Grandma Koonce’s Easy Chocolate Drop Cookies
Set up a Family Worship Center
Make and Paint a Nativity Scene with Your Children or Grandchildren
Make Salt Dough Ornaments
Use an Advent Wreath
Make a Christmas Planner
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Grandma Koonce’s Easy Chocolate Drop Cookies
A quick, easy, and delicious cookie recipe. This cookie tastes similar to chocolate candy.
In a nonstick skillet or pot, on medium heat, stir together the following mixture until it boils.
¼ cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
½ cup milk
4 Tablespoons cocoa
Remove from heat and stir in the following:
½ cups peanut butter
2 ½ cups quick cooking oats
2 teaspoons vanilla
Drop by tablespoons a few inches apart onto waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator.
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© 2005 Mark Barnes Excellence from the Heart
Make a
Family
Worship
Center
Some things you can use in your worship center:
A Bible
An advent calendar
A candle
A nativity scene with a removable baby Jesus
Remove the baby Jesus from the nativity scene before it is placed in the worship center and store in a safe place. The purpose of this is to recreate the expectancy of waiting for the arrival of Jesus.
Place some hay around the manger. Spend some time together at the family worship center each day on the days preceding Christmas.
Talk about helping others as a way to give to Jesus. Encourage each family member who has done an act of kindness for someone that day to place a single piece of hay in the manger with the desire that the manger will be filled with hay by Christmas morning. The purpose of this is to make the connection made in Matthew 25 that when we do something helpful for another person, we are doing it for Jesus.
NKJ Matthew 25:35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me
drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
NKJ Matthew 25:36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in
prison and you came to Me.'
NKJ Matthew 25:37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
NKJ Matthew 25:38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?NKJ Matthew 25:39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?
NIV Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
After the family has gone to bed on Christmas Eve, place the baby Jesus in the manger so that He will be there when the family awakens on Christmas morning.
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Decorate a Nativity Tree
Decorate a small tree filled with angels and a star on top. Place a nativity scene under the tree.
Make and paint a nativity scene with your children or grandchildren.
© 2005 Mark Barnes Excellence from the Heart
SALT DOUGH RECIPE
½ c of water
½ cup of salt
1 cup of all purpose flour
Mix. Knead to form a smooth consistency.
Roll balls for the heads of each figure. Roll a cylindrical shape for each body. Attach the heads to the cylindrical shapes. Shape the crowns, manger, and any animals you want to use in your nativity scene.
Place pieces on a cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for one hour or until hard and completely dry. The heads may need to be further secured to the cylindrical body shapes by using hot glue. When the pieces are cooled completely, paint or use markers to decorate. Varnish when the paint is dry. Let varnish dry.
** The nativity scene shown above was made by my children when they were young, and continues to hold a special place in my Christmas decor each year.
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Make Salt Dough Ornaments for the Tree
Follow the directions above to make salt dough. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. After cutting out the ornaments with cookie cutters, make a hole in the top of each shape with a straw. Place oranments on a cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for one hour or until totally dry. Paint when the ornaments are cooled completely. Varnish when the paint is dry. Let varnish dry. Thread a ribbon through the hole. Write the child’s name and the date on the back.
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Use an Advent Wreath
Advent refers to the arrival of Jesus and typically consists of the four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. An advent wreath can be made or purchased and consists of four candles evenly spaced around the circumference of the wreath with one candle in the center. Each candle represents a different aspect of Christ’s birth and is lit on a certain Sunday as outlined below.
First Candle - the Prophecy Candle - Light the first candle on Sunday, December 2.
Read Isaiah 7:14, 9:2-7 and Luke 1:30-35. This candle reminds us that Christ’s birth was prophesied hundreds of years before He was born. This candle should be purple, representing Christ’s royalty.
Second Candle - the
Bethlehem candle - Light the first and the second candles on Sunday, December 9. Read Micah 5:2 and Luke 2:1-7. This candle should also be purple, as it represents the birth of our King.
Third Candle - the Shepherds’ candle - Light the first, second, and third candles on Sunday, December 16. Read Isaiah 52:7 and Luke 2:8-114, 4:18-19. This candle should be pink and represents God’s love.
Fourth Candle - the Angels’ candle - Light the first, second, third, and fourth candles on Sunday, December 23. Read Ezekiel 34:23 and Luke 2:13-20, and John 10:11. This candle should be purple because the angels proclaimed the birth of the King.
Each week light the current candle and the previous ones as well. The increasing light provided by the advent wreath each week reminds us that the time of His arrival is near.
Fifth candle - Christmas Eve - This candle should be a white candle symbolizing His holiness, purity, and perfection. It should rest in the center of the wreath and is lit on Christmas Eve. Read Isaiah 9:2-6 and John 1:6-13.
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Make a Christmas Planner
Purchase two 6 or 8 pocket organizers. I found a 6 pocket organizer at CVS and an 8 pocket spiral organizer at Wal-Mart. Shown below is the 6 pocket organizer which can be purchased at CVS.
Label each pocket according to the major categories of reference you will need during the holiday season.
Suggested categories:
EVENTS - This section provides a place for information on Christmas parties, school events, etc..
The web site, www.flylady.com., has a helpful checklist of dates to remember to put on your calendar. I placed a copy of this form found on page 23 of her Free Holiday Control Journal in the “Events” pocket of my planner.
To access this, go to the fly lady web site and scroll down her home page to the section called “Cruising Through the Holidays.” Directly under that title, you will see a notation for the “Free Holiday Control Journal.” Once you have downloaded this, you can find the forms referenced in this article.
GIFTS RECEIVED - This provides a place to keep paper on which to record a list of gifts received for which thank you notes should be written.
GIFT LIST - This provides a place for a “Holiday Gift List” to record a list of the gifts you plan to purchase and a “Catalog Orders Checklist” to record information about gifts ordered online.
These two forms can be found on pages 17 and 22 of the Holiday Control Journal mentioned above.
FAMILY TRADITIONS: This provides a place for new ideas as well as a list of family traditions you want to incorporate from year to year. The Holiday Control Journal mentioned above has a form for this on page 9. I will be giving some ideas in the weeks to come as well.
RECIPES This provides a place for a copy of the recipes for your holiday favorites in one place.
HOLIDAY MEALS This provides a place for a record of the holiday menus you have planned. The Holiday Control Journal has forms for holiday menus on page 10 and a grocery shopping list form on page 12.
THE SECOND ORGANIZER : I use the second pocket organizer to hold specific store coupons and any pages saved from sale circulars that I want to keep for reference. Receipts can also be stored in on envelope in one of the pockets.
Check back each week until Christmas for ideas, resources, recipes, and traditions.
© 2007 Lauren Fletcher all rights reserved
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Making Cookies with the Kids
You can order this cute apron for kids at www.currentcatalog.com.
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Holiday Inspiration!
Check out this week's inspiration and encouragment on the Home Page!
