Winter – Page 6 – Wineberry Wood Press

29Oct 2023 by catbird 5 Comments

Solstice Simmer Pots & a Gift Idea

Craft Project, Folklore, Winter, Winter Solstice

One of the easiest things to do around the winter holidays is to make a simmer pot. A simmer pot is basically a homemade air freshener made by simmering fragrant pieces of fruits, herbs, and other spices in water. You throw some nice smelling things into a pot and let it just simmer on the stove all day. It makes the house smell amazing and cozy and like the holidays. There are three other important facets to this tradition beyond the lovely scent for me: 1) I use up discarded things like orange peels and fallen evergreen branches. It kills me when I see recipes that tell you to cut up 3 fresh oranges or apples. There is no reason. Eat the food. Lots of people don't have enough food and…

29Oct 2023 by catbird 5 Comments

Spice Mosaic Ornaments

Craft Project, Nature Art, Play, Winter, Winter Solstice

This easy project was meant for kids, although it’s fun for grownups too! The finished ornaments are deceptively elegant and smell amazing. They’d be beautiful as a tree decoration or make a lovely gift. You can use any spice you like, but choose plenty that have a nice smell. You can easily cut cinnamon sticks into little curlicues with scissors after they’ve been soaking in water for a few hours– throw some into a simmer pot on the stove for a few hours for double duty. Younger friends can experiment with spices and playdough if the ornament is too much for them. Materials: Assorted whole spices (star anise, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, hawthorn berries, cardamom seeds, mustard seed, coriander, multi color peppercorns) Air dry clay (white and/or terra cotta) Cookie cutters…

29Oct 2023 by catbird 3 Comments

Winter Walk Gingerbread Cookies

Foraging, Recipes, Winter, Winter Solstice

Replace the spices in your favorite gingerbread recipe with the following herbal blend for a spicy and woodsy take on a traditional winter sweet. Decorate the cookies with royal icing, rose petals, juniper berries*, poppy seeds, rosemary sugar and rose sugar. Ingredients: 2 tsp cinnamon 1 ½ tsp ginger 1 ½ tsp cardamom 1 tsp ground rosemary ¾ tsp ground juniper berry To decorate: Rose sugar Rosemary sugar Whole juniper berries* Whole poppy seeds Small dried rosebuds Dried rose petals To make the sugars: Mix ground rose and sugar until you reach desired color and flavor. Mix ground rosemary and sugar until you reach desired color and flavor. To make royal icing: Method: Mix and bake your cookies according to the recipe instructions. Allow them to cool and then…

29Oct 2023 by catbird 5 Comments

Winter Solstice Craftbrunch

Craft Project, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Play, Recipes, Winter, Winter Solstice

The winter holidays often feel like a blur, one minute it’s Halloween and then suddenly it’s January and while every moment has felt busy, you aren’t quite sure what you even accomplished. I started hosting “craftbrunches” years ago to slow down and connect with friends and family. The premise is simple, everyone brings a simple dish and works on a seasonal craft together while laughing and gossiping. It’s a daytime event which feels easier to schedule when every evening is packed with holiday parties and pageants. Including a simple kids craft keeps the littles occupied while the moms catch up. A Winter Solstice craftbrunch is a perfect respite from the chaos of the season, connecting us with nature and with friends. The Winter Solstice is the day that the earth…

27Oct 2023 by catbird 2 Comments

Winter Solstice Countdown Calendar

Craft Project, Play, Winter, Winter Solstice

My kids loooove countdown calendars. They have a Lego countdown calendar every year, individual countdown calendars for their respective birthdays and this one to countdown to winter solstice. It starts with all of the sections folded in-- dark like the longest night. As you open each section the sun is slowly revealed symbolizing the return of the light the days slowly getting longer after the solstice. Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year with the most hours of darkness. Every night after the Winter Solstice is just a little less dark. Ancient people believed it was the rebirth of the sun, so much of the symbolism around this holiday involves the sun and light. They wanted to encourage it to come back! Solstice Countdown Calendar This calendar is…

01Sep 2023 by catbird No Comments

Hunt for Animal Tracks

Hike Ideas, Midwinter, Play, Winter, Winter Solstice

Whether you have snow or mud, winter is a great time to hunt for animal tracks. The lack of underbrush makes them much easier to spot. Younger friends will likley just be excited to find and identify some tracks, but older friends might enjoy tracking the paths the prints take and trying to reconstruct what the animal might have been doing and or where it is living. We spent literally hours following those raccoon tracks around the forest and mapped out what we hypothesized was a whole community of raccoons. They went to the water, they went to different trees that appeared to have dwellings in them, it was pretty fascinating. Another fun step would be to draw and illustration or write a story about what you found, in our…

26Jul 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Galaxy Smoothie Bowl for the Wolf Moon

Full Moon, Recipes, Winter, Wolf Moon

The January full moon is most commonly known as the Wolf Moon. Various North American tribes have different names for it, but names for this moon largely evoke coldness or lean times. The Algonquin people call it the "Sun has Not Strength to Thaw Moon, the Arapaho refer to the "When Snow Blows like Spirits in the Wind Moon, and the Lakota people use the most concise "Hard Moon." The only direct wolf reference I could find was from the Sioux people who call this moon the "Wolves Run Together Moon. Interestingly, the Farmer's Almanac doesn't cite any sources for the Wolf Moon name, it just refers to wolves howling this time of year. My favorite interpretation of the name relates it to the Wolf Trail or Road—a traditional Blackfoot name for…

27Mar 2023 by catbird 1 Comment

Worm Parfaits for the Worm Moon

Full Moon, Recipes, Winter, Worm Moon

One of teh common names for the March full name is the Worm Moon. It's a muddy month, and nearlly always when we start to see worm castings all over the ground as the worms start to move around again after a cold winter. Worms really don't get much love despite being incredibly helpful. They make soil, they improve out gardens and just quietly carry on with their business. Vermicomposting is a fun project to do with kids, but sometimes you want a fancy worm treat. Cue these delicious worm parfaits! Worm Moon Parfaits This is one of those desserts that looks far fancier than it is-- it's a glorified dirt pudding, but its' beautiful and never fails to impress. You have a lot of leeway with ingredients, you can…

19Jan 2023 by catbird 2 Comments

Midwinter Nature Activities for Kids

Bath & Body, Craft Project, Midwinter, Nature Art, Recipes, Winter

Ten ways to celebrate the Midwinter with kids!! Pin for later! Click the pictures below for more info. (Tutorials for the candles and moon milk will be in my upcoming Midwinter guide!) Midwinter is an inward facing, puttering kind of celebration, in contrast to all of the pomp of the December holidays. It’s cleaning out the old and looking forward to the new-- spring, new gardens and days filled with light all while staying cozy and warm. You can celebrate by making soap, candles, tidying the house, pouring over seed catalogs, laying out garden plans, forcing branches or making traditional foods with milk, honey and seeds. It's a great time to practice hygge, taking pleasure in slower, simple things.

11Jan 2023 by catbird 2 Comments

Hibernation Party!!

Craft Project, Hibernation Celebration, Learning, Nature Art, Play, Winter

Maybe you've been learning about hibernation all week... maybe you just like a good party. Either way, a hibernation party is a ton of fun!! This is a great party to have with friends right before winter break (which is what we usually do) or a fun way to celebrate winter in January. Check out the Hibernation Celebration page for some more ways to learn about hibernation or just dive right into the snacks! Below there are ideas for: storing up for the winter (snacks), making your den cozy (activities) and training for hibernation (games). Store up for Winter Mobile Hibernation Snack Necklace One of the most important parts of hibernation is storing up tons of food and you never know when you might get hungry! Cue the mobile hibernation…

Category: Winter