Secret Santa and Christmas Treats

Princess Five told me the other day that she wasn't feeling the Christmas Spirit. I suggested that she do some service to help her feel the "spirit" more. 

We had all those prizes left from our family bunko Thanksgiving party so I suggested that she do the "12 days of Christmas" for someone. She started to sort through the items and asked if she could do it for three people she knew. There were two girls at school that she thought it would be good to do the twelve days for as well as her best friend.

I started making our neighborhood gifts while she sorted out presents for different people. We also had two new families move into our area with young children so she sorted out gifts for them as well.

I finished making our Christmas treats and then bagged them and labeled them. Here is a link to the recipe that I use. 

I did add some new things this year. I put in crushed peppermint candy canes in the mint chocolate batch and then I added the round caramel bits in the butterscotch flavored mix. 

I made the mixes "gluten" free this year by taking out the pretzels that I normally add. With my thyroid problem, I am on a gluten free diet so I was happy that the mix is gluten free other than the pretzels but as you can see, I found other things to add to the mix. 

All the mixes came out great and I like the way they looked in the bags by layering the flavors. I purchase the gift bags after the holiday for the next year and Chex cereal always goes on sale before the holidays so that is a plus.

We then spent the rest of the night wrapping the presents for the "12 days" and put them all in bags and delivered them to the homes or schools where they would be needed. 

We asked the school the next morning to call the students to the office and to give them the "Gift" bag that had the 12 days of Christmas presents in them. I asked Princess Five if she felt more of the "Christmas Spirit" after doing the "12 Days" of Christmas for others, and she said she did. 

For her best friend, she just put one gift in her locker each day and several in on the last day of school. It was kind of a fun way to do it as her friend lives in a neighboring town. 
 
I learned a long time ago that if I don't feel the "Spirit of Christmas" that I need to do service. It seemed to work for Princess Five as well. 

We used to the 12 days of Christmas for a few families each year but with the surgery and travel last year and the crazy life with the wedding the year before over the holidays, we haven't been doing it. 

It was nice to get back into that routine this year. We are so blessed to have the means to share with others.