This season we bring you
Christmas Treats

For an early Christmas present Linda Goodnight would like to share a little treat with you…

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Creative Way to Give Money

Teenagers love receiving money as a gift, but let’s face it, handing over an envelope of money is kind of boring. There are many great ideas for giving money creatively. I stumbled onto my idea quite by accident. As I browsed the department store, I spotted a small, inexpensive snow globe that doubled as a two-sided photo frame, and an idea was born. I inserted the teen’s photo on one side of the globe and a carefully folded twenty dollar bill on the other side and wrapped the globe as I would any other gift. When my granddaughter opened the gift and turned it over, there was Andrew Jackson’s green face smiling through the falling snow. She loved it, of course, and can reuse the snow globe photo frame for other pictures. Don’t have a photo of the teen? Go to MySpace or any of the popular online communities. Chances are you can lift one there as I did.

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Edible Craft for Kids

Simple, edible crafts are just the thing to get your child involved in the Christmas celebration. One tasty and fairly healthy treat is made with pretzel rods. I’ve seen a number of variations, but the simplest one is pretty to look at, very tasty, and kids can make these themselves with only a little supervision. Take the fat pretzel rods and dip one end in melted almond bark/candy melt, the flavor of your choice. (I like the chocolate best, but the white chocolate and butterscotch are good, too.) Let them cool a minute and then roll in a plate of colored sprinkles, sugars, or crushed candies. The resulting product looks pretty standing in a festive cup and your child feels as if she/he has really done something special. These are great for your child to make and take to school parties, too!