Simple and soothing family crafts and rituals. We decorate our home and hearth year round with handmade garlands. Personally, I like to make intricate and elaborate seasonal paper garlands. But, as a mother, I also love a garland project that can truly include my young children, without leaving us all feeling frustrated because it is over their skill level. The following garland ideas I share with you are simple, beautiful, family friendly garlands to make WITH your children.

The deepest dark of the year on earth, shines the brightest of heavenly lights in the night sky.

The Winter Spiral Garden is a ritual to honor winter time when, traditionally, light, warmth and food would be scarce.

The story of mistletoe begins with a superstitious kiss. Legend says, kissing under the bough brings good luck, wards off evil and blesses those kissing with love. The ancient Druids from the Celtic people were the keepers of the sacred mistletoe. They saw the plant as a gateway between the worlds because of the mysterious way it grows on a host tree, never touching the ground nor growing exactly towards the sky.

Brewing a broth from bones and food scrapes is a wellness practice as old as time. Ancient cultures, across the world, have their vernacular version of broth and the benefits and remedies it bestows. Traditionally, the Chinese make broth to support digestive health, as a blood builder, and to strengthen the kidneys. In Egypt, the time tested chicken soup was used as a medicinal remedy for colds and asthma. There is an endless variety of broths but all draw out the deep rich marrow, fats, collagen and proteins from the bones that otherwise wouldn’t be utilized. Start saving your bones, carrot tops, onion skins and other kitchen scrapes. Once you start brewing broth, you will be reaping the all health benefits humans have been enjoying for centuries.

Homemade cough drops to soothe a sore throat and cough.

This bird is brined in apple cider over night and slowly roasted the day of the feast. It is tender, juicy and bursting with unique flavors.

The Autumn Lantern walk is an old, potent tradition of making paper lanterns and venturing into the dark, cold night. The ritual symbolize kindling our inner light as we cross over into the long nights of winter. Facing the unknown and the unseen, trusting our inner guides. We celebrate the loss of something we long for and trust in the lesson we have to learn in its’ absence. What does darkness have to teach us? How does longing work on us in the unknown or unseen realms? Perhaps like the plant world, we grow the more we root and like the spirit world, we shine the more we embrace the dark. As we venture into the dark and cold we find that we are not depleted by the lost of light and warmth but fortified by our connection to the cycles of nature.

This soup is simple, elegant and just the right thing to nourish us as we enter the cooler seasons. We love to serve it inside of scooped out little pumpkins.

Also known as… empanadas, pasties, samoas… delicious, simple and versatile!

Handmade paper with wildflower seeds that you can plant right in the earth.

Watching the local birds outside our window is a favorite late winter family activity. Treating the birds connects us to the wildlife that is still thriving even in the stillness of deep winter.

Diving deep into fiber work and homesteading with Phylleri Ball of Three Sisters Weaving.

A perfect needle felting project for beginners and children.

As the North Wind settles on the mountain for a deep, cold winter, we stock the fires of good health. We want to retain our body warmth as a much a possible so our body can use our energy for strong digestion, full circulation and immunity. If we are getting chilled frequently, our energy goes to just keeping us warm instead of these more optimal modes of the body. Take extra care to protect your head and feet; wrap them in wool and keep socks and hats on inside until you feel a little too warm. Focus on keeping warm by boosting digestion and circulation. Drink and eat every thing warmed up and this is the time to enjoy chilies, pepper and spices that all kindle the digestive fire.

Do your kids love smashing, bashing and ripping up whatever they can get their hands on as much as mine? Would you love a hand-crafted, beautifully wholesome meal? Then hand-making ravioli is just the type of playful, cooking to sustain your whole family.