The spirit of Christmas
To me the Spirit of Christmas means caring, giving and sharing. It means being with loved ones and hearing the Christmas story. This year the children and young people of our church will be doing the musical Wise Guys and Starry Skies. Having the cassette tape of music playing repeatedly so the kids can learn the songs has helped to get our family thinking and feeling the spirit of Christmas. Gift giving, baking, letter writing and decorating will occupy much of the next month.
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As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
A gift in a shoe box
A shoe box isn’t very big but when it is filled with small gifts, a toy, a book and some candy and given to a needy child in a desperate situation, it becomes a gift of love and caring. Operation Christmas Child has distributed shoe box gifts to hundreds of thousands of needy children around the world since 1993. For our family it has become a Christmas tradition and an opportunity to share our many blessings with other children.
Operation Christmas Child is a unique project of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief and evangelism organization whose president is Franklin Graham, the eldest son of evangelist Billy Graham. If you would like more information about how your family can participate, call 1-800
Selecting toys
To help select toys and computer games for the kids on our list I like to refer to the Canadian Toy Testing Council’s 1998 Toy Report. This report provides a list of the best bets. These are new toys on the market that have proven to be fun and innovative. Over 1,000 kids, ages three months to 14 years, test toys for the council each year. The following list has been deemed by the kids as the best toys:
- Barbie Folding Pretty House (#16961), Mattel, $75-$95, 3-8 years
- Brio Two-Way Battery Engine (#33225), Brio, $25, 3+ years
- Finger Fillies (#FF12), Funk-adellies (#FD8), Ooglie Booglies (#OB6), Royal Rascals (#RR8), and Spellcasters (#SC6) Puppets, Manhattan Toy Company, $5-$10, 3+ years
- Hot Wheels Mega-Rig Construction (#15112), Mattel, $40, 5+ years
- Junior Originarte Carpet Designer (#EK-JR01-34), E.K. Success, $20, 5+ years
- K’NEX Solar Power 20 Model Set (#19403), K’nex Industries, $130, 9+ years
- Magicloth Doll Collection – Dolly Dingle (#1964920117), Schylling, $20, 3+ years
- Make and Play Hand Puppet Activity Kit, Make and Play Concepts, $30, 5+ years
- Mega Bloks Activity Bear (#7020), Ritvik Toys, $30, 4+ months
- Mystery Mansion (#40380), Parker, $55, 8+ years
- Rock & Scoot Motorcycle (#1562) and Rock & Scoot Zebra (#1576), Little Tikes, $60, 9+ months
- Sculpey III (#S30), Sculpey III Alien Dudes (#S3CC1), Sculpey III Desert Reptiles (#S3CC2), Sculpey III Pentastic and Stand (#S3CC3), Sculpey III Planet Polyform (#S3CC4), Sculpey III Rain Forest Frogs (#S3CC5) and Sculpey III Smiley Faces (#S3CC6), Polyform, $10, 8+ years
Computer software
- Castle Infinity, Starwave, $70, 8+ years
- Lords of the Realm II, Sierra-on-line, $75, 13+ years
- Pajama Sam No Need To Hide When It’s Dark Outside, Humongous, $40, 5-8 years
The 45th edition of the Toy Report features more than 1,700 rated toys and identifies what consumers should look for when purchasing toys and computer software. The Toy Report is available at bookstores and newspaper stands or by calling toll free 1-888-883-7773.
Gingerbread decorations
Robin Hood Foods has developed some prebaked gingerbread packages. These include a Gingerbread House, Christmas Tree and Santa’s Sleigh. The packages are complete with prebaked and cut out gingerbread, icing mix, measuring cup, icing decorating tube and bag of candies.
We tried the Santa’s Sleigh and found it was great fun. Instructions were complete and easy to follow. The colored picture on the outside of the box helped in the assembly. By omitting the mixing and baking steps the project can be completed in one evening. This would make a great after-school or party activity for three or four kids. The kits range in price from $12 to $15 for the house and $10 to $12 for the tree and sleigh.
For those in grief
When you lose a family member or close friend the first year without them is often the hardest. The Christmas season of joy and good cheer can be the loneliest and hardest for those grieving. Hospitals, churches and grief support groups often hold a special memorial service where family and friends can share special memories of the ones who have died.
In planning your Christmas cards and activities don’t forget to include those who are grieving. They need your love, care and sharing even more now.
A little angel
Are you looking for a simple but elegant Christmas ornament or gift topper? My nine-year-old niece Jennifer Pearson shared this little angel with me. To make it you will need some supplies:
- Fifty-five metres of white crochet cotton
- Two centimetre round wooden ball or bead with or without a face on it
- A piece of heavy cardboard,
18 x 10 cm.
- One 10-cm length of gold pipe cleaner.
Wrap the crochet cotton around the 18 cm side of the cardboard 200 times. Cut a length of cotton 30 cm long, fold in half and insert under the cotton on the board, slide to one end of the board and tie a knot to gather the cotton together. Tie the extra ends together to form a hanger for the ornament.
Cut the opposite end of the wrapped cotton to remove from the cardboard.
Place the tied end of the cotton over the bead face. Using a one metre length of crochet cotton tie under the bead to form a neck. Wrap the extra cotton around to form a band, tuck the ends into the back.
Using the cardboard again, wrap crochet cotton around the same end 70 times. Carefully slip the cotton off the cardboard. Using a 30 cm length of cotton, tie one cm from one end and wrap the extra thread around and tuck in the ends. Cut the opposite end. Divide the threads into three equal sections and braid to the end. Using another 30 cm length of cotton tie and wrap the same on the other side. This will form the wings.
Divide the threads of the body with one quarter to the back and three quarters to the front of the body. Insert the wings. Using a one metre length of cotton, tie and wrap, just under the wings, the same as for the neck.
Trim the ends of the skirt and the ends of the wings to even up the threads.
Form a halo from the pipe cleaner and glue to the back of the head.
Cards and letters
Do you struggle with what seems to be a mammoth job of writing letters and cards to friends and family at Christmas? I have been known to send out New Year’s letters on the premise that everyone wants to hear about our holidays. I have also received Valentine and Easter letters that are just as meaningful and welcomed as Christmas cards. To me this poem says it all.
Christmas cards
I have a list of friends I know
all written in a book
Every year at Christmas time
I go and take a look
That is when I realize
that these names are a part
Not of the book they’re written in
but of my heart.
For each name stands for someone
who has crossed my path sometime
And in that meeting they’ve become
the “rhythm and the rhyme.”
While it sounds fantastic
for me to make this claim
I feel I am composed of
each remembered name.
While you may not be aware
of any special link
Just meeting you has shaped my life
more than you can think
For once you’ve met somebody
the years cannot erase
The memory of a pleasant word
and a friendly face.
So never think that Christmas cards
are just a mere routine
Of names upon a Christmas list
forgotten in between.
For when I send a Christmas card
that is addressed to you
It’s because you’re on the list
of folks I’m indebted to.
For you are some of the many
folks that I have met
And you happen to be one of those
I prefer not to forget
And whether I have known you
for many years or few
In some way you have had a part
of shaping things I do.
And every year when Christmas comes
I realize anew
The biggest gift that life can give
is meeting friends like you.
And may the Spirit of Christmas
that forever and ever endures
Leave its richest blessings
in the hearts of you and yours.
– Author Unknown
