November 27, 2017

10 Things You Might Not Know You Need This Christmas

Happy Christmas season! 

But enough with the preliminaries. 


I know you've got a list a mile long and about two seconds to spend on this page. I'm honored you're here at all, so I'll try to make it worth your while in a hurry.



1. If you need an alphabetical assortment of stocking stuffer suggestions: try this joint-effort list my girl Lisa the Syncopated Mama and I put together last year.



2. If you need a festive-looking gelatin salad with no weird chunks of anything in it: this Cherry Applesauce Salad made with fruit juice and unsweetened applesauce and one surprise ingredient that I PROMISE works. But please know that if chunky molded salads are THE thing that makes your family's holiday complete, that's fine, too. My people just happen to prefer smooth, and this salad slips right down.


Cherry Applesauce Gelatin Salad {print}

1 3/4 cup water
2 packets plus 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (yes, this means you have to open three packets, but it really does make a big difference)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 12-oz can 100% juice apple-cherry frozen juice concentrate, thawed

Pour the water into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the surface; allow to stand for one minute to soften. Dump in the sugar and cinnamon candies and stir. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved and the candies are melted. Do not boil. Remove from heat and stir in the juice concentrate, followed by the applesauce. Pour into a pretty serving bowl and refrigerate several hours until set. Serves 6-8

3. If you need a festive holiday dessert you can make waaaayyy ahead of time (like, yesterday): Peppermint Crunch Oreo Ice Cream Cake


4. If you need a way to get Christmas tree sap off your hands: hand sanitzer. (Yes, really.)

5. If you need a new warm fuzzy Christmas song: Mathew West's "A Christmas To Believe In." Best get some tissues first.


6. If you need a beautiful Christmas quote to read out loud around the table or just ponder in your heart: This. All this. From "10 Gifts We Can Receive From God This Christmas," by Alicia Yoder

7. If you need a real-life way to stay close to Jesus this season (and in the new year and, well, forever): the Daily TruthBytes for Moms app. Short devotionals, words from the Word, prayer paths...all delivered right to your phone. No guilt, just good stuff from God from some moms who need it themselves and figure someone else might need it, too. If you're an Android user, just search "TruthBytes" in the app store; Apple users can follow this link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/572641451/daily-truthbytes-for-moms-devotional-app.

8. If you need gifts that encourage and facilitate hospitality, especially if you, like me, are (ahem) "hospitality deficient": a hospitality planner or hospitality calendar from my friend Sue over at Welcome Heart

9. If you need simply gorgeous free printable gift tags that would make a gift of a roll of toilet paper seem lavish: these from Write Them On My Heart

10. If you need to refocus on what--Who--the season is really all about: this CHRISTMAS acrostic. What a beautiful name it is.

{click here for a printable version}


What might I not know I need this Christmas? 
Tell me in a comment, or hop on over to Facebook and leave a message there. 
And thanks for spending a few moments of your busy holiday season here. 



**This post may have been shared at some of these blog link parties.**



32 comments:

  1. Love it, love it, love it! Love #5 and love #3 (must. make. now.) and will NOT hold the fact that you now share things like #7 against you. ;)

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    1. Aw, thank you, my stocking-stuffing sister! And thank you for the grace about #7. I'm still the same person I always was, just with a slightly upgraded phone. (See "teenagers" and "worry.") xoxo

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  2. Hi Elizabeth! What an awesome list of things I definitely need! I am honored to have my gift tags included. Thank you so much! And I can't wait to try the gelatin salad - sounds so yummy.

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    1. Thank YOU, Alyson...your gift tags are gifts in and of themselves! I'm so honored to have included them here. And I have to say, whenever my family sees that jello on the table, they get very, very happy. ;) Blessings on your Advent season!

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  3. Hey Elizabeth! Thanks so much for enlightening me with this post. I love the Christmas acrosacrostic! I can't wait to print it and display it around my home. Blessings!

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    1. Aw, thank you, sweet Tiffiney! I really love that acrostic myself...I try to pray names of God during my morning prayer and have been working my way through these during this new Advent season. Blessings to you, and may your Christmas be filled with fresh hopes and joys!

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  4. Your joint A-Z stocking stuffer list last year inspired me to make one myself! Thanks for sharing with us at Love to Learn; Pinned.

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    1. Ahh! Is your stocking stuffer post up yet? I want to see it! And thank you for the pin and, as always, for being such an amazing hostess at Love to Learn!

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  5. Excited to try #3. Love chocolate + peppermint. Visiting from Wonderful Wednesday party.

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    1. Thank you, Victoria! So nice to know a fellow member of the "yes to chocolate and mint" club! ;) Thanks so much for stopping by from #WonderfulWednesdays!

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  6. Wait, where's the cozy bed with fluffy pillows and thick freshly washed blankets? Didn't ya know you're gonna need it? Oh wait. Maybe it's just me. lol.

    I love this list. LOVE. IT. ALL.

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    1. Oh, my, YES to the bed and the pillows and the blankets! I'm just trying to resist their siren call at 7:19 in the morning. ;) Thanks so much for taking time to pop over here AND for sharing this! I need you in my life in every season. xoxo

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  7. I'm not so sure about the jello, but that ice cream cake...I'd eat half of it in one sitting! I love the Dove chocolates that are peppermint bark and dark chocolate. I haven't seen them in a store yet this year. I hope they still make them!

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    1. Shannon, you are SO right about those Doves. Thanks for reminding me to look for them ASAP! ;) Blessings on your Christmas season!

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  8. That ice cream cake looks amazing. I do love peppermint this time of the year! Thanks for the tip about tree sap and hand sanitizer! I didn't know that.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Hi, Lauren! Isn't that handy about the tree sap and hand sanitizer? I read that trick in a magazine a few years ago, and it is spot-on...it really works! ;) Thanks so much for taking time to stop by...may all the joys of this Christmas season be yours!

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  9. Love finding new ideas and different ideas for Christmas. Found you on Bloggers Pit Stop

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm so glad you did find me, especially in this busy season when we're always trying to find something: more time, that perfect gift, the cake plate we only use once a year... ;) Happy Christmas to you!

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  10. Great list, Elizabeth! That ice-cream cake looks delish!

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    1. Thank you, Dianne! I don't mean to brag, but it IS pretty "delish"! ;) Joy to your world this Christmas!

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  11. What a great list for this season! I love those gift tags. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth. And that peppermint chocolate crunch oreo cake is making my mouth water! Looks delicious and so festive too :).

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    1. Aw, thank you, Candace! Aren't those tags gorgeous? My mind could never conceive of them, so I'm so glad someone else's does...my brain spends its time thinking about things like that ice cream cake. In the end, I think we need both for Christmas, so it all works out. ;) Thank you so much for taking time during this busy season to drop by!

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  12. That peppermint ice cream cake looks AMAZING!!!

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    1. Thank you, Heather! I can tell you that it does have a 100% success rate of increasing peace and goodwill on earth as least as far as my family's corner of it is concerned. :) Joyous holidays to you!

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  13. Happy December! It's finally here! Thank you for sharing the Mathew West's "A Christmas To Believe In." I had never heard this song before. It's such a perfect song for this time of year. It's something I needed to hear today. Happy Holidays!

    - Natalie A.

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    1. Aw, thank you for telling me that, Natalie! Doesn't that song just GET you?! Seriously, I can't listen to it while I'm driving because tears end up clouding my vision. I mean, I turn into a total Christmas sap whenever I hear it. It just brings together all the pieces of Christmas that I hold closest to my heart and in my dreams. I'm so glad it blessed you, too. Happy Christmas season!

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  14. Grinning huge about that jello salad and the "chunks."
    My mum embalmed EVERYTHING in jello and called it a salad. A salad!!
    I'm going to miss her this Christmas, but not her jello. It sounds crazy, but thanks for bringing that memory to mind. I needed this laugh.

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    1. "Embalmed everything in jello"!! EMBALMED! LOL, Michele. Seriously, I will never think about gelatin salad without that mental link again. Thank YOU for providing me with a laugh in return for any I might have provided you. Happy December, my friend!

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  15. This post is so heart-warming! I read through it and I found I could use most of the things you listed: the Christmas song, the Christmas quotes, the gift tags, the refocus. And I'm pretty sure I'll need the other things during this season too. I'll be pinning this! Greetings from the Blogger's Pit Stop.

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    1. Aw, thank you so much! Thank you for the pin and for taking time to stop by and leave your lovely feedback! Joy to your world this Christmas!

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  16. Exactly the refocus I need today, especially #10. Thank you! And thanks for sharing at the This Is How We Roll Link Party.

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    1. Susan, thank you so much for that loveliest of compliments. I especially need #10 myself. And thank you for being such a gracious and faithful party hostess. This Is How We Roll is one of my very favorites. Blessings on all your December days!

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!