Gift-giving Ideas
• Functional gifts – personalized laundry bag for new high school graduate
• Supportive gifts – help stretch someone’s budget (stationary and stamp, magazine
subscription
• Remembrance gifts – flowers, photo album
• Gift of service – do each other’s chores, volunteer to babysit
• Monetary gift – get creative on how to give/ gift certificates/mall credit cards
Creative gifts –
• Classes – sewing, sports, gym membership
• Ice cream certificate with a homemade card from my child with a picture of an ice cream
cone on it. It states “Thanks for being such a COOL teacher!”
• A gift certificate to Starbucks with a card that reads, “Thanks for keeping me going
strong this year. Hope this helps to keep you going strong through the holidays!”
• Homemade bag of hot chocolate with a card that reads “May this warm you throughout
the holiday season”.
• A candle with a card that reads about the warmth and love and appreciation that makes
up this holiday.
• The kids have had fun making bookmarks that read: “Thank you for making such a
positive mark on our lives”.
• Caramel apples – with a note that says “You’re the apple of my eye”.
• Legend of the candy cane poem with a candy cane (see below)
• Reindeer food poem with reindeer food attached (see below)
Copy onto red paper and attach a candy cane.
The Legen d of the Candy Cane – According to the legend, there was a candy maker who wanted
to invent a candy that was a witness to Christ.
The result was the candy cane. First of all he used a hard candy because Christ is the Rock of all
ages. This hard candy was shaped so that it would resemble either a “J” for Jesus or a shepherd’s
staff.
He made it white to represent the Purity of Christ.
Finally a red stripe was added to
represent the blood of Christ shed for the sins of the world and three thinner stripes for the stripes He
received on our behalf when the Roman soldiers whipped Him.
So the next time you see a candy cane, hear the Sermon it preaches: Jesus Chris, the Good Shepherd,
is the Rock of all Ages who suffered and died for our sins.
Copy following poem and recipe onto red paper and attach a small plastic bag of reindeer food to the right of the poem.
Magic Reindeer Food:
Santa’s Secret Recipe – From the North Pole:
Sprinkle on the lawn at night.
½ cup sugar
The moon will make it sparkle bright!
½ cup oatmeal
As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam.
Sprinkles of red or green
This will guide them to your home!
Sugar crystal