How To Host A Fabulous Disney Side @Home Celebration #DisneySide

*Disclosure: I received free products in order to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration. The opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Policy tab for more information.


It's no secret that my family loves all things Disney, so when we were chosen to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration again this year, we were thrilled! I immediately started making a list of what we could do to make it one of the most fun Disney parties we have ever had.

We did receive a box of goodies to help us get going. Our theme was supposed to be villains, but we also stuck with the classic Mickey Mouse theme for some of our younger guests to enjoy. We decided not to go overboard on the eats, sticking with simple finger foods that would be easy to grab while playing games. We used a little Mickey Mouse Cookie Cutter to create some fun Mickey cheese shapes for mini ham and cheese sandwiches. We also served up some "Hot Diggity Dogs".

We used the villain place cards we were provided for inspiration too. Using some green sherbert and Sprite, the kids loved sipping on Ursula's Human Potion. It didn't cost them their voice, either!

Kids love snacks, and again, we wanted to keep it simple and as mess free as possible. We used the same Mickey cookie cutters to make some fun Rice Krispies Treats. We were provided a box of Duff Goldman, Tie-Dye, Premium Cake Mix. Sticking with the villains theme, we only used the green and purple dyes to make Ursula's Sea Snack cupcakes. We created Maleficent's staff with chocolate dipped pretzels topped with non perils.

 

What's a party without fun activities and games? The kids had a blast playing Pin the Smile on Mickey.

They raced to see who could complete the Disney Villain's Puzzle the fastest.

The girls did a little villain inspired nail art.

Games like Disney Bingo, Word Search and Match-Up were a hit among all ages.

Feel free to save a copy of these games for your own Disney Side @Home Celebration!

The winners were provided small door prizes. Pencils and these fun Cinderella buttons were well received.

You don't need to invest a lot of time or money into planning a Disney Side @Home Celebration. Keeping it simple and providing fun Disney themed food and games will have every guest entertained for hours! 

Are you a Disney fan? What kind of treats and games would you have at your Disney Side @Home Celebration?

Special thanks to Disney Parks and Mom Select for helping us host a fabulous Disney Side Home Celebration.

Cocoa For Chocolate Lovers On A Cold Winter Day!

*Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

My gosh, it is COLD! I have been freezing out of my ever-loving mind all week! The kids only had school twice last week due to the freezing temperatures. We have been busy chugging away at our basement remodel, but I have decided that this weekend I am going to stay under the covers, curl up with a few good books, and sip on some rich chocolatey hot cocoa. I remember my mom making huge batches of homemade hot cocoa when I was a kid, and it was so scrumptious! Nothing beats the flavor of a good pot of homemade hot cocoa! I was intrigued when I saw this Cocoa For Chocolate Lovers recipe on Golden Blossom Honey.

It called for an addition of cinnamon, which I have never had in my cocoa, and I was curious how well it was going to taste mixed into the drink. It turns out, I loved it! The cinnamon adds an overall warmth to the flavor, leaving me wondering why I haven't tried cinnamon in cocoa before.

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash of salt

Get the full recipe here. 

My girls love to have a glass of cocoa to warm up after spending time playing out in the snow. I hope they have such fond memories of mama's homemade hot cocoa that I serve them, thanks to the delicious recipe I got from Golden Blossom Honey!

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey!

What are your weekend plans? Does it include a steaming cup of hot cocoa?

Jackpot! Get A Surprise In Every Jackpot Candle!

*Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

I'm not a gambler. My in-laws think Jason and I are crazy because we will drive an hour to the casino, just to eat at the buffet. Then we go home without ever stepping foot on the casino floor. I don't do scratch offs, and I'll only buy a lottery ticket once ever couple of years if the stakes are high. I guess I just want a good return on my investment, one that is guaranteed. 


If you've been around here a while, you know that I love burning a yummy smelling candle often in my home. I also love surprises. Combine the two, and ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! This week, I have been burning Jackpot Candles in my home.

Jackpot Candles are made with 100% premium natural soy, hand poured, and made in the USA. The candles burn even and clean, so I don't worry about nasty black, sooty smoke filling the air in my home when it burns. 

I love the scent of sweet baked treats, and having the Birthday Cake Candle lit, my home is filled with the delicious aroma of vanilla cake! Yummy! The candles burn for 80 to 100 hours, so each candle is going to fill my home with great scents for quite a long time. Thinking about birthday cake gets me excited, but even better, each candle has a surprise jewelry item hidden inside. It's like getting cake and presents, and it isn't even my birthday!

When placing your order, you get to chose what kind of jewelry you want (ring, earrings, necklace). If you chose a ring, you get to pick the size you need to ensure a proper fitting jewelry piece.

It took about 12 hours of burning, then we finally saw the little red foil packet emerge from the soy.

I blew out the candle, made a wish, and gently pulled out the packet with a pair of tweezers. I selected a ring as my surprise, and I couldn't wait to see what they sent.

Isn't it pretty!? Every candle has a jewelry item included that is worth between $15 and $5,000! My ring had a code attached where I could enter it directly on the Jackpot Candle website to see the appraised value. My ring is appraised at $31!

Jackpot Candles make an awesome gift (Mother's Day is coming up!) Give one to a loved one, or why not treat yourself? With scents like Caramel Coffee Latte, Banana Nut Bread, Lilac and Pina Colada, there's a scent for everyone!

If you would like to learn more about Jackpot Candles, visit them on their website. Additionally, stay up to date on new products and promotions by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

WIN IT!

One lucky Theresa's Mixed Nuts reader is going to win a Jackpot Candle of their choice!

Giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. NO PO Boxes will be accepted. The giveaway will run through 3/15/15. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email or a new winner will be selected.

**All entries are verified. Please make sure you are following all task guidelines you claim entries for. Failure to do so will result in your entries being removed from the form. 

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How Parents Can Teach Their Kids to Cook

The art of cooking is often forgotten about by parents, although cooking is one of the most valuable skills a person can have. Everyone needs to learn how to cook at least a few meals in order to feed themselves a nutritious and inexpensive meal. Parents should give their kids this skill by helping them learn how to cook at an early age. Too many parents neglect this process and are left with adults to cannot cook a meal to save their lives.

Many parents get nervous about having their kids, even teenagers, in the kitchen. There are a lot of ways for kids to get hurt in the kitchen and parents need to take the right precautions to avoid these issues. Despite these obstacles, there are a lot of ways that parents can safely teach their kids how to cook. Any parent can use these ideas to give their kids a skill they will use for the rest of their lives. Here are some tips for parents teaching their kids how to cook.

Watch some videos

Parents and kids can both learn a lot more about cooking from watching new videos. Parents can find videos online or watch cooking shows with a local TV service. This can give kids a better idea of what the correct methods are supposed to look like and help parents better explain to their kids the correct methods.

Go over the safety basics

Safety is the most important factor to go over with kids when they first start cooking. Parents need to explain the dangers of each thing in the kitchen and what kids need to do to protect themselves. Parents can find fun ways to teach their kids about safety without scaring them out of the kitchen. Once this is done, parents can move on knowing their kids will have fewer accidents.

Experiment with new recipes

Every family has their own traditional recipes that they like to make every week. However, parents can give their kids a chance to experiment by trying some new recipes. Parents can let kids pick out new ideas and they can all learn how to make something new together. This can be a great way to bond and find a new favorite family recipe.

Teach them about nutritional value

One of the most important reasons why parents should teach their kids to cook is so they can better understand the nutritional value of food. Parents can discuss with their kids what foods are healthy and why parents choose certain foods to make for each meal. This can help kids create healthy eating habits early on.

Make it part of the normal routine

Parents can help make eating a healthy meal a habit for their kids by making cooking a normal part of the weekly routine. Parents can have their kids help with meals weekly or even daily to help them remember cooking techniques and make learning to cook simple and fun.

Image: http://pixabay.com/en/cookies-baking-kids-bakery-cook-448358/