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SydneyBeans

DIY Christmas Classroom Gifts & Teriyaki Steak Bites

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That’s the thing with handmade items. They still have the person’s mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone.

Aimee Bender

There have been so many final moments that I’ve noticed recently. This week we attended the Kid’s Christmas concerts! Man, I have honestly missed these shows over the last 3 years! Sitting in the gym, masked up, with 300 other parents/grandparents, watching the elementary school Christmas play was amazing! It was also a little bit sad for me because I realized that this will be my last school Christmas play. Ugh. Just saying that breaks my heart!

Another last will be Christmas treats for all of SBean’s, classmates. We started the tradition of handing out holiday treats when HBear was in kindergarten. Over the last few years, we were unable to continue our tradition because of Covid, but this year, we are allowed to send treats again! This year we decided to buy SBean’s 3 favourite pudding flavours and decorate them! We made Rudolph, Santa’s belt, and Frosty! This was a super simple craft, and didn’t cost us a fortune because let’s be real, handing out treats to 23 students can add up!

All you need is:
Red ribbon
Black sparkly craft paper
Red pom-poms
Googly eyes
Black buttons
Orange foam
Black sticker jewels
Scissors
Glue
Vanilla/chocolate/Oreo pudding


SBean has been BIG on a homemade Christmas this year. When we told them that this Christmas will be smaller than the family is used to because I’m not working as much this year, she insisted on doing a Secret Santa Homemade Gift Exchange for our immediate family! I can’t wait to share what I have planned but not until after Christmas!!!! 😆 We also made gifts for all of the teachers and coaches in our lives! I am a BIG fan of homemade gifts. They are so much more personal and directly from the Kids. I am also a big fan of natural products, especially beauty products. I’ve always tried to make my own. Last year, we made all of the dance teachers Peppermint Coconut Body Scrub! This year we made Whipped, Sweet Orange Coconut Body Butter! I love coconut oil! I use it for so many things, but I especially love it as a body oil. It smells great, it’s super moisturizing, and it’s natural! However, sometimes coconut oil hardens so when I read a review of a woman that whipped her coconut oil to keep it soft, I knew we had to try it! We added some sweet orange essential oil and put it in festive jars and hopefully my Kid’s mentors will get a lot of use out of this DIY gift!

All you need is:
Festive jars
Organic coconut oil
Essential oil of your choosing

Sticker paper for labels
Mixmaster or hand mixer

Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #306: Gotcha Day HERE! This week, it’s Oliver’s 1-year arrival anniversary! Topics: dog cookies, Xmas decorations, Xmas movies, Megan & Harry, Bogners, RAK, Meadow Vista, HP update, & concerts.

Beef is so expensive. We used to buy a cow from Clifton Ranch and keep it in our freezer all year long. Maybe it’s because I understand the climate implications of eating red meat or maybe it’s the rising costs or because as I get older I just don’t digest it the same way but whatever it is, we have definitely cut our intake of beef this past year by a LOT! One day I saw 1 giant sirloin steak on sale. I knew if I cut it up, it would definitely feed all 4 of us, and I was right! We made an easy teriyaki steak bite dinner on the bed of rice, and it was delicious and the perfect amount of steak! Making your own teriyaki sauce seems intimidating, but you probably have all the ingredients and it only takes a few minutes to create a delicious sauce without the preservatives & without spending $5 on a jar of sauce when you only need half of it! Trust me, homemade teriyaki sauce is amazeballs, and for an 1/8 of the price I felt like I was having a Keg baseball teriyaki sirloin 😜😂!

Teriyaki Steak Bites
1 1/2 lbs top sirloin steak
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bell pepper, sliced
10 cremini mushrooms, peeled or cleaned
1/2 onion, sliced
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Over medium heat in a saucepan combine water, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger, onion powder and garlic powder. Cook until heated through about 1-2 minutes.
In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water until dissolved.
Add the cornstarch mix to the saucepan whisking so it doesn’t lump. Cook until the sauce has thickened about 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Cut the steak into bite size cubes about ¾-inch.
Drizzle a wok with oil. Turn to medium high heat.
Once hot, add steak bites and cook for 4-6 minutes total on both sides turning as needed.
Add the pepper, mushrooms and onion to the wok. Saute for 2-3 minutes over medium-high. Adjust the salt to taste.
Add the steak bites back to the wok and add the sauce and stir to distribute.
Top with toasted sesame seeds and serve over RICE.

This was the week Christmas season truly began in our house! The Kids made our gifts, I finished our Christmas shopping, we dropped off our toys at the Annual Toys For Tots To Teens Drive and we attended school Christmas concerts! SBean played Detective Elf Ventura and had a leading role! She was so funny!! The whole show was so good and I will remember it fondly. HBear had a jazz band concert and KILLED it! Her drumming is really coming along and you can tell she has made a good group of friends in her bandmates and that she enjoys it. It was also SO nice to have had Grandma, Grandpa and Papa attend both shows 💛! I also enjoyed coffee with my MMBesty, received beautiful Christmas flowers from Ninja, made crockpot stew, and received the BEST socks EVER from my CharleswoodBesty! This weekend marked 1 year since we have welcomed Oliver into our home and our hearts and we went to Meadow Vista Honey Winery for Selfies with Santa! We tasted mead, had delicious smokies with pickled veggies, hot mulled wine, hot chocolate, sand carols by the fire, looked at the miniature Santa Village, met Santa and roasted s’mores! It was a fantastic night with my Sis and her family! All the Kids came to our place for a sleepover after and we went to see The Dufflebag Theatre‘s presentation of A Christmas Carol! It was such a great weekend made even better by our weekly grocery trip, 13 items for $66.62!!

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