Over the last several years I've given Glenn's children (and spouses) a "family" gift in addition to their individual items.
Last year one of them was a family move night theme. I learned everyone's favorite movie, candy and soft drink. Bought some of each of those and also included some amazing popcorn from the local Mennonite market, along with popping oil and assorted sprinkle-on flavored salts. I found a small quantity of tear-off "tickets" like the kind school fairs use and sprinkled them all through the treats and movies. As you might guess, the basket was quite large, especially since there were 6 family members.
This year that family is getting a games gift. Not electronic. Good old old-fashioned board games. I found a fantastic Christmas monopoly and added a traditional scrabble one and tucked in a copy of Polar Express for some holiday movie viewing. Not culinary like last year's but I think they'll have fun.
The three food-related gifts this year will be for Glenn's son and his family, for his other daughter and her family and for Glenn's elderly mother.
For the son, I made a hot chocolate basket with homemade hot cocoa mix, peppermint sticks for flavor and stirring, mini marshmallows, chocolate kisses (for added chocolate jolt), and mugs for all three of them. Big mugs for mommy and daddy and a smaller one for the little 3-year-old guy.
His mother is a regular coffee drinker so her basket includes a container of her favorite coffee, a canister of sugar, a canister of her favorite powdered creamer, and a cheery holiday mug.
His daughter (not the one who received the movie gift), will get all the fixins' for something she calls M&M soup. It is nothing more than lots of different kinds of M&Ms all mixed together and scooped when one needs an M&M "fix."
I found a cute M&M bucket-like container this summer at Goodwill that holds about a gallon of whatever and put that in the basket with a pretty little Lucite scooper...and a bag of each variety of M&Ms.
Last year one of them was a family move night theme. I learned everyone's favorite movie, candy and soft drink. Bought some of each of those and also included some amazing popcorn from the local Mennonite market, along with popping oil and assorted sprinkle-on flavored salts. I found a small quantity of tear-off "tickets" like the kind school fairs use and sprinkled them all through the treats and movies. As you might guess, the basket was quite large, especially since there were 6 family members.
This year that family is getting a games gift. Not electronic. Good old old-fashioned board games. I found a fantastic Christmas monopoly and added a traditional scrabble one and tucked in a copy of Polar Express for some holiday movie viewing. Not culinary like last year's but I think they'll have fun.
The three food-related gifts this year will be for Glenn's son and his family, for his other daughter and her family and for Glenn's elderly mother.
For the son, I made a hot chocolate basket with homemade hot cocoa mix, peppermint sticks for flavor and stirring, mini marshmallows, chocolate kisses (for added chocolate jolt), and mugs for all three of them. Big mugs for mommy and daddy and a smaller one for the little 3-year-old guy.
His mother is a regular coffee drinker so her basket includes a container of her favorite coffee, a canister of sugar, a canister of her favorite powdered creamer, and a cheery holiday mug.
His daughter (not the one who received the movie gift), will get all the fixins' for something she calls M&M soup. It is nothing more than lots of different kinds of M&Ms all mixed together and scooped when one needs an M&M "fix."
I found a cute M&M bucket-like container this summer at Goodwill that holds about a gallon of whatever and put that in the basket with a pretty little Lucite scooper...and a bag of each variety of M&Ms.
