New Year's Eve Treats for Kids
by Penny Warner

 

New Year's Eve doesn't have to be just for grown ups! Children can make these fun and festive recipes to celebrate the coming of the new year.

 

vegetable spray
4 cups popcorn, popped
1 cup multicolored gumdrops, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3 tbsp margarine

 

Spray large bowl with vegetable spray. Combine popcorn, gumdrops and peanuts in bowl. Combine marshmallows and margarine in large saucepan and melt over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn, candy, and nuts, toss until coated. With buttered hands, shape popcorn mixture into 8 balls. Work quickly to shape balls before mixture cools and hardens. Allow to set until serving time.

 

Variation: Use Gummy Bears, M&M's, small fruit snacks, or other colorful additives instead of gumdrops.

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Pink Champagne Punch

1 12-ounce bottle white grape juice
1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 16-ounce pkg. frozen whole strawberries, thawed
1 12-ounce can lemon-lime soda, chilled
8 cherries (optional)

 

Combine 1/2 of the grape juice, lemonade, and strawberries in a blender. Whirl until smooth and pour into drink container. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with remaining juice, lemonade, and strawberries. Add soda and stir well. Pour into 8 fancy plastic glasses. Add a cherry to the glass for garnish.

 

Variation: You can substitute regular grape juice for white grape juice.

 

Note: Add more soda if you want a less slushy drink. Use plastic champagne glasses; they look great and won't break.

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Sparkling Fruit Sundae

1 cup red, green, or purple seedless grapes
1 10-ounce can mandarin orange slices, drained
1 8-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained, but reserve the juice
1 pear, apple, or 1/2 melon, cubed
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup sparkling apple cider

 

Combine grapes, oranges, pineapple, pear, and banana in a large bowl. Distribute mixed fruit into 8 individual dessert bowls. Combine reserved pineapple juice. orange juice, and sparkling apple cider. Pour juice into each dessert bowl and stir gently.

 

Variations: Substitute ginger ale or other bubbly drink for apple cider. Use any fruits you like to make your sundae.

Note: Refrigerate fruit for half an hour to blend flavors before adding sparkling apple cider.

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Winter Snowballs

1 12-ounce pkg. white chocolate chips
1.2 cup walnuts or peanuts, chopped
1/2 cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup cherries, chopped
16 cherries, cut in half

 

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper. Melt chips in microwave for 1 minute, and then in 20 second intervals, until melted, stir until smooth. Stir nuts, dates, and cherries into melted chips. Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet to form snowballs. Place half cherry in center of each ball. Refrigerate until serving time (at least one hour for cookies to set).

 

Variations: Tint the white chocolate different colors for a rainbow effect.