December 4 -- A small but thoughtful Christmas care package

Do you have faraway friends you'd like to remember with a little something at Christmas time? Here's what I did one year. The friends I sent this to were so surprised and pleased. I wanted to send them just a taste of Christmas in our home, and they said they really felt a part of our Christmas.

I lined a small (recycled) box with red and green tissue paper, then filled the box with a few things that would give them a taste of our Christmas. Things like:

* A small foil package of holiday fudge

* A small tin of some favorite Christmas cookies

* A homemade packet of spices for hot cider

* Some handmade sparkly heart ornaments -- the ones with bells sewed on, so our friends would hear a festive jingle as they opened the package

* Shreds of red & green paper (the type sold as filler for gift baskets)

* A few little hemlock cones from our woods

* A sprinkle of metallic Christmas confetti

You could include many different things, keeping the emphasis on "small" and "lightweight". Be imaginative and send your friends something that will really help them to feel they are sharing in your Christmas joy. (I buy things like the confetti and the red & green paper shreds when they are on sale at season's end and just store them until the next Christmas.)

A package like this doesn't cost much at all to send, but it is such a nice surprise for your friends to receive!

Christmas Countdown Challenge, Day 22

OK, this was NOT a very productive day in terms of the challenge. It was a busy day at church and I had dishes and other tasks to do when we returned. Here's what little I accomplished toward Christmas:

* Did a little bit of gift planning and organizing in my Christmas Notebook.

* Changed from a fall spoon rest on my stove to a Christmas one.

* Reorganized my freezer to make room for Christmas baked goods.

* Bought a round loaf of sourdough bread to use for serving a seafood dip for the ladies' Christmas fellowship at church.

* Wrote a Christmas post for tomorrow.

And that's it. I'm hoping for a much more productive day tomorrow.

December 3 -- Two quick but fancy Christmas cookie ideas

Here are two ideas that will make your cookie plates look fancy with very little work on your part:

1) Poinsettia Brownies

My mother always made these to add to her gift trays of cookies at Christmas. Bake brownies as usual and let them cool. Before cutting, frost the brownies with a simple white butter frosting and mark them into squares. Using slices of candied cherries (note: NOT maraschino cherries, which could make quite a mess), form poinsettias on the top of each square. Cut the brownies along the marked lines. You can make this even simpler by using brownie mix and canned frosting.

2) Fancy Fig Cookies

These start with purchased fig bars (like Fig Newtons®). Cut the bars in half lengthwise to make sticks, or in half diagonally to make triangles. Dip the pieces in melted chocolate, then in chopped nuts. Place on foil-lined baking sheets and chill until chocolate is set.

Enjoy!

Christmas Countdown Challenge, Day 23

Today wasn't a total washout as far as Christmas preparations go, but I didn't accomplish much.

* I pinned together the pieces for another fabric basket, and got the ribbon ties pinned in place. So that's another ready to stitch.

* I turned a reversible Christmas flannel throw I have in the living room from the plain dark green side to the Christmas print side.

* I put out one of my favorite Christmas kitchen decor items -- an old potato masher with a worn white-painted wooden handle (which I've tied a strip of red/green plaid homespun around in a bow). Then I lean an old, worn Christmas-tree cookie cutter with a faded green handle up against the masher. I have it on a window sill.

* I put a Christmas centerpiece on the dining room table -- it'll probably change over the next few weeks, but it's a red metal bowl full of cookie cutters sitting on a red/cream doily atop a green Christmas print bandanna. I have red/green homespun mats with a Christmas tree/star motif woven in.

* I managed to get a few large items out of the freezer to make some room for Christmas baked goods.

Other than that, my day was taken up with other projects like finishing my Sunday School lesson, cleaning the church, and getting my food items ready for tomorrow's potluck.

December 2 -- Sparkly Heart Ornaments

For today's feature, I thought I would share how to make some very pretty ornaments from simple supplies most crafters might have on hand. I have made many of these for gifts and for decorating my own home. I like to use them on my front-door wreath, but they are also nice for hanging on the tree or anywhere else you like. Some folks I have given them to like to hang these sparkly hearts from the kitchen cupboard doorknobs, to spiff up the kitchen with a holiday air. They would make nice package tie-ons, too. Years ago, I saw some similar ornaments for sale in a catalog and figured out an easy way to make them. Here's how:

SPARKLY HEART ORNAMENTS

You will need:

Red felt
Polyester fiberfill
Needle and red sewing thread
Gold star sequins
Gold glass seed beads
Red rocaille beads
Small shiny brass jingle bells, optional

For each ornament you wish to make, cut 2 heart shapes -- I trace around a a heart cookie cutter to make them uniform -- out of red felt. Add beads to one heart from each pair as follows: Thread a needle with red thread, then bring the needle up through the back side of the heart to the right side. Thread on a gold star sequin, then either a gold seed bead or a red rocaille bead. Insert the needle back into the star sequin and through to the back side again, so that the thread holds the bead tightly in place. Repeat this process to add as many sequins/beads as desired. (I used about 7 beads/stars on most of my ornaments.)

Now, using small neat stitches, sew the 2 heart shapes together about 1/4 inch from the edges, leaving an opening for stuffing the ornament. Stuff the heart ornament tightly with fiberfill (it won't take very much) and sew up the opening. If desired, sew a jingle bell to the bottom point of each heart. Now use the needle to pull a length of thread through the center top of each heart; knot to form a hanger.

The sparkly beads and sequins on these ornaments catch the light beautifully, and if you use the jingle bells, they add the sound of Christmas as well. Another really nice thing about these ornaments is that you can leave them up right through Valentine's Day!

Christmas Countdown Challenge, Day 24

Today I actually managed to get all of my fall decorations taken down (and put away!) and got some Christmasy ones up. Changed the porch tablecloth to one made from vintage poinsettia fabric, added a red bow to the oil lamp that sits on this table. Took the autumn leaves off my front-door wreath, added red sparkly hearts and a red plaid bow. Replaced my ribbon board in the front hallway with a red/green one and filled it with vintage Christmas cards & tags.

I did several more little decorating projects along this line, but most of the decorations are still in the attic. Listened to Christmas music all day and pressed pieces for another fabric basket.

Oh! And went to a holiday concert this evening!

December 1 -- Pepparkakor

Well, as promised, here is the first of a month's worth of Christmas ideas. Pepparkakor are Swedish spice cookies. They will add such a Christmasy aroma to your house! Don't be scared off by the fact that you have to roll and cut them. This is a very easy dough to work with. Here's the recipe:

PEPPARKAKOR

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tblsp. dark molasses
1 egg
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. cinnamon
1 Tblsp. ginger
1 Tblsp. cloves
Juice and grated rind of 1 orange

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy; add molasses and egg. Mix until blended. Sift flour, soda and spices into creamed mixture. Add orange juice and rind; mix until well blended. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8” thickness. Cut into heart or reindeer shapes.
Transfer to cookie sheets.

Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until brown. Cool on rack and store in a covered tin. Makes at least 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

I found this recipe in an old Country Woman magazine. The lady who submitted it said that these were the first cookies she baked each year to make her house really smell like Christmas. It works! Of course, you need not limit yourself to hearts and reindeer; that’s just what I usually do. Sometimes I cut some pine trees and moose as well. These are yummy whatever shape you choose to make them!