Gift Giving

  • Be My Valentine: “I Love You” Memory Jar

    A gift I made for Jake many years ago! The rose is from one of our college dates!

    Are you looking for a unique Valentine’s gift this year packed full of love and memories?  I have created jars (or containers) full of memories for various occasions in the past and they have always been a huge hit with both kids and adults.  These little containers are easy to make and will be treasured by those who are on the receiving end.  It gives your family something to remind them your love and appreciation for them.  There are 5 super easy steps on how to make your own Jar of Memories:

    • Step 1 – Find 1  jar or container with a lid per person you want to create this gift for.  We have used anything from a cleaned out peanut butter jar to cute boxes on clearance from the Dollar Store.  Make sure it is a reasonable size so you can easily fill it up.

    Karlie's decorated "Memory Jar"! (Made out of a peanut butter container).
    • Step 2 – Decorate your container.  You can decorate with about anything paint, stickers, markers, ribbons, a simple written message on the outside or any other creative decorations.
    Papers for the girls "Memory Jars"!
    • Step 3 – Once you know the size of the container sit down for a few minutes and start writing a list (on paper or the computer) of positive attributes you appreciate in your spouse or child, great memories you’ve shared, phrases of love, and special times  with the person your giving the jar to.  Put each one on a separate line.  I usually keep my list on the computer or with me so I can fill it out over several days as I think of new things to add to it. It is fun to have a good mix of attributes, memories,  nicknames, events, etc…. be creative!
    Filling up Brina's "Memory Jar"!

    • Step 4 – After creating a list that is long enough to fill the container you have chosen print the phrases on colorful paper.  Cut out the phrases and fold them at least once then stick them into the container.  It is a good idea to do this a couple days before in case you need to add more to fill the container.  Fill up the container to the top.  I like to have it so full it is almost spilling out because when they open the gift it gives them a small visual picture of my overflowing love for them.
    Wrap your Memory Jar!
    • Step 5 – Wrap the container in tissue paper and tie it with a bow or give it to them as is. Take time when they open it to have them to pull out and read some of the great things you have written about them.  It is fun to hear them read out loud some of the memories, laughs, and phrases you have included in their jar packed full of memories.  Write a special note or favorite saying on the inside.  It is sure to bring a smile!

    It is important to reflect on the positive traits and memories you have with those you love.  I have done this for Valentine’s Day in the past as well as for other special events in our lives.  It is a great treasure chest full of positive memories for everyone to enjoy.  My husband still has the one I gave him years ago and the girls have theirs on the dresser.  Occasionally we will sit together and read through some of their memory notes.  When a person knows that they are loved and treasured it allows them the freedom to share the joy with others.

    “Be My Valentine” is a series of creative ways you can celebrate Valentine’s Day with those you love.  You can make it a special Holiday without spending a lot.  Spread a little extra cheer to those around you this Valentine’s Day!  Surprise your loved ones with a fun and thoughtful gift from the heart.  It is a great time to reflect on sweet memories as well as create new ones with whole family.  May this Valentine’s season be bursting with love for you!

  • Book: Better Homes and Gardens

    Grandma Willa gave me this cook book –  Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book as a wedding gift and we use it all the time.  Grandma Willa is one of the most amazing cooks I know.  I am thankful for the times we had cooking together.  Grandma is still cooking a lot of meals for family and friends but due to distance I am not able to participate in her cooking adventures as often as I like.  Below is the note she put in my cook book, which I treasure even more then the cook book itself:

    What’s Cooking?

    Bridgette,

    My Aunt Zell Body, gave me a BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS cook book as a Wedding gift.  It was my first and faithful cook book, and I found it to have many helpful hints as well as great recipes.

    I and the girls wore one out, and almost the second one over the many years.  If I couldn’t find something, needed to substitute, know cuts of meat etc….. I’d go to old faithful BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS.  I hope this new version is as good or better than my old one was.

    Happy Cooking!!!

    Love,

    Grandma Willa

    “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35

  • Gift Giving: Delivering Christmas Goodies to Neighbors

    Brina & Karlie Delivering Christmas Gifts to our Neighbors

    We had a blast on our Christmas Baking day last weekend but I think the biggest joy came when we delivered the goodies to our neighbors.  Once the girls realized that we were not giving every morsel of the baking goodies away they were excited to share.  I think they were worried that we did all the baking and they wouldn’t be able to taste any of it.  Although, they definitely got their share of sampling the day of the event.

    Sunday afternoon we put the baked items into gift bags, added a photo mug of the girls full of candy, put in a Christmas Card with the traditional annual picture we give to the neighbors, and tied the packages with ribbons to deliver.  The girls got bundled up in their coats and mittens to help me deliver the goodies.  We have 6 neighbors on our street.  Most of our neighbors are retired couples that enjoy seeing the girls and getting their annual card with a picture.  I found out the hard way the one year how much the yearly pictures meant to our neighbors when we didn’t give out Christmas pictures and one of our neighbors showed me her refrigerator with pictures of the girls from every Christmas.  Oops!

    Karlie carrying the next gift!
    Brina rang the doorbell!

    It was cold and windy day delivering the goodies but our street is pretty small and we were so excited about handing out the presents to those on our street.  Only 3 of the 6 neighbors were home or answering their doors on a Sunday afternoon.  We headed back out on Monday to hand deliver the rest of the goodies, but it wasn’t until later in the week we were able to successful hand deliver all our treats to the neighbors.

    The amazing blessing came when we delivered the presents.  Seeing the smiles, joy and gratefulness on the faces of our neighbors made it worth all the time and energy it took to put together the packages.  It is a wonderful blessing being able to share with others.  Not to mention it opens doors into the lives and hearts of those on the street near you.  We look forward to more opportunities to share with our neighbors.

  • Book: “Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food”

    My Mom gave me this book for Christmas 2005 Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food.  The girls were still small then but it has been a great book that all of us have enjoyed over the past few years.  We love looking through it and have tried many of the recipes; several have become family favorites.  It has creative recipes that the girls love helping me with and some they can do almost on their own with a little adult supervision.  Once they start reading it will be even easier for them.  There are are pictures along with creative ideas for cooking and parties. If you are looking for a great gift for a young child or Mom and they like to cook this may be an awesome book for them.

  • Recipe: Cheerios Christmas Trees

    We made these little Christmas Trees on our Christmas Baking Day.  These were super fun but a little more difficult than I first anticipated.  The trees were a little hard to make into the correct shapes and it took a little extra time to decorate.  I had to keep reforming the trees but they did end up pretty neat once we figured out what we were suppose to do.  I don’t think they looked as amazing as the ones from Betty Crocker but they looked cute and the kids thought they tasted great.

    Cheerios Christmas Trees

    • 6 cups Honey Nut Cheerios Cereal
    • 6 tablespoons Butter or Margarine
    • 4 1/2 cups Miniature Marshmallows
    • Green Food coloring
    • Red Cinnamon Candies, Decorative Pearls, Sprinkles, Icing, and String Licorice

    1. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. (May want to lightly grease because our stuck a little when pulling them off)

    2.  Pour the cereal into a 4 quart bowl.  Set the bowl aside,

    3.  Place the butter and marshmallows in a 3 quart saucepan (I used the microwave instead).  Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.

    4.  Stir in the food coloring until mixture is evenly colored.  Pour the marshmallow mixture over the cereal and stir until the cereal is evenly coated.

    5.  Lightly spray your hands with cooking spray.  For each tree, shape about 1/4 cup of the cereal mixture into a Christmas tree shape on the cookie sheet.

    6.  Press the candies into the trees to decorate.  Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.  Store the trees in a a loosely covered container.

    Makes about 18 trees.  I did the whole box of cereal which was about 1 1/2 of the recipe.  Our recipe made about 25 trees.  Thankfully I had someone around to keep spraying my hands with spray because it was really sticky and I had to keep reforming the trees.  They ended up looking pretty cute and seemed to be holding up okay but would probably be better if you ate it the same day.  The Honey Nut Cheerios flavor really comes out in this recipe so if you like the cereal you’ll probably enjoy this too.  You could do with any flavor of Cheerios, I think next time we’ll try the Multi-Grain Cheerios for different flavor and color.  It was fun to do something a little more unique!

  • Recipe: Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, & Snowflakes

    We were getting tired by the time we got to making the Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes on our Christmas Baking Day.  Despite being tired these turned out pretty well.  Brina was determined to “help” us make them which slowed down the process but we got enough to share with our neighbors.  The purple didn’t set right and the blue got a drop of water in it so it was done within a matter of minutes but we had plenty of the red, yellow, white and brown colors to make it look festival.  We added crushed candy canes for a minty flavor and a Holiday flair.  The neat part about these is the kids can pitch in and help.  They enjoy making special candies for others as well, however, I do not recommend starting around 9:30 in the evening after baking for several hours.

    Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    • White Chocolate
    • Milk Chocolate
    • Mix of Colored Chocolates
    • Candy Molds – we had Flower Pretzel Sticks, Snowmen, and Snowflakes

    Melt the chocolates over a double boiler or slowly in the microwave (microwave for 15 seconds, stir, microwave for 15 seconds, stir) because they can burn easily.  Use the molds you have chosen to place the chocolates into.  You can paint the chocolate into the mold using a toothpick then fill in the reminding amount with a solid color.  When doing the pretzel molds paint the flowers, fill with solid color, then roll the pretzel stick to coat.  We stick the chocolates into a pan of warm water on a griddle to keep the chocolates melted while decorating, just make sure to not get any water in the chocolates at it will ruin the entire bowl.  Once the tray is complete freeze for about 10 minutes, turn the mold over and the items should pop out quickly.  Repeat the steps as many times as you like or until you run out of chocolates.

  • Recipe: Peanut Butter and Candy Cane Cookie Cups

    These are super easy and add fun to the any meal or snack.  We made these during our Christmas Baking Day.  I remember first making these yummy treat when I was in high school.  It is one of the easy recipes that I continue doing because they are such a hit with family and friends. It is basically a sugar cookie dough baked in a mini muffin pan with a Peanut Butter Cup or Candy Cane Kiss added at the end once it has started to cool.

    Peanut Butter & Candy Cane Cookie Cups

    • 1 package (18 ounces) refrigerator Sugar Cookie Dough OR here is our recipe for Sugar Cookie Dough if you want to make it from scratch.
    • All Purpose Flour (optional)
    • 12 unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
    • 12 unwrapped Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses

    1.  Preheat oven to 350° F.

    2.  Grease 24 (1 inch) mini muffin cups or you can put them directly into a greased mini muffin pan.

    3.  Make Sugar Cookie Dough according to directions or if you have purchased it from the store unwrap it.  Sprinkle the dough with a little flour to minimize sticking (if necessary).

    4.  Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop about 1 rounded tablespoon into each of the 24 mini muffin cups.

    5.  Bake at 350° F for 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven. Let cool for about 5 minutes.  If you do not let it cool long enough the Peanut Butter Cups and Candy Cane Kisses will melt completely, you want them to remain recognizable. Press the 12 unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Cups and 12 unwrapped Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses into the mini sugar cookies.  You should have half Peanut Butter and half Candy Cane.  Let cool for an additional 5 to 10 minutes then gently remove them from the pan and place on a decorative dish or wrap in a pretty bag to give to family and friends.

  • Recipe: Cinnamon Star Cookies

    Recently, I spent a few hours on a Saturday doing a Christmas Baking Day with Ashley from Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life baking treats to give to family, friends, and neighbors.  One of the recipes we made from Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food was the Cinnamon Stars.  We made Stars, Christmas Trees, Snowmen, Bells, and many more fun shapes with this delicious recipe.  The recipe was easy to do and  delicious!  The girls helped with this one recipe by picking out the shapes and sprinkling the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the top of the cookie cutouts.

    Cinnamon Stars

    • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
    • 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
    • 3/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
    • 2 Egg Yolks
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla Cake Mix

    1.  Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.  Set aside.

    2.  Combine butter, egg yolks and vanilla extract in large bowl.  Blend in cake mix gradually.  Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness on lightly floured surface.  Cut with 2 1/2 inch star cookie cutter.  We used a variety of cookie cutters when we made our cookies.

    3.  Sprinkle cookies with cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Bake at 375° F for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.  Cool 1 minute on baking sheet.  Remove to cooling rack.  Cool completely.  Store in airtight container.  We put separated ours out into Christmas bags to distribute to family, friends, and neighbors.

    This is a quick and easy recipe you can do with little ones helping.  The recipe makes about 3 to 3 1/2 dozen Star cookies at 2 1/2 inches, however, our recipe made closer to 3 dozen since we used a variety of shapes.  We had plenty to divide out and give as gifts.  If you are looking for an inexpensive and easy recipe for the Holidays you may want to try this one.

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  • Recipe: Super Chocolate Cookies

    We made these delicious Super Chocolate Cookies during our Saturday Christmas Baking Day .  This recipe was from Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food.  The recipe has a delightful mix of chocolate, peanut, raisins, and crunch.    Our girls enjoyed them for their taste and color.  I doubled the recipe and it was a huge batch, probably around 60 cookies.  Our family, friends and neighbors all got several of these cookies to enjoy.  The recipe below is for the regular amount if you want more like I did for sharing than just double it.

    Super Chocolate Cookies

    • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 1/3 cups packed Brown Sugar
    • 1/2 cup Butter, softened
    • 1/2 cup Shortening
    • 2 Eggs
    • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
    • 1 cup Candy Coated Chocolate Pieces (M&Ms)
    • 1 cup Raisins
    • 3/4 cup salted Peanuts, coarsely chopped (I did not chop the peanuts and it turned out well)

    1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

    2.  Beat brown sugar, butter, and shortening in large bowl turn on electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.  Stir in candy pieces, raisins, and peanuts.

    3.  Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.  Flatten slightly with fingertips.  Bake cookies 13 to 15 minutes or until almost set.  Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets.  Transfer to wire racks.  Cool completely.

    Makes about 20 (4 inch) cookies.  Our cookies were slightly smaller and we made a double batch so we had closer to 60 cookies.