Gift Wrapping Life Hack

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Things come in awkward-shaped containers, and sometimes a gift bag is not an option. (We ship a fair amount of gifts.)

Martha Stewart has a decent amount of ideas on this subject, but I've found a way that she hasn't honed in on yet. I also think it is adorable. 

You will need:

gift wrap

so much tape

gift

a cute kid, who is young enough to make a hot mess charming

Step 1: Cut the paper to an understandable size for the gift.

Step 2: Cut twice the amount of tape you would normally use.

Step 3: Give the child all the materials and wish them luck. 

Voila! 

Level Up: Have a roll of butcher paper or white easel paper on hand at all times for crafts and emergency gift wrapping. Combine the two by giving your kid crayons before wrapping. 

Halloween Safety - Lights!

Pin It There are a million memes on the internet warning parents of the dangers of Halloween, particularly surrounding the potential for someone to slip your kid some E.

We won't go into that here. I wanted to share an incidental trick we discovered last night that was really great.

Check out their buckets. Their glowing buckets.

We went trick-or-treating with our good friends for a grand total of six kids. Five of them were dressed in black costumes, and in the shadows, you can't see the reflective tape. The night before, I had hosted our annual playgroup party, which featured a giant bin of water beads. What makes water beads even more fun? Submersible floral lights. I hoarded all of my craft coupons and bought these beauties at our local craft store. They aren't cheap, but they last for hours and have replaceable batteries. The kids played with them in the sensory bin for three hours before I shut them off. They lasted another two trick-or-treating and still have a lot of life left. 

Having forgotten to buy glow sticks, we decided to use these. They were much brighter than glowsticks, and much easier than flashlights. 

The lights have a loop on the edge that would make putting them on a ribbon easy. I had intended to do just that, but as it was I nearly forgot them altogether and Cat Woman had to run back to the house and save the day. 

These lights really illuminated the buckets! Every once in a while we'd dig one out of a candy pile and put it back on top. 

This is just a quick and easy step you can take to ensure a little safety on Halloween.


PS - If you were wondering about the water beads bin, the lights were amazing in there as well!

Eek! Spiders! Halloween Craft

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Every year, our moms' group has a Halloween party. It is one of the really big events we do, and we go all out. 

I saw similar cute little spider craft kits on a bulk-order site for a small fortune. I decided this was something I could replicate for little cost and effort. The cost was definitely lower. I may have gone a little overboard with effort, but that's how I do. My definition of "simple" is skewed. 

For each spider web set you will need: 

3 Notched popsical/craft sticks

1 black pom pom

2 pipe cleaners, cut in half (for 4 total pieces)

Black and glow-in-the-dark paint (or colors of your choice, or none at all)

About 64" of yarn

A hot glue gun

Start with the sticks. Glue them together to look like a snowflake. I chose to spray paint them black, then coat them with glow-in-the-dark acrylic paint. 

While those dry, make the spiders. 

Twist the pipe cleaners together in the middle to create 8 legs. Hot glue a pom pom right in the middle, and glue the eyes onto the pom pom. If your kids are older, they can make the spiders. I am aiming for the PreK crowd, and want something quick, since we have a million crafts. 

Hot glue the length of yarn onto the back of the craft sticks. Mine took about 64" of cheap, worsted weight acrylic yarn. You  might want to test one out on your sticks to be sure. 

The kids weave the web, and glue the end of yarn into a loop on the end of a stick. Now, all that is left is to wrap a spider leg around a web string and display!

Happy Halloween!

More Elf Business

Pin It Oh, that silly elf, Bernard!

A few days ago, he appeared riding a reindeer!

Late that night, I caught him doing this:

Then, yesterday, he showed up with a note.

(He had also been coloring again. He traced the cookie cutters he dug out of our cookie cutter bin.)

The note (on a snowflake, written in red and green sparkle ink, of course) reads:

Dear Crazypants,
I left cookie dough in your refrigerator! You and Mommy can bake and decorate some cookies today! Remember to be a good listener!
Love,
Bernard

This note is for a 22-month-old, so simple is good.

(Also good, she forgot about the "decorate" part. Not only did it not happen that day, but Bernard was inspired later on.)

Here's a tip from Bernard to your elf:

Refrigerate cookie dough in small batches. Not only does that help keep it from getting too soft when you are working at toddler speed, but you may find that by the end of batch 2 that the next batch or so would be best if unassisted.

Bernard left us both plain dough and dough dyed green. We assumed that was for the trees.

While we worked, Bernard drank some (my) iced coffee and read A Feast for Crows.

The idea that Bernard would read Mommy's book was The Funniest Thing to V., so he read for a while.

That is, until he fell over into a mess of flour.

V. would not give up that he was dirty and needed a bath, but elves are somewhat modest, and Bernard was not about to just jump down and strip right there to hop into a bath.

While we were in the other room, this happened.

Personally, I was relieved that he didn't go for the traditional elf bath of marshmallows, because marshmallows are synonymous with crack in this household. Bernard would have found himself bubbleless and I would have been peeling a toddler off the vaulted ceiling. He's a smart elf, I tell you.

Cookie decorating didn't happen yesterday, so Bernard brought us a little inspiration this morning:

Cookie decorating supplies! How thoughtful, Bernard!

(Due to some last-minute holiday shopping that turned into a "run around the mall" fiasco and a nap boycott that ended 2 hours later than nap started, they did not get decorated today, either.)

We'll get to them. Eventually. Thanks to Bernard, we have all that we need save some time!

Bernard the Elf

Pin It On December 1st, Bernard arrived.

Bernard is our family Elf. Sure, kids love their elf on the shelf, but it is every bit as much for the sanity and enjoyment of moms as it is for children. At least, that is how I justified getting one for my 22-month-old.

So Bernard arrived. I've been planning Bernard's arrival for months. (Thanks, Pinterest!) The issue is that many of the ideas on the internet are for older children. I would love to replace our stockings with toddler underwear or have Samwise Gamgee and Bernard renact Mordor, but she wouldn't get it.

Here are the first three days of Toddler-appropriate Elf on the Shelf. Stay tuned for more!

Day 1: He appeared. He was on the mantle, but the mantle was boring and it was snowing outside, so he migrated before anyone woke up. For a toddler, appearing in an unreachable place is a great start. It was more than enough for one day.

Day 2: I flew downstairs because Bernard so enjoyed his perch, he hadn't left it. Oops. Good thing there were scissors, paper, and crayons nearby.

Coloring is an all-time favorite right now, so V. immediately joined in. She even offered some other colors to Bernard, who silently declined.

The table appearance posited an issue. Bernard is in prime toddler snatching range. Everyone knows you can't touch an elf or they lose their magic. So I advised Bernard to move somewhere safe when nobody was looking.

He did just that.

Day 3: The warmest day we have had and will have in a while. Never mind that, Bernard wanted cocoa. He brought everyone a cup of cocoa (in special mugs!) topped with a marshmallow! He even put some coffee in Mommy's cocoa. How kind! V. had never had cocoa before. Not only did she chug it, she didn't spill a bit. Now I know that she is perfectly capable of drinking from a cup without a lid. The fact that water hits the floor is a choice, not lack of motor skill.

There's a rule - you wear the elf hat while drinking elf-made cocoa. Bernard's rule. Not mine. 

Bernard chose to hang out on a shelf without the mini wine glass. However, he chose a cabinate with wine glasses. I didn't even realize it until we were in Target and I asked my daughter what we needed. She told me Bernard needed wine. Maybe tomorrow he'll be doing something in a different room. Apparently my subconscious thinks that Santa needs a drink.

Another thing happened in Target. V. picked out a Hanukkah plate. It was $1.50, so I was happy to let her have a special Hanukkah plate. Then she picked up a second, different plate. I asked her to chose, and she handed me the second plate and said "chose plate for Bernard." Then she put back her first choice and said "Not B. (her name for herself)" Well. That was selfless. She wanted Bernard to have a plate!
Yes, we got both of them. Bernard the Elf is the proud owner of a Hanukkah plate, gifted by a loving little girl.

Stay tuned for more toddler elf ideas!

Santa Claus is Coming to my living room.

Pin It I know it is early November, but hopefully this will help some of you that, over the next few weeks, will be hunting for toddler toys.

Last year, I bought stuff that my previous nanny kids used to love. Now that I know my kid a little better and now that she's really defined her personality, I can do a bit more personal shopping.

So if you are stuck, start with what your kids currently love.
V's favorite toys are Duplo, trains, dolls babies, Little People (also babies), books, musical instruments, and things with wheels, ride on or push toys.

Since we have a birthday right after the holidays, we'll be dividing the pile. I have no idea how we'll do this just yet, but we will. It will likely be random, as in "I forgot where I put half those gifts, and need a few more days to find them."


First up, the toy on every toy list this year:

Symphony in B by B. Toys.

I like B. Toys products, usually for the combination of being educational and battery-free. This one does have batteries, but it is awesome. It plays 15 different full songs, and you can alter the songs by adding or taking away instruments. It comes with a lyrics book as well! Unbeknownst to me until a few minutes ago (while Google searching for the image) you can store the pieces in the base. The recommended age is 3+, but my kid loves music and shape matching, so I think this will be a big hit. If not, I'll keep it warm for a year for her. The only hesitation I would have about giving this to a young child is that some of the instruments would make awesome chew toys. They aren't huge, especially the banjo arm, so if you had an exuberant chewer, they may eat some of it.

It retails at $60, but check Target online - they have it as low as $40 occasionally. I went to 3 stores looking for this last week and all were sold out. Online is the way to go.


Next, the Little People Animal Talkers' Zoo.
We have a collection of Little People that Toddler loves. I actually bought this last March. I hit a sale and had a variety of coupons at just the right time, and got this for $17, tax included.

Another deal I scored (thanks to Zulily and a friend who shared an awesome coupon!) was a balance bike:

We will need to get her a helmet, too.

We've told our family that we are getting Toddler the Melissa and Doug train table and basic figure-8 set. We're hoping they will get on board (har har) and get some more M&D tracks and trains. Even though M&D can be harder to find, it is all the quality and half the cost of Brio.

Lastly, she might get some more Duplo blocks (there's never enough of those) and she'll be getting an Elmo doll (even though I'm not happy about it, she'll absolutely love it).

 The circus always came to town right after my sister's birthday, and she always got tickets to the circus as part of her gift. It was awesome. The circus isn't going by any time soon, but Elmo Live will be here for her birthday. Given her obsession, we pretty much had to.

So, what is on your list this year?

Stocking Stuffers - Oy Vey.

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As a kid, I loved opening my stocking. It always involved one of those milk chocolate oranges you smack on the ground to break apart, and any time my stocking doesn't include that (hint hint, SANTA), I'm a little disappointed.

Then I started stuffing stockings, and realized that Santa has it rough. I was tempted to go out and buy the smallest stockings I could find, just to make it easy. However, I knitted all our stockings (fair isle, in the round) and am fiercely proud of them. The first one came out a bit larger than intended, but I wasn't going to make the other ones smaller and I certainly wasn't going to reknit a whole stocking. So they are a bit large. And a half-filled stocking is just sad. Awesome.

So what do you stuff a nearly 2-year-old's stocking with?
I've been thinking about this for a ridiculously long time.

Here's what I've got (in ideas, at least) so far.

1) Bath stuff. We own these cool Elmo color-changing bath fizzies (I got a much smaller container at our grocery store for $2.50), and were we anywhere near the end of the container, I'd get more. I'm also going to get some awesome bath crayons. Bubbles (the blowing kind) are also awesome for bathtime, but I went crazy this summer and bought a few giant containers. Whoopsie. I'll be buying some actual bubble bath, and I might make bath bombs, so I'll toss one of those in there.

2) Socks. Because she always needs them.

3) Bows, for the exact same reason. Where do they all go?
     (Edit: I found about 7 in the car today. All in a slightly chewed, gross condition.)

4) A few Chubbies Trucks. These are amazingly durable and adorable. Our local Learning Express has them for cheaper, too. I think they are $4-6, depending on size.

5) Stickers or a sticker book. She loves them all. 

6) Snacks. Last year, I stuffed her stocking with squeezie bags. This year, maybe some dried fruit snacks or Annie's Gummy Bunnies.

7) I'd love to find a small kaleidoscope. I'm not sure if she'd understand it at first, but kaleidoscopes are awesome.

8) I would put in a musical instrument (maybe a harmonica or maracas) but I'm making Jingle Cuffs for all the kids to wear on Christmas morning. (My husband can't even stand to hear me knit them. It's going to be awesome.) Santa is going to have to sit that one out.

9) Art supplies. I'm just going to need to go to the store and see what we don't have, because we have a bunch. For those looking, Dollar Tree has Bingo stamps (my kid loves these, and they come in many colors, for $1/each) and coloring books. We have a ton of Play-Dough, crayons, chalk, markers, and paints. I don't think I want to introduce her to window markers (as awesome as they are) because I know I'll turn around and find her coloring an entire room, window and all, with Sharpies, all because I wanted to cook dinner. Maybe some awesome paint brushes and rollers? These look cool: 

10) Toy bracelets. I know it won't stop her from borrowing mine, but it is worth a shot.

11) A cd. She loves music. 

12) Books, if we have any small ones left over from Hanukkah.

13) A Yearly ornament. I don't know which one. I'm not sure if we got her one last year... Growing up, we always got a Precious Moments ornament with the year on it. I love them all, but I'm going to need to get a separate tree if I ever want to hang them all.

14) Finger puppets. She still has scrawny little fingers, but likes the concept. That, and she's not going to have tiny hands forever. (sadface)

If she were older, I'd give her an iTunes gift card, since she loves music and apps, but right now she doesn't get it.

I'm also considering putting a toy train in there, since she'll be getting a train table. Maybe.

Now, if half of this pans out, we'll be in good shape.

And who knows. Maybe she'll get a milk chocolate orange, too. 

(Right. Like I wouldn't end up eating that.)

After the holidays, I'll tell you what I am going to stick in hubby's stocking. Because I got to say, I nailed it this year.

Tis the season... Part 1

Pin It We celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas (in the Santa sense) in this family. With V.'s birthday being less than a month after Christmas, it makes for a very... stuffy season in our house. We love it, it is great, but good heavens, the TOYS. They just take over.

One thing we do to handle this is give suggestions. Last year, we were saving for a swing set, so we asked that people give to the swingset fund. Some of them did, and it was so helpful! This year we'll be asking for pieces to the super awesome train table Santa is going to bring. I'm hoping people get on board with this. Train tables are awesome.

I'm posting to talk about The Lists. My husband is a planner, and it is a good thing because without his careful training and guidance, I'd be raiding Target for marked-up goods on December 23rd. The kid would end up with a set of hand weights and a soap dish.

Last year's system worked really well, so we're sticking to it. I thought I'd share some of our planning and ideas (toddler will be 2 after Christmas, so we're aiming for the 2-3 years range... I always put a few "older" toys in there and hide them until early summer, when the old new toys are getting ignored and in need of rotation), incase you are already thinking about what you're going to get your kiddos.

(Revised: I'm going to do this in three posts, because it is about to get HUGE.)

Hanukkah. Eight nights of beautiful tradition, latkes, and gifts. Some families do trinkets, some do full-on Toy Of The Year gifts. We do books, and I love it. After we've lit the candles and eaten our brisket, Toddler gets a (wrapped, so even I'm surprised... I don't remember what I wrapped!) book, and we all snuggle on the couch for a good read. This year, I've been buying them all along. I get books at the library, gently used (really they are like new) and 3 for $2.75. I usually give them $3 because it goes to the library and it is a dollar per book. You can't beat that with a stick. I've accumulated more books than nights and have a few more I want to get, so I may put a few of the smaller ones in her stocking.

If you don't celebrate Hanukkah and have a library with such an awesome program, maybe you can use books as an advent calendar. It is better than candy, and you'll have something new to read every night! That, and it will build a great library for your kids.

Here are some of the books Toddler will be getting this year:

Animals should definitely not wear clothing by Judi Barret

Stars by Mary Lyn Ray

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

(This book is ridiculously gorgeous, like Stars.)

I'm also looking for a great book about celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas, like The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Pollaco (which we have, makes me cry every. single. time I read it, and is way, way above my child's head) on a toddler level. Most books I've read have some factor of the protagonist being embarrassed by celebrating two holidays (usually Hanukkah) and that is really not the idea we want to plant. Last year we focused on Hanukkah books specifically, so we have a bunch of those and some non-religious Christmas books (only a matter of days before I bust out Polar Express. I'm obsessed with Chris Van Allsburg. It's bad.) so if you have any ideas on merging the two, please share!

Be sure to read the other parts!

Stocking Stuffers - oy vey!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Passover Activity: Seder Plate

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I like to keep some sort of activity out, sensory bin or otherwise, that V. can independently walk up to and play with at any time.  Last week it was as simple as crayons and paper.  One day I got brave and left watercolors out.  (She tried to drink the paint water several times.  Even if the paint is non-toxic, I  didn't want her drinking it.)

For our seders, I found this cheap plate at Target.  It is colorful and fun, and kept her busy during the actual seder with some seder plate items I had knit for her last year and some matzoh I stitched up in the car on the way to my in-laws.  Once the seders were over, the plate went to her play table along with Elijah's cup (another cheap Target find, but not pictured because it has been rather popular for feeding Baby) and the pieces for the plate.

The books were gathered for the picture, but usually live in the living room.  They are National Geographic's Celebrating Passover (great photos, factual) and The Great Matzoh Hunt, which is a lift-the-flap book.  It doesn't use any Hebrew, which irked me, but features a duck, which V. loves.  She loves it so much that she tore all the flaps off her first copy, and fortunately was given a second copy (hidden from her grasp) by her great aunt.  (Afikomen prize, even if she made no attempt.)  The third book, below, is Tomie de Paolo's My First Passover, which is much more her speed. Once I unearthed the copy, I left it open to the seder plate page as a helpful suggestion.  (No pages to rip or flaps to tear off.  Sometimes I love board books.)

Dayenu! is one of my favorite Passover books for children (and it is a great haggadah!) but I didn't get to the library or Amazon soon enough.  Next year, if we aren't in Israel.

Having seen seder plates in action the past few evening, she had the basic concept down: put things into the spaces.

My little Magpie ran around the house and collected all the things she needed for her Seder plate in an empty wipe container.  Then she and her lizard set to work.

It's a work in progress.

Sensory TABLE: Passover

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When I thought of what to put in the sensory bin for Passover, I started with a list of plagues.  Not the best places to start.  Then I thought of crushed matzoh.  Not only is matzoh expensive, I don't want my 14-month-old eating what is in the bin or throwing matzoh all around.  

Now, if you know anything of Moses, the country of Egypt, or Exodus, you know that I overthought this one.  The obvious thing is sand.  (Hello.)

Then, something wonderful, miraculous!, happened. My father sent V. a sand table.  The Step 2 sand table we put on our Amazon registry a million years ago.  It is shallow and raised and The Perfect Sensory Table.  This means I didn't need to put a bin of sand in my kitchen.  Double win.

I filled the table with sand and let V. just try it out for a little while.  Then I hid some "plague" toys in the sand - beasts (they look awfully friendly...), frogs, and bugs (couldn't find just locust).  The other pieces are all sand/sensory bin toys, like sifters and shovels.

She woke up from nap late, so she doesn't know about the hidden things yet.  Tomorrow, she's in for a surprise!

Since it took her so long to discover I had buried things in past bins, I thought I'd just lightly cover some of the bugs, as a hint.

Not-So-Boiled Dinner for St. Patty's Day

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Happy St. Patrick's Day!

There are foods my husband doesn't like, and foods he doesn't prefer.  (And things he likes, but that isn't that post.)  The difference is the foods he doesn't prefer he will tolerate once a year.

Boiled dinner is one of those things he doesn't prefer.  I use my once a year opportunity to make boiled dinner on St. Patrick's Day.  Every year I chop a cabbage up, open a bag of baby carrots and potatoes, and dump it all into the crock pot with some water, slab of brisket, and that little spice packet that comes with the beef.

Since my husband loves brisket, I asked him why he didn't like boiled dinner.  He told me it had to do with the blandness of it all.  I admit, simmering something in water for hours doesn't make the most flavorful meal, even with the little spice packet.  Mission Make Better Corned Beef Dinner accepted.

This takes a little more prep time and a few more pots, but it is worth it.  If you or your crowd are purists, try this a few weeks before, just to make sure you aren't upsetting any taste buds.

You will need:
3-4 lbs corned beef brisket
1/2 medium cabbage, cut into thin strips (like slaw)
4 parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 small bag baby carrots or 6-8 regular carrots, peeled and sliced (we really like carrots, so you can tone this down)
8 small white potatoes, cut into quarters
1 small onion, sliced into rounds
about 14 oz beef broth
1 TBS cloves
1 TBS herbs de Provence
small slice of butter
about 2 TBS dijon mustard
1 bay leaf

Beef:
Preheat oven to 325F
I used our oval dutch oven for this, to use only one dish for the meat.
Over high heat, sear the brisket on both sides - about 5 minutes on each side.
Cover the brisket in mustard.  Add the cloves, bay leaf and spice packet, if included.  (Mine didn't come with a spice packet!  What gives?)

Bake, covered, for 90 minutes.  After 90 minutes, empty any juices and spices into the vegetable pot with the beef broth.  

Cook beef, uncovered, for 15 more minutes(ish).  You can just turn off the oven and let it sit there.

Vegetables:
Near the end of the beef's cooking time, toss the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes into a pot with the beef broth and beef pan drippings.  Add water to cover, and bring to a boil.  Simmer vegetables until cooked.

Cabbage:
Melt butter over medium heat in a pan with a cover.
I used a dutch oven so that I could stick all the leftovers into this pot.
Saute the onion until golden.  Add in the cabbage, 2 TBS of water or broth, and the herbs de Provence, give a good stir, cover, and sweat the cabbage & onions until they only have a slight bite (or until they are mush, if you like it that way).



To serve, pile the veggies and sliced meat over the cabbage.
I like mine with more dijon.

My husband even said he liked it.  So you know it was good.

Enjoy!

Toddler corned beef, Mommy corned beef.

St. Patty's Day Sensory Bin

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Top o' the mornin' to you!

I was going to wait until St. Patty's Day to unleash this bin, but the birdseed bin had to be pulled early due to the consumption of bird seed by someone in this house.  I won't name names.

So have a day or two without having a discovery station out.  No big deal, right?  

Wrong.  My kid has thoroughly enjoyed having a space where she can turn and play with stuff like birdseed and water beads at any given moment.  When that is taken away, she'll make her own discoveries.  And she has an accomplice.  

Laundry, craft, and baby toy bins?  Look at how very innocent they both look.  

This is how it started.  I dyed the rice.  There are many ways to do this, but basically this is about 3lbs of rice, 1/4c. of water, a squirt of hand sanitizer (I didn't have rubbing alcohol) and a generous swirl of green food coloring.  Someone told me the alcohol makes the color stick better.  I don't know about that, but it sure did dry faster than just using water.  I didn't have to lay it out or anything.

I wanted it a little more green, so I added some dye gel on top and let it set.  It made some pieces deep green, which looks pretty cool.  (I'm sure I care much more about this than my child.)

Now we need gold.  Get a container you won't mind being gold forever (I used the honey bear V. likes to play with), some Mod Podge, gold glitter, and pebbles.

It passed Cat Inspection.

 When I was a kid, I spent a great deal of my summers in Henderson Harbor.  I had a friend next door, and on rainy days, she and I would Mod Podge the heck out of anything that would sit still long enough.  If you go to Henderson Harbor today, you'll notice half the rocks are painted and podged.  Cracking open the Mod Podge always reminds me of summer and tosses me back 20 years.  Fighting the urge to decoupage our house, I poured some Mod Podge into the honey bear.
Add rocks, and shake.
Once the rocks are coated, add the glitter.  Lots of glitter.  (As pretty as it is, I hate how invasive glitter is, particularly when my cat gets into it.)

Then I poured the rocks into a strainer, in hopes that they wouldn't stick.  They didn't, but the strainer will never be the same again.

I periodically tossed and re-glittered these.

Bling Bling.

So here is the bin!  Tiny hats from a craft store, some rocks I painted in rainbow colors, GOLD!, a few wooden hearts, and some lady bug buttons that I found after I took this picture.

But then I thought it would be much more fun to bury it all.  It is St. Patty's Day, after all.

I saw what you did.

 The bin is a little too tall for our little table, so I let her start out on top of the table.

The hats were by far the most popular.

Once V. had unburied all the treasures, I transfered all this to a shallow bin, so that she can reach it without climbing on the table.  

The red cup has holes cut big enough to let the rice through, but not the rocks.  If you don't have a strainer like this, just get a yogurt cup and poke big holes in the bottom.  This would also be a great activity for older children if you made gold rocks and had brown rice or soil, for a Gold Rush theme.  You could even put the gold into water and silt and pan for gold.

Have fun, and Happy St. Patty's Day!