Ingredients:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 to 4 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 1/2 tablespoon grated white onion
3 drops medium to hot red pepper sauce
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

Directions:

Mix cream cheese and cheddar together. Blend in pesto, onion and pepper sauce. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. Remove and work into desired shape (balls, stars, Christmas trees). Roll cheese mixture in parsley, almonds and red peppers. Serve with an assortment of holiday crackers. Makes enough for two large cheese balls, trees or a variety of stars.

Sometimes it is the simple things in life that makes us happy. Easy Christmas gifts in a jar are one of those simple things.

Love to make gingerbread cookies? Why not put the ingredients in a jar; write the recipe on red construction paper; cut the construction paper to the circumference of the jar; and wrap the construction paper around the front of the jar with white ribbon. Place a green bow on top of the lid of the jar.

Brownies are a wonderful gift anytime of year, but especially during Christmas. Find your favorite brownie recipe and put the ingredients into a jar. Type up the recipe, roll it up, and place the rolled recipe into jar along with the ingredients. Wrap the jar in color cellophane, and tie the cellophane with red ribbon.

Have you seen those spice green and red candies? There are sold in most supermarkets. This would make a perfect Christmas gift in a jar.

Jelly beans in a jar are another traditional Christmas gift. Easy, fun, delicious, and low in calories as well.

M&M’s in a jar is another wonderful Christmas treat. Buy a bag of red and green M&M’s, either plain or with nuts, and fill up a jar as a Christmas gift which anyone would love to receive.

A traditional Christmas gift in a jar is the colorful hard candies, such as peppermint sticks; Christmas hard candies with filling; red and white mint swirl candies.

For chocolate lovers, why not put chocolate pretzels in a jar. Chocolate pretzels come in packages, and are available in your local supermarket. What a sweet treat this gift would make.

How about theme gifts in a jar? Examples are: Chocolate golf balls; chocolate baseballs; chocolate footballs; chocolate soccer balls. Any of these fun theme gifts would be a hit with anyone who enjoys these sports.

No matter what you choose; traditional; off-beat; baked or bought, making easy Christmas gifts in a jar is fun and allows you to be as creative as you want to be. Gifts in a jar can be an inexpensive treat to give to your colleagues at work; your friends, and even your family members.

The best part is you can go to your supermarket or shopping club and stock up on your favorite candies and chocolates, to make as many jars of treats as you need. Happy shopping.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, well sifted
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup raisins
1/2 pound candied citron, chopped
1/4 pound almonds, blanched and sliced thin
3/4 cup maraschino cherries green and red blend, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
lemon zest
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Rinse and dry raisins; cut into small pieces. Slice cherries into small pieces; combine all fruit and nuts in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup flour and coat all fruit. Set aside. Grease two cake pans; line with brown paper and grease again. Mix butter, vanilla and almond extract with lemon zest. Slowing add sugar; blend until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, blending well. Sift remaining dry ingredients together and add to the butter blend. Add fruit mixture. Blend until well combined; add lemon juice. Divide batter between the two pans. Bake for 90 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
7 ounces marshmallow cream
2 sticks real butter, softened
10 ounces mint chocolate chips or mint chocolate candy chopped
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Serving tray decoration:

Powdered sugar
Mint leaf sprigs

Directions:

Line a 9x9x2-inch pan with foil, grease; set aside. Combine sugar, butter, evaporated milk and marshmallow in large saucepan on medium heat until it boils. Stir constantly. Boil for five minutes. Add mint chocolate and vanilla. Stir until contents are well blended and melted together. Spread into pan. Refrigerate for minimum of 8 hours. Cut into desired size squares. Serve on a plate dusted with powdered sugar and decorated with mint leaves.

As Christian men and women, we know the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts, but how many of us proclaim this fact to the world around us during the holidays? We can gently challenge those who would see Christmas as a time for commercialism and greed by letting our actions speak for themselves.

Pass it on. Want to give a special gift to a friend or coworker? Give them the gift of the Word. Share the Christmas story, and I don’t mean “‘Twas the Night before Christmas”. Pre-printed leaflets recounting the miracle of Jesus’ birth can be purchased from a Christian bookseller. Or, add that personal touch and create a booklet of your own. A small item, such as a candle, can be included too. Fill a weary heart with God’s message.

Share His love. When someone invites a person to their house, it signifies that they wish to share their good fortune with them. When we accept Christ into our lives, his home becomes our home. Invite a friend or coworker to God’s house for an Advent service or a Christmas program. They will be glad they came.

Get involved. For people living on the fringes of society, life gets a little bit harder around the Christmas holidays. Suicide rates increase. Those in urgent need, like the poor and destitute, become more so due to the weather conditions that time of year. God cries out for us to show His love.

Volunteers are a welcomed sight at holiday time. Soup kitchens and food banks seek extra people to prepare and serve hot meals and help with food box deliveries. The social services agency can provide particulars on families in the area that want to be “adopted” for Christmas. As a church body, everyone can pitch in and provide gifts and other necessary items. Providing gifts for orphaned children can also be a church project or one taken on by individual families within the congregation. If you see a need that has yet to be met, begin your own program to provide it.

The object here is to let Christ’s light shine in the life of another. During his lifetime, Jesus met each person at their level of need. Someone whose belly has been filled with food you helped to provide will be ready to hear more about the God you serve.

A commitment to Christ is a commitment to communicate his life and love to others. If Christ is number one in our lives, our actions should let everyone know it. As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to bring to the world, a true understanding of the Christmas season.

Five – four – three – two – one – Happy New Year! Before you get to hear those words and welcome in another year, perhaps you have a party to plan and have. Depending whether you’re with your friends and family, you may want to consider having one of these theme parties to ring in the New Year.

Hawaiian island – In most areas of the country it’s pretty cold on New Year’s Eve but that doesn’t mean you can’t think about a warmer climate. Throw a Hawaiian theme New Year’s Eve party even while there’s snow on the ground and the temperature may be below freezing.

Think of what Hawaii looks like and you know how to decorate your home for the party – palm trees, leis, beach-related items like conch shells or silver dollars, and Tiki mugs. Ask your guests to wear Hawaiian shirts or other beach wear. Foods you may have at a luau and tropical drinks will help bring Hawaii to wherever you live.

Poker night – You can’t watch late-night television and surf the channels without finding at least one poker game being televised. Set the stage for your own “high stakes” poker game this New Year’s Eve. Plan on buying several decks of cards, find a green table cloth, and don a visor and vest to act as the dealer.

Hollywood premiere – Rent one of the newest and most sought-after movies and set up your living room similar to a movie theater. Plan on having movie-style buttered popcorn, soft drinks, and candy as part of the food for the evening. If you have movie posters or stand-up cut-outs of actors or actresses, this might be a perfect time to show them off.

Formal theme – If you’re planning a small, intimate party, why not plan for an event where your guests will be able to put on their finest and celebrate in style? Black and white or semi-formal attire would be a great choice for this type of party. Smaller groups will allow you to splurge a little for food and drinks. You don’t have to have champagne for the big count down; you can choose sparkling cider as a non-alcoholic alternative.

There are many party themes to consider when planning your New Year’s Eve event. If you can’t think of anything and these don’t appeal to you, you may want to go to your favorite search engine and look for party theme ideas online. You will be able to find many more theme parties to ring in the New Year, as well as plans for how to make this party one you’ll remember for years to come.

If you’re having a party that children and teens will be at, try to think of a theme that they would enjoy as well. Or you could even plan for two separate themed parties in different rooms in the home.

Ingredients:

1 4 to 5 pound beef rib eye roast
5 medium baking potatoes, cleaned and quartered
1 small bag of cleaned baby carrots
1 large onion diced
1 bottle of light beer
5 cloves of fresh garlic, cleaned and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all spices and rub onto roast. Pour beer into a roasting pan and place roast inside. Surround roast with vegetables. Cover roasting pan. Bake for 45 minutes and then baste roast with beer and au jus from the pan. Return roast to oven for about 45 minutes to an hour longer, or until a meat thermometer registers 135 degrees for medium rare or 150 degrees for medium. Cooking times can vary depending on desired doneness and roast size. Once done, remove from oven and cool for about 20 minutes. Carve and serve with vegetables, rolls and other holiday dishes.

Are you tired of buying the same old wrapping paper year after year? Creating wrapping paper is a unique way to show that you really took time to make someone’s present special.

Here are some items you may wish to use: ribbons; small Christmas balls; scissors, glue; glitter; and rubber stamps.

Tissue Paper:
Take whichever color tissue paper you choose and wrap the present. Use the same color ribbon or combine different color ribbons to tie around the present.

Tin Foil:
Another creative idea is to take tin foil and use it as wrapping paper. Wrap the present, and, in the middle, glue a gift card with a poem or rhyme; picture or sentiment; or whatever you prefer to make this present special to the person you are giving it to.

Paper bags:
Do you have some paper bags at home? If so, you can create adorable wrapping paper. Use rubber stamps, stickers, glitter, markers, paints or crayons to personalize and decorate the wrapping paper. This is a fun activity to do with kids.

Personalized wrapping paper:
Print photos of the recipient off your computer and glue them onto the gift. You could cover the entire package with photos of the recipient or just add a few for flair.

Cellophane:
Using colored cellophane as wrapping paper is another popular idea. There are so many ways you can use this cellophane. For instance, wrapping homemade cookies on a plate and tying the top with a ribbon; candies in a mug; or simply wrapping a present using the cellophane and decorating it.

Make a curly cue bow:
Take your scissors and open them up so that you have one blade to work with. Place the blade at the bottom of the bow that is untied (sticking out) and pressing firmly with your thumb on the inside of the ribbon and your index finger on the blade holding the outer side of the ribbon, run the blade up to the top of the ribbon. You have just made a ribbon curly cue.

There are literally thousands of different kinds of wrapping paper one can purchase, but there is only one creative wrapping paper idea – and that is one made with love.

2 lbs. white chocolate
30 small peppermint candy canes

Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper or heavy tin foil. In a microwave safe container add the white chocolate and heat on medium in the microwave for about 4-6 minutes. Stop during heating and stir occasionally until the chocolate is smooth and melted.

In a large plastic bag add the candy canes. Using a rolling pin or another similar tool, begin breaking the candy into small pieces. Stir the candy into the melted chocolate and spread in the pan, evenly.

Place in refrigerator for about 60 minutes and then break the candy into pieces.

Christian and non-Christian alike have heard of him. As children, we imagined the sleigh, decorated with gold and jewels. Small pointy-eared people stuffed dolls, train sets, trucks, and other treats into a bottomless red bag. The sleigh driver-a plump, kindly man sporting white hair and a red outfit, sat at the ready to lead his reindeer team across the night sky in search of deserving girls and boys. I remember not being able to sleep on Christmas Eve, my body filled with nervous energy as I waited for Santa Claus to arrive.

The aforementioned images have been a tradition in America for the last two centuries, even in Christian homes. Today, we have to ask ourselves: does Santa Claus have a place in Christian celebrations during the Christmas season? The modern Santa Claus was loosely based on an actual person who possessed qualities every Christian should imitate.

The name of St. Nicholas has been used interchangeably with that of Santa Claus but they are not the same. Saint Nicholas was born in the third century A.D. He came from a Christian home and believed in the teachings of Jesus Christ. He used his vast resources to help those in need, thus fulfilling Christ’s mission. Stories grew from his extraordinary deeds, each more fanciful than the one before. Once Europeans colonized America, the stories evolved into tales to entertain children and our version of the Santa Claus legend began.

As Christian individuals, we have a responsibility to represent Christ in all aspects of our lives. What greater opportunity exists to show the world God’s love than during the celebration of Christ’s birth? God sent His only Son into the world to give mankind a second chance that we did not deserve. Our children deserve the truth. Make-believe stories are fun, but when they appear to be more popular than the truth, they can mislead our children.

The Santa Claus legend must be replaced with the facts. Saint Nicholas existed and he lived his life in service to the Savior whose birth we celebrate during the Christmas season. That’s the truth. At Christmas, nothing should overshadow the birth of Christ, God’s ultimate gift.