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

Do you have a hobby of making gingerbread cookies? Why not put the ingredients in a nice clear container; write the recipe on red colored paper; cut the colored paper to match the top of the jar; and wrap the colored paper around the front of the jar with white ribbon. Place a green and red bow on top and you have an easy, cheap, homemade Christmas gift idea.

Brownies are delicious gifts anytime of the year, but especially during the Yuletide season. Look up your favorite brownie recipe and put the ingredients into a cool-looking jar. List the the recipe, roll it up, and place the rolled recipe into jar along with the ingredients. Wrap the jar in colored plastic, and tie the cellophane with a bright, red ribbon.

How about those spice green and red candies? You can find them sold in most stores. These are perfect Christmas mix recipes you can stuff in a jar and wrap in colored plastic.

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 time-honored Christmas gift in a jar is the colorful hard sweets, like peppermint sticks, Christmas hard candies with filling or red and white mint swirl bits. This makes an inexpensive Christmas gift idea for a large extended family.

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 specialized gift items in a jar? These may include chocolate golf balls, chocolate baseballs, chocolate footballs, chocolate soccer balls. Any of these fun special gifts would be popular with your friends & family who loves these sports. You might even use a few real mini-balls to make a great homemade, non-food Christmas gift in a jar.

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 local store or shopping mart and gather all your favorite sweets and chocolates to make as many jars as you need. Most of these jars make fun, holiday gift ideas under 10 dollars. Have fun & be creative!

Kerry Beck desires to offer you her free Advent countdown for your family’s Christmas & Advent Celebration this season. Her book also includes Christmas cookie mix jar recipes.

Christmas preparations commence right after Thanksgiving. Christmas decorations in all shapes and sizes adorn store shelves. Dads and MOms brave the snowstorms or the freezing weather just to line up outside toy stores to be the first to buy the newest item on sale. The next Christmas morning the adults don’t even want to get out of bed because of all that waiting. This year why don’t you focus on faith not on money. Let’s prepare our hearts to welcome the Christmas season with our family members in a spiritual way.

Family Worship

The Advent season (which means arrival) commences on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and continues through four Sundays. Advent celebrates the coming of the child Jesus here on earth and the importance of this event in the lives of every Christian follower.

The Advent wreath, the centerpiece of worship, consists of a small wreath (real or artificial), evergreen sprigs, five candleholders, and five candles. Three of the candles can be purple or deep blue, one is traditionally pink or rose-colored, and the fifth candle is white. The candles are arranged in a circular fashion inside the wreath with the white candle, usually called the Christ candle, in the center of the other four.

The time for worship is performed each Sunday before church or in the evening before going to sleep. Each member of the family can light the candles and read the prayer or devotional. After the prayer, a moment can be set aside for any inquiries the young ones may want to ask about the activity.

Family Fun

Holidays are a time for people to get out and celebrate with family and friends. As a family, host a “Christmas for Christ” party. Involve the whole family in the planning. The central theme, of course, is the celebration of the birth of Christ. Have the children create their own special invitations. Invite Christian and non-Christian friends alike. Do the shopping for game prizes at this time too. If a lot of activities are planned, start early enough to fit everything into the evening.

To help lessen costs, let the guests bring food and serve them buffet-style. Since Christmas ornaments will already be hung, no extra decorations are needed. A costume party is a nice way to liven up the evening. Have guests wear costumes from the nativity scene. The award goes to the ones who have the best costumes. Games should be based on Christmas. Everyone likes games, charades, and puzzles at get-togethers. Have the children take care of games while the grown-ups take care of the food.

Make sure to keep the evening lively. No Christmas party is complete without dessert, Christmas sing-a-longs, and a short storytelling of the first Christmas. This special and fun activity will strengthen the whole family’s faith. These will leave impressions to everyone that will be enjoyed for many years.

Kerry Beck desires to give you a special Advent Countdown to use in your Christmas & Advent celebration this year. Her package will also include daily Advent calendar.

A lot of folks are so focused with celebrating Christmas, they forget the celebration of Epiphany. Epiphany is the time after Christ’s birth when the Three Wise Men journeyed to visit the Child Jesus. In times past, this holiday includes the twelve days after Christmas when the church celebrates the announcement of Christ as the Light of the world and to look back at the pilgrimage of the magi.

Many families outside the United States begin the celebration of Epiphany by thinking of others on St. Stephens Day. December 26 is St. Stephen’s Day, in honor of Stephen the first martyr of the Christian faith. Family Bible reading on December 26 might include his story in Acts 6, 7, & 8.

Stephen was killed because of his convictions about the revelation of Christ in the world. According to the Book of Acts, he was the very first martyr of the Christian faith. For centuries, Christians have remembered his faithfulness on the day after Christmas, December 26. It is a day for selfless care for the needy, the despised, and the unloved.

With your family, you might go out and help a needy family or join a local charity group to render services on the day after Christmas. During this time most families are out shopping and going after Christmas sales. You can make a difference in your community by bringing food boxes or presents to a family in need.

In Britain and Canada, this day is called Boxing Day, an official holiday in Britain. When my kids first heard of Boxing Day, they thought it was a celebration of those who box as a sport. They were surprised at the true meaning of Boxing Day.

During this day, boxes of food are given to people in. Back then food and necessities were given to servants from their masters. The Wenceslaus’ spirit is shown so that the people may celebrate with great happiness the manifestation of the Good News of Jesus’ coming to the world.

Often churches organize the day to particularly serve the physical and spiritual needs of their neighbors and thus demonstrate that God’s Word requires good deeds to others nearby. Boxing Day is one of those very visible ways to show the true gospel.

Kerry Beck wants to give you her special Advent activities for your family’s Christmas Celebration this season. Her package also includes the meanings of the words to 12 days of Christmas song.