Learn the O Holy Night lyrics

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.

Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,

Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.

The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.

He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

With all our hearts we praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,

His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Create the best of both Holiday classics with Candy Cane Cookies

What You Need:

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red food color

1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy

1/2 cup granulated sugar

How to Make:

Cream together butter or margarine and shortening, blend in confectioners sugar. Mix in egg, almond and vanilla extracts. Work in flour and salt. Divide dough in half and mix red food color into one half. Chill overnight.

Taking approximately 1 teaspoonful of each color, roll into 3 inch long ropes, about 1/4 inch in diameter. Wrap ropes around each other in candy cane pattern, place on an ungreased cookie sheet in the shape of a candy cane. (These will spread some so leave some room between cookies.)

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 9 minutes. Combine the crushed peppermint candy with the granulated sugar and sprinkle over cookies warm from the oven.

Makes about 2 dozen

Take a moment and just add one of these organizing tips to your routines. These are just small things that you can do to get things underway and ease a little stress for the upcoming Holiday celebrations.

Organize Your Wrapping Supplies

Get all of the supplies that you will need to wrap your gifts all together in one place. Some definite necessities would include wrapping paper, ribbons, scissors, tape, and name tags. Try the Gift Wrap Organizer by Jokari to hold everything and keep it in one place so that it is easily accessible. Have a couple of these organizers and group your supplies by theme. One may contain birthday supplies while another holds the supplies that Santa may need just in case he forgets something and yet there could be one for the kids to have for their special presents.

Take Small Steps

If the thought of getting everything done is a little overwhelming then break it all done into small workable parts.

Break down your greeting card list into 4-5 parts. Only sign and address one group per week prior to when you want to have then all mailed. If you are pressed for time, take a portion with you to soccer practice, lunch time at work, or any other place that you find yourself waiting. Wrap presents and you buy them or try a wrapping session once a week.

Decorate one room at a time or one box at a time.

Break down your gift buying into groups and get each group done by a certain date. Those gifts that you may need first make sure that they are in the beginning group.

Coordinate and organize your crafts so that you work on portions of them every week and have them done before you need them.

Hire Some Help

Some of you chores can be done by someone else. Spoil yourself a little this season by having someone else do some of your tasks or chores for you. Hire a carpet cleaning company to do the major scrubbing of your carpets and upholstrey. Ask the local teenager that is looking to make a little extra money to help out with the yard work, wrap your presents, or even help out with party preparations. I am sure that there is a long list of jobs awaiting you, but don’t let that stress you out and go recruit help.

Use Your Freezer

Take a look at your recipes and find parts or completed items that can be frozen. Use top quality freezer containers or the This is a great product along with the other items that has to offer. Remember that most cookies can be frozen, thawed and enjoyed. You can freeze cut up any onions, green peppers and grated cheeses. Cook and dice up your chicken and brown the ground beef then freeze until you need them. Having just the smallest amount of prep work done helps out in the end.

Keep a Calendar

Have a copy of your calendar with you at all times. If you are a busy person then you may already be equipped with this organizational necessity. Note on your calendar when you want to have your small steps completed, all of the events that you will be attending, and everything in between. If any one invites you to an event then you are ready to inform them of any plans that you may already have or just to write it down. Remember to put it on your master calendar at home so that your family is informed.

Stay Mobile

Allow yourself to keep most things organized in a small bag or so that you can grab and go when you are taking the kids to their practices. Small crafts, master lists, and greeting cards are all things that you can work on while you are waiting. This also helps out with a major organizing tip of keeping it simple.

Keep It Simple

If you do not use any other organizing tip listed here just use this one. Keep your focus in mind that I mentioned on the Christmas planning page and just keep things simple. With everything else going on and making things by the masses, simplicity is the best way to stay on track. Simple recipes, simple party plans, simple projects, and so on.

Make up a Holiday Central

Have a place to keep all of your information and small projects together. Have your address book, greeting cards, pen, stamps, and return address labels together. Keep a gift idea list and a list for gifts that you have bought and for whom they are for. Have a list of recipes and crafts that you will need to make and make sure that the instructions and list of supplies are included. Keep track of all projects that are in progress. Have a copy of your calendar with all of the events you wish to attend. Also have your wish list ready to include some new things that you would like to try this season. You may want to add recipes, events, or decoration ideas. You may want to include envelopes for receipts from your shopping trips and a way to keep track of your budget. One last thing that you may want to keep in your Holiday Central is a small journal. Write in this journal information that worked well this season, things that need help and things that you would like to do or next year. A great way to keep most of this information organized is to have most of it in a three ring binder so that is can be available for mobility.
I have a few ideas for making a “Holiday Central”. You may want to just keep all of your Holiday information in a large storage container so that you can just keep in a central location during this season and stow it away for the rest of the year. Much of the information will be use year after year and your leftover cards and ideas are reay for you to access next year. If your household is anything like mine then you should have a basic family center. Much of the information get rotated in and out along with the seasons. A great piece of furniture to have for this would depend on your needs. Use just an elegant or an entire Good Luck!

Leafing through the never ending deliveries of junk mail and bills that inhabit your mailbox you see just peaking over the edges just a slight bit of color. Could it be? Your eyes widen and your heart feels just a little bit lighter in your chest. You pull it out and open it up. Yes it is!! It is a card to wish you the happiest of holidays from someone thinking of you. Sending and receiving greeting cards has become such a big part of the holiday season that some people have come to expect at least one in their mail. This tradition is also a stress free way to spread a little extra bit of spirit and to include the loved ones that are unable to participate in the celebrations.

A long time ago people would make their own greetings and hand deliver these small tokens of Christmas cheer. It would seem that only wealthy families could afford to send mail through the post until the ‘Penny Post’ program was installed at the Post Office in 1840. This opened up the luxury using the post to the working class as it only cost a penny to send a letter and half a penny to mail a post card. The idea of sending Christmas cards through the post office was started in 1843 by a British businessman Sir Henry Cole and John Calcott Horsely. Mr. Horsely was an artist and created a card that pictured people participating in acts of charity and families enjoying food and drink. The caption inside the card read “A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You.” Sir Henry had asked John Horsely to print enough to send to his family and friends but after viewing these creations they decided to print 1000 of these greetings and sold them at 1 schilling each.

As printing methods improved so did the popularity of sending Christmas cards. Traditional cards pictured religious scenes or a winter setting. In Victorian times cards pictured robins in snowy settings and sometimes holding mail representing the postman because their uniforms were red in color and referred to as ‘robins’. The present day Holiday cards have religious pictures, winter scenes, jokes, and mythical creatures. Most are sent in the tradition fashion of the post office but many greetings are being sent through email with the emergence of the computer age.

Each ornament that hangs on the tree comes with its own history. As does the tradition of decorating the Christmas Tree. Rituals to obtaining these items are also represented in their meaning. Every household is different when it comes to decorating their evergreen.

Decorating an evergreen tree, or it’s clippings, has dated back to the ancient pagan times during their celebration of the winter solstice. Fruits and nuts were hung in hopes for a bountiful harvest in the year to come. Lit candles were added as a decoration for the anticipation the days of spring. Shiny or metallic items adorned the evergreen with the intention to please a particular deity or to ward off evil spirits. Each of the pagan cultures had their own beliefs for adding particular objects, but in all, the tradition of the ornaments was to symbolize their hope.

As described in the history of the tree, Martin Luther had added candles to represent the stars in the night sky and the German churches placed apples on their Paradise tree to signify the apple that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. When families started putting their own Paradise trees in their homes they also started putting a personal touch to the tradition. Small white wafers and cookies were the most popular at first, generally baked in the shapes of angles, hearts, stars, fruits, and bells. As time went on, paper streamers and other items of personal interest made each tree different. Families started making items that showed off their talents or hobbies such as pressed tin, carved wood, or even shapes cut from paper or magazines, generally all were from scraps of their trades. Ornament making evolved into gift giving. Families found that sharing interests and talents made for great gifts. In turn, all this leading to a family’s focus on making ornaments for more that just friends and some turning their hobby into a means for income giving to the rise of the hand blown glass ornaments that Germany is known for to the present day.

During the Victorian times in England, popular magazines starting publishing instructions for ornament making and ideas for hobby enthusiasts. Most of the ornaments depicted were lacy and cute and thus leading to the standards we think of coming from the Victorian influence. But the concept of finding ways to have a homemade holiday is still found at the checkout aisle (now even the internet).

Look at the ornaments hanging on your tree. Take the time to add personal touches and pass on a little of yourself by making ornaments for gifts. It is the season of sharing.

The tradition of a mythical man that comes bearing gifts to every boy and girl has become a world wide tradition. The American culture has depicted him as a jolly fat man wearing a red suit riding in a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer (sometimes nine) visiting homes on Christmas Eve. The story that has been read to every child, like many other legends, derived from the actions of a real person. In this case, the origin of Santa Claus is a man by the name of Bishop Nicholas of Myra.

Nicholas was orphaned as a young boy but not before his parents showed him the ways of a Christian life. Blessed with kindness and the monetary inheritance, Nicholas set off into to the world to spread the Christian teachings. Many stories of his generosity towards the poor have been told far and wide. A few unfortunate families have awoken to find that purses of gold had mysteriously appeared in their living rooms. One popular legend states that a poor man, with three daughters that needed to be wed, was in dire need of dowries. The culture at this time was for fathers of the brides to give money or livestock, to the respective husband. If a father was unable to come up with this then the daughters would be sold into slavery. Knowing that this father was about to lose his daughters, Nicholas had left the man a bag of gold before each daughter was about to be married. Versions of this story describe Nicholas throwing the bags in through a window and even down the chimney where the bag had landed in a sock that was hung to dry by the fire.

Nicholas has also been known to encourage children to behave and work hard on their studies. Stories have been told the he rewarded those children by leaving them treats.

Other stories have Nicholas finding lost children and saving sea tossed sailors. Some of these stories seem to be of the fantastical nature, but never the less, has only added to his popularity. Nicholas was beloved and revered as a protector and helper of those in need which led to the reasoning to make him the patron saint of children and sailors.

Soon after his death on December 6, 326 A.D., people honored his life by honoring him with an entire day. Families are still celebrating St. Nicholas’ generosity on December 6 every year.

By keeping his generosity a secret, Nicholas never intended to have it returned he just wanted to encourage people to pass on the gesture by sharing what we have with those that are unfortunate.

Whether celebrated in December 25 or December 6, we can all agree that these days are focused on children and through our own generosity, mirroring the practices of St Nicholas, presents of toys or candies, are found without anyone witnessing their arrival. Every year, generation after generation, grown ups proudly take on the burden of this secret tradition because the results are so rewarding.

The centerpiece of many family memories is the Christmas Tree.

When asked to think of a particular memory from Christmas, many of us will picture our family sitting in our living rooms unwrapping gifts with a majestic evergreen tree adorned with lights and ornaments. Why is this tree here? How did it come to be in our homes?

This particular tree has traveled down many paths and is believed to have originated from several different celebrations.

In ancient pagan civilizations, an evergreen tree represented hope and eternal life because they remained green all year round. Therefore, they decorated those outside and brought in the clippings to decorate their homes during the winter solstice.

Around the 7th Century, a monk, St. Boniface, traveled to Germany to spread the Word of God. It is said that because of it’s triangular shape, he used the fir tree to symbolize the Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

German celebrations have highly influenced this practice of decorating the evergreen tree since the 15th and 16th centuries. The first documented use of the evergreen tree as a Christmas tree in 1510 centered in the town square of Riga, Latvia. But another legend that is said to have occurred during this same time period is that of Martin Luther’s use of the tree in his home. He too, was in Germany and was so amazed by the grand forests that he took an evergreen home to share this beautiful specimen with his family. It is said that he decorated this piece of nature with candles to represent the stars in the night sky.

With these past influences in hand, finishing out 16th Century, German churches would display an evergreen tree in plays. Decorated with apples to symbolize a Paradise tree, “Paradeisbaum” they were celebrating the annual feast of Adam and Eve on Dec 24th. Within 200 years it was customary to see every home with a Paradise tree decorated with each families’ personal touch.

America would not see a Christmas tree until the Revolutionary War. German mercenaries, Hessians, brought this tradition across to the New World. But because of the Puritan opposition, this custom was not popularized until the 1840’s when Americans were introduced to German handcrafted glass ornaments.

When Christmas time comes around this year take a good look at that representative of Mother Nature and remember why it came to celebrate this festive time. Your family has had traditions for its arrival in your home so add those to the history books and share them with future generations.

Tidbits

Tannenbaum is the German word for fir tree which were originally used for Christmas trees.

The first Christmas tree in the White House was put up by President Franklin Pierce in 1856.

President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn in 1923.

Tips on how to clean a room and to get it done.

Gather up your cleaning supplies.

Get the large ultra caddy and put all of your supplies in it that you will need to clean your room. You will need…

Mr Clean Multi Surface

Commercial Line Windex Glass Cleaner

at least 3 rags

Febreze Fabric Refresher

Swiffer Dusters, with Extendable Handle

bags for garbage and the dirty cleaning rags (they need to be washed seperatly because of the chemicals)

3 compartment sorter for items that do not belong in the room that you are cleaning

X-Folding Chrome Hamper for the dirty laundry

Plastic Rectangular Dish Pan for dirty dishes

Folding Step Stool if you need it

A vacuum, I am wishing for the Dyson DC07 All-Floors Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Plan Your Attack

You want to stay in the room until it is finished and you want to take the least amount of steps as possible so keep your supplies mobile and close by.

Work the room from top to bottom going left to right. Work areas that are about an arms length wide.

Start with picking up the items that do not belong in that room, garbage, laundry and dirty dishes.

Take you duster and work it from the ceiling down to the baseboards moving it over everything in between.

With the all purpose cleaner and wipe off the dirty smudges on the walls switch plates and baseboards.

Next take your wood furniture polish and get all the wood furniture fixtures and don’t forget the pictures.

Now do the same with the glass cleaner to the other fixtures and windows.

Spray all upholstery and drapes with Febreeze.

Now move on to the next section and repeat all of the steps again and make sure that you work an area completely and remember not to back track.

Vacuum the main area until after everything is done and all is put away.

Get Ready. Get Set. Go!!!

Do not worry about vacuuming under the furniture and reorganizing, leave that for another time. This is the weekly quick clean so just focus on the obvious and work as fast as possible.

Two sophisticated ingredients combine to make one fabulous cookie that will be the talk of your kitchen.

What You Need:

8 oz. white chocolate baking bars
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
3 oz. white chocolate baking bars
1/2 tsp vegetable shorting

How To Make It:

1.Preheat oven 375 degrees.
2.Chop 4 ounces of the white chocolate. Set aside.
3.In a heavy saucepan heat another 4 ounces of the white chocolate over low heat until melted, stirring constantly; cool.
4. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
5. Add the sugar, baking soda and salt; beat until creamy.
6. Beat in the eggs one at a time then add the melted chocolate.
7. Stir in the flour until just combined.
8. Fold in the 4 ounces of chopped white chocolate.
9. Drop dough by rounding on spoon about 2 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet.
10. Put a slight thumb print into top of each drop to better hold the jam when done cooking.
11. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let sit on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
12.In a small saucepan, heat the raspberry over low heat until melted.
13. Spoon about 1/2 tsp into the thumb print of each cookie.
14. In a heavy small saucepan, combine the 3 ounces of white chocolate and shorting.
15. Heat over low heat until melted, stirring constantly.
16. Drizzle over cookies in a decorative manner. Allow chocolate the set before serving or sorting.

Bake a family classic cookie for your Holiday Celebrations or anytime.

What You Need:

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
10 oz pkg of semi sweet chocolate morsels

How To Make It:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl and set aside.
3. In a larger mixing bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy.
4. Add eggs one at a time beating mixture after each addition.
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
6. Stir in chocolate morsels.
7. Drop dough using spoon onto ungreased baking sheets keeping them about 2 inches apart.

Tips:

For crisp cookies bake for 8 minutes of until golden brown and allow to cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes. For softer cookies bake for 6-7 minutes and remove from cookie sheets to cool.