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Twinkling lights, the spicy scent of a fresh balsam wreath, a warm crackling fire, Christmas carols playing softly...there are so many things to love this time of year. Christmas is all about making memories. This year, we thought it would be fun to share with you a few of our memory-making traditions. We hope you feel inspired to create a few of your own new traditions...and we'd just love to hear about them. So cheers to you this holiday season! We wish you much love, much joy and many happy memories.
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P.S. If you have a moment, we'd love to know what you think about our E-letter.
Click here to send us your thoughts, ideas and suggestions. Thank you!
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Why not invite a few close friends over and host a Christmas Craft Party? First make your home cozy and inviting...flickering candles in the windows, bowls of clove-studded pomanders, a cozy fire and some creamy hot cocoa & sugar cookies to greet your guests. Here are a couple of our favorite memory crafts that are easy and oh-so personal.
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Jo Ann's Memory Wreath
I hang mine over the mantel each Christmas. Such a cozy and personal family welcome for the holiday season. The kids love finding their old Santa photos!
Start by gathering supplies you'd like to use for your wreath...vintage photos, glittery chipboard letters, a favorite ornament or two, some chenille candy canes, mini stockings and little bottle-brush trees are Jo Ann's favorites. Be sure to make color copies of any vintage photos or postcards, using the copies in your crafting. Then, just simply be creative! Tie or hot glue items onto the wreath...the more the merrier!
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Vickie's Memory Ornament Boxes
When the kids grew up, I made them both memory boxes. I decorated them with their Christmas photos and filled them with their ornament collections. I'm pretty sure these keepsake boxes bring a smile to them every holiday season!
Supplies...paper maché box from the craft store (large enough to hold lots of ornaments,) acrylic paint, découpage medium, permanent fine-point pen, trimmed color photocopies of your kids with Santa over the years, trimmed color copies of letters to Santa, etc.
Begin by painting the box with two coats of acrylic paint. Let dry. Using the découpage medium as "glue" attach the (copies of) photos and letters
randomly to the box. If you'd like, add captions under your photos using the permanent fine-point pen. Let dry, then coat the box two more times with découpage medium, allowing it to dry thoroughly in between coats.
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Add a sweet holiday fragrance to your crackling fire...just toss in a handful of dried mint leaves, orange peel or cinnamon sticks. |
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Frost the glass panes in an old wooden window frame with snow spray, then write fun messages in the "snow". Hang it on your porch to greet guests. |
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When guests are coming to visit for Christmas, welcome them by decorating bedrooms with strands of twinkling lights. |
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Decorate a small velvet pillow with colorful, vintage Christmas brooches! Just pin them on and tuck into the corner of the sofa. So festive! |
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Put on some Christmas music, light some candles, and open your Christmas cards at suppertime so everyone can read and enjoy them together. |
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Nothing says Christmas like the wonderful fragrance of freshly cut evergreens. Arrange tree trimmings into vases to enjoy the aroma throughout the house. |
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Tie ornaments onto the Christmas tree with narrow strips of homespun fabric...sweet and simple. |
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Make cookie giving fun...tuck lots of wrapped cookies inside a big Christmas stocking. |
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Roll strips of batting the same way you would to make rag balls, then place them on your Christmas tree...they'll look like snowballs! |
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Give a loaf of your favorite sweet bread tucked inside a holiday oven mitt. Wrap the loaf securely in plastic wrap then tuck inside. Miniature loaves also make wonderful mitten stuffers. |
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We're always looking for fun ways to wrap up and
give homemade goodies, and one of our favorite ideas is to use a muffin tin. New tins can be used afterward for baking muffins and cupcakes and vintage tins can be used in a craft room for sorting buttons and ribbon. How clever!
Velvety Butter Cookies
One of our favorites from our new Christmas Cookie Jar cookbook.
2 c. butter, softened
8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 c. sugar
2 egg yolks
1 t. vanilla extract
4-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Combine all ingredients; mix well. Chill for 2 hours. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thick. Cut out with cookie cutters. Bake on greased baking sheets at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool and ice with your favorite frosting. Makes 7 dozen.
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We have been so happy to hear from all our friends, far & wide. We just love that you are really enjoying our E-letters. We hoped you would!
We have a special surprise for you! We have created a Message Board at www.gooseberrypatch.com, where you can post memories and share recipes and ask questions of all your online friends...right at
Gooseberry Patch!
So fix a cup of hot cocoa, get yourself comfy and come on over and chat awhile. We think you'll find lots of friends there!
Share the Magic of Christmas
Connecting with our community is something that is very important to us all year long, and this time of year, we especially think of children.
We've been offering our Magic of Christmas Candle for 9 years! This year, as our way of supporting the wonderful work done at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 5% of the purchase price of every candle will be donated to St. Jude. We just love knowing that every purchase helps a child.
If you would like to join us in supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, you can donate directly to them by going to www.stjude.org, or click here to purchase a Magic of Christmas Candle.
Save $1 each when you buy 3 or more Magic of Christmas candles!
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It's Christmastime! Bake cookies, go skating, build a snowman and sip wassail by a crakling fire with those you love. And we'll see you in January, when our E-letter will be chock-full of "delicious treats".
Can't wait to see you again!
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