posted December 20, 2002 08:58 AM               

While it is true that our culture is inundated with tinsel and trappings at Christmastime, our family does think it is possible to enjoy some of the traditional fun without it taking our focus away from the most important things.

In our home, our primary focus of the Christmas season is the birthday of our Lord...God's greatest gift to us! We celebrate His gift of love by having a birthday party for Jesus, by reading lots of related books during advent (Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, The Crippled Lamb, etc.). We read the Christmas story from the Bible (the book of Luke) MANY times. We display manger scenes throughout the house. We give to the needy because He has given us so much, etc., etc., etc! But...

We ALSO have a glorious time driving out to the country to chop down our family Christmas tree together! After chopping down our tree, we roast marshmallows and enjoy hot cider or hot chocolate around a campfire with friends! We spend an entire day decorating our Christmas tree with special ornaments that we have collected over the years while listening to Christmas carols and eating traditional baked goodies. We set up our Christmas train...a special toy that is reserved only for this time of the year. We visit the local malls and enjoy caroling choirs as well as lots of holiday decor. The mood is so festive and cheery!

We DO exchange gifts. We do try not to go overboard...both with our own family as well as extended family, but it is part of our fun, nonetheless! With extended family, we are moving more toward giving ONE gift to the entire family, both for financial and practical reasons. For us, these gifts are a reminder of God's greatest gift to us...His Son!

We completely enjoy watching Christmas movies together! We spend many evenings making Christmas crafts and ornaments, baking traditional Christmas goodies, or playing board games. We DO visit Santa at the mall and I have some precious photos of my children from the past 9 years sitting on his lap. They bring all of us much joy as we fondly remember a lifetime of Christmas memories together!

We do so much more to celebrate Christmas than I've even mentioned! And yes...we celebrate Christ each and every day of the year! My children know, without a doubt, what the true meaning of this season is all about! But...we also have some fun with many of the cultural traditions along the way! It has not seemed to corrupt us thus far.

I want my children to know first and foremost, that Christmas is about God's greatest gift to us, His Son, Jesus Christ, to Whom all praise is due, and on Whom our entire reason for living is based. But I also want them to remember our home as a cheery place where we laugh often and celebrate life and each other. For us, this includes some traditional holiday celebrations.

posted December 20, 2002 02:58 PM               

There are many families who celebrate Jesus' birth as the reason for the season, and still choose to do the Santa thing. Our family is among them, and we do not feel that we are remiss by doing so. We have always been very clear about where our focus should be during this season, but we have also had a lot of fun with Santa! My 7yo ds figured out *the Santa thing* a couple of months ago on his own. It did not mar him spiritually or cause him to doubt his faith in any way. He thought it was great fun to be let in on the game! I know that others have posted that this very thing caused some trouble for them in their home. But it hasn't in ours.

My 5yo son still heartily believes in Santa Claus, but it is just an aside to the holiday for him, because of where our focus has been. I don't say things like, "You'd better be good because Santa is watching you." But when he asks something like, "Will Santa be coming down our chimney?" , I answer something like, "That's what I've always heard." For us, it is a fun game that we play, and when my older ds figured it out, I was careful to tell him that we had not lied to him...that Mom and Dad are still always to be trusted, but that the Santa thing is a really fun game that many families choose to play as a delightful part of childhood. He totally got it, and also totally understood about continuing to let his brother enjoy the game until such time as he figures it out as well.

In an interesting sort of way, it is akin to our discussion with that same 7yo son this past summer regarding some questions that he had about where babies come from, etc. He had some very pointed questions where evasive answers wouldn't do, and we dealt with those questions prayerfully, honestly, and appropriately. We were so honored that he came to us to ask instead of going to some friends with his questions! But we also told him that most kids his age didn't know quite as much about all of this as he knew, and that it was NOT his place to tell them. We told him that such topics were only to be discussed with Mom and Dad, and that other kids' parents would tell them when the time was right in their family. We also went so far as to tell him that if he discussed this with anyone but us, he would be in for a major consequence, for disobeying us...and for disrespecting another family. We also told him, as we believe this to be quite true, that if he did say anything about it to other kids, that those children might no longer be allowed to play with him because of their parents' rules. And we wouldn't blame them! He totally got it, and has handled his newly found knowledge with wisdom and responsiblity.

The reason that I went into all of that is that I think it comes down to teaching our children to respect others...a VERY important lesson! I think that many well-meaning children spoil the Santa surprise for others, thinking that they are being a witness for Christ in letting the truth be known, when in actuality, they are hurting that testimony by not respecting the rights of other families to handle this themselves. A little boy at church told my 7yo ds about a year ago that Santa wasn't for real, while his mother sat there with a self-righteous air that they were setting us straight (I saw the whole thing...). When my son asked me about it after we got home, I said, "Well, what do YOU think?" He said, "I still think that he's real!" To which I responded, "Then don't worry about what *** said! He doesn't know everything." If my son would have asked me outright, I would have told him the truth outright, but I could tell by the way that he asked me, that he wasn't quite ready to give up on that belief! So I didn't force it.

I guess what I am saying is that I think that we can do a lot more to advance the cause for Christ by respecting others than by pushing our own beliefs upon them in a manner that is hurtful. Don't get me wrong! I am very vocal about my Christianity, and love to share about it whenever the opportunity arises! But I am careful and prayerful to ascertain whether or not it is an opportunity for sharing my faith, or whether it's really just a personal soapbox. I don't always hit it right, but that is my goal, nonetheless.

I would really work hard, now that your son understands about Christmas being about the birth of our Savior, to make sure that he understands that it is NOT his job to spoil the Santa game for his cousins or for anyone else...just like it sounds like you've already been doing! In my home, I would follow that up by telling him that if he did choose to tell his cousins, that he would have to suffer a consequence for disobeying me. And though as you brought up, those of us who do the Santa thing with our kiddoes know that someone, some day, will likely spill the beans, we are hopeful that other children's parents have really worked hard to teach respect to their kiddoes of other people's belief systems.

Your son is very young, and such lessons of discernment are hard to teach...but I think that it's a good time to give it your best shot.

posted December 20, 2002 03:07 PM               

• Jotham's Journey:
  This is our family's second year with Jotham. We LOVED this book last year, and could hardly wait to start again. In fact, this year the kids were counting the days until Advent rather than the days until Christmas! We gave a copy to our neighbor friends, and recommended it to others.

  I think every family should use this book during Advent. It brought us close together during a time when it's easy to get too busy and drift apart into separate activities. The book has a chapter for each night of the season of Advent, and a short devotional after each reading.

  Last year, if one of the kids was gone for a sleepover at Grandma's house, we'd call and read the story over the speaker phone that night. Another time, our whole family was gone overnight for a family gathering, and we took our Advent candles and our Jotham book with us!

  One of the things we enjoyed the most about the book was the way several characters in the story turn out to be people from the Bible.

  I can't say enough about this book. It's become a wonderful tradition in our family.

• Making and Using an Advent Wreath from Christian Crafters (includes daily scripture reading suggestions!) http://www.christiancrafters.com/adventwreath.htm

• Advent with Christmas books
  Posted by Katie (CO)
  12/1 The Mitten by Jan Brett - made craft foam mitten ornaments, discussed animal habitats, discussed Russia/Ukraine customs & art
  12/2 The Polar Express - made a gingerbread train
  12/3 The Little Drummer Boy - made oatmeal container drums & made up praise music for Advent
  12/4 Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto (I think) - made tamales (NOT for the faint hearted), discussed Mexican Christmas traditions
  12/5 Tale of Three Trees - cut down our tree, make Christmas tree brownies, put up FIAR ornament tree (posterboard)
  12/6 The Legend of the Candy Cane - made Candy Cane Cookies
  12/8 Clown of God - made minestrone soup, juggled beanbag veggies, studied Italy, listened to European Christmas carols
  12/9 The Gift of the Magi - discussed sacrifices & buying what the recipient wants (vs. the giver!); took the kids shopping for each other
  12/10 The Christmas Tree Parable - wrapped our gifts & put them under the tree; planned our Christmas Nativity play
  12/11 Alabaster's Song - discussed child-like faith; made angel bell ornaments
  12/12 No book - made graham cracker "gingerbread" houses
  12/15 Santa Mouse and Jingle Bell Mice - made felt mice with candy-cane tails!
  12/16 Father Christmas and the Donkey by Elizabeth Clark - made Swirled Mint Cookies (Cart Wheels!)
  12/17 The Animals Christmas Eve- made manger cookie & discussed which animal we'd like to have been at the Nativity
  12/18 It's a Miracle! A Hannukah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner - played the dreidel game and had latkes
  12/19 By the Hannukah Light by Sheldon Oberman - made a felt menorah and Jewish jelly donuts (YUM!!)

  
  

• Christmas Advent Chain: This is like the typical chain you would make using construction paper. Use 24 chains for the 24 days leading up to Christmas. On each sheet of paper write someone your family can pray for that day and something to do together as a family. Here are some ideas:

  ~sing song(s) together
  ~go look at Christmas lights
  ~bake Christmas cookies
  ~make a Christmas card for someone special
  ~write a poem about Christmas
  ~write or tell what Christmas really means to you
  ~do a good deed for a loved one
  ~make ornament(s)
  ~watch a christmas movie
  ~put up Christmas tree
  ~hang stockings
  ~read a Christmas story
  ~read Luke 2:9-16

  
  

• Book-A-Day Christmas unit/ Christmas Book Basket
  Posted by Sarah (OH)

  Every year, I wrap 24 books individually (they are Christmas-themed at our house), and place them in a large basket in our family room. Every night, beginning on December 1, and going through December 24, my boys take turns picking out a "present" from the basket, unwrap it, and then I read it to them. We do this at the end of the day, when we also do our Advent calendar and changing the number of days left on a Countdown to Christmas Snowman.

  This has been one of our favorite ways to prepare for Christmas, not only because it gives the boys a small gift to open (they do like this part), but it ties in with our family love of books and reading.

  What I have done every year to "stock up" on good Christmas books, is to go straight to the books at every store "after Christmas sale", where I typically find books marked down at least 50%!

  
  

• Let's Get Ready for Christmas by S. Anderson is a collection of Advent activities that will help three-to-five-year-old children and their parents and families, teachers, or other helpers explore the meaning of Advent. The Bible stories and related activities give enthusiastic little hands plenty of opportunities to get ready for Jesus' birthday.

• Jesus Is Coming by Linda Marsh contains 25 activities to read, color, cut out, and assemble for use with children during Advent.

• Our Family Celebrates Christmas by Martha King is a well-balanced approach to the Advent and Christmas season helping children follow the biblical story that is the focus of Christmas, while helping them place gift-giving, making cookies, and other activities into context. Parents and children can enjoy a variety of craft activities outlined in the book, such as the construction of Advent wreaths and simple Advent calendars, Christmas tree ornaments, and more.

posted December 20, 2002 03:14 PM               

• Advent coloring book to print: 24 coloring pages with quotations from Luke (first 15 pages) and Matthew (last 9 pages) to reinforce the Christmas story. Color and read one page per day from December 1st thru the 24th. Put them all together to make a booklet you can read as a family on Christmas day!
  http://www.dltk-bible.com/advent/index.htm

• Operation Christmas Child Follow this link to get all of the information you'll need to help out this wonderful effort!
  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.asp?section=Operation+Christmas+Child

• Virtual Christmas Tree Farm Tour http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/vtfsite/vtfmain.html

• Saint Nicholas
  historical perspective on the current "Santa Claus" we see everywhere.
  URL Suggested: at http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/adx/adnick.html

• For Santa Fans: Send Santa an email and it comes back personalized. How fun Santa's helpers must be to do this!
  http://www.dm.net/~santa/

• Christmas meanings and international celebrations http://www.cvc.org/christmas/index.htm#history

  
  

• Christmas unit study ideas http://happyhomeschool.familyclassroom.net/Archives.shtml

• Investigate Christmas Traditions http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmassymb.htm

  
  

posted December 20, 2002 03:32 PM               

It wouldn't be Christmas without the chance to dress gingerbread cookies in frosting finery.

INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup molasses
Tubes of white decorator's frosting
Red and green M & M's and Skittles

Step 1
In a medium-sized bowl, sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and baking soda. Set aside dry ingredients.

Step 2
In a large bowl, blend the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the molasses. Slowly add the flour mixture to the molasses mixture, stirring after each addition with the wooden spoon or mixer (the dough should be stiff).

Step 3
Divide the dough in half, flatten into a thick pancake (a fun step for kids set up with a rolling pin) and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the dough is firm enough to roll (if it becomes too stiff, soften for 10 minutes at room temperature).

Step 4
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a floured counter, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out gingerbread men and a spatula to transfer them to a greased cookie sheet, spacing them 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until light brown.

Step 5
Once the gingerbread men have cooled, invite your kids to pipe on frosting features and clothing (they can make both boys and girls?or even a whole gingerbread family). Add red and green candies for buttons.
Makes about 25 cookies.

posted December 20, 2002 03:41 PM               

• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco. This is a holiday story close to the author's. Frankie was her grandmother's youngest brother, and every year she and her family remember this tale of a little boy who learned--and taught--an important lesson about giving, one Christmas long ago.

• The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon. It is a short and easy read. I read it myself but would be a great read aloud. It is a story of growth, love, letting go, and sharing your love with others. It is truly a beautiful story about nature. It is a must read!! Especially if you are a naturalist.

• An Ellis Island Christmas by Maxinne Rhea Leighton, illustrated by Dennis Nolan. It's not truly a Christmas story, but it sure is a nice tie-in for the Thanksgiving and Christmas season to make us think about how lucky we are and having a heart of both thanks and giving.)

• The Real 12 Days of Christmas by Helen Haidle is the history of the song, illustrated with beautiful pictures - a real keepsake.

posted December 20, 2002 03:46 PM               

• Picture Ornaments:
  You will need Sculpey Dough (Walmart, Hobby Lobby), Fresh photocopy of a favorite picture (must be only one or two days old for this to work), Rolling Pin, Wax Paper, Heavy Books, a straw, and Ribbon.
  Open the block of Sculpey and kneed it carefully in your hands to warm it up. Using about half of it, roll it out on wax paper with a rolling pin, just like cookie dough. Use baby powder to keep it from sticking. Tear out your picture, or cut with decorative scissors, to make a ragged edge. Press it picture-side-down on the dough, and rub gently but firmly. Place a sheet of wax paper on top, and then press it under a heavy book. Leave it overnight.
  Carefully pull the photocopy off, and you¹ll see a mirror image of your photo on the dough. Finish the edge, either following your tear, or cutting it the way you did the photocopy. Using a straw, make a hole to use for hanging the picture. Bake at 200 degrees until the dough is firm.
  Tie a ribbon through the hole.
  You can also make these without the holes, and display them on small easels. You can purchase an easel, or make it out of sticks or dowel rods.

• Felt mittens:
  Make a "mitten" pattern out of paper, ours are about the size of a 4yo hand. Cut out 4 from felt. With 2 wrong sides together use embroidery thread (I use very fine crochet thread) and do a blanket or running stitch around the edges (except for the opening). We used fabric paint in iridescent white to paint snowflakes on the front. Tie them together and hang from the tree or use for name tags on packages. You could decorate them with other scraps of felt, buttons, etc.
  Use your imagination!!! BTW, my almost 4ds can do the running stitch with supervision, so this project is fun and very easy. Plus my kids love it.

• Glass ornament ideas:
  Take one of those clear glass craft ornaments (got mine on sale for $.49 each), take off the metal stem, and put about 20 popcorn kernels in it. Then put it in a cup and microwave for about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. After it cools, put the stem back on. The kernels pop and it looks really cute.
  Another idea for these same glass ornaments is to water down some tempera paint and dribble two or three colors down inside the ornament with a dropper. Swirl it around and the colors mix together for a nice effect.

• Foamie trees:
  we cut out christmas trees from green fun foam, hole puched yellow, red, blue and orange (fun foam)"balls"and cut out a yellow star for the top. The kids glued the "balls" on the tree and the star. I used a fine point sharpe to make squiggly lines around the outside of the tree and on the star. Then I used a white paint pen to make a dot on each ball ( where the light would be reflected) and they came out adorable!

  
  

• Snowmen sticks:
  Paint large sized popsicles sticks white and then decorate them like a snow man! You need black paint for the hat- (you just paint a straight line across the top and cut off a piece of black pipe cleaner to glue on for the rim) for the buttons, smile and eyes. These come out really cute. We tie a piece of thin ribbon around their neck for scarfs and hot glue a ribbon to hang it from.

• Coffee filter snowflakes:
  If I remember right--fold and then cut the filters to make various snowflake patterns. Mix water with food coloring and then apply with a dropper to the coffee filters. I saved the droppers from baby vitamin bottles. Use something for hanging them on the tree. (string/thread/yarn)

  
  

• Jingle bell heart:
  This year I took a package of gold jingle bells and strung them on a coat hanger shaped into a heart (cut down in size) and put a red bow on it. It came out really classic looking and they are the "in" thing this year in stores! The package of bells was under a buck at Walmart.

posted December 20, 2002 03:53 PM               

Hi everyone! I thought I would share this in case some of you might benefit from it. It encompasses the life of Christ from His birth to His second return.

We traditionally open gifts on Christmas Eve and leave one gift under the tree to be opened on Christmas morning. That last gift is in a beautifully decorated box. Inside the box are the following directions and Bible verses.

To be prepared ahead of time: Cut out the Bible verses below and glue on pretty paper. Be sure to inconspicuously number each verse in order as that is how they will be read. Place Bible verses inside the beautifully wrapped box. (We use the same box each year.) Place under your Christmas tree.

When ready to do the devotional, please read the following out loud: “We place this gift beneath our Christmas tree each year as a reminder that after all the other presents have been opened, this one will remain to represent that God’s gift is everlasting. (Pass out the Bible verses inside the box to be read by those present). Please read the Bible verse you’ve been given as a reminder of the greatest gift any of us have ever been given – God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.”

(Verses are taken from the Living Bible)

# 1 Luke 2:1-20 Read the Christmas story directly read from the Bible or type it out to be read.
#2 John 1:1-3, 14
#3 Philippians 2:5-8
#4 Isaiah 53:2-5
#5 Isaiah 53:6-9
#6 1 Peter 2:21-25
#7 Colossians 1:22
#8 Colossians 1:23
#9 1 Timothy 2:4-6
#10 John 3:16
#11 John 14:2-6
#12 Acts 1:9-11
#13 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

posted December 20, 2002 03:57 PM               

That first year, I went a little overboard - making the gingerbread houses and Royal Icing for everyone. Besides being a huge job, it cost waaaayyy too much!

After that first year, we changed the way we did the party. Now we send out 3-page invitations. One page gives the details of the party, the next is a list of what to bring, and the third page tells everyone how THEY can make the house and the icing!!

We started using our church basement. There are plenty of tables and chairs, and lots of room to work.

Basically, we have everyone bring an undecorated house , roofing material for their house (it takes quite a bit of whatever to cover the roof of a house, so it's best if everyone brings their own), a muffin tin to put decorating goodies in, a batch of Royal Icing (the cement of gingerbread house making), some sort of candy or other decorating item that I assign to them when they RSVP, a snack and a drink to share.

Some of the decorating items we use are: M&M's, mini M&M's, Starburts, Caramels, Nerds, Pull and Peel licorice, sugar cones (for trees), pretzel sticks, Lifesavers, gumdrops, mini Hershey bars, Kisses, colored sugar, peppermints, shredded wheat cereal, Golden Grahams (great for roof shingles), sprinkles....

The great thing about pooling decorating items is that it makes it affordable to really "do it up".

My favorite part of the whole thing is to watch how a group of people can take the same ingredients and turn them into completely different things. My favorite memory was from our first party. My brother made a satelite dish out of a waffle cone bowl, and the family next to him strung a piece of Pull and Peel licorice from their house to his, announcing that they had illegal cable hookup.

posted December 05, 2003 11:52 AM               

• tooth brushes
  
• hershey kisses
  
• tangerines
  
• nuts
  
• glitter glue pens
  
• combs
  
• fancy pencils
  
• gel pens
  
• fruit roll-ups
  
• tiny cans of Coke
  
• MadLibs
  
• Adventures in Odyssey activity packs
  
• cool bandaids
  
• hairbows
  
• hairbrushes
  
• stickers
  
• Matchbox cars
  
• silly putty
  
• foil-covered chocolate coins
  
• deck of cards
  
• a favorite magazine
  
• small Lego set
  
• fancy crayons or colored pencils
  
• paperback book
  
• holiday themed cookie cutters
  
• nail file (4/$1 at dollar store)
  
• batteries (there is bound to be a present that needs them)
  
• book marks (1/2 price books has some for .25 or 5/$1.00)
  
• bath sponge (Dollar store I got 2/$1)
  
• yoyo
  
• small knex set
  
• small puzzle
  
• word search, maze books
  
• small stuffed animal
  
• chap stick

posted December 05, 2003 11:58 AM               

• The Big Green Pocketbook theme: a little denim purse (it might be difficult finding a big, green pocketbook in December!), filled with all the assorted items from the story such as purple and yellow lollipops, orange-slice candies

• Cranberry Christmas theme: the book, a box of seashells (craft store), some fishing line (to make own seashell ornaments like Mr. Whiskers did!), printed out recipe for the cranberry cookies, etc.

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: the book and then some of the things needed to "act out" the book, such as a plastic cup and straw, paper, crayons, a pen, and of course cookies! Also look for the stuffed animal that goes with the book.

• Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse: the book, a purple purse (look at thrift stores if you can't find one in the dress-up aisle of a toy store), three shiny quarters, movie star sunglasses that glitter and have a neck chain, a music box element tucked away inside the purse so it plays when the purse is opened, a snack-sized package of Cheetohs or Cheese Nips, a little spiral bound notebook for creative stories, pictures, or apologies, school supplies!

(Also see the Advent post for more suggestions)

posted December 19, 2003 12:45 PM               

• Scrapbookers: stickers, die-cuts, markers, paper, fancy scissors, organizer

• Pampering: bath oil beads, fancy soaps, bubble bath, scented candle, relaxing music CD, pumice stone, hair stuff, cologne, lotion, nail polish, lip gloss or chapstick, coupon for childcare

• Arts and Crafts: stamps and pads, x-acto knife, good quality drawing pad or sketch book, an art/craft book, an oragami kit

• Family movie night: dvd/video, popcorn, candy, soda

• Baking basket: an apron, pot holders, cookbook, a few utensils or cookie cutters, a homemade cookie mix. Or a themed cooking basket (would include Italian, Mexican, Chinese, whatever -- themed nonperishable ingredients -- spices, pasta, and so forth).

• Music basket: blank audiotapes, cd's or tapes (or gift certificate), headphones,

• Sewing basket: usual notions

• Gospel basket: kids devotional book, a praise-and-worship tape/cd, a bookmark.

• Stationary basket: notecards or thank-you notes, pens, a pretty pad for making lists, a fancy pen, stamps.

• Messy fun basket (for kids): play dough, slime, silly putty, finger paints (could be homemade)

• Memory maker basket: cookie mixes in jars, drink mixes (spiced tea and mocha mixes), decorated aprons, wooden spoons, and note saying that the mixes were to be memory makers, every family member needing their apron on and stirring at least one time!

• Gingerbread house kit: you make the sides of the house ahead of time, wrap them in pretty cellophane, include the recipe for the icing, various candies and foods for decorating, then the recipient can assemble them on they're own anyway they like.

• Game Night: a big popcorn bowl, microwave popcorn, chips, trail mix or other snacks, Uno, Phase 10, Memory, or Yahtzee, pizza coupon/gift certificate, instructions for games, score pads, card holders, card shuffler

• Snowman in a basket: an old felt hat (can buy at $ store fairly cheap), a corncob pipe, some coal, an inexpensive scarf, squirt bottles and food coloring, buttons and then some hot cocoa mix, small marshmallows and even some mugs if your basket and your budget have room.

• Advent basket: a copy of Tabitha's Travels by Arnold Ytreeide (author of Jotham's Journey), three purple, one pink, and a white candle with a wreath. The candles and wreath were all purchased at the dollar store. I arranged the candles inside the wreath and placed the wreath in a basket with coordinating tissue.

• Breakfast basket: Breakfast foods from Cracker Barrel such as bags of pancake mix, coffee packets, tea bags, cocoa, little bottles of syrup, a wooden spoon

• S'mores basket: graham crackers, a bag of marshmellows, some hersheys bars, and some cocoa. You could do this as extravagant (with the roasting sticks, cocoa mugs, box of crackers, 4-5 hersheys bars, etc etc), or as simple as you like (1 bar, a small baggie of marshmellows, a couple crackers in a ziploc baggie, all stuck in a mug).

• Ice cream Night: ice cream scoop, caramel topping, fudge topping, crushed Oreos, sprinkles, cherries, Ready-Whip, recipes, ice cream maker, ice cream dishes

• Hair basket (for girls): barrettes, scrunchies, hair bows, shampoo, combs, brushes, spray-in detangaler

• New Years basket: noise makers, party hats, eggnog

• Super Bowl basket: pretzels, popcorn, soda, team hat, team shirt, plastic cups with team, tear-apart referee doll

• Holiday survival basket: a Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas CD, small box of chocolates, cute Santa wine glasses, bottle of wine and 3 christmas votives in glass holders.

  
  

posted January 09, 2004 11:19 AM               

• Tablecloth and/or napkins: using some really fun holiday fabric, or favorite character print, make a set of cloth napkins as gifts. I think I bought a half of a yard and it cost me $1.50. There is enough material to make about 8 napkins. And your choices are a lot more fun!

posted January 09, 2004 11:57 AM               

• Grandma sweatshirts: use your children's feet and hands to stamp a little painted foot in the middle of a shirt (reindeer head). A hand on either side makes antlers. Add a little red pom-pom for the nose and plastic eyes, and you've got Rudolph! Hands painted green and stamped in a circle make a lovely holiday wreath! Add little fingerprints of red, and you have holly berries. Add a little bow at the bottom...just for fun.

• Stamped pillowcases: The plan is to use dark blue pillowcases, white and gold paint, a cut round potato, and your child's feet and hands! A white foot print is the angel's robe, two white hand prints are the angel's wings, a white potato print is the angel's head, then just paint on a gold halo. There will be a gold star and all this will overlook the town of Bethlehem and the fields (line painting) with sheep (thumb and finger prints) grazing.

  
  

• Fancy candle holder: uUse a clear votive cup and paint pens to paint little tiny gold dots, and then tie a pretty ribbon around the neck of the votive cup and tie a bow. Put a red or white votive candle in it.

posted April 25, 2004 02:43 PM               

• Baby book to give to your child: Children love to hear about their birth and things they did growing up. You may have your own baby book for them but why not make them one of their own to look at whenever they want? Copy some of their favorite pictures, 2-3 from each year, and attach it to a sheet of paper. (You might want to laminate it or cover with contact paper.) Handwrite or computer type the story that goes with each picture and attach to the page. You can also use die-cuts, stickers, clip art to dress up the page. Compile all of the pages in an album, or maybe get it bound.
  

• Gumball "machines": SOOO cute! Here's what you need: a round glass bowl (the kind with the ripply top that you see in craft stores), a medium sized clay pot, a small sized clay pot saucer (small enough to fit just inside the opening of the glass bowl, without falling in), a small round ball of wood (found in craft stores, doesn't matter what size), ribbon, glue, paint, gum/candy!

  Take the medium sized pot, small saucer and the round ball of wood and paint them however you like. Let dry.
  Glue the round ball on top of the small saucer so it makes a "handle".
  Turn the medium sized pot upside down. Glue the glass bowl right side up on top of it.
  Place a wide ribbon around where the bowl and the pot join each other.
  Place the "lid" made with the small saucer on top.
  Fill with the receivers favorite candy!

  
  

• Family cookbook: Ask all of your family memebers for their favorite/signature recipes. Print them out on the computer, possibly using clip art. A neat feature is to add the donor's story or memory behind each recipe; can be added at the bottom of the recipe.

  
  

• Lighted potpourri bowl: Take a glass bowl with the ripply top (I think they are called Ivy Bowls), a bag of dry potpourri, a short strand of Christmas lights (approx. 35 ct), a cloth doily that will fit over the top of the Ivy Bowl, ribbon (long enough to be woven through the perimeter of the doily and tied in a bow. Take the potpourri and add a little to the bowl then take the lights (the end w/out the plug) and start coiling the lights in the bowl...trying to keep most of them towards the outside. Add some more potpourri, and coil more lights....keep alternating until all the lights have been coiled in and the bowl is full of potpourri...leave the end with the plug sticking out (about 6 in., just no lights sticking out). Cover the top with the doily, and weave the ribbon thru the edge and pull it taught and tie a bow.
  When this is plugged in the lights will of course illuminate and they warm up the potpourri and soon the whole room smells wonderful!

  
  

• Tile box: Take four ceramic tiles and hot glue gun them into a standing up square. Glue a fifth tile on the bottom. A sixth tile becomes the top. Glue a marble or a cute little drawer pull on the top center to help lift it off. You can also glue 4 marbles on the bottom for legs. A finished example of this project used dark green ceramic tiles for the box with big red beads for the lifter; very Christmasy! You can fill these boxes with little presents or plastic baggies of goodies, etc. They are just beautiful!