The Joy of Giving...

One group of snow people are done.  Only two of them got to stay behind in Missouri while the others were sent to stay with a good friend out in Kentucky until they find new homes. 

There are still a few unfinished things on my work table and hope to have them all done this weekend!

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Can you believe it is so close to Christmastime already?  I think I have one gift bought so far! And I've not even made a list!  Not that I have a great many to give but besides John and the kids, there are a few that I like to give a little somethin' somethin' to!  You know, the mailman, a few neighbors, a few people at work, hair stylist......

If you know me or follow my blogging, you know that besides creating things with fabric, I also like to bake and also scrapbook...

I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet  for this year....but I thought I'd share with you some of the things I've done in the past as well as give you a couple of links that were posted on a delphi forum that I frequent....

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*cookie mix in a jar or homespun bag...tie off with a piece of homespun and attach a mini-wooden spoon or other mini-utensil along with the directions for making!

*fudge in cookie cutter ...rather than cutting a chunk of fudge, pour into a holiday cookie cutter, then once it's set, place in a  cellophane bag, tie off with a piece of homespun (or holiday ribbon) and  handmade tag. (I've posted the recipe below)

*small handmade ornaments

*small loaves of sweet breads....I've picked up some really cute ceramic mini-loaf pans at Michaels in years past for like $1.00....package the bread IN the pan in a cello bag and tie off with holiday ribbon!

*homemade cookies....give these in cello bags, holiday tins or boxes.  Adding a small ornament, handmade (or store-bought) is a nice touch! I've also caught really good sales (like at JC Penneys) on holiday serving dishes!

*start (or complete) a scrapbook.  If you are like me, you have have all sorts of photos and the supplies at hand, it's just a matter of picking up a scrapbook and you can usually catch them on sale at places like Hobby Lobby or Michaels pretty regular.

*favorite recipes cookbook....I've not done this for Christmas, but I've done this for bridal showers...put together a small cookbook of  your favorite recipes ...be it you type/print them yourself and put them into a simple 3-ring binder or handwrite them on recipe cards and place them in a cookbook binder.  You could also do this in scrapbook form!

Well, that's just a few of the things that I can think of at the moment.....oh! don't forget, there is always the gift of .....

TIME! 

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And here are those links I mentioned......

http://www.celebrating-christmas.com/giftideas/giftideas.shtml

http://www.celebrating-christmas.com/giftideas/homemade-gift-ideas.shtml

 

And the fudge....I think I actually got the basic idea from one of the Taste of Home magazines.....I've adapted it to suit my taste and need.....

 

Fudge

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3/4 cup chopped pecans (more or less depending on personal preference)

 

While you can do this in a heavy saucepan over low heat, I do this slowly in the microwave oven.....Melt chocolate chips and milk.  Remove from heat (or microwave); stir in vanilla then pecans.  Pour into lightly buttered pan then chill til firm OR....Place lightly buttered cookie cutter on wax paper lined baking sheet....fill with fudge mixture...smooth...refrigerate until set.  Put in cellophane bag, tie with piece of homespun or holiday ribbon...add a tag and there ya go!

 

Use holiday cookie cutters OR....use a cookie cutter that matches up with the person you are giving to!

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I hope you are having an awesome week and you are not letting yourself get overwhelmed with all the things on your to-do list!