Reindeer Noses

Awwww.....neighbor gifts.  What to do?  What to do?  Every year it becomes more and more competitive and hard and harder to be original.  A couple years ago, I decided to simplify and do the same thing each year but with a twist.  I find a Christmas story that I like and then make sugar cookies that coordinate with it.
Like many others - this time of year can be absolutely crazy and I didn't get around to making them.  It came down to Dec 20 and I had to do something but it had to be easy.  I googled "neighbor gifts" and found Reindeer Noses.
They are simple - whoppers, sour cherry balls, and a label.  I started by making some in bowls and attaching a label to the top like this:

 And then made some simple ones like this for their teachers.  If I was to do it again, I would probably use a quart size bag for the neighbor gifts and a snack size for teachers. (forego the bowls)

 

P.S. I got the cute reindeer clipart from Just So Scrappy - love her stuff!!!

Pillowcase Gift

Just had to share this gift that my daughter made for her friend...I LOVE the fabric!

Gifts for Activity Day Girls

I wanted to give my Activity Day girls a Christmas gift - but with 14 girls - it had to be something small and inexpensive.  I made these a couple years ago for my young women and they are super easy.  I got the chapstick from Walmart - you can get 2 chapsticks for 88 cents - printed off the labels and used packing tape to apply.

I added a label that said "For beautiful lips, speak works of KINDNESS (and use chapstick)"  I hope the girls liked them.

Christmas Stockings

MAN!!  Our Christmas stockings are OLD and SCARY!!  Time for some new ones - but what to do?!?!  I bought some plain stockings from Dollar Tree and for Family Home Evening each one of us got to decorate one.  I was going be a control freak and decorate them myself - but then I wanted them to be original and personal for them.  And so - this is what we get - each one is individual to the owner and they look cute enough.  (do you like how Chance didn't want ANYTHING on his stocking?)

12 Ways of Christmas

This is a project that I did with my Activity Day girls for Christmas.  We made cardboard wreath and covered them with mod podge.  Then we mod podged paper onto 12 clothespins and hot glued them to the wreath.  Each clothespin holds an envelope that the girls open as they countdown to Christmas.

Women

A version of a craft that I made a couple years back....crafts have come a long way haven't they. This is one of my favorite sayings!!! I made these as Christmas gifts for some dear women in my life.

Christmas Countdown

And just because Christmas is only 4 months away - I thought I better get a jump on this one - a countdown to Christmas. (I made something with this paper last Christmas and needed more to make this but I couldn't find any. So, I searched the internet and found it has been digitalized..OH I love my digital papers!!!) Instructions can be found HERE

Here are some activities that you could list on the back side of the square: Of course, I arrange them to fit my schedule!! :)

Donate canned goods
Deliver gifts to neighbors
Drive around & see Christmas lights
Open a gift
Make sugar cookies
Purchase gifts for a needy child
Read Christmas story
Sing or listen to Christmas songs
Camp out around the Christmas tree
Make an ornament
What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? (Frostbite)
Create a snowscape w/ shaving cream and action figures
What do snowmen eat for breakfast? (Snowflakes)
Make a gift for your teacher
Blindfold kids and guess holiday scents (pine, gingerbread, holly, mistletoe, cinnamon)
Write your letter to Santa
Get out of chores free
Write a Christmas story together
Watch a Christmas movies

Neighbor Gifts

These cute little snowmen can be altered using several different things. I've seen people make small ones out of Rolo's or Lifesavers and I've seen larger ones made out of the large Hershey bars. We drink a lot of the Crystal Light and I knew there had to be something that I could do with them.
I started collecting them during the summer and I had plenty by Christmas.
The printable can be found HERE. I then used some scraps of material to make the scarf and I used some fleece for the hats. You can either sew or glue the fleece into a tube. Place the hat on the container and tie off the top with raffia. I attached a small bell to the raffia but that is totally optional. I also made a small label that fit on the lid that said "Merry Christmas from your flaky neighbors"