Reindeer dust

5 cups oatmeal (use 1 cup per child you have)
glitter

Mix the two together in a large zip lock bag.
Sprinkle outside, (over snow is gorgeous!) to "guide Santa's reindeer" to the right house.

Sugar cookies

8 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups butter
2/3 cup shortening
4 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp vanilla

TOPPING:
colored sugar
sprinkles
icing

Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until all flour has mixed in very well. Put plastic wrap over bowl and set in fridge for 1 hour, to help dough stiffen up.
After an hour, turn dough out onto flour surface. Kneed and roll dough until it's thin enough to make your cookies. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookies sheets/pans/stones. Pour sprinkles or other toppings over each cookie.
Bake on 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until edges are very lightly browned.

GOING GREEN: Enviro-friendly gift wrap!

Environmentally-Friendly Gift-Wrap Options
by Farrah Parkes on Sep 10th 2007 7:00PM

The plastic grocery bag appears to be going the way of the dinosaur. If the trend continues, disposable gift wrap might not be far behind. Here are five alternatives you can turn to if the over-priced Hallmark gift bags disappear from the shelves:
Re-Purposed Paper: Of course, your basic uncoated wrapping paper is recyclable and probably not the biggest threat to the environment. But, if you prefer "re-use" over "recycle", then consider other paper options. Brown paper bags, magazine pages, your old Biology notes that you kept for no reason whatsoever... (oh, don't pretend you don't have those). But please, while those crazy Brits might think nothing of wrapping their fish and chips in newspaper, spare your friends and family the aggravation of newsprint all over their fingers and bright shiny gifts.
Gift Boxes from re-purposed cardboard: I'm loving these two tutorials for paper gift boxes. Only one calls specifically for re-using materials (they recommend cereal boxes) but both could easily be made out of any light cardboard you've got sitting in the recycling bin. You might also want to whip out the rubber stamps, paint, or whatever recyclable bling you've got, to make the cardboard a wee bit more festive.
Fabric gift bags: If you know your way around a sewing machine, you could try your hand at making your own fabric gift bags. If drawstring isn't your thing, McCall's has a free pattern for a gift bag with handles. (just skip the whole crazy quilting step and go to the last set of instructions).
Fabric CD Case: This also requires a little bit of sewing skill, but if you're up to it, the possibilities are endless. CDs might also be going the way of the dinosaur, but video games, DVDs and books could all get their own custom fabric case.
Fabric Wrap: If sewing just isn't going to happen for you, the Japanese government has instructions for wrapping gifts with fabric, instead of paper. Yes, the Japanese government provides its citizens with gift-wrapping instructions, got a problem with that? I can't say the directions are particularly clear, but it's worth a shot. In the spirit of re-using, you might want to save this option for your crafty pals who'll definitely make use of a random piece of fabric after they've opened their gift.

Red Velvet Cake

I know it's not Christmas time yet, but this was requested. Enjoy!

1 2/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp shortening
1 egg white
1 egg
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 oz bottle of red food coloring
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tubs of cream cheese frosting, mixed with 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat 2 9 inch cake pans in cooking spray.
Beat the sugar and shortening at medium speed of a mixer 5 minutes or until well-blended. Add egg white and egg; beat well. Combine cocoa and food coloring in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add to sugar mixture; mix well.
Lightly spoon 2 1/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine with salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add vanilla; mix well. Combine vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl; add to batter, mixing well.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
Ice with cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

A 2fer-Baked Glazed Ham and Easter Egg Hunt Pie

Ham:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 (8-pound) smoked fully cooked ham half, trimmed
1 (12-ounce) can cola soft drink
1 (8-ounce) jar plum or apricot preserves
1/3 cup orange juice


Preparation
Combine first 6 ingredients. Score fat on ham in a diamond pattern. Sprinkle ham with sugar mixture, and place in a lightly greased shallow roasting pan. Pour cola into pan.
Bake, covered, at 325° for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 more minutes.

Stir together preserves and orange juice. Spoon 3/4 cup glaze over ham, and bake 15 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 140°. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining glaze.

Pie:
1 (6 oz.) Keebler ReadyCrust Graham Cracker Crust
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) Eagle Sweetened Condensed Milk (Not
evaporated Milk)
3/4 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) instant vanilla flavor pudding
and pie filling
1-1/2 cups non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
16 mini chocolate eggs or other holiday candy

In large bowl beat Cream Cheese until fluffy.

Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth.

Add milk, whipped cream, and pudding mix; beat on low speed until
smooth.

Spoon half of filling into crust.

Place chocolate eggs evenly over filling. Top with
remaining filling.

Chill 3 hours