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Family night with Veronica Miele Beard

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Puzzle time!

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Family Focus

Veronica Miele Beard on Family Fun at Home

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"The kids are all home for the holidays. It's a full house. What do you do? Here's a look at our go-to activities, 2020 style." — Veronica Miele Beard

1. If you have a backyard—or a friend who does—have a bonfire. It's a great outdoor (and socially distanced) activity that's fun for the whole family. My secret tip: Invite the boyfriends!

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A full house: Veronica's five kids

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2. Learn a recipe and cook together. You can try something new—this year, we're doing pad Thai and pork and shrimp dumplings—or...

3. Go for a family favorite. In our house, that's pineapple cheese casserole, a little sweet, a little salty and great as a side dish. It's my signature—my mom made this recipe all the time during the holidays or for Sunday family dinner (recipe below).

My daughter Helaina and I wanted to learn how to make pork and shrimp dumplings

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4. Get a 1000-piece puzzle and spread it out on the living room table. It's fun for kids both big and little, and the adults too. We congregate, chat and catch up… we always have a quality time. This year, we also got a LEGO set of the White House and are working on that as well.

5. Ice a cake! Kids love doing that. This year we made and decorated a devil’s food cake and a carrot cake. The best is cream cheese frosting…

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India adds the final touches to our devil’s food cake

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Extra, Extra: My style tip for making the holidays at home feel even more special? Our Yola cable-knit. You're going to be wearing cozy sweaters all season long, why not make it one with sequins and sparkle?

Veronica in the Yola sequin cable-knit pullover

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Shop Sweaters

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Recipe: VMB's Pineapple Cheese Casserole

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4 to 6 servings

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Ingredients
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter, melted
½ cup Ritz cracker crumbs

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Directions
Drain pineapple, reserving 3 tablespoons of juice. Combine sugar and flour. Slowly stir in reserved pineapple juice; add cheese and pineapple chunks, mixing well. Put into greased 1 quart casserole dish. Combine butter and crumbs and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 30 minutes.

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