Holiday Treats From Around the World

If you’ve been looking for some new treats to get your holidays off to a sweet start, all you need to do is spin the globe. We’ve found a selection of easy, and delicious, international treats that your whole family will enjoy both making and tasting for the upcoming holiday celebrations.

Swiss Basler Brunsli

(Courtesy of Saveur)

Courtesy of Saveur

These gluten-free chocolate-almond-spice cookies from Switzerland taste like chewy brownies. Note: Be sure to use the parchment paper when rolling out your dough to avoid sticking.

• 8 oz. whole blanched almonds
• 1 ½  cups sugar, plus more for rolling
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 ½  tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½  tsp. ground cloves
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1. Finely grind almonds and sugar in a food processor. Add chocolate; pulse until finely ground. Add cinnamon, cloves, and egg whites; pulse until dough comes together.
2. Sprinkle a large piece of parchment paper with sugar; transfer dough to paper. Lay another piece of paper over dough; roll dough to 1/8" thickness.
3. Cut out cookies with star-shaped or other cutters; transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 1" apart. Reroll scraps and repeat. Let dough dry for 3 hours.
4. Heat oven to 300°.
5. Bake until cookies are slightly puffed, 12–15 minutes.

French Palmiers (Elephant Ears)

(Adapted from Saveur)

Easy baking alert! You can make these light and crispy French pastry treats with just 2 ingredients!

• 1 package puff pastry dough
• ½ cup of granulated sugar

1. Cut dough square in half and roll out ¼ inch thick, sprinkling with sugar as you work. Roll or fold the short ends 2 or 3 times inwards to reach the middle. Fold the dough in half along the center and press gently to seal. Repeat with remaining half of puff pastry. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Slice the rolled dough about 1/3 inch thick and sprinkle with more sugar. Place dough on an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes, turning the cookies once halfway through.

Norwegian Crowns

Melt in your mouth butter cookies from Norway.

• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp almond extract
• 1 ¼ cups sifted all purpose flour

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Cream butter with an electric beater and then gradually add sugar. When mixed, add the egg and the almond extract.
3. Slowly add the sifted flour.
4. Fill cookie press and use a half moon shape to create crowns.
5. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden.

7 Budget Saving Tips for a Family Trip to Europe

Want to try out your child’s Little Pim language skills with a family trip to Europe? Follow our 7 easy tips to visit the continent without breaking the bank. 1. Friendly Skies: To save on international airfare, remember this one easy tip: Depart on a Tuesday, and return on a Wednesday for the lowest fares.

2. Shoulder Your Way To Savings: Shoulder season is what the travel industry calls non-peak travel season, the periods between prime summer months and the Christmas/New Year’s holidays. If you’re flexible, visiting Europe in the “shoulder” months of January through March will save you a bundle.

3. Do Your Homework: Not all credit cards are created equal. Check before you jet off to make sure your card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Note: Amex Platinum, most Capital One cards, and Chase’s United MileagePlus and Sapphire cards are all good options to avoid foreign fees.

4. Pack Smart: Most airlines will allow one checked bag free on international flights, but charge a HUGE surcharge for a second bag, up to $100! Think one large (within the weight limit) bag per person, instead of two smaller ones.

5. Home Away from Home: For families, nothing beats an apartment or house for stretching out and cooking your own money-saving meals. Try Airbnb for unique options and user reviews or VacationHomeRentals.com for everything from Italian villas to Paris apartments. Want to stay for free? Home exchanges with a like-minded European family might be just the ticket. Check out HomeExchange.com or HomeLink.org.

6. Ride the Rails: Whether you ride London’s Tube (where kids 16 and under ride free) or the multi-country Eurail (kids under 4 free, kids 4 to 11 ride for ½ price), train travel is the most economical option for European family travel. Plus, most kids love a train ride, so you have built-in entertainment value as well.

7. To Market to Market: Now that you have your own room with a view, and a fridge, you can take advantage of farmer’s markets, artisanal shops, and roadside stands to eat like a local and on the cheap. Bon appetit and bon voyage!

--By Melissa Klurman

Thanksgiving at Little Pim: What We’re Thankful For

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, the topic of what we’re thankful for has been front and center in our minds this week.

So we polled our staff and Little Pim parents and had them fill in the following blank:

“THIS YEAR I’M THANKFUL for__________________”

Here are just some of the responses we received. What would you add?

… my mother taking my kids to cultural events like classical music concerts. That when my kids get sick I can take them to the doctor (thinking of countries where kids have to travel far away to get help). That my boys are each others’ best friends  – Julia, LP founder and CEO

… the super nice people that I work with at Little Pim.  They all make me laugh and work so hard.  I’m also thankful that I don't have to fly this holiday and that family is coming my way – – Alyson, LP senior vice president

… my family and my health --Heidi, parent

… living in New York. Even though I grew up here, everyday I am surprised by how easy it is to meet people from all different backgrounds and who speak a variety of languages. Only here would it be this easy for me to strike up a conversation with a stranger in French! (Yes, it's true; New Yorkers like to have conversations just like everyone else.) --Thea, LP product development & social media

… as always, having my work, family and friends. A warm bed and a place to call my own.  Also, my good health and the means to keep it –Tommy, LP web developer

…. my amazing son. His love of learning anything new, from Spanish to piano, completely dazzles me every day. And I’m also thankful for the amazing educators in his school who work together to help him grow and succeed -- Melissa, LP blogger

…. My friends and family; decaf Nespresso; the never-ending possibilities of things to do in NYC and having Instagram to capture them all – Staci, LP digital marketing

… having more free time to spend with my family – Ken, parent

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!from the Little Pim Staff

4 Tasty Surprises for Your Thanksgiving Table

Although Thanksgiving is a quintessentially American holiday, at Little Pim we also think it’s an excellent opportunity to explore the melting pot of cultures that comprise the United States. And there's no better way to taste a culture than to literally pick up a spoon and start cooking up some global cuisine.

Have your kids tie on an apron and give you a hand with some of these globally inspired, easy to make, recipes for your Thanksgiving feast:

POTATO LATKES

In 2013, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (festival of lights), falls on Thanksgiving, creating a unique opportunity to celebrate “Thanksgivukkah.” These savory potato latkes (pancakes), are the traditional way to celebrate Hanukkah, and also make a great Thanksgiving side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp. matzo meal
or flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil or shortening

Directions

1. Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater or use a food processor with a shredder blade. Squeeze moisture from grated potatoes with your hands or a dishtowel. Add eggs, matzo meal or flour, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined.
2. Heat enough oil to come up about ¼ of an inch in a large skillet.  Oil should be hot, but not smoking. Shape potato mixture into small pancakes and fry until golden brown on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancake and repeat on the opposite side. Remove cooked potato pancakes and drain on paper towels.

(NB: although you can cook several latkes at a time, do not crowd the pan or they will not become crisp enough.)

Serve latkes hot with sour cream and/or our easy applesauce (recipe, below).

EASY APPLE SAUCE

Peel, core, and slice 5 large apples (a combination of eating and baking apples works well) and place in a large, flat-bottomed saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, then simmer until apples until soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Mash apples with a potato masher (this results in a slightly chunky applesauce). Add cinnamon to taste. Serve warm or cold.

Fein Tau Weiyama (South American Pumpkin Bread)

(courtesy of Saveur)

This rich dessert bread can stand in for traditional pumpkin pie on your dessert sideboard.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup canola oil, plus more for pan
• 2 cups flour, plus more for pan
• 1½ cups sugar
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 2 (15-oz.) cans pumpkin purée

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°
2. Grease and flour a 9" round cake pan; set aside.
3. Stir together oil, sugar, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and pumpkin in a bowl; add flour, and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into prepared pan, and smooth top.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
6. Cut into squares or wedges to serve.

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Yorkshire pudding, a British import to the United States, is commonly known as popovers here. Crisp on the outside and airy on the inside, popovers should be served warm and are a great accompaniment to turkey and gravy. These might be your new favorite dinner roll replacement.

Ingredients

• 1 c. flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 large room temperature eggs
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• PAM or other baking spray

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. While oven is heating, place a 12-cup muffin or popover pan into oven to also heat.
2. Whisk together milk, eggs, and butter. Add flour and salt. Whisk until completely smooth.
3. Carefully remove the heated pan from the oven (parents only for this step) and spray with oil. Evenly pour batter into sprayed pan then return hot pan with batter to oven.
4. Bake 20 minutes, keeping oven door closed during baking.

5 DIY Halloween Costumes with Global Appeal

Looking for some inspiration for your family's Halloween costumes this year? Pull out the globe and give it a spin. With a little inspiration from our great DIY globally-inspired options below, and a few accessories, your kids’ costumes will be United Nations worthy in no time.

1. Harajuku Girls, Japan -- Here’ an opportunity to open up the costume chest and go wild. Fun-loving Harajuku girls are known for their creative style of dress and love of all things kitsch --- to channel their irrepressible style into a unique Halloween costume, think layers: Start with striped knee socks, layered crinoline skirts, and a Hello Kitty tee or the like. Then add HIGH pigtails tied with bows and layer on the plastic accessories. Add some glittery makeup and you’re ready to rock the trick-or-treat block.

2. Gondolier, Italy – This is an easy and memorable costume. To start, your little gondolier will need a striped shirt and black pants, plus a round-rimmed hat (party stores often have inexpensive Styrofoam versions). Take a trip to the trim department of the craft store for thick red ribbon (about 6 inches across) for a waist sash and a thinner red ribbon to tie around the base of the hat. Then add a broom, small oar, or even a long dowel to stand in for an oar. Extra points for crooning “Amore”.

3. Frida Kahlo, Mexico – The beloved Mexican artist had a unique look that’s easy and fun to recreate. Pick up a felt mustache at the party store and stick between the eyebrows (conversely, use an eyebrow pencil to create a uni-brow). Tuck brightly colored silk, paper, or plastic flowers in a wreath around the hair. Add a fringed shawl around the shoulders and wear a peasant skirt and brightly colored shirt. Palette optional.

4. Ninja, Japan – A comfy, easy, and easily recognizable costume for boys or girls. Start with black pajamas, black sweats, karate gear, or a black fitted tee and soft pants. Take a plain black head scarf and wrap tightly around the head and covering the brows, and then another around the mouth and chin. At the craft store, purchase red masking tape and the use it to create a criss-cross pattern on lower legs and arms. Add a red sash, and you’re ready to stealthily sneak down the block.

5.French chef– Start with largest white chef hat you can find (party stores sell inexpensive paper ones you can personalize with glitter and markers to say FRANCE or the fine cuisine destination of your choice). A white chef’s coat would be perfect here, but you can improvise with a white karate top, or even long sleeve white tee and a large white apron. Tie a red kerchief tied around the neck, the use plastic measuring cups or spoons or plastic food to accessorize.  Bon appetit!

Celebrate Columbus Day with Little Pim

“In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue….” This childhood ditty is often what first comes to mind when you hear it's Columbus Day. But there’s more to the day, which became a Federal holiday in 1934, than the basic facts of the catchy song. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate Columbus’ Italian roots, and the holiday is an important part of Italian-American heritage.  Many Italian Americans festeggiare (celebrate) the day by watching or participating in a parade (New York City’s is the largest in the world), enjoying traditional Italian foods, and of course, recounting the amazing tale of Christopher Columbus’ journey to discover the New World. (Kids especially love to hear about the voyage of Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.)

It’s also a great excuse for any family to practice Italian and cook up a feast.

Get started by having kids, grandparents, parents --- anyone who’s at home --- whip up Marinara Sauce, which translates to “the sauce of the sailors” in Italian. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Columbus Day with your whole family. Have the kids help in the kitchen by adding seasonings to the pot and stirring the sauce (with adult supervision of course). Mangia! (Eat up!)

COLUMBUS DAY MARINARA SAUCE

1. In a large pot, sauté one chopped onion in three tablespoons of olive oil until translucent. Add 3 cloves of chopped garlic, ½ a teaspoon of dried oregano and ½ a teaspoon of dried basil. Cook until garlic softens, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add 1 large can of diced tomatoes (29 oz) and 1 large can of tomato puree (29 oz), season with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoon of sugar. Stir frequently while sauce comes to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3. Serve over any pasta shape you like best.

(adapted from Around The World Cookbook by Abigail Johnson Dodge)

Make a Peace Crane for International World Peace Day

Learning a new language makes the world feel like a smaller place: being able to communicate in a foreign language helps kids make new friends both when they’re traveling and here at home while giving them insight into cultures around the globe. These basic principles are the heart of the International Day of Peace created by the United Nation and held every September 21, the fall equinox. With “Education as Peace” as their motto, the United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says, “Education has to cultivate mutual respect for others and the world in which we live, and help people forge more just, inclusive and peaceful societies."

A fun and easy way to participate in this World Peace Day is to create a “Peace Crane” with your children. Directions are below:

Make a Peace Crane Project

1. Find a piece of paper (any type of paper can work, but lighter weight ones will fold more easily)

2. Cut the paper into a perfect square.

3. Write words of peace on one side of the paper. Here are a few ways to say “peace” in Little Pim languages: Paz (Spanish), Paix (French), Frieden (German), Shalom (Hebrew), Pace (Italian), Salam (Arabic)

4. Create an image of peace on the other side of your paper square. (Markers, crayons, or colored pencils will work best, allowing the paper to be folded without smudging or cracking)

5. Fold your paper into an origami crane following the detailed folding instructions here.

6. Exchange your Peace Crane with friends, or give them to a member of your community. Or send a picture of Peace Crane to PeaceCraneProject.org and they’ll add you to their map.

(Instructions courtesy of PeaceCraneProject.org)

National Teacher Day Memoirs

Guest blogger Thea Hogarth currently works in product development in Little Pim, and today shares some of her experiences as an English teacher in France.  She taught in France during the 2011-2012 academic year. Today is National Teacher Day, and it’s hard to imagine that almost exactly a year ago today, I was preparing to leave behind a year of teaching English in France.  This time last year, I was attempting to pack an entire bedroom’s worth of stuff into a suitcase.  I had spent the previous eight months assistant teaching English in three primary schools in the French city of Angers with the French Éducation Nationale’s TAPIF program… and I was exhausted.  Mind you, I had no reasonable excuse: I worked 12 hours a week and got two weeks of vacation for six weeks of school (totaling a whopping two full months!).  Plus I was living smack in the middle of a wine region in the Loire Valley; I was living, by definition, the good life.

But many of my students weren’t.  Two out of my three schools were officially classified as being in the ZEP (Zone d'Education Prioritaire), the French classification for high poverty schools - the kind of environment that can really wear a teacher down.  I entered the school year expecting my students to be little French angels, enchanted by the idea of meeting an American straight from New York.  And, indeed, my first few classes were peppered with adorable questions along the lines of, “Do you have to take an airplane home after school everyday?” but my novelty quickly wore off.  Many of my students were born outside of France and were already familiar enough with the experience of the foreigner.  Class time with me quickly became an opportunity to throw paper at the back of my head, imitate me to my face, and kick me in the shins (who knew how easily Simon Says could become a contact sport!).  By the beginning of my second week, I was taking breaks to secretly cry between classes.

Yes, I was basically living the first half of “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit,” but with 8-year-olds… and in France.  And, yes, my story also has a reasonably happy ending.  By the end of the year, we had grown accustomed to each other; we had learned each other’s boundaries, but more importantly, we had learned to laugh together.  Teachers in the ZEP and in schools around the world work hard to create safe, supportive classroom environments – becoming masters of the alchemy of turning aggression and frustration into laughter and trust.

As I said goodbye to the kids who made me cry, one boy came up to me on the playground and pulled this note out of his sleeve (transcribed exactly as written): “Dear Théa, We miss you already, you are fantastic.  We were happy end when you were in our class room.  We wish you good holidays.  Hello Théa good bay thea!”  Undoubtedly, he and his classmates had put their heads together to compose this masterpiece (with outside help, I’m sure), and I was grateful.  Of course I was thrilled by this somewhat unexpected display of affection, but more than that, I was gratified that they had created something for me in English even though they knew I understood French.  They had reached across a gulf much larger than that between teacher and student.

Today, of all days, I’m thinking back not only on my year in France, but also on all the amazing teachers who made my experience in France possible.  My engaging, imaginative French teachers ultimately enabled me to apply (and be accepted) to this teaching program, and inspired me to smile through the tears.  Today, let’s all think about the amazing educators in this country and around the world who practice patience and compassion to create a classroom environment that is both supportive and inspiring.

Basketball Around the World

During March Madness, as we carefully fill in our NCAA tournament brackets, we tend to think about basketball as a quintessentially American pastime. But the United States hardly has a monopoly on a love of hoops. The sport has thriving leagues and devoted fans across the globe -- in Europe, Asia and South America -- as well.

Here are a few countries where basketball's big:

Israel: Basketball has been bouncing around in Israel for decades. The Israeli Basketball Super League, known in Hebrew as Ligat HaAl, was founded way back in 1954 and has, over the years, exported players to the NBA and pitted its star players against NBA teams in exhibition games. In October 2005, the Maccabi Tel Aviv got a lot of attention when it defeated the Toronto Raptors in an exhibition game in Toronto. It was the first victory for any European or Israeli team over an NBA team on an NBA home court.

China: Hoops is one of China's most popular sports, with hundreds of millions of people both playing and watching the game. (It actually embraced the sport shortly after it was invented in 1891.) The country's most prestigious professional basketball league (yes, there's more than one) is the Chinese Basketball Association, founded in 1995, which has produced NBA players including Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue. The CBA has imported talent as well, with NBA players like Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis and Gilbert Arenas traveling to play with teams like Beijing Ducks and Shanghai Sharks. Beijing even recently erected a life-size bronze statue of Marbury, who led the Ducks to their first-ever CBA championship win last year.

Spain: Yes, they're mad for soccer in Spain, but they're also big into basketball – or "baloncesto," as it's called in Spanish. Spain's Liga ACB is not only the top-tier professional basketball league in Spain, it's among the best in the world and has turned out NBA superstars like Barcelona-born L.A. Laker Pau Gasol. Last year, Spanish B-ball fans got something new to brag about, when their national team gave Team USA – a new dream team that included NBA superstars like Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryan and LeBron James – a serious run for the gold at the 2012 Olympics before ultimately settling for silver.

With basketball mania raging and rebounding through countries from Argentina to Australia, as well as Italy, Macedonia, Greece, the Philippines and France, basketball has become a big-time global sport, crossing cultures and languages. Turns out the whole world's mad for hoops – and not only in March.

Two great holiday games from around the world!

The winter holidays are upon us. That means school breaks, family gatherings, and kids with a lot of excited energy looking for something to do. If the weather outside is frightful, and you want some delightful ways to keep your brood active and engaged indoors, try these holiday games from around the world that can also introduce children to different cultures and languages.

Schokoladenessen: A German party game that means "chocolate eating" (got to love that)

You'll need: a hat, scarf and gloves; kitchen utensils; dice; a wrapped chocolate bar.

How to play: Players sit in a circle. Each player rolls the dice and passes it along until someone rolls a double. The player who rolls a double then scrambles to put on the hat, scarf and gloves and then tries to unwrap the candy bar, using the kitchen utensils, and eat as much as he or she can, which is harder than it sounds, while the other players continue to roll the dice. As soon as another player rolls a double, the hat, scarf, mittens, utensils, and chocolate bar are passed to that player, who gets a turn trying to eat the chocolate. The other players continue to roll and the passing of the bar continues until all the chocolate has been eaten.

Watch the game being played here

Pinata: In Mexico and some other Spanish-speaking countries, piñatas are not just for birthday parties; they're a Christmas tradition, too.

You'll need: A piñata, of course. But why buy one at the store when you can make one and get the kids involved in some messy, crafty fun? Here are instructions. Plus you can use recycled materials and do a good thing for the environment, too.

How to play: Do we really need to tell you?Fill your piñata with candy, fruit or small toys and hang it from the ceiling or a tree branch. Each child (perhaps blindfolded) then takes turns batting the piñata with a stick until the piñata breaks open and its festive contents tumble out. Nothing says Christmas like sticky, gooey hands and happy kids smiles – or embraces the New Year like helping your kids learn about other cultures and languages. Feliz Navidad!

Watch kids take on a holiday piñata here.