Chanukah Ideas!

For those of us that love to be creative and go all out, this is one of the best times of year! BUT then there are those of us who are not as creative but still want an easy project to get into the Chanukah mood or an easy project for the kids to do to help decorate the house. Here are a few creative, fun and easy to do ways to bring the light of Chanukah into your house!

Buffet

I was lucky enough to be asked to do a Chanukah buffet table for Elegant Impressions Magazine! (Free copies are available in my store for you to take). I incorporated a TON of creative options into it but you only need to pick one to make a difference!

• The large apothecary jar in the center is filled with cotton candy! Simple, easy and fun!
• The vases are filled with lolly pops! This is a fun option to last all 8 nights, IF the kids don’t get to it first!
• Chanukah isn’t just blue and white! We added purple and silver for some pop! Why not add some gold or even some pink!
• The rice crispie treats on the top left were a blast to create! The recipe will be in my second cookbook, but here is a sneak peak! Make rice crispie treats in a 9×13 pan, after they have set, remove them from the pan and place them on a cutting board. We cut ours into rectangle shapes but feel free to use cookie cutters and create fun shapes! We then dipped them in chocolate, placed a stick in them and glued on some colored discs to ad a pop!

• Another fun and easy creation was the cookies sitting on the glasses of milk! I made a basic sugar cookie recipe (Breezy’s Mix & Match page 151) and cut them into circles. Then I used a butter knife and cut out little slits in each cookie.  I baked and then iced them using royal icing (Breezy’s Mix & Match page 153). To create the pattern I just put rows of colors and then dragged a toothpick through it in alternating directions.
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• The cupcakes are my mothers favorite! To create a cupcake wrapper follow this template. My mother is a scrap book queen and has TONS of patterned papers in her house. You can even use plain construction paper and let the kids decorate them! You can use scissors with a patterned edge or a glue and some crystals! We topped the cupcake with mounds of frosting (just the way we like it), carefully rolled it in sanding sugar and placed a fondant disc on top that we covered with edible spray paint.

• All of the serving pieces are available for purchase at Breezy’s.As well as all of the food products used such as edible spray paint, pareve chocolate to melt, fondant, sanding sugar, etc.

Sugar Cookie Decorating Ideas

Simple Coins:

Step 1: Bake  round sugar cookies and allow them to cool

Step 2: Cover them with a solid coat of white royal icing and allow them to dry

Step 3: Place the remainder of the royal icing inside of a piping bag with a #2 or #3 tip and pipe out designs such as a menorah, dreidel or numbers

Step 4: Allow them to dry completely and then spray them with edible spray paint!

Complicated Candles:

Step 1: Bake candle shape cookies and allow them to cool

Step 2: Place white royal icing inside of a piping bag with a #1 or #2 tip. Outline the entire cookie and divide the sections, such as the flame from the candle. Also create lines on the candles either going straight or at a diagonal.

Step 3: Separate your royal icing and color them, place them into piping bags or squeeze bottles.

Step 4: Working with 1 color at a time, fill in the desired areas. If you want while it is still wet pour on some sanding sugar and let it stay. Once the royal icing dries shake off the excess sanding sugar.

Step 5: Work with the second and third colors, allowing them time to crust up, if not completely dry, between colors in order to prevent bleeding.

Follow me on Pinterest for more fun and creative entertaining ideas as well as some projects for the kids!

~B