking? Donating juice? Doing a project? By letting your child know now, you have a better chance that the tasks assigned fit the time you have to devote to them.
• As soon as any adult activities are scheduled, book your favorite sitter immediately.

Simplifying Gifts in This Day of “Too Much”

American families of the past limited the number of gifts they gave simply because they didn’t rely on plastic. Without credit cards, family members bought only what they had cash for. Parents know from years past that if a child receives 10 different gifts, only one or two of them have “staying power.” (And think how much tidier your house would be if you could limit the number of toys in the house!)

• In preparation for the new toys your children will receive, ask them to sort through their old ones. Broken toys and incomplete games should be thrown out; “gently used” items should be donated. Some families pass on to cousins items such as tricycles, bikes and dollhouses so they are always being used by someone.
• Encourage your children to give you and any other relatives a “gift of themselves.” A beautiful drawing by your four-year-old or a list of “Ten Favorite Things I Like to Do With Mommy (or Daddy)” will bring everyone more pleasure than any purchased item could possibly bring.

Out and About

• For holiday outings, a large tote is indispensable. Use it to hold coats (roll them) and to store umbrellas, hats and mittens. Tuck the tote under your seat and enjoy the performance without worrying that your little one may have kicked the umbrella out into the aisle.

Ending in Style

• Enlist extra hands in putting away. If children are old enough to decorate, they are old enough to put away.
• Note what worked and what didn’t work this year. (How big was the tree? When did you feel over-scheduled?) Notes that you can refer to next December will make all the difference.

What tips have you found useful for getting through the busy holiday season?

Photo from Photobucket - Click on image for original source

Happy Three Kings Day! Feliz Dí­a de los Tres Reyes Magos!

We did it. Last year, after not celebrating, I resolved to celebrate Three Kings Day this year. And, though it’s a normal work day and baby girl is at preschool today, she did get her gift this morning and participated in the traditional Three Kings Day festivities.

It’s nice for me to share this tradition with her and remember my own childhood memories of celebrating El Día de los Reyes. I remember making my basket with my family, filling it with grass on La Víspera de Reyes (the Eve of Three Kings Day), and being excited the next morning when I found the grass had been replaced with candy and the kings had also left me a gift.

There was one particular year that I remember vividly because I did something that I regret to this day. I can remember that I wanted one of those Barbie motorcycles; I think they were a hot item back then. When I opened my gift, it was a Barbie scooter instead, or maybe it was a moped. What I know is that it wasn’t the motorcycle I wanted. And I said, in my little whiny voice too, “Esto no es lo que yo queria!” (This isn’t what I wanted!) I was of course quickly reprimanded and told to appreciate what the kings had brought me because other kids may not have gotten anything. But, I can still remember my mami’s face right before she scolded me. When I was old enough and learned that my parents were the ones that actually provided the gifts and that it wasn’t actually Los Reyes, I felt horrible. I know that I apologized to my mom at one point or another, maybe even multiple times. I will probably apologize again today and we’ll laugh it off.

So, how do we celebrate Three Kings Day? I believe that each Latino culture has their own special way of doing so. I can only tell you how we personally celebrated in Puerto Rico and what I am passing down to my baby girl so that she can learn about the tradition.

Celebrating Three Kings Day (El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos)

1. First, you will need either a plain shoebox or a basket made from a shoebox. Here is a picture of the basket my brother and father made for my daughter a couple of years back:

   

   The basket is normally decorated with bows made out of wax paper, but we’ve had trouble finding such paper. So, we also used regular wrapping paper.

2. Then, the night before Three Kings Day - La Vispera de Reyes – have your child collect some grass from your yard and put it in the basket. The grass is for the kings’ camels. This is analogous to setting out milk & cookies for Santa or carrots for his reindeer.
3. The basket then goes under the bed (or next to it if it doesn’t fit).
4. In the middle of the night, after your child is sleeping, throw out the grass and replace it with candy. Place a gift next to the basket.
5. The next morning, your child will be delighted to find the gift and candy that the Three Kings left behind!
6. Don’t forget to explain that Los Tres Reyes left a gift for him/her the same way that they brought gifts for baby Jesus when he was born. That is the meaning behind all this and why we celebrate.

It’s a fun holiday and I’m so glad that we pulled it off this year. I plan on continuing to celebrate each year so that baby girl can create her own memories and embrace this Latino tradition of celebrating Three Kings Day.

Speaking of memories…I caught a little video of her preparing to collect the grass last night. Listen closely around the 14-second marker as I try hard not to laugh.

Have you ever celebrated El Dia de Los Reyes? Do you think you might next year?

It’s Noche Buena…Feliz Navidad!

It may sound strange, but as I’ve mentioned before, Christmas Eve is actually the day that we get together and celebrate. Normally, our whole family gathers at someone’s house and we have our typical Noche Buena dinner. A traditional Puerto Rican Christmas Eve dinner has the following dishes:

• Arroz con Gandules – Yellow rice with pigeon peas
• Pernil – Roasted pork shoulder
• Pasteles – Green banana with a pork filling

We might also make some other side dishes, but those are just extras. The required dishes are the arroz, pernil, and pasteles. Without them, basically, it’s not Christmas Eve.

Typically, in most houses, you’ll also find coquito. Coquito is an alcoholic drink based on rum and coconut. It’s our holiday drink, so many refer to it as the Puerto Rican Eggnog. But, though some do make it with egg, most don’t. So, it’s really a very different drink.

A couple of years back, I posted this recipe for coquito. But, it’s not even the recipe I use anymore. Many have asked me recently how to make coquito, so I figured I’d share the recipe I currently use. I made some last night and went ahead and made a video as well.

How to Make Puerto Rican Coquito

Recipe for Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog)

• 1 14 oz can of condensed milk
• 1 12 oz can of evaporated milk
• 1 15 oz can of cream of coconut
• 1/2 cup white rum
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

You will need a blender, an empty bottle, and a funnel. Mix all of the ingredients in the blender and blend at high speed. Then, pour into the empty bottle using the funnel.

That’s it! It’s a really simple recipe and takes all of 2 minutes to make. I think the longest part is opening the cans. If you end up trying the recipe, I’d love to hear how you like it.

I hope that all of you have a great Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and a Merry Christmas! I intend to enjoy some great food, loving family, and some delicious coquito!

I CAN.NOT believe Christmas is just 2 days away. And for us, really, the celebrations begin tomorrow. Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) is the day that we all get together and have our family get-together and big dinner. Good food, sharing memories from when my brothers and I were young, and creating new memories for my baby girl. I get to spend this time with my husband, daughter, and my parents. I love it.

I’ve never really taken count as to how much money goes into creating a meal for so many people. Even when I hosted Thanksgiving dinner at my house last year, I didn’t keep track; I just bought what I needed. But, I know that it can quickly add up. This year, I’m watching our money more closely and plan to do this even more so as 2010 comes around. One thing I’m doing to save money this year is buying presents for only the children in our family. The adults have agreed to this and it works out great for everyone, since it can be hard to find presents for grown-ups who already have a lot of things, anyway.

How can you save money with your holiday cooking? Well, Walmart is providing tips for cooking a Christmas Dinner for Eight for $30 as well as a New Year’s Party for Ten under $40. The Walmart Holiday Meals site has recipes from Food Network chef Aarón Sánchez with tips on how to create an affordable meal. The $30 Christmas meal for eight starts with the following ingredients:

• One 10-pound spiral cut half-ham
• Three 8-ounce cans Del Monte Green Beans
• One 10-pound bag of Russet potatoes
• One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
• One 10 inch Pumpkin Pie

Aarón then takes these ingredients and spices them up to create dishes like Ham with Mango Jalapeño Glaze, Chipotle Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Green Bean & Mushroom Picadillo. He does the same for the $40 New Year’s Party meal and even spices up Egg Nog to create a Coquito-like drink.

Want your chance to shop Walmart and create an affordable meal? Even if not in time for the holidays, you can always appreciate saving money when cooking.

Giveaway

We’re going to do a super-quick giveaway due to the time crunch. Two of you will win a $30 Walmart gift card.

How to Enter

If you’d like to enter this contest for a $30 Walmart gift card, leave a comment below sharing your own favorite holiday memory or your money-saving tips. (mandatory entry)

For extra entries:

1. Tweet about this contest with a link back to this post and include @modernmami in your tweet. You must leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet for your entry to count.
2. Subscribe to this blog via email and leave a comment with the email you used to subscribe. (You can use the email field to do this instead of putting your email in the comment if you prefer.)
3. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.
4. Write a blog post on your own blog and link back to this contest page. Leave a comment with your post link.

All entries must be in by Saturday, December 26 at 11:59 pm EST. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winners will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.)

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Walmart. In addition, I received a Walmart gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate and two to offer as a giveaway.

Photos from Walmart Holiday Meals site

This is sure to be one of those weeks when the balance fairies need to pay me a visit. With Christmas being ONLY 4 DAYS AWAY, my brother and nephew being in town from Milwaukee, client work to do, a blog to maintain, a house to keep clean, and my sanity hanging by a thread, I could definitely use some magical pixie dust that will help me get it all done.

It’s one of those weeks, when I have to be sure to write everything down, plan, plan, and plan, and remind myself to breathe. I’m sure we all have those times and perhaps many of you are sharing this moment with me this week as well.

With that, I decided to share a few things that I plan to do this week to help:

1. Use SimpleMom’s Daily Docket template to keep track of my daily to-do lists. I may even fill in a sheet for each day at one sitting and plan out my whole week.
2. Divide up my days to split my time between housework and blog/client work. If I specifically designate chunks of my days for each type of work, it’ll be better than just going with the flow of the day and risk getting caught up in one or the other.
3. Cook simple meals that will not take a lot of time. Meals like those on my sample weekly menu that allow for leftovers or two meals to be cooked at a time.
4. Use an online timer to limit my time online. I still want to ensure I don’t go MIA in social media, but I don’t have to be online hours at a time. Using the timer, will help me shut it all down when time’s up.

I’m sure that using these simple ideas will help me tremendously to stay sane. I may not get everything done I hope to, but I’ll feel less scatter-brained.

What do you plan to do this week to help you keep a low-stress level?

Starting today, SpanglishBaby, is hosting 7 days of Mamás Blogueras (Blogging Moms) and highlighting posts about our bi-cultural holiday traditions. I’m honored to be 1 of the 7 mamis being featured! You can find my post up today: Embracing Puerto Rican Christmas Traditions.

A little excerpt for you:

Growing up, we always knew Navidad had arrived in our house when our father began playing his musica navideña. He would break out his tapes (yes, I said tapes not CDs) and play endless Puerto Rican folkloric music.

Click over to read the full post and enjoy reading the remaining 6 posts from other Latina moms.

Across many Spanish-speaking cultures and particularly in Puerto Rico,  you may hear the phrase “viernes social” come Friday morning. Though the literal translation of “social Friday” almost defines it, it really describes a feeling of partying, socializing, and celebrating life. Think of it being similar to the “TGIF” sentiment.

From now on, each Friday on ModernMami will be Viernes Social. You can expect to find a contest, fun tidbit, or maybe even a featured guest. The idea is to embrace the viernes social spirit and celebrate!

Now on to our first official Viernes Social…

When hosting holiday dinners and get-togethers, my biggest issue is coming up with side dishes. Outside of the rice dish and green salad, I struggle to come up with fun and interesting sides that will please the Puerto Rican palette of my family.

If, like me, you need a little help this holiday season and are looking for new recipes, you might like the Real Holiday Helpings site from Hellmann’s. They’ve partnered up with Food Network chef, Bobby Flay, to provide you with some tips. There are lots of recipes – from appetizers and entrees to sides and desserts – as well as videos of Bobby Flay making a few of the dishes.

You can find videos that show you how to make these dishes from Bobby Flay:

• Turkey Cuban Sandwich
• Caramelized Onion Dip
• Roasted Green Beans with Almond Aioli
• Cuban-style Corn
• Caesar Salad Crostini

I’m a little skeptical about some of the recipes, since I never imagined that you could use mayonnaise in dishes like pizza, chicken parmesan, or carrot cake. But, I guess I’d have to try them to see how they actually taste. The recipes that look the most interesting to me that I might try are:

• Cuban-style Corn
• Sweet Potato Fries with BBQ Mayo
• Baked Horseradish-glazed Chicken Wings

To celebrate the launch of Hellman’s Real Holiday Helpings, one of you has a chance of winning a $25 American Express gift card. That should help you as you prepare for upcoming holiday dinners, right?

How to Enter

If you’d like to enter this contest for a $25 American Express gift card, simply leave a comment below and let me know what your biggest struggle is when preparing a holiday dinner.

For extra entries:

1. Tweet about this contest with a link back to this post and include @modernmami in your tweet. You must leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet for your entry to count.
2. Subscribe to this blog via email and leave a comment with the email you used to subscribe. (You can use the email field to do this instead of putting your email in the comment if you prefer.)
3. Subscribe on friendfeed and leave a comment with your friendfeed ID.

All entries must be in by Wednesday, December 9 at 11:59 pm EST. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be notified via email. (Please be sure to provide a valid email address with your entry.)

Disclosure: I received a $25 American Express gift card from BSM Media in conjunction with this promotion.