“Christmas Workshop,” Friend, Dec. 1980, inside front cover–1, 8–9, 26–27, 33, 38–39

Christmas Workshop

Coconut Christmas Trees

(Make day before serving)

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup light cream

3 cups flaked coconut

1 (6-ounce) package chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

tiny cinnamon candies

Heat butter until melted. Gradually stir in sugar, cream, and coconut.
Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto waxed paper. Cool, shape into a cone, and then refrigerate.
Over hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate with shortening until smooth. Dip top of each cone into chocolate. Place on waxed paper to set.
Decorate with tiny cinnamon candies. Makes about 2 dozen.

Ribbon Squares

You will need: two or three colors of satin ribbon in 7/8″ and 5/8″ widths, ruler, pencil, fusible interfacing, scissors, felt, glue, and an iron.

Cut a 4″ square from fusible interfacing. Plan the arrangement of the ribbons on square before cutting (see illustration). First, cut ribbons for outer edges, then cut inside ribbons. Set iron on warm and use tip to tack ribbons in place on square. Working from outside to center, tuck raw edges under strips that are already in place. When all ribbons are arranged, iron on low permanent press setting and place iron over square, holding for ten seconds.

Make loop of ribbon for hanging and glue to back of interfacing. Cut 4″ square of felt and glue over interfacing and loop.

Yarn Keeper

By Jane K. Priewe

If you have friends who like to knit or crochet, give them holders to keep their yarn clean and untangled. For thick yarn rolled into balls, you’ll need an empty oatmeal box for your holder. A skein of thinner yarn will fit perfectly inside a clean potato chip or tennis ball can. Poke a hole in the lid large enough to easily pull the yarn through. Cover the container with paint or contact paper or colored felt.

Rosy Grape Jelly Gift

2 cups cranberry juice

3/4 cup grape juice

1 (1 3/4-ounce) package powdered fruit pectin

3 1/4 cups sugar

Wash eight 4 1/2-ounce baby food jars in hot soapy water, rinse, and dry.
Mix juices and pectin in saucepan until pectin is dissolved. Heat to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar all at once. Heat to boiling and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and quickly skim off bubbles. Ask someone older to pour jelly into jars.
Let jars stand 1 hour; then cover with lids. Refrigerate. (Jelly will keep 3 weeks in refrigerator or 6 months in freezer.)

Nutty Peppermint Brittle

1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs

1 cup finely crushed peppermint candies or candy canes

6 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

1 cup nuts, chopped coarse

In bowl mix crumbs and crushed candies. Add butter and toss until well mixed.
Stir in nuts.
Spread mixture evenly in greased 10″ x 15″ jelly roll pan and press firmly.
Bake in 375° oven 10–12 minutes or until melted and bubbly.
Cool completely, then break into pieces. Store in open container.

Appliance-Cord Holder

To help keep kitchen drawers orderly, cover a 4″ length of cardboard tube with construction paper and glue in place. Then cut a design from contrasting colors and glue on as a decoration. Cover finished holder with a piece of plastic kitchen wrap. Loose appliance cords aren’t so messy when each is stored in its own holder.

Popcorn Treats

4 cups salted popcorn

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

red and green gumdrops, cut in pieces

Place popcorn in large bowl and keep warm in 300° oven.
In small saucepan stir sugar, syrup, and butter over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking without stirring until candy thermometer registers 254° (hard ball stage).
Slowly pour hot syrup on popcorn, tossing well with wooden spoon to coat kernels evenly.
With a spoon quickly shape popcorn on foil into holiday shapes such as wreathes, stars, bells, circles, etc., or use large open cookie cutters. Cool and unmold.
Decorate with gumdrop pieces while still slightly sticky.
Wrap each treat separately in plastic wrap and store in cool place.

Honey Delights

3 cups white bread crumbs

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons honey

1 (16-ounce) package chocolate chips

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
Spread mixture in greased baking pan and bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes.
Cut into bars while warm and remove from pan before completely cooled to prevent sticking.

Pull Toy

By Beverly Glazier

You will need: sturdy cardboard tube or can approximately 3 1/4″ in diameter and 8 1/2″ long, felt-tip markers, 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of white paper, glue, clear glossy acrylic spray, and 3 1/2′ length of yarn.

Draw a repetitive design of various shapes on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper and color it. Allow for 1/2″ overlap when paper wraps around roll. You might try a rainbow spectrum of colors for a nice blur of color when toy is pulled along floor.

To apply paper to roll, put an even coat of glue on paper, then smooth it onto roll. Spray paper evenly with acrylic spray for protection.

After roll dries, make ends for the tube of anything that will fit such as widemouthed canning jar lids, plastic lids, or heavy cardboard discs. Thread yarn through tube, leaving equal lengths at each end. Poke hole in middle of end pieces and pull yarn through holes. Glue one end piece to one end of tube. Partly fill tube with old blocks, loose jingle bells, rocks—anything that will make noise. Glue the other end piece in place. Tie ends of yarn together.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

By Beverly Glazier

Here are some ideas for decorating packages that will save you money and add a warm, personal touch.

First, obtain some inexpensive paper—brown wrapping paper, butcher paper, or web press paper roll ends from a large printing company.

Now make printing stamps from either gum erasers or potatoes. Trace your design on the potato half or eraser with a ball-point pen then carve away the excess rubber or potato so that your design is 1/4″ higher than the rest of the material.

Try to keep your stamp designs simple and easy to cut. Small bold shapes and symbols are best—stars, hearts, bells, Christmas trees, birds, etc. You might try looking at some cookie cutters for ideas to get you started. Also, you can use the eraser at the end of a pencil for making polka dot patterns or bell clappers.

Use a water-base paint to print the designs on the paper. Tempera or acrylics are probably best because the design will not run if the paper happens to get wet. Spread a little paint on a palette or piece of cardboard, dip stamp in it, and stamp on paper. The paint will dry quickly. Make repetitive designs in straight or diagonal lines, or print designs in groups of three or more. A background pattern can be made with polka dots, different stamps, or different colors. Wash your stamp clean before printing a new color.

Younger children may like to try coloring their own wrapping paper with crayons or colored felt-tip pens and pencils.

Final decorating touches are what give your packages sparkle. Cut your own ribbons out of scrap materials with pinking shears, or use rickrack or even brown mailing string. Make a ribbon by painting a long strip of paper. After paint dries, print the words of a Christmas carol in colored pencil or paint, or imprint your stamp design in white on the painted ribbon.

To make stand-up bow as shown on star package, crease your ribbon, make a loop and crease again, then make another loop and crease, and tape bottom creased edges of loops together.

Gift cards can be cut out of paper you’ve printed or painted. Then you can add some little extras to complete your decoration—pinecones, salt dough ornaments, sugar cookies, straw flowers, small candy canes, jingle bells, etc. Using your imagination, you can wrap beautiful packages to put under your Christmas tree this year!

Snowy Sugar Bubbles

You will need: 3 egg whites, 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, food coloring, 6 balloons, string, waxed paper, spoon, wire, ornament hangers.

Blow up 6 small round balloons to about 3″ in diameter and knot open ends. If balloon leaks air, the ornament will crack. Tie 6″ piece of string to each balloon and snip off short end close to knot.

Put egg whites in bowl, add unsifted powdered sugar, and mix with rotary beater or wire whisk until smoothly blended and no lumps remain. Suspend or hold balloon over bowl and spoon icing over it, but do not coat balloon knot. Keep balloon over bowl until most of the excess icing has dripped off. Remove any droplets from bottom of ornament with spoon. Suspend balloon over waxed paper to dry.

After icing dries (about 2 hours), repeat process three more times; between coats keep unused icing covered at room temperature. The first icing coat is quite fragile so, in making second coat, ladle on only small amounts of icing at a time, holding spoon close to but not touching the ball. If an ornament breaks, wash off icing, dry balloon, and start again.

Tint remaining icing with food coloring for decorative touches. Divide icing into small batches for separate colors. For additional icing, mix 1 egg white and 1 cup unsifted powdered sugar.

Drizzle colored icing onto balls, or paint on decoration. For sparkly effect, sprinkle slightly damp decorated area with granulated sugar or colored sugar crystals.

Let snowy sugar bubbles dry at room temperature for 24 hours or until firm to the touch. Don’t try to hasten drying by placing balls near heat or they may crack.

Untie ornaments and gently jiggle knot of balloon to loosen from icing shell. Pierce balloon with a needle in several places next to knot to release air. When deflated, gently twist and pull out balloon.

To make a holder for each ball, bend 4″ strips of wire and insert in opening. Then hang by ornament hanger or ribbon.

Snowy sugar bubbles are surprisingly durable and will last for years, although colors will fade. If hung where humidity is quite high (such as close to a window where condensation forms), they may soften or even drip; so you might want to protect floors beneath them. Also, if tree lights touch an ornament, the heat may crack or scorch it.

Christmas Riddles

After answering each riddle, you will find that the first letter of each answer will spell a happy season.

Whose birth do we celebrate at Christmas?
What has shiny, pointed leaves and lots of red berries?
Whose nose lights the way for Santa’s sleigh?
In winter an ______ hangs from the roof.
A ______ ornament is placed high on the tree.
What brings joy to good girls and boys?
What plant suggests a holiday kiss?
A heavenly messenger.
A _______ is hung to receive Christmas goodies.

Answers:

Cross-Stick Boomerang

You will need: 8 1/2″ square lightweight cardboard, ruler, pencil, scissors, and felt-tip pens or poster paints.

On cardboard draw a cross for the wings (1″ wide) as shown and cut out. Give each wing a slight curve by bending upward with fingers about 2″ from each end, but do not bend enough to break or crease cardboard. Decorate boomerang with felt-tip pens or poster paints.

It might be helpful to include these instructions: Hold boomerang between thumb and forefinger and turn wrist back. Now throw by snapping the wrist forward quickly as you release it so that it spins forward and increases its spinning motion. The boomerang will sail a few feet, rise, turn, and glide back into your hands.

Hardware Picture

You will need: piece of unfinished cedar or redwood, hardware (washers, nails, tacks, spikes, etc.), hammer, and pencil.

With rough wood and assorted hardware, you can hammer together a good-looking picture. Trace or draw a simple design on wood. Then hammer in different sizes and types of hardware to outline design. If it is hung outdoors, the picture will improve with the weather. In time, ungalvanized nails rust, galvanized remain a dull gray.

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney

Photo by Eldon Linschoten