Cider Spice Bundle

6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
1 tsp dried orange rind
1 cinnamon stick, crushed

Cut two 4-inch squares of cheesecloth, place 1 on top of each other.

Place cloves, allspice berries, orange rind and cinnamon on top, pull up corners and tie into bundle with string.

Place in jar or mug.

Makes 1 bundle, enough for 2 cups cider or apple juice.

To make:
Pour 2 cups cider or apple juice in saucepan or microwaveable container. Place Cider Spice Bundle in cider. Heat just until boiling. Serve hot.

Easy to Make Pomander

You will need:
1 lemon OR 1 orange
5-6 ounces cloves (whole)
Ribbon
2 tbsp orris root
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Lemon or orange oil

Push the cloves into the rind of your lemon or orange. Try to cover the whole surface.

Mix together orris root, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon or orange oil in a small bowl or plate. Roll the fruit around in the mixture.

Wrap the fruit in tissue paper, cheesecloth or netting and place in a drawer or hang in a closet.

To Make a Christmas Decoration or Gift:

Cut a piece of ribbon, 34-38" long. Place the middle of the ribbon at the top of the fruit, and draw the ends down to the bottom.

Cross and twist the ribbon and draw it back up to the top, just like you were tying a package. Tie it into a bow at the top.

If the ribbon wants to slip and slide, you can secure it with a little dab of glue at the bottom of the fruit where it crosses (+).

You can dab a little paint and/or glitter on the cloves if you want your pomander to be a little more colorful.

Potato Stamps

While your making dinner, you can give each kid a potato with a design cut on it. A star, a triangle, a Christmas Tree, etc.

Give them a small dishes of washable poster paints and let them dress up brown paper bags to make place mats or use sheets of heavy paper to make wrapping paper for gifts.

Popcorn Garland

An old fashioned popcorn garland is best made with oil-free popcorn (from a hot-air popper.)

Using an embroidery needle and thread, sew pieces of popcorn together.

For extra color, try adding gum drops or jelly beans every so often.

Kid's Kisses Chocolate Tree

Ice cream sugar cones
Aluminum foil
Glue (low heat gun, non-toxic craft glue,
Glue stick or confectioners' glue)
1/3 of a 13 ounce bag Hershey's Kisses
Chocolate - Holiday Colors
1/3 yard (1/4 inch wide) ribbon

Cover each cone with aluminum foil, securing with glue, pushing remaining foil inside open end of cone to add strength. Glue Kisses onto cone with the flat end of the Kiss on the foil surface. Begin around the base and work up to the top, alternating colors.

Finish by adding a small bow to the top. Finished size: 5 inches tall. Completed craft is for decoration; candy should not be eaten.

Lighted Indoor/Outdoor Christmas Ball

50 (9 ounce) Solo Clear plastic cups (short squat ones)
1 string 50-light set
100 paper fasteners (or hot glue if you are in a
climate where it won't melt while storing)
24-inch coated wire or heavy duty fishing line
Garland (optional)
Hole punch or small pointed soldering iron
Drill and bit (size depends on size of mini-light base

Drill holes in the bottom of all 50 cups. Take 38 of these cups and put 2 small holes near the rim at the top (not needed if hot gluing), opposite each other. Put the other 12 cups to one side for now. Do not punch holes in these cups yet.

Working one half of the ball at a time, begin by taking 12 of the cups and the paper fasteners (or hot glue) and fasten cups side by side. By the time you get to the 12th one, it should form a circle. Complete by attaching together. Set aside.

Take 2 of the unpunched cups and punch only one hole near the rim. With 7 punched cups, fasten together side by side. Take each of the 1 hole punched cups and attach to each end of the 7 attached cups. Take the 2 cups on the end and bring them together, forming another circle, that will arc out, punch hole in both cups and fasten together. These 9 cups should fit on top of the 12 previously fastened cups. With the hole punch, fasten the 9 and 12 grouping cups together. Take 4 unpunched cups and punch 1 hole in each near rim. Take 2 of these cups and fasten together. Fasten other 2 together. Set these on top of the hole left in the 9 cup grouping so they fit. (They will not be exactly opposite each other. Make holes in each of the cups where they join the 9 group. Fasten or hot glue together. This should form half of the ball. Repeat to form other half.

Putting lights in

(Holes should have already been drilled before putting cups together.) With open end of ball facing you put light (at opposite end of plug-in) in one of the holes in the 4 center cups. (At this point, begin putting garland (gold or red or any color) along with the lights. This helps to hide the wire and really sets the ball off.) Continue until lights have been put in all 25 cups. When you do the other half, start with the light closest to the plug and put that into one of the 4-cup cluster and work your way out. The last one will be a little hard to manipulate as there isn't much wire to work with. Making sure plug and lead in wire is outside the cups, set the first half on top of the second half fitting into each other. Punch holes where cups touch and fasten together. Where wire comes out, put 2 more holes in the tope of two joined cups. Thread coated wire, or fishing line through these and make a loop to hang the ball with.

Tie the wire and hanger together near the cups with red velvet 1/4-inch ribbon (this is optional). Some also make these with the top 4 cups omitted, and figuring out another way of hanging it, probably a hole put on each side of the ball and 4 lines coming up to hang it with. Fasteners take longer, but the ball is sturdier. Fasteners are better also if a bulb needs to be changed. Hot glue may melt if stored in an attic where the temperatures get hot enough to melt it.

NOTE: You can also make 1/2 balls the same way as the full, only use 35-light sets and the 4 cup cluster has 2 holes each and 6 of 12 cups have 2 holes (every other one). To finish off back, put a plastic 12-inch plate and fasten it to the back with the bottom of the plate to the inside near the wires.

Potpourri Lights

Large clear glass vase or Mason jar
Strands of small twinkle Christmas lights*
Dry potpourri

* Do not use the super bright lights as they burn too hot.

Fill the vase or jar loosely with the light strands and pour the potpourri in over the lights. Don't pack it too tightly as the air needs to circulate. Cover the top of the jar or vase with an open lace doily or tulle and tie on with a ribbon. Decorate to taste.

NOTE: DO NOT LEAVE IT PLUGGED IN AND UNATTENDED. BE SURE TO INCLUDE THIS WARNING IF GIVING AS A GIFT.

Spice Bag Gift Decorations
Spice bags are a great way to add a holiday scent to the air or to give as a gift to a friend.

1 organza bag
2 cinnamon sticks
Handful cardamom
Handful cloves
2 nutmeg seeds
1 star anise
1 or 2 sprigs fresh cedar or pine
Mandarin orange or tangerine peels

Add all the ingredients to the organza bag. Tie the bag with a nice ribbon and attach a card saying, “Drop me into eight cups of boiling water and allow these holiday aromas to fill your home.�?BR>

Gumdrop Tree Centerpiece

18-inch Styrofoam cone

1 bag large green gumdrops

1 bag small gumdrops, assorted colors

Toothpicks

Secure large gumdrops to the Styrofoam form with the toothpicks.

Arrange the small gumdrops in between the large ones to hide the Styrofoam form.

The trees are pretty on mantels or arranged near gingerbread houses.

Christmas Kisses Tree

1 (12 x 4 inch) foam cone
Aluminum foil
4 bags (13 ounces each) Hershey's Kisses, holiday colors
Low heat glue gun, non-toxic glue sticks or craft glue
Toothpicks
Red bow

Cover foam cone with foil.

Glue flat side of green kisses to foil covered cone. Use remaining red and silver kisses to decorate the tree. Insert one end of the toothpick into the side of each kiss and the other end into the foam cone, filling in the gaps between the green kisses.

Glue red bow on top of tree.

*Completed craft is for decoration; candy should not be eaten.

Note: I see no reason why you couldn't anchor the red bow and green kisses to the cone with toothpicks also. In doing so, the "tree" would then become completely edible.

Christmas Crackers
These were popular in France before the middle of the 1800s. The idea is to loosely wrap gold or silver paper around small candies and tie at each end with ribbon. Two children tug at the ends until the cracker bursts, scattering the candies on the floor, where the children scramble to pick them up.

Gift wrapping paper, gold or silver
Small candies, individually wrapped
Self-sticking tape, gold, silver or clear
Brightly colored ribbon, 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors

Start with about 12 candies and a sheet of paper 10 x 6 inches. Overlap 1/2 inch on the two 10-inch edges, and hold the edges together with either matching tape or clear tape. Slip the candies through one end so they are in the middle. Twist each end of the paper, 3 inches in from each end. Tie at each twist with ribbon, knotting before tying a bow. Open each end so it flares outward, and push inward on the twisted part so the center puffs up. Candies should rattle inside the puffed center section.

To break the paper crackers, each child holds a twisted end, then tugs and shakes the cracker until the paper breaks, spilling the candies.

NOTE: You can adapt these for any occasion during the year - birthday parties, Easter, Valentine's day, etc.

Candy Cane Bath Salts

2 cups Epsom salts
1/2 cup sea salt
4 to 6 drops peppermint oil
2 to 3 drops red food coloring.

Place one cup of Epsom and 1/4 cup sea salt in a bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add 2 to 3 drops peppermint oil.

Place the remaining ingredients in a second bowl. Mix all ingredients well.

Layer the red and white salts in a clear bottle or jar, tilting the bottle or jar as you fill it.

Tie with a ribbon and some small candy canes.