Food & Fun

An All-Star Christmas

Make these snacks and crafts to remind your family of the Christmas star and Jesus’s invitation to “let your light so shine” (Matthew 5:16). Be sure to get an adult’s help.

illustrations of kids making star-shaped crafts

Illustrations by Brad Teare

One-of-a-Kind Star Ornaments

Every star is different, and every one of these ornaments will be unique too!

• Color craft sticks with markers or paint.

• Glue the craft sticks together to make a star shape.

• Decorate with beads, string, glitter, etc.

• Tie or glue a ribbon or string to the top of the star to hang your ornament.

Star Orange-aments

• Peel an orange, keeping as much of the peel in one piece as possible. (Save the fruit for the drinks on the next page.)

• Use a star cookie cutter to cut stars out of the peel.

• Make a small hole in the top of each star using a pin.

• Tie a loop of thread or twine through the hole to hang.

Over time, the peels will dry and curl a little, but they’ll still smell good!

Orange Hot Chocolate

Use a blender to mix 2 cups orange juice, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and 1 tablespoon flour. Empty into a saucepan and whisk over low heat. Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

Orange Cold Chocolate

Use a blender to mix 1 1/2 cups orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 1/2 cups ice.

Finnish Christmas Star Cookies

This is a version of a Christmas cookie from Finland called Joulutorttu. Traditionally it’s made with prune jam and ricotta cheese, but any flavor jam will do.

puff pastry dough (or premade crescent roll dough)

thick jam

one raw egg, beaten

1. Cut puff pastry dough into 3-inch (7.5-cm) squares.

2. In each square, make a short diagonal cut from each corner toward the middle of the square.

3. Put a spoonful of jam into the middle of each square. Fold every other corner of the pastry to the middle, on the jam.

4. Brush the corners and tops of the cookies with the egg.

5. Bake for 10–12 minutes at 425ºF (220ºC). Let the cookies cool for a few minutes before serving.