Archive for thanksgiving
Give-Thanks-Giving: A Gift of Giving
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Wrapping up the one-year bloggiversary celebration, I’m finishing this up with a giveaway of sorts. Inspired by other giving bloggers around the blogosphere this month, and also by the 30 Day Giving Challenge, I’ll be giving away a donation, to the winner’s favorite charity. At the same time, I’ll be passing on to the selected winner a small token of my appreciation - a $25 gift card to Gevalia Coffee that I have but am choosing to pass on rather than keep it for myself.
I am going to make this REALLY simple. You like simple don’t you?
Here’s what you need to do to enter:
- Leave a comment telling me which charity, ministry or organization you would have me make a donation to if you win. You must include a link to the charity, and they must have a way for me to make a donation online. You must also enter a valid email address so that I can contact you about you Gevalia gift card.
- An alternative way to enter: If you would like to join me in my final gust of giving for this carnival…I offer to you, the opportunity to turn around and do the same thing on your blog and offer to give away a donation of a reader’s choice. If you choose to do so, write a post and leave a link in the comments. Don’t forget to leave a link to your own favorite ministry and your email address.
The “rules”:
1.) If you don’t leave a link to the organization website, accept online donations, or your email address your entry will be invalid. (Leave your email address in the comment entry form, not necessarily the comment itself - your email address in the entry form will not be publicly displayed, only allows me to reply by email to your comment and will not be used for any form of solicitation in the future.)
2.) The charity donation is open to bloggers and non bloggers alike, worldwide. Gevalia may or may not make shipments to your destination. It’s up to you to determine if Gevalia coffee is available in your area.
3.) Comments will close Friday, November 27, 2009 at midnight central standard time. At that point in time a winner will be chosen by random draw.
That’s pretty simple, right?
If you have enjoyed any part of my Give-Thanks-Giving Bloggiversary party, consider subscribing to updates from Classic Housewife, joining the fan page on Facebook or following me on Twitter. Thanks for celebrating with me!
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Find the results here.
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Give-Thanks-Giving: Holiday Crafts and Fun Stuff
The most fun part about the holidays as far as my kids are concerned is the crafts, the decorating and the activities. Well, unless there are presents. But otherwise it the crafts and fun stuff. To be honest, I quite like it, too.
And I always like finding new crafts and ideas online to keep things fresh & exciting. The kids and I are doing something new this year and they are all going to Thanksgiving dinner dressed as indians. Oh yes they are. We’ve already made our necklaces and bracelets. Over the course of the week they are going to also get headbands, painted (paper sack) vests, and the girls will get dresses but the boy will wear brown shirt and pants under his vest and headdress.
Yesterday we kicked off our Thankful Tree and we’ll work on that all week long trying to fill it up as much as we possibly can. I’d also hoped to find time to make some additional Thanksgiving decorations, like these paper bag turkeys.
Here’s a few other ideas for easy Thanksgiving crafts:
- Corny Cookies: look like mini corn on the cobs (but the M&M’s are sure to please any kid.)
- Paper Cornucopia Craft
- Girl’s Paper Pilgrim Bonnet
- How about these teepees and houses (from little milk cartons and paper plates)
- Paper & Nature Thanksgiving Banner
- Woven Fall Placemat (you could do this with construction paper too)
- Fall Leaf Spiral Mobile
- Thanksgiving Bingo
- Paper Bag Scarecrow
- Paper Plate Scarecrow
- Pilgrim Paper Finger Puppets
- Coffee Filter Thanksgiving Bouquet
Websites chock full of Thanksgiving resources:
Plenty of good stuff, there huh? Let me know if you’ve made any of these and how they turned out. Or do you have links to other crafts and activities that you’ve done with your kids?
Remember, this post is a part of the Give-Thanks-Giving bloggiversary party. And for grins and giggles, what is YOUR Thanksgiving i.q.? Do you know how many pounds of turkey is consumed in America on Thanksgiving Day? (I didn’t!)
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Give-Thanks-Giving: Online Giving Resources
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2nd Corinthians 9:7
It seems the opportunities to give and to serve come crawling out of the woodwork when the holidays roll around. But the majority of those ministries have needs year round. All year long you can donate your time or your money to those in need.
There are so many really good ministries, organizations and charities out there that need year round support. Closer to home, there are also many ministries and individuals in your local community in need. There are so many ways to give to others, so many opportunities to show the love of Christ.
The truth is — the holidays are just when we think about it.
But don’t let that stop you. Many of them do need additional help during the holidays. As the Spirit leads, may you give and serve in love and with a cheerful heart!
Below is a small list, a tiny fraction, of the many, many opportunities online for giving to others. I know there are many, many more. Please, if you have a special ministry or organization that is close to your heart, please leave a link in the comment section and I will add it to the list. And thanks!
Online Resources for Giving:
- Samaritan’s Purse - “For over 35 years, Samaritan’s Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ’s command by going to the aid of the world’s poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.”
- Women At Risk International - “Women At Risk, International unites and educates women to create circles of protection and hope around women at risk through culturally sensitive, value-added intervention projects.”
- Hannah’s Socks - “Hannah’s Socks is a non-profit organization focused on providing clothing necessities to the less fortunate in Toledo, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; and their neighboring communities. Hannah’s Socks collects donated materials in the form of men’s, women’s and children’s socks and undergarments, then leverages partnerships with local shelters for distribution to both the homeless and to victims of domestic violence. In addition, we support programs serving under-privileged children. Hannah’s Socks firmly believes that in a country as prosperous as the United States, no man, woman or child should want for something as basic as a warm pair of socks.”
- Hannah House Maternity Home / Promiseland Ministries Inc - “Our Mission…to reach out to teens and young women in a crisis pregancy situation; to provide an alternative to abortion such as adoption or parenting; to develop better decision-making, life, and parenting skills; to further education; to build stronger belief and understanding of the family; to glorify God and share His word and answers for today’s world.”
- Feeding America - Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Our mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. Each year, the Feeding America network provides food to more than 25 million low-income people facing hunger in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.
- Feeding America Partners - Many corporate sponsors partner with Feeding America to help the cause, including companies like Honeysuckle White and Snickers.
Also, don’t forget Christmas Change - a website dedicated to changing the way you think and spend this Christmas, encouraging you to spend less and give more. Included: A list of charities and a place to share personal stories.
And also, the 30 Day Giving Challenge - a place to find LOTS of ideas on ways to give this holiday season, including many suggestions for free ways to give.. ways that none of us have excuses not to do! Take part in Alyssa’s challenge to give something, somewhere every day in November (or what is left of it - there is still time to give!)
And last but not least, there are many bloggers who we may come across through our online busyness and browsing, bloggers like Ali @ My God Given Mission Field. Ali & her family are saving up for an adoption and have a very unique fundraiser going on right now. Ali has purchased a large puzzle. When someone sponsors a puzzle piece for five dollars, a puzzle piece (with the sponsors name on the back) is put into place. Once the whole puzzle is complete they will have the funds for the their adoption. Once the whole puzzle is complete, it will be framed and hung in their new adopted child’s room as a symbol. Isn’t that a beautiful idea?? It touched my heart when I first read it and it still gets me now.
What charities, ministries and organizations has God placed on your heart? Leave a comment in the comment section with a link, and a little bit about why it’s special to you or how you found it. If you know about other online resources like Christmas Change or the 30 Day Giving Challenge, or about other bloggers like Ali, tell us about those, too.
Proverbs 3:27 - Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.
This post is a part of the Classic Housewife One Year Bloggiversary Give-Thanks-Giving celebration.
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Give-Thanks-Giving: Favorite Holiday Recipes
Good food isn’t a requirement for good holiday celebrations…
Okay, yeah, it IS pretty important, isn’t it? You can enjoy your family time without it, but a delicious menu makes it even better!
I’m guessing we all have our favorite holiday “staple” recipe. That one that “it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving” without. My husband is pretty simple. As long as he has turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing he is happy. I like a little more to my Thanksgiving meal than bread and meat.
It should be obvious by my expanding waist line that dessert is included in my list!
It should come as no surprise that my great-grandmother’s cherry pie recipe is one of mine (and my family’s) favorites. And what a thought to think that this recipe has been in our family for so many generations!
Of course - they didn’t leave out all the calories and sugar either! And while I am all. for. making healthy versions for some foods, there are some things that just need to stay the same. Like my Nannie Dot’s cherry pie. Just sayin.’
This is one of my mom’s favorites too I’ll admit, it’s 2nd or 3rd on my list - my Nannie’s pecan pie is number one. Hands down. No contest. And though I *could* share that recipe with you, the cherry pie is the one that my mom requested for her birthday instead of a cake. The one that we made and took pictures of. =)
So without further ado, I present to you, the best cherry pie you have ever put in your mouth:
Nannie Dot’s Cherry Pie
1 cup sugar
2 heaping T flour
1 can red tart pitted cherries
2 crusts
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the liquid from the cherries with the sugar and the flour, set aside.
- Pour the cherries into the bottom pie crust; pour the liquid mixture over the cherries until covered (you may not use it all).
- Cover with a top crust, vented, or a lattice crust if you prefer.
- Bake @ 400 for 10 min, then 325 for 30 minutes (or until the top crust is golden brown.)
- Let cool til warm before eating so the filling can gel a little. Cut, serve, enjoy!
Of course, eating it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a MUST!
I took these two pictures the next morning after the pie was well-cooled. You can see this isn’t the kind of pie that is going to fall apart on your plate. It also isn’t artificially dyed red with tons of food coloring or over-the-top sweet with too much sugar, since you used the tart cherries instead of the cherry pie filling. The difference between the two is amazing, trust me!
My Nannie Dot (Dorothy) also had a pie crust recipe, and an ice cream maker. And we often made ice cream in the summer but sometimes during the holidays, too, to eat with all our warm pies. Is it just me or do the simpler, traditional recipes of the past just taste so much better??
You know what?? - Hubby has challenged me to make a holiday recipe book of my family’s best recipes handed down over the generations. He doesn’t think I will finish it, that’s what it is. My family has okay’d me using the recipes though, so I’ll just have to show HIM, huh?! I’m actually a lot farther on it than what he thinks. *snicker*
Another recipe that has been in my family since my childhood (I don’t know how long) is our Christmas Cocoa.
I don’t know why it’s called CHRISTMAS cocoa - we make it at the first sign of cold weather and keep it in the pantry all winter long. This recipe was actually my FIRST blog post at my previous blog and it moved over here when I merged my blogs at Classic Housewife. You can find that recipe here.
What’s your recipe (or recipes) that you just can’t live without this holiday season?
Won’t you share with us? Add your posts to the linky below and let us all “give” our best recipe posts a little linky love, and “give” each other some good and new recipes to try at home this year. Who knows? You could discover your new “must have” recipe that your grandchildren will be talking about generations from now. If you’d like to link up more than one recipe post, that is fine - the more the merrier! Add a link back here at the bottom and don’t forget to grab the button!
This post is a part of my Give-Thanks-Giving Bloggiversary! Check it out.
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Give-Thanks-Giving: The Challenge
What is your Thanksgiving celebration going to look like this year?
Will you travel? Will friends and family gather in your home? Will there be turkey or ham? Or both?! Close your eyes a moment and visualize it. Think about how you want it to happen, imagine enjoying the day’s festivities with joy and laughter.
If you can imagine these things, if this is what Thanksgiving dinner will look like for you, or anything like it,.. then you are blessed!! Stop right now and make a list of your blessings:
- I have a home.
- I have family nearby to gather with.
- I have a mother-in-law to cook a turkey because a.) I don’t like to and b.) the seal on my oven is damaged and I can’t. =
- I GET ALONG with my family! =)
- There will plenty of food on the table. Good food, because everybody can cook well. =)
- I have a car to get me back and forth to my mother-in-law’s house.
- I have the money for gas.
- Even if I had none of these things - I have my God, my Savior and how Wonderful that is!
What things are you blessed with? What things are you thankful for?
This is not a guilt trip, I’m not going to turn around now and say: “Now thing of all the people who don’t have those things and look how much YOU have!” It’s true there will be people that spend Thanksgiving alone, people who spend Thanksgiving homeless, and people who will celebrate Thanksgiving with very simple and sparse meals. There will also be some who are so burdened by their circumstances that they can’t find the joy to celebrate at all - they can’t list anything to be thankful for. But I don’t want to make you feel guilty for all the wonderful blessings you have. Quite the contrary!
We should rejoice in our blessings!
At the same time, we should be a blessing to others, allowing God to use us to share his love and blessings with others. And that my friends is my challenge to you this Thanksgiving. How can you show the love of Christ to someone in need this Thanksgiving?
- Can you take someone a turkey? Or a whole meal?
- Can you cook a turkey for someone who doesn’t have a working oven?
- Can you invite a friend to join your family, who doesn’t have family to celebrate?
- What can you do, particular to your own circumstance and blessings, to share your blessings with others, giving them cause to rejoice in Thanksgiving and praise our Savior for His wonderful blessings?
Before you think this is all about financial blessings, it isn’t. You don’t have to be financially abundant in order to serve others. There are times it makes it easier, yes. But money isn’t the end all and be all of God’s love. If you don’t have it in your budget (and you may not and that’s okay) to buy an extra turkey or an extra meal - then don’t! God wants us to be good stewards - and going in debt for charity is still going in debt!
There are other ways you can share the love of Christ this holiday season.
- You can institute a Thanksgiving potluck between your family and another family or two - each of you pitching in part of the meal.
- You can give of your time and serve in a soup kitchen, at a food pantry donation center, or something of that nature.
- You can even do something as simple as babysitting children for a friend so they can do their holiday grocery shopping or baking without interruptions.
- What other ways can you think of, in your life, to serve someone next week?
One simple act of kindness can make a world of difference to someone in need. And that dear ones, is what this challenge is really all about. This Thanksgiving, let us not just sit in our warm homes and enjoy our family and food and praise God for all the pie on the table and all the many other blessings he has bestowed upon us - though there is nothing wrong at all in doing any of those things! But this Thanksgiving let’s take it a step farther. Let’s break out of our warm bubbles for a little bit and go an extra mile for someone else. Can you do it? Are you up for it?
If you want to join me in my mission to Give Thanksgiving this year, I’m making a list, giving you the opportunity to say “I’m in this with you!” But a word of caution, I’m not asking you to boast or brag or fall prey to pride. No, no, no. I would never intentionally drag you into that sin. The bible cautions us against giving and proclaiming it loudly for all to see. I do want you to join the MckLinky and link to one of your posts. But what I’m asking you to do is to write your own post, encouraging others to give, linking back to this post, and giving examples of things you could do, or even what you want to do or did do. There is no harm in saying, “I’m taking a turkey to a friend.” I just want to caution you against using names or dollar amounts or that sort of thing. God knows those things. The internet doesn’t need to, right?
For me, I plan on taking a meal to a friend. I have to work the details out and should they all work out with her that is what I’m going to do this Thanksgiving to serve someone besides myself, to love them as God loves them. If it doesn’t work out with her, I am going to find someone else! What will you do? Are you with me?
This linky will stay open until midnight, November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving. If you can’t think of some way to give right off the bat, you’ve got time. In the meantime, you can also visit the 30 Day Giving Challenge at Alyssa’s for more giving ideas. (If you’re participating in that, you can even give for this challenge as one of your 30 days! And yeah, I asked her if it was okay to say that!) =)
Now go link up already!
This challenge is a part of my Give-Thanks-Giving Bloggiversary. Grab the button:
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Classic Housewife, Celebrating One Year With Give-Thanks-Giving!
It’s been a whole year!
It kind of seems odd to be celebrating one year, after I’ve been blogging for so long! Especially since this blog is the conglomeration of the the three previous blogs. However, one can’t really count those previous years, can they? So as much as it may seem like a step backward, it’s really a step forward! Happy anniversary, little blog!
Little did I realize as I was working on my new blog over the Thanksgiving holiday a year ago (Yes, I took my laptop to the turkey dinner at my mother-in-law’s house!) that from now on I’d be celebrating my bloggiversary at Thanksgiving the next year. I couldn’t have chosen a better time though! What better way to celebrate than with thanksgiving? For it is truly from God whom all blessings flow and though some may not count blogging as a blessing, I can be thankful that I have:
- two eyes to read
- two hands to write
- a brain that functions (most of the time!)
- this Macbook that was GIVEN to me us hubs
- a hubs who let me basically have the Macbook! (so you know, I can *use* it and he can learn to *fix* them. not a whole lot of *fixing* though!) =D
- a computer hubby to help with computer work on the “backup” desktop, internet & html help, etc.
- a hubby who loves me despite my blogging hobby!
- the luxury of internet
- and also for the many Christian friendships, connections and resources that I have found through blogging - though none of those things replace building strong Christian friendships in real life or being in a strong Christian church, there are so many wonderful resources to be found online, like putting two (or two gajillion) heads together to find the best ideas, tips and encouragement.
On a sentimental note, thank you faithful readers for coming back day after day! I could *say* that I don’t write for the readers, but I’d be wrong. I write for myself, but also for you, to share things, to hopefully make you laugh, to build connections. Thanks!
Enough of that, let’s celebrate! I have five days of “festivities” planned for us. Today the giving challenge goes up. Each day a new piece of the party will go live. The itinerary is as follows:
Thursday: Give-Thanks-Giving Challenge
THE main part of this celebration! I’ll go over this again in more detail, but the basic idea is to find some way to serve a needy family this Thanksgiving, by taking a meal or inviting them to your own. There will be a linky for those who want to accept the challenge.
Click here to go to The Challenge.
Friday: Thanksgiving Recipe Exchange
Link up your favorite Thanksgiving (or Holiday) recipes. Tried and true, newly discovered and love at first bite, it doesn’t matter! There will be a McLinky for this also, so that you can link up to your own posts. I’ll be sharing my great-grandmother’s time-tested Cherry Pie recipe - the best ever!
Click here to visit the recipe exchange.
Saturday: Online Resources for Giving & Serving
That’s a whole lot more fun than what it sounds! I’ll be sharing some links to other blog posts and websites featuring amazing ways to give to others this holiday season in both small ways and large ways. There has been a lot of talk about giving in my little corner of the blogosphere and I want to tell you about them! There will also be a MckLinky for this, if you have a post about an opportunity to give, specifically or generally, that you would like to share.
Click here to go to this page.
Sunday: Fun Thanksgiving Resources
Resources for having a meaningful, fun and easy Thanksgiving celebration with your family. You know, the FUN stuff! =) Since this will go up on Sunday there will be no linky, no work for you, simply good resources for you to use in the upcoming Thanksgiving week.
Click here for tons of Thanksgiving fun!
Monday: The Finale - With a Gift
What would a party be without door prizes? But this party is about GIVING. So this isn’t going to be your typical big and flashy giveaway. No indeed. I’ll reveal the whole idea on Monday!
This link will take you to the GIVE-away.
As the posts go live, I’ll link to them here so that you can always come back to this page for naviagation. Don’t forget to grab a button to put in your sidebar or in a post conveniently telling all your readers about it. =)
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Christmas Change
My friends Seth & Amber Haines have done it again. That is, they have taken their love of Christ, their love for others and their convictions about Christmas and together (with I’m sure some additional help from some others) brought us their vision for Christmas and called it Christmas Change.
I’ll let this video speak for itself:
Christmas Change from Kujilana on Vimeo.
Also, visit Amber’s post about it, to find their fan page on Facebook, Twitter id and more, like this button:
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