It isn’t the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it. –Eileen Elias Freeman

‘Tis the season of gift giving! We’re all crazy these last few months, trying to find those perfect gifts for the people we care about. I must admit, I put an almost obscene amount of pressure on myself to find that special gift that will make the receiver squeal with delight. I love watching people open gifts that I just know they will love.

And as much fun as I have giving gifts, let’s be honest–I also love to get gifts! Who doesn’t?

So what’s the best holiday gift you ever got? It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or the most fancy; it could be those homemade chocolate chip cookies you got from your neighbor 10 years ago. Whatever tugged at your heartstrings–we want to hear all about it! Share your most favorite gift in the comments, and we’ll randomly select oodles of lucky commenters to win some Sarasa Metallic Pens from Zebra Pens!

These pretty, shiny pens come in gold, silver, and copper, and are the perfect pen to write your holiday thank-you notes with. They write awesomely on both light and dark paper, and are also great for crafts, journals, and letters. Click here to read more about them.

We can’t wait to read about your favorite gifts!

And one final note: Beverly and I would like to wish each and every one of you a safe and happy holiday, and a creative, inspiring, sunny, funny 2011!!

FREE COOKIE COOKBOOK

There. Now that I have your attention…

I know it seems as if we have endless conversations about cookies, but I don’t hear anyone complaining, so I’ll just keep blogging about them until someone duct tapes my hands to my sides.

In the December issue of Create & Decorate, we ran a Cookies for Santa cookie contest. Our second place winner, Linda Stubbs, was inspired to create a free cookie cookbook. How neat is that? Click here to get the recipe for Linda’s Homespun Snowman cookies, and click here to go to visit Linda’s blog, Prairie Flower Farm. (To download the cookbook, just click on the Prairie Flower Farm Cookie Cookbook picture on the right-hand side of her blog’s homepage, up at the top.)

It’s the perfect time of year to get your bakin’ on, and there are so many good recipes to try! (Peppermint Meringues! Chocolate Star Cookies! Cherry Swirl Brownies! White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies!)

This is one of the nicest things Beverly and I have discovered about the online world–the sharing of ideas, recipes, tips, and tricks. You may not actually know everyone, but it’s nice to know a supportive little community exists out there, isn’t it?

Thanks, Linda, for putting this cookbook together and sharing all these wonderful recipes with the online world! And thanks to all the cookie-lovin’ folks out there that shared their recipes with Linda

Recycling Christmas Wishes

Card design by Mary Englebreit

Like most of you friends, every year I find myself bundling up the seasonal holiday greeting cards into neat little stacks to save for next year. There are always a few special cards that I save to reuse for crafting purposes, turn into a postcard, or gift tag. However, the rest of these stacks of cards were thoughtfully sent as well and deserve to be given a second life. Noelle and I found a terrific way to recycle last years Christmas cards as well as donate to a worthy, wonderful cause.

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is a non-profit, non-sectarian home for abused, abandoned, and neglected children of all races and faiths. To read more about their inspiring services and programs available, as well as the children’s success stories, visit www.stjudesranch.org.

A program for the children at St. Jude’s Ranch, called the Recycled Card Program, is managed by Kids, Corp., and teaches entrepreneurship skills. The children participate in making new cards from used greeting cards by removing the front and attaching a new back. The result is a beautiful new card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive “green” holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”.

As well as supporting this cause by recycling, you may also purchase cards through them. We did note that there is especially a need for birthday and thank you card donations. Please keep the Kids Corp. program in mind all year round, but in the meantime, recycle your Christmas cheer!