Memorial Day Weekend: Family fun on a budget
Memorial Day weekend means families and friends get together for food and fun. It's the perfect time to bond, but spending time together doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money. Beth Engelman, founder of www.mommyonashoestring.com, came into our ABC 7 Eyewitness News studio to show us fun and cheap ideas for last-minute desserts, decorations and games.
Beth's Recipes & Games Ideas:
1. Hamburger Cookies
Ingredients:
Peppermint Patties (Hamburger patty)
Vanilla wafers (bun)
Red and Yellow Frosting (ketchup and Mustard)
Sesame Seeds
Honey
Directions:
Build your burger by placing peppermint patties and frosting in between two wafers.
Brush some honey on the top of the "bun" and add a few sesame seeds.
Allow 5 minutes to set before serving.
2. Star Spangled Fruit Kabobs
Ingredients:
Blueberries (washed)
Strawberries (washed and de-stemmed)
Pound cake (cubed)
Skewers or Chopsticks
Hot fudge (optional)
Directions:
Make red, white and blue kabobs by adding fruit and pound cake to each skewer or chopstick.
Serve with individual bowls of hot fudge if desired.
3. DIY Miniature Golf Course:
Materials needed:
Recycled materials such as shoeboxes, water bottles, empty milk jugs, oatmeal containers, pizza boxes, and plastic cups
Craft materials such as construction paper, markers, index cards, glue, scissors, duct tape and paint
Golf balls, Putters
Directions:
Make miniature golf course holes using recycled materials to build tunnels, ramps, houses, carwashes, sand traps, water holes and more!
To make a tunnel: Cut off the top and bottom of an oatmeal container
To make a ramp: open a pizza box and carefully place it on top of an oatmeal container use glue to secure it in place.
To make a house, carwash or building: Turn the bottom of a shoebox upside down and cut out doors. Decorate as desired.
To make the hole, place a plastic cup on it's side and secure with tape or rocks.
Fun Tip:
Don't forget to make "hazards" such as sand traps and water holes.
To make a water hazard, paint the inside of a shoebox top blue and add a penalty note such as: "Splash! Lose 2 Strokes" Similarly, you can make a "sand trap" that sends players back to the tee.
Just paint the inside of a shoebox top brown or better yet, add play sand for greater authenticity.
NOTE: If you are playing in an open area such as a backyard or park, consider using wooden planks (found at your local hardware store) as bumpers.
Most stores will happily cut the planks down to size so they are easy to carry. Cover ends with duct tape to avoid splinters!
4. Patriotic Windsocks
Materials needed:
Recycled Oatmeal container
Blue Paint
White paper
Star-Shaped Hole Punch (or scissors)
String or Yarn (for hanging the windsock)
Heavy Duty Hole Punch
Directions:
Cut off the bottom of the oatmeal container and then paint it blue. Set aside to dry.
Use a hole punch or scissors to make a dozen or so white stars.
Glue stars to blue cylinder
Cut streamers into 2-3 feet long strips.
Glue streamers to the inside of the oatmeal container (about 2 inches from the bottom) be sure to alternate between red and white streamers. Set aside to dry.
Use a heavy-duty hole punch to make holes at the top of the "windsock" Thread some string through the holes and hang as desired!
