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We look forward to Christmas with our family. Our favorites are many and we look forward to cookie baking each December. The wine cookies and the date-filled cookies recipes are part of a family tradition that has been passed down from my grandmother and very possibly my great-grandmother. For me it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them! Of course, we also enjoy the frosted cut-out sugar cookies! Throughout the year, I make batches of cookies, but typically they are chocolate chip, peanut butter or oatmeal raisin. Sharing Christmas cookies bring joy to our whole family.

Wine, date-filled, and frosted cut-out cookies are extra special during the Christmas season. Usually the week before Christmas my sisters and I, plus our kids, gather together at Grandma’s home for the annual “Cookie Day”.

Prior to “Cookie Day”, all of us have also been busy baking other kinds of cookies: peanut blossoms, gingerbread boys, snowballs, pecan tarts, frosted brownie cookies, mincemeat, Martha Stewart’s butterscotch cookies, etc.

We bring our batches of homemade cookies to Mom’s for the huge cookie exchange that follows after a few hours of decorating the cut-outs. We use many different colors of powdered sugar frosting and further embellish the cookies with sprinkles and colored sugars. Some decorated cookies are truly masterpieces!

When the last cookie has been decorated, we clean up the mess – lots of sugar cover the table and of course, the mess also spills onto the floor! Then we set out all the batches of cookies everyone made. We have more than enough cookies to assemble a yummy assortment in treat bags for gift giving, for colleagues at work and for our homes. It’s tiring but, a tradition we value because we spend family time together.

Some of the most important things about Christmas is:

• Lighting the advent candles
• Making Christmas cookies
• Sharing Stories with loved ones
• Waking up to snow
• Getting Christmas Sales

Teeth whitening ideas are fun to share with family and friends. The best Christmas presents, given and/or received, might include a new baby, a clean bill of health, all the family together, a special vacation, a laptop computer, a big screen TV, the newest technological apparatus, even the wonder in a child’s eyes when they receive their favorite gifts!

I try to choose just the right gift that will bring joy to each person on my Christmas list. I try to think of gifts that are things that perhaps they wouldn’t buy for themselves, the practical as well as sometimes the extravagant! Something that surprises brings great pleasure! Most of us want to show the depth of our love torelatives in our lives and choosing a present with them in mind is one way to demonstrate our love.

For many people, the most treasured gifts are from the soul. If you are on a tight budget, be creative with thoughtful, inexpensive gifts such as cookie mixes in a jar; homemade fudge, hand knit scarves, mittens, caps, salt clay ornaments, craft projects, photo calendars and mini-albums filled with pictures taken during the past year; gift containers filled with themed items.

Personally created presents deliver as much joy as store-bought presents. Too many times we equate love with how much money we spend, but the most important thing to keep in mind is to give (and receive) from our hearts. The very best X-mas gift is LOVE, and of course, the purest form of love is JESUS! LOVE was born at Christmas. Because God gave us the greatest gift of Jesus, we know the joy of giving to those we love.

Family oriented Advent reading keep everyone in the Christmas spirit. In these economic times, consider trying to keep Christmas gift-giving simpler. Trying some of these ideas will even be fun! Once you start, your own creativity and imagination will be unleashed and gift-giving might be less stressful and not too expensive!

Other inexpensive gift ideas include:
Individual packets of special coffee blends
Teas and a unique coffee mug or tea cup
A mixing bowl filled with packaged cookie mixes
A child’s picture framed
Note Cards
A photo calendar with family pictures adding and the dates of everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries written in.

You may want to use a special container, a basket, bag, bowl, or bin, and turn it into a gift basket, filled with treasures! For example, include a jar of favorite pasta sauce, box of whole wheat pasta, a bottle of Italian dressing, croutons, Parmesan cheese, a kitchen towel, spiced olive oil, Biscotti, etc. You have an instant Italian Pasta dinner in a bag! You can include as many items as you like. Other great possibilities consist of a popcorn bowl filled with popcorn, popcorn seasonings, candy, a DVD or gift certificate to a video store, and funny napkins. Once you start thinking of things you can put together, it is fun to give and fun to receive!

Whether I am writing out Christmas cards, finishing up sewing and knitting projects, baking cookies, or wrapping presents, listening to my variety of Christmas albums and CDs, is just what I need to stay calm, peaceful and focused on my tasks. Christmas time can be a very busy time and stress can make a person come unglued, but music diffuses the tenseness, especially when I hear songs that remind me what Christmas is REALLY all about!