Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without delicious food and family to share it with. Every family has their tried and true recipes, we hope you enjoy 12 of ours.
Read moreRecipe: The Famous Palmer Hot Chocolate
Simple and Easy, and everyone loves it! Especially when you have a cup with Mike's Buttermilk Doughnuts!
Read moreTraps of Christmas Past: Building a Trap Around a Teenager
This is a really fun trap! Building traps takes a lot of creativity, because you really have to taken in your surroundings and what you have around to use. I would say that most of the inspiration for you trap will be taken from the layout of your home at the obstacles you have to use.
This example comes from my Aunt Lynette's family. Most of my Aunt's children have started families of their own, and so the traps have become more rudimentary for the toddlers. One Christmas, when her entire family got together for a Christmas celebration at the cabin, the family decided that they were going to set a separate trap on Aunt Lynette's youngest son Taylor. He fell asleep in a big open room, with no doors or hallways, so it presented a problem for building a trap.
The Cabin has about 10 of these sleeper chairs, and so they built a "fort" around Taylor. I can imagine that it would make waking up very disorienting. Then on top of the fort they piled several pots and pans to make his escape difficult.
Genius!!!
Merry Trapping!
Christi’s Texas Sheet Cake
Texas has its reputation of being bigger and better, and this cake definitely lives up to that!
Read moreTraps of Christmas Past: Surrounded by Mouse Traps
On closer examination my suspicion was validated, mouse traps. I never thought that my mom would risk snapping our toes off on Christmas day.
Read moreBren’s Pumpkin Pie
A simple recipe that rings true to the pumpkin spice flavor that everyone loves so much the Holiday season! We have been making this pumpkin pie for decades and we still love it!
Read more6 Ways Your Kids Might Surprise You
From the experience of long time trappers, we will give you some hints of the types of things you are kids are going to attempt to get through the trap. You should keep these in mind during the building process.
Read more8 Clever Christmas Traps
Some traps are just funny! Family members tell the story over and over, and the listeners still enjoy it because the story is just too darn good! Here are some of the best!
Read moreA Christmas Trap Competition!
We are hosting our First Annual Christmas Trap Competition! By now, you all have at least an idea in mind about what are you are going to do for the Christmas Trap. So this Christmas Eve when you finish building your trap, snap a few photos and enter to win the Christmas Trap Competition 2015!
Read moreLaDawn’s Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls are fool proof, even an inexperienced bread maker can be successful with this recipe. Sweet and warm and perfect for Christmas Morning!
Read more4 Epic Christmas Traps
You have found this new Christmas Trap tradition, and you are curious just how crazy some families might go? Well here are 4 EPIC Christmas Traps that our families still talk about to this day!
Read moreTraps of Christmas Past: Practice Makes Perfect
We’d have to get them before it was time to go to bed. We had been planning this for months but now we had to put it all into action. It was Christmas Eve and it was time! Time to break into our house.
Read moreVickie's Crock Pot Ham and Potatoes
As a side dish or as a main dish, this is a savory recipe you may be able to make with things you already have in your fridge.
Read more9 Ways to Use Jingle Bells In Your Christmas Trap
If you haven’t already figured it out, we better tell you again, jingle bells are our favorite Christmas trap tool. They can be added to just about any trap, they have a festive tone to them, and are difficult to keep quiet. So here are 9 of our favorite ways to use them!
Read moreGrandma Palmer's Custard Rice Pudding
A sweet and satisfying custard that can be used for breakfast or dessert! We love this dish because it fills our home with the scent of nutmeg. Perfect for the holidays!
Read moreGuest Post on Paging Supermom!
We are thrilled that Paging Supermom! featured us on their site yesterday. Check out a great story from Christmas in 1997 and all the other fun things they share on their site. You'll love it!
Starter Kit Trap
We know what you're probably thinking. I really love this Trap idea! And I know my kids would LOVE it. But I'm so busy on Christmas Eve night. Can you help make this easier? Yes! We developed the starter kit to help all of you first time trapping parents who need a quick and easy solution for a perfect trap this Christmas.
The Kit includes supplies for making 5 obstacles! And includes many other helpful items to help you with the set-up.
Here are each obstacle with photos. There are also links to blog posts which can give you further explanation if needed.
At the bottom of the post is a video of my teenage brother and sister going through the trap built with this kit.
Rating: Easy to Medium
Suplies: The Christmas Trap Starter Kit
Obstacle 1 - Rope
Opening the bedroom door can be the most difficult parts of escaping a trap. You can not see what is on the other side, and so you must proceed slowly and carefully. The rope is an easy first obstacle. If you have two doorknobs near each other, you can tie the doors together. In this photo, we don't have another door so the rope is tied to a small container of oxyclean. If the door swings open, it will pull the container, toppling whatever you balanced on top. WE used a cookie sheet and cups. See this blog post for more detail Doorknobs and Bungees .
*not included cups, cookie tray, container.
Obstacle 2 - Wrapping Paper
Wrapping paper is noisy! It is hard to appreciate just how difficult this obstacle can be. The video below is played in 8x speed because the only way to beat it is by moving very, very slowly. The kit includes a roll of 14' wrapping paper which can be hung from the door as seen in the picture. To make the obstacle more difficult we placed tape in between the paper and the door-jam.
Obstacle 3 - Black Thread and Jingle Bells
Kids love these traps. With their active imaginations, they will imagine they are evading the lasers to a high security alarm system. Black thread strung in various directions with jingle bells hung in random places. Any movement on the thread and it will make noise.
Obstacle 4 - Balloons and Needles
In the photo, the balloon on the top left is connected to a trip wire. If the trip wire is hit, it will nudge the balloon into a safety pin attached to the wall. There are 15 balloons in the kit, so you really could make this trap very difficult if you wanted. I added jingle bells inside the balloons to make it a little harder.
Obstacle 5 - Motion Sensing Bird
You will hate this little bird as soon as you pull it out of the kit. They chirp at every little flicker of movement, and sometimes will make noise when you turn on/off the lights! The only way to beat it is by moving very slowly or by throwing something over the top of it. You could hide it in your Christmas tree, or somewhere up high where the kids can't reach it. It only takes seconds to set up and works very well!
I chose to place mine in the doorway of the bathroom. I wanted the trap to be beatable, but difficult. This way, there is only about a 8 foot stretch of hallway that they bird can see, making it slightly easier for younger children.
We know you will enjoy the starter kit! This season we have built over 20 traps for the blog, and there wasn't a single trap we didn't have the kit with us to grab supplies in a pinch. It has all the knick knacks that are commonly used in traps. I will keep this kit in my Christmas decorations and use it year after year!
Merry Trapping!
The Tiger Trap
If you are looking for a great birthday surprise trap, look no further! This trap is so versatile and so much fun! It also works! If you choose the right area in your home, it is almost guaranteed to go off.
Read more3 Reasons the Christmas Trap is Better Than Elf on the Shelf
You have seen the Elf on the Shelf everywhere, and it looks like such a cute fun tradition! But does it really even compare to the Christmas Trap?
Read moreTraps of Christmas Past: String and A Baby Gate
This trap is from when I was 6 years old.
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