Easy & Meaningful Last Minute Gift

This Craft is now found at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Blessings & Health,
Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
www.TheWaldorfChannel.com
www.Earthschooling.com

Twas the Night Before Solstice Poem

Dear Parents,

It is a yearly tradition now that I post this poem I wrote a few years ago to the list :) Enjoy once again or enjoy it for the first time. You are welcome to share it and pass it around. However, please include credit to me and my websites as you pass it on. Thanks :) Blessings & Health, Kristie

'Twas the Night Before Solstice...

Twas the Night Before Solstice
By Kristie Burns
www.Earthschooling.com
www.HerbnHome.com


'Twas the night before Solstice and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even our pet mouse

Knitted wool stockings were hung with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there

The children were tucked in organic cotton sheets,
The air filter blocking pollution from the streets.

While mama stayed up to make handmade gifts
I co-slept with the kids and watched auras shift.

When out in the herb garden arose such a clatter
I sprung out of our futon to see what was the matter!

Away to the solar panels I flew like a flash.
They took me hours to install, I hoped they hadn't crashed.

The crystals we'd laid out to absorb the moonlight
Sparkled like fairydust and blocked my sight.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh without any reindeer.

At that moment I knew that the little old man
Had received my last letter so bold and so grand

Could you stop using reindeer? Last year I wrote him,
And enclosed with the note a PETA pin.

As he neared the house in his all-wooden sleigh
I noticed it was powered by wheatgrass and hay.

Ostheimer! Kinderkram! Stockmar! Fair Trade!
Don't bother landing if the toys aren't handmade!

"Hey Arriana," I called to my wife with chagrin,
"With that body mass do you think he's vegetarian?"

She paused only a moment from her crafting and said,
"One moment dear! I'm shaping this gol-darn Waldorf doll's head!"

On our roof I strained to hear the ole boy
But I'd recently insulated it with soy.

So I drew in my hand and was turning around,
When in through the front door came St. Nick with a bound.

The Advent wreath had caught in his hair
As I said, "Why in the world did you enter from THERE?"

The soot in your chimney contains poisons galore.
You should consider the environment more.

But he was dressed in fur from his head to his foot
So I said, "Look whose talking about my soot!"

A bundle of felt he had flung on his back.
"I hope you like handiwork," he said with a laugh.

His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples were treats!
His cheeks reminded me of when I dye silk with beets.

He must be of the choleric type I mused.
It's a good thing with lavender the stockings I infused.

With his fur boots he slipped on the bamboo wood floor.
I offered him Arnica and then closed the front door.

After all that I'd paid to the energy company this year
I didn't want one bit of that cold air in here.

He had a broad face and a little round belly
I asked him, "Have you seen your naturopath lately?"

He was so chubby and plump I worried for his health
But I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to task,
Needle-felting dragons and weaving a mask.

He knitted a pure cotton sweater and two pairs of mittens,
Then picked up a knife and carved 2 wood kittens.

He finger-knitted an entire nativity scene.
With the most amazing skill I'd ever seen!

When he sprang from his seat on the floor and arose
I yelled, "Arianna - watch - there he goes!"

With the unfinished doll she was struggling to sew,
Arriana went to watch him out the window.

And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight!
"Arriana, my dear, the stiches are too tight!"

Hoppy Holidays

Our BLOG post this week is a holiday wish from our bunny, Sweetie Pie and also a big thank you from all of us here! Thank you to everyone who has supported us this year by purchasing items from our store (http://stores.ebay.com/herbnhome), downloading items from http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/ , enrolling in our program (http://www.earthschooling.com/), joining our group at http://www.herbnhome.com/ and buying unicorns (http://www.buyaunicorn.com/) and photos at http://www.imagenations.com/ .

Seriously - and I am not embarrassed to say this - without your support and purchases we would not have had a holiday season at all this year! We are very thankful for all of our clients and customers! When you own your own business you appreciate everyone so much and each purchase makes a difference in our lives. A download is a carton of milk, a unicorn purchase paid for our Christmas tree, an enrollment in our program purchased Sunii's winter snowgear and he has been able to be outdoors sledding every day now that he has a snowsuit and boots! it is really cool to see how direct it all is! We love you all!

Our rabbit Sweetie Pie also wants to wish everyone a hoppy holiday - Eid, Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanza - everything! She especially wants to thank the person who bought something that helped paid for "her" tree.

Here are some tips she would like to share for a better holiday season:

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #1: Buy your rabbit a tree to eat for the holidays so she does not eat your gifts.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #2: Cats look better in boxes wrapped up with bows.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #3: Don't even TRY to put a bow on me for this photo.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #4: Humans don't always appreciate the way rabbits trim trees.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #5: Bows don't taste as good as carrots.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #6: Humans don't seem to appreciate the little "gifts" that I leave under the tree. Perhaps if I wrapped them?

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #7: If you are cute and fluffy people can forgive a lot.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #8: Turkey is really good for holiday season. Rabbits don't taste very good at all.

Sweetie Pie Holiday Tip #9: Did I mention how good a cat would look in a box with a bow on top?Sweetie Pie Holiday

Tip #10: Carrots - the gift for the person who "has everything" - and eco-friendly too!

Spiritual Letter from Santa Claus

Letter from Santa
By Kristie Burns
http://www.thewaldorfchannel.com/
http://www.herbnhome.com/
Note: If you repost this to other lists please include the above header as this is original copyrighted work :) Thanks!

Update from last year:

Sofi has been talking about this letter all year and refers to it often when the tooth fairy comes and the Easter Bunny, etc...she treasures the letter and keeps it on her desk and has already brought it out again this year and said to me, "Mama, remember when Santa made you put presents under the tree last year?" As if she enjoyed the fact that Santa was playing a little "joke" on me:). The response to this letter has been more overwhelming than I imagined...so I am reposting this year. She talks about so many aspects of the letter. It really fits her world-view and has been a real blessing to her!

Intro from last year:

Truly I was inspired to write this letter. I didn't even think about it. I sat down this morning and it seemed to fly off the page directly from the depths of my mind to the keyboard without any thought inbetween. Perhaps it came because it is needed at this time when my children are questioning who Santa is. I have known for a long time who Santa is, but I have been unable to put it into words until today...

Dear Sofi,

This is from Santa. Not the Santa of the chimneys and reindeer, but the real Santa. I have enjoyed the stories that people have created about me over the years but I think you are old enough now to know the real story. Did you know that in some countries I don't come on Christmas day? I come on St. Nicolas Day and I fill their boots with treats. In America they changed the story to Christmas day and I fill their socks instead of boots. Some people thought it was sort of icky to fill their socks so they created really pretty socks for me to fill.

Did you know that my story started in 280 A.D. When St. Nicholas was a saint? My spirit has existed since before then, but that was when people first started calling me St. Nick. The real Saint Nicholas was greatly inspired by the spirit of giving. He wandered the countryside giving away all his wealth to poorer people. He especially treated children with kindness and helped children who needed money or gifts. After that, many people in Europe, inspired by his name St. Nick, continued to give money and gifts to people in need and to children even after the real Saint Nick was gone. I didn't officially come to America until 1861 when the Dutch brought my celebrations to New York and distributed pictures of what I "looked like". Their name for me was Sinter Klass...which Americans made into Santa Claus.

However, as I mentioned before, just because my name did not come to America before 1861, does not mean that I have not always been here. For I am the spirit and angel of giving and charity. This concept is hard for some people to understand. People have a hard time understanding ideas or spirits or angels because they cannot see them. So to make it easier they sometimes make stories or draw pictures so it is easier to understand. That is the short story of how I, the angel of giving and charity, became known with a name and a face. And that is how you probably know me. I don't really mind.

I am known by so many different names and faces that are not the "real" me, but who doesn't like a story? I find the stories very creative and wonderful and since they are each accurate in their own way I don't mind! My favorite is the one about my riding a sleigh and delivering presents all night. That is accurate in a way, for I never sleep or run out of energy so I could, in theory do that, but I do not need a sleigh to ride. There are so many angels on the earth that watch over you and protect you and we each have our own job - some protect from accidents, some teach wisdom, some are keepers of history, and we each have done our jobs since the beginning of time and will continue forever to do our jobs for angels never tire and never sleep. We don't really have names but in some books we have given ourselves names to make our stories easier to read.

It is hard for humans to understand something that they cannot see and that does not have a name! You may also be familiar with the angel of awakening childhood (the tooth fairy who guides you across the bridge from childhood to being a young lady or young man as you loose your teeth along the way), or the angel of eternal life who teaches us about the endurance of spirit and the rebirth of the soul during Easter. And what about your guardian angel? Everyone has one of those. Some of the angels don't even have names. They are eagerly awaiting the day when humankind gives THEM names too.

It is an honor to be recognized by those we serve and to be given names and stories. You mom is writing this letter for me and she may or may not remember writing it. That is how it works. I inspire people to do my work through their spirit. Sometimes this may awaken them in the middle of the night to fill a stocking and they may think they were dreaming. Sometimes they are aware of what they are doing and remember doing it. But in both cases I have been able to motivate millions of parents around the world to share my vision. And at some point everyone understands that I am the angel of giving and they also know that they must continue to work for my vision in the ways that children will understand.

I don't know what story your parents shared with you. They are all different - even in little ways. However, I do know, that whatever story your parents told you was one that they thought would touch your heart and prepare you to understand more about giving and charity and joy so that you would be able to carry on my traditions during your life as well. My vision is that all children feel a sense of wonder and awe at the power of giving.

I want people to always feel this spirit within them and to look for ways all year to give and to help others. I am honored that a day was chosen to do this, but I don't want people to forget that we should do this every day. But since humans have created a day to honor my spirit, I want all children to wake up Christmas morning and to feel so wonderful and filled with joy that they are inspired to share this joy with others. This is my gift to the world. It is simple and yet is so powerful as you can see from what is happening around you this Christmas season. Please continue to tell my stories. I enjoy them.

I sometimes come by and sit by your guardian angel and listen to them. They are beautiful stories that make who I am into pictures instead of spirit. It is almost like when a painter has a dream and then he paints it. He is not really painting the dream, because nobody can really do that, but he has made his dream into a picture. That is what it is like with my stories. Nobody can ever really understand me completely - for you are humans and I am an angel spirit. However, the more stories you create, the closer you come to understanding who and what I am. So please continue creating stories and pictures and please continue my tradition and pass it on to your children.

Please know that as your mother was inspired to write this letter one day, you will also be inspired to write a similar letter one day. You may also keep this one and pass it on. Merry Christmas! Please enjoy the gifts I have sent you through others and please pass these gifts on to the people you love. - Santa

Free Shipping on Unicorn Christmas Cards!

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Advent Story Ribbon

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'Twas the Night Before Solstice

It is a little early for this but people enjoyed it so much last year I wanted to give everyone time to share it. As I mentioned last year - you are welcome to post this to any list or on any BLOG or do anything you want with it, as long as you keep it intact with my name and website.

Twas the Night Before Solstice
By Kristie Burns
http://www.thedreamangels.com/
http://www.earthschooling.com/

'Twas the night before Solstice
and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
not even our pet mouse

Knitted wool stockings
were hung with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would be there

The children were tucked
in organic cotton sheets,
The air filter blocking
pollution from the streets.

While mama stayed up
to make handmade gifts
I co-slept with the kids
and watched auras shift.

When out in the herb garden
arose such a clatter
I sprung out of our futon
to see what was the matter!

Away to the solar panels
I flew like a flash.
They took me hours to install,
I hoped they hadn't crashed.

The crystals we'd laid out
to absorb the moonlight
Sparkled like fairydust
and blocked my sight.

When, what to my
wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh
without any reindeer.

At that moment I knew
that the little old man
Had received my last letter
so bold and so grand

Could you stop using reindeer?
Last year I wrote him,
And enclosed
with the note a PETA pin.

As he neared the house
in his all-wooden sleigh
I noticed it was powered
by wheatgrass and hay.

Ostheimer! Kinderkram!
Stockmar! Fair Trade!
Don't bother landing
if the toys aren't handmade!

"Hey Arriana," I called
to my wife with chagrin,"
With that body mass
do you think he's vegetarian?"

She paused only a moment
from her crafting and said,
"One moment dear!
I'm shaping this gol-darn Waldorf doll's head!"

On our roof I strained
to hear the ole boy
But I'd recently
insulated it with soy.

So I drew in my hand
and was turning around,
When in through the front door
came St. Nick with a bound.

The Advent wreath
had caught in his hair
As I said, "Why in the world
did you enter from THERE?"

The soot in your chimney
contains poisons galore.
You should consider
the environment more.

But he was dressed in fur
from his head to his foot
So I said, "Look whose
talking about my soot!"

A bundle of felt he had
flung on his back.
"I hope you like handiwork,"
he said with a laugh.

His eyes - how they twinkled!
His dimples were treats!
His cheeks reminded me
of when I dye silk with beets.

He must be of the
choleric type I mused.
It's a good thing with
lavender the stockings I infused.

With his fur boots
he slipped on the bamboo wood floor.
I offered him Arnica and
then closed the front door.

After all that I'd paid
to the energy company this year
I didn't want one bit of
that cold air in here.

He had a broad face
and a little round belly
I asked him,
"Have you seen your naturopath lately?"

He was so chubby and plump
I worried for his health
But I laughed when I saw him
in spite of myself.

He spoke not a word,
but went straight to task,
Needle-felting dragons
and weaving a mask.

He knitted a pure cotton sweater
and two pairs of mittens,
Then picked up a knife
and carved 2 wood kittens.

He finger-knitted
an entire nativity scene.
With the most amazing skill
I'd ever seen!

When he sprang
from his seat on the floor and arose
I yelled, "Arianna - watch -
there he goes!"

With the unfinished doll
she was struggling to sew,
Arriana went to watch
him out the window.

And I heard him exclaim
as he drove out of sight!"
Arriana, my dear,
the stiches are too tight!"

Carrying on the Tradition

"Miss Kristie! Look! Look! Look what my fairy left me!"



It was Morgan, my "after school daughter". Morgan comes to stay with us every day after her school dismisses from 3:00-6pm. Since my eldest daughter is away during the school year this year Morgan uses her room. So we call her "my fourth daughter".



Morgan has built a fairy house in her room just like the one Sofi has in her room. They both look forward to signs that the fairies have visited. Is something out of place in the house? Did the fairies eat the chocolate they left for them? Did the fairies spill something or leave a note? Did the fairies leave a gift?



However, I didn't realize that Morgan was as entranced by the fairy world as Sofi was, until this past week. I thought she was just building the fairy house to have fun with, and because she liked crafts. Morgan, being 12-years-old, was not waiting for the fairies too, was she?



So, Sofi's fairy continued to leave "signs" and "gifts" (at night after Morgan left so Morgan was not hurt) but Morgan's fairy didn't visit at all. I still didn't notice what was happening. When Morgan came to me and said, "Miss Kristie, my fairy is not visiting." I put in my mind that perhaps her fairy should visit soon. However, I didn't put it in my mind as a priority. Even Sofi's fairy took a week break for a while there...



So I was surprised when Morgan came running to me with some gifts in her hand saying "look what my fairy gave me!" I smiled and showed my appreciation for the gifts. I imagined that Morgan had created some gifts "from her fairy" and this was making her happy. She seemed very happy. And since the fairies were on a break anyway, I didn't think much about it. Sofi's fairy had not visited for more than a week.



The next day Morgan came to me again, "Look Miss Kristie...my fairy left me a note!"



Each day it was the same until today I suddenly wondered....



'Sofi," I said, "Do you know how I explained what happens with Santa Claus and how sometimes we are inspired by these spirits to leave gifts?"

(If you are not familiar with the letter Santa left her last year you might want to stop now and read the letter at: http://thedreamangels.blogspot.com/2007/12/letter-from-santa.html)

'Yes" replied Sofi.



"Do you think perhaps Morgan's fairy has been inspiring you?"



"Hmmmm...I don't know, " said Sofi, "If she was I wouldn't remember."

"Are you sure you are not aware of helping her at all?" I pushed a bit...

"All I remember is going into Morgan's room for no reason and then I don't remember why I was there," Sofi responded.



That was the answer I had been expecting.



I was so touched. Without a word, without a formal ceremony, Sofi had taken on the tradition of "fairy messenger". She had created elaborate notes and gifts and things for Morgan's fairy to give her for the simple reason of creating joy and wonder for Morgan. The fairies had spoken to her.



She knew, intuitively, what to do and how to do it. She knew that you must never reveal your secret - even to those that know, she knew how to be quiet about it, and do it in a careful way. And at the same time she anticipated the wait of her own fairy eagerly and with great surprise and joy - completely knowing that it was I who was the messgenger but completely "knowing" that it was not I that left the items. Somehow she had completely grasped the idea of the wonder and mystery of it all and was able to be the messenger and the believer at the same time.

We completely skipped the entire drama of "Oh my! Really? There is no Santa? There are no fairies?" and peacefully merged into the next stage of her life where she becomes the messenger for the next generation.

There are two things that made this transition so peaceful. First, we do not stop believing in our home. We believe in believing. I tell the kids - you have to PROVE it does not exist or I will believe it is real! Secondly, the gift-giving and visiting process is done by teaching us to listen to our intuition and perhaps those tiny voices that come from other places. In learning to listen to those other voices we are able to gift without deception and be open about it. And the child learns to listen to their own intuition and their own angels and spirits guiding them...and the tradition is carried on.

I cannot say I understand it completely. If I did it would certainly lose its magic. All I know is that Santa continues to leave gifts, Zarelda (the fairy) continues to leave gifts and now, a new fairy leaves gifts for Morgan. And sometimes the fairy houses are disturbed and none of us know how or why...

Blessings & Health,
Kristie

Response to "Letter from Santa"

I wanted to share with you all the response I received from my children when they received their "letter from Santa" in their stocking this morning (you can read it at: http://thedreamangels.blogspot.com/ )

I was a bit worried. I took a long time writing out the letter from the link above in long hand and I took great care to make it very neat and unlike my own handwriting. As I wrote it on parchment style paper I added bits and modified bits according to the letters the children had written to Santa. Then I rolled the letter up, put a bit of yarn around it and put it in the stockings with their toys.

But as I said, I was a bit worried...what kid wants to be told "the truth" about Santa on Christmas morning? But I just sensed this was the right thing to do. Whew! I was right.

Sofi read me the 4-page letter twice, picking out the parts she liked best. The letter explained that Santa is an angel spirit that inspires people. But Sofi insisted that Santa had "Possessed me" last night...hmm...I think I like my version better.

But, overall, she and her brother were overjoyed with the letter. It satisfied their need to know more about Santa and transitioned them from the "stories" to the "truth" in such a smooth way. I was amazed how well it was all received. I didn't get any comments of sadness or dissapointment or anything! They were so excited to have all the extra information that was in the letter. Sofi called up two of her friends and read it to them too. She was beaming all day and could not stop talking about it.

I am sharing this with you all because I am just so happy! This was a "big event" in my childhood (which did not go well for me as a child) and was a "big event" on my parent-hood adgenda. I am just so thrilled that everything went well. It was a dream come true! (I just wish I could say the same of EVERYTHING else on my parenting adgenda!)

- Blessings & Health & Happy Holidays
Kristie

Sofi's Easy Christmas Cape

Sofi went shopping with a friend of mine a few nights ago to get gifts for me and some other family members. I have to admit I was a bit worried. I don't like to set "rules" for people when they do me the great favor of taking my children out (hey, as a single mom you get desperate!) so I waited to see what would happen. Would she come home with a bag full of Polly Pockets and Hershey bars?

She surprised me. I would not have guessed in a million years what she would be buying. She saw some velvety fabric and purchased a couple yards of it. But I didn't even know that until she came out of her room wearing this gorgeous green cape secured with a golden button in the middle.

She wanted me to make another one for her doll. Her doll is very special because he older sister (13) gave it to her. So, although it is not a Waldorf doll, it has a lot of special energy in it as her older sister is living overseas this year so this doll is like a treasure to Sofi.

The fabric she had chosen was a strong velvet-like fabric that does not unravel so she had not had to "finish" the edges with any sewing. All she had to do was cut it and secure it with the button. I helped her make a smaller one for her doll and I showed her how to make a button hole for her button (we just cut in the fabric...no sewing). She wore the capes and carried her doll with her all day yesterday. We got some "looks" as we were shopping - but I think most of them were smiles.

Sofi made her cape by just taking a large rectange of material and securing it with a button. All she had to do was cut the material to the right size and sew on the button. I made the doll cape by cutting the material in more of a circle and then cutting a line half-way down on one side of the circle. Then I cut a tiny button hole in one side and sewed the button on the other side. It took me about 5 minutes. The ease is in finding a fabric you do not have to sew (and in being the kind of person who can overlook a few scraggly edges to your cape).

Merry Christmas Squirrel

Fluffy Squirrel was our first guest at the wildlife Christmas tree this morning. Scroll down to see how we made the tree...

PS. Someone just e-mailed me from another list that peanut butter is bad for squirrels so to make sure the strings get hung far from squirrels. I didn't know that so I just wanted to tell everyone else too. For some reason this squirrel knew that - all he wanted was the oranges and apples. But, their advice was to hang anything with peanut butter away from the little fluffy darlings :)

Winter Snack w/Special Guests

This is now located at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Fairies Got Stockings Yesterday

Yesterday we put the finishing touches on the tree and the fairies got some Christmas stockings in their fairy house (see picture) as well. I always let the kids decorate the tree. Sofi did a great job hanging ornaments and Suni did an amazing job stringing the lights! They both decided that one of my knitted unicorns should adorn the top this year. I wonder what Santa will put in the stockings for the fairies?

That really big red present behind the tree is a super large book I found at Sam's club for $15.00 all about CATS. The pictures in the book are larger than real cats. I labelled it "To Stripey and Catnip" (our cats). It is driving the kids crazy! They keep telling me "Please tell us what is in it - we won't tell them (the cats)!"

Sofi's Holiday List - Age 8.5

Dear Parents,

I asked my children to make a Holiday list for me..there are so many holidays and birthdays coming up that I wanted to make sure I purchased them gifts they would appreciate and not just "stuff". So this is Sofi's list. HELP???!!!

1. A new CD player
2. 100$ or 300$ or 1000$
3. A Perfectly Clean Room
4. A REAL Harry Potter robe
5. Long Hair
6. A Fairy - a REAL one
7. To see Santa and his workshop
8. To become a fairy when I put any fairy dust on me
9. Mosi Mandil (her sister who is living far away right now) my WHOLE LIFE.

My Favorite Secular Seasonal Story...

This is now located at www.BEarthBLOG.com

Twas the Night before Solstice by Kristie Burns

This can now be found at www.BEarthBLOG.com

9-in-one Holiday Cookies

This is my FAVORITE holiday cookie recipe. After you are done making the base dough there are instructions to make 8 different cookies and when you end it looks like you made 8 batches of cookies but you didn't! I make these every year now and I don't even bother with other kinds of cookies. Why make a thousand cookies over days and days if I can make one recipe and it LOOKS like I made thousands of cookies over days and days? This coming so soon after my "Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe" will probably establish me as one of the laziest moms around...but really - I love to find recipes that are easy so my kids can help more and so I can have more time to do more things! And these cookies are so buttery and yummy! They are gourmet. Hint: the hardest part of this recipe is gathering all the ingredients. Make substitutions if you need to - don't stress yourself! And I have a 9th idea...how about taking a bit of the white dough and spliting it in half, adding a bit of peppermint and red food coloring to one half and then twisting those into "candy canes" - see? Now you have NINE cookies! Here it is (I got this from a magazine 12 years ago...not sure what the copyright limit is on magazine articles and I can't find it online so I apologize if I am stepping over any boundaries here...)

8-in-One Cookies

Basic Dough

4 sticks of butter (2 cups)
1 cup of light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 lg. Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Beat all except flour until fluffy
Gradually beat in flour
Take ½ of the dough out to make chocolate dough by adding ¼ cup cocoa and ½ tsp. Vanilla.

Divy the dough into 4 parts each and add the following to them:

CHOCOLATE DOUGH divided into four parts makes:
Chocolate chunk
Hugs and kisses
Chocolate-marshamllow thumb-prints
Chocolate-vanilla spirals

VANILLA DOUGH divided into four parts makes:
Oatmeal/peanut butter cookies
Jam Thumb-prints
Apricot-pecan cookies
Chocolate-vanilla spirals

Oatmeal-peanut butter
1 part Vanilla dough
½ cup oats
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup creamy peanut butter

Jam Thumb Prints
1 portion vanilla dough
32 almond slices
1/3 cup apricot or raspberry jam

Roll Dough into 8 inch log
Slice into 16 pieces
Roll pieces into balls
Thumb-print balls
Put a small dab of jam and an almond in the “print”
Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees



Apricot-Pecan
1 portion vanilla dough
¼ tsp. Ground cardamom
8 small dried apricots, diced
¼ cup chopped pecans

Mix cardamom and apricots into the dough
Roll and slice as in the jam prints
Put balls on greased cookie sheet
Bake 12-14 minutes

Chocolate Chunk
1 portion chocolate dough
¼ cup vanilla chips
¼ cup sliced almonds

Mix and bake as in recipes above 10-12 minutes in flattened balls.

Hugs and Kisses
1 portion chocolate dough

Roll as in jam thumb-prints.
Instead of jam put a “hugs and kisses” Hershey’s Kiss (The white and black ones) in the middle before baking 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chocolate Marshamallow Thumb Prints
1 portion chocolate dough
small jar of marshamallow topping or small marshmallows

Roll Dough into 8 inch log
Slice into 16 pieces
Roll pieces into balls
Thumb-print balls
Put a small dab of marshmallow sauce or 2 small marshmallows in the print
Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees


Chocolate-Vanilla Spirals
1 portion vanilla dough
1 portion chocolate dough

Roll out both doughs to approximately the same rectangular size.
Put the rectangles on top of each other and roll as if making cinnamon rolls
Slice into circlesBake on a tray for 10-12 minutes at 350

A Gift For You: Poem for Crafters

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A Classic December Verse

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