I Told You I Was Still Looking

Actually, this one was a matter of remembering. I found this organization a while back, so I had to look it up again, but it's really a great one.  Previously, I was telling you to find a good cause that you can donate some time to this Christmas. Well, this is one that I love.
It's called Soldier's Angels, and their mission states: "May No Soldier Go Unloved". There are different levels of giving. They have suggestions for items you can send that will go into stockings for the troops. They also have a program where you can adopt a soldier and send them packages and letters on a monthly basis. It's like with the Operation Christmas Cards program, they encourage the personal touch.

https://soldiersangels.org/

 

Day 60 (yes, that means only 2 more months!!)   Check out this website. Maybe it's something you'd want to do, maybe not, but see how you can spread a little love around either way.

 

Merry, Merry!

 

Care'n Presents

A Giving Get-Together

I haven't had much time in the last couple of days to look for worthy causes, but rest assured, I'm still trying. Meanwhile, I started thinking about "Operation Christmas Cards" that I talked about yesterday, and I'm really excited about it. So on my list of things to do...

Day 69 - Plan a "Giving Get-Together".  I want to have a little party to make Christmas Cards to send in! It's always more fun doing arts and crafts with friends and family. Even people who wouldn't normally do that sort of thing will be more inclined to do it in a group. Come up with a few easy designs that anyone could put together, give everyone instructions and then, have at it. Be creative!   Then brainstorm about things to write on the inside. It's hard sometimes to come up with something to write to someone you've never met, but again, if it's a group endeavor it becomes fun. Have some coffee and cookies (or for you healthy people:  water and veggies).  If you have any old Christmas cards that you can recycle, or other items that can be reused, all the better. One person's scraps of colored paper might be just the accent on someone else's card. It could be a challenge: to avoid any leftover materials!

 

So make a plan to give this Christmas in anyway you can, and invite your friends to join you!!


Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

Sometimes I Need a Few Practice Shots

Day 75 - I know it will sound suspicious if I say that I need to practice making cookies and candy but the truth is, it's not as easy as it looks. Have you ever noticed that the cookies and other baked goods always look so beautiful in magazines and advertisements. Do your cookies ever come out like that? (If they do, I don't want to know.) Mine don't. They aren't ugly usually, but they aren't, by any means, perfect little uniform sized or shaped, and inevitably a batch or two gets burned or dropped on the floor. This being said, if I want to try out something new to give as a gift, it's not a good idea for me to wait until I actually want to give them away.
 

Case in point:  I got this really cool mold to make candy Christmas trees. Think about it, what better treat would a Living Christmas elf want to make?  The tree part is made with green colored white chocolate and then I add a big pretzel stick as the trunk. So I decided to make some this morning to take to The Workshop for a meeting we were having. First, the chocolate didn't really melt very well, then the pretzels broke, then I spilled coffee on a couple of them. They ended up lumpy, and I broke a few more "trunks" off getting them out of the fridge. Memo to me: these will have to be made well in advance, with back up pretzels on the side. The finished product wasn't too bad, although I had to trim off the excess chocolate that spread on the outside of the mold and a few of the "branches" broke off. On the upside, no one complains about having to eat the rejects. For that matter, no one complains if they aren't perfect either. Heck, unless they taste horrible (another good argument for practice) no one cares what they look like at all for the most part.

So have fun practicing your baking, and candy and treat making. Share the mistakes.  And even if the final batch isn't perfect, don't sweat it. It's a gift that comes from your kitchen and from your heart, and that will make it all the better.





What they are supposed to look like (Wilton)



And these are mine  :)

Merry Merry!!

Care'n Presents

Is 7 Your Lucky Number? How About 77?

Let's cut to the chase. Who has time for chit chat? Okay, who am I kidding? Without chit chat, what kind of elf would I be?  Typing, on the other hand, takes time, so on that note, I better get to it. 

Day 77 - Today, I'm going to start on 
my gift list. Every year I promise myself I'm going to do my Christmas shopping early, and every year I'm out on the week before Christmas, running around like every other crazy person who is trying to do it at the last minute. You'd think I'd know better. What if Scotty Claus waited until the last minute to deliver trees? Perish the thought!! 

So...item on my list:  start another list. I may not finish it today, but this way hopefully I won't forget anyone. There are so many people that I want to somehow at least say "Thank you" to.  If I wait until the last minute, those people are the first to be crossed off for lack of time. Not this year, by golly.  

You know how they say it's the thought that counts? I believe that. I also believe that gifts should come from the heart. I wouldn't want someone to give me something out of obligation, or guilt or something silly like that. My favorite gift is one that comes out of the blue from someone who says "I saw this and I just had to get it! It made me think of you." Those are my favorite gifts to give too. I can't always find those types of things for everyone, but when all else fails, nobody seems disappointed when I give them cookies...baked with love. So like I said: I better get to it!


Merry Merry!

Care'n Presents