The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Christmas Card Ornaments
Inside: Looking for an easy craft to do with the kids? Make these adorable Christmas card ornaments.
Christmas Card Ornaments
There are times in life when you will be called upon to do something tough. Challenging, you might say. Like entertaining a parcel of children who seem to grow more anxious and rowdy as the days draw closer to Christmas.
Let’s face it, you can only bake so many cookies. And there’s your waistline to consider.
So how about making a simple craft from recycled Christmas cards? Or, if you’re like me, from the many cards tucked into those mailers from various charities.
You Will Need:
- Christmas cards
- various ribbons, raffia, buttons, glitter
- glue (regular craft glue or glue gun)
- large glass or other circular object to draw circle
- scissors
Directions:
- Take the part of the card you want to use, and put the glass on top of it, using the glass to draw a circle. You can use anything circular, but using a clear glass is helpful to see what you’ll get. Cut out your circles.
- Now comes the fun part–decorating the card-ornament. Use pieces of ribbon to make bows or outline the border of the ornament or both! Use buttons or glitter or what else you might think of, gluing on your decorations. Make sure to glue a loop to the back of the ornament for hanging.
- You could also use these ornaments to decorate your package, giving not only a gift, but an ornament, too.
I hope you’ll try this project, whether or not you have little ones to entertain. I find it’s really fun to get out the ribbon and glue and create something new to add to my tree.
After all, you can never really have too many ornaments!
This Day in Past Posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Seasonal Symbols and Traditions 2017
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Symbols and Traditions 2018
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Smoked Turkey Cheese Ball 2019
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Santa’s List 2020
Related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 10: Simple Ornaments
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 7: Homespun Christmas Ball Ornaments
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: My Ragtag Collection of Ornaments
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: Preparing for Christmas
Inside: While preparing my home for Christmas, like most people, I can become so busy with all the details that I forget what matters the most.
Preparing for Christmas
The countdown tells me it’s eight days to Christmas, and I’m late again. What is it about the month of December that has me feeling perpetually behind? My to-do list seems to triple over night. And everything is important, whether it’s writing a Christmas card or buying candy to give out to the Amazon drivers who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time here as the most holiest of holidays approaches.
I don’t do stress well, though I tend to bring it on myself. In pursuit of the perfect Christmas, I hold myself to the highest standards. Every ornament needs to be on the tree. All packages–which must contain the perfect gifts–should be wrapped. (Bags are cheating.) Not only do I need to make all of my signature dishes for the season, I must discover the next exciting Christmas cookie recipe.
Don’t get me started on my house. Dusting, cleaning, checking dark corners for dirt, ceilings for cobwebs. My least favorite tasks. Dust cloth in hand, I can work myself into quite a foul mood. Nothing seems quite right. Or good enough.
When I find myself in this condition, I realize that my quiet time with God has suffered. In preparing my home for Christmas, I feel the push and pull of the Martha and Mary sides of me. In this Yuletide tug of war, the Martha in me wants everything to resemble a Norman Rockwell painting. The Mary in me tells me to slow down, to put on some soft Christmas carols and spend some time in quiet worship with the One who came to earth as a Babe in the manger.
It is in these moments that life becomes manageable again. Priorities shift.
Suddenly the perfect Gift is right in front of me.
This day in past posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: A Truly Southern Christmas 2017
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: In Pursuit of Perfect Pines 2018
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: For Whom the Christmas Bells Toll 2019
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: Clothespin Stars 2020
Related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 8: The Write Gift
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 11: Stable Reflections
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Savory, Spicy Walnuts
Inside: This time of year I love when my kitchen fills with the aroma of roasted nuts, like my Savory, Spicy Walnuts. Check out the recipe!
Making Savory, Spicy Walnuts
One of the best aromatherapies is baking nuts. The scent of spices fills my kitchen, making this less of a holiday chore and more of a genuine pleasure.
This is a recipe inspired by others I have seen online, but I’ve changed up some of the spices and amounts to make it my own. I also chose walnuts because, frankly, I’ve been trying to work them into my diet more. Plus I find that because they aren’t one of the strongest tasting nuts, the added flavors really stand out. The walnuts become the canvas with whatever spices you choose to coat them.
While this is a new recipe, I imagine they’d make a great gift in a mason jar. What I like particularly about these walnuts is the fact that you can eat them without your fingers becoming greasy, which makes them the perfect party nut.
Have I talked you into trying out the recipe? Well, good! Let’s get to it!
- 1 large egg white
- 1 tablespoon of water
- ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon of chili powder
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of curry
- ½ teaspoon of sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon of cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon of ginger
- 2 cups of walnut halves
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
- Whisk egg white and water until foamy.
- Toss with walnuts, and pour into a strainer. Strain for five minutes.
- Pour walnuts into a plastic bag and shake with spices until coated.
- Spread out on a baking sheet , preferably lines with parchments paper of foil.
- Bake 15 minutes and stir.
- Lower heat to 225 degrees, and bake 1 hour, stirring several times.
- Turn off oven and cool with oven door open.
- Once cooled, store in airtight container.
- Enjoy!
Enjoy these wonderful walnuts. So easy to make, but watch out. They will quickly disappear!
This day in posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Our Prim Christmas Tree Forest 2017
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Rosemary Walnuts 2018
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Cookies From Christmases Past 2019
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Pursuing Joy 2020
Related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Spiced Nuts
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Do You Hear This Carol?
Inside: Do you hear this carol? The night wind speaking to the little lamb? It’s a fairly modern Christmas song with quite a unique story. Tune in to find out.
Do You Hear This Carol?
When it comes to Christmas carols, I like mine sung loud and strong and by Bing. Who does it better? In 1963 he released the song, “Do You Hear” (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”) to wide popularity. But do you know the story behind the making of a modern Christmas carol?
During the height of the Cuban missile crisis, in October of 1962, the then-married songwriting team of Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker were asked to write a Christmas song but the New York couple were having a difficult time getting into the mood with all of the international tension and fear.
Regney writes: “In the studio, the producer was listening to the radio to see if we had been obliterated. En route to my home, I saw two mothers with their babies in strollers. The little angels were looking at each other and smiling. All of a sudden, my mood was extraordinary.” Seeing those two babies, a song began to develop. The babies reminded him of newborn lambs and inspired the opening line: “Said the night wind to the little lamb. . .”
Upon Bing Crosby’s release of the hit, some only saw it as a standard Christmas song. But taking a closer look, the mention of “The Child” and “the star dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite” revealed it was every bit the meaningful Christmas ballad.
Oddly, both Regney and Baker said they preferred Robert Goulet’s version because of the emphasis he placed on “pray for peace people everywhere.” Considering the times, that’s certainly understandable.
But I still prefer Bing.
This day in past posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Spiced Nuts (2017)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Silent Night’s Story (2018)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: An Unforgettable Small Town (2019)
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Hearing Christmas Bells (2020)
Related posts: