re: 7 Steps to Stay Warm and Save Energy This Christmas

Almond — 12/25/2018 3:51:17 AM

I saved energy this year by not doing any holiday baking until today--just enough for Christmas Day as we do not need or want a lot of sweets. However, I MUST have a traditional German cake recipe--and it is not even chocolate.

I felt so overloaded this late fall and winter, that I would have panicked if I had to do Christmas shopping. (So many families told me they did not buy anything as prices were high and merchandise in stores was crappy.) I made most of my Christmas gifts earlier this year. Some from wood in our shop last winter and some from our garden this fall. I read that 28% of shoppers are still in debt from Christmas 2017 and I find that ridiculous. I find that homemade gifts get used, eaten and are much appreciated. More about next year below.

I write my Christmas letter (with photos) and keep it in a word file. I may only write a sentence or 2 every month, but by Christmas, when it is time to mail, it is composed.

Starting around mid Feb (?), it will be a good time to hit the resale stores. That is the rotational cycle for steep discounts. You can expect to find many brand new unwanted Christmas gifts, inc. kitchenware and clothing items. You can also find good old stuff that got discarded when people were gifted with trendier new stuff that probably will not hold up as well as the old stuff.

I am already thinking about gifts for next year since I will start some shop projects. When I make mason bee houses for our own orchard, I will also make an extra one for a friend who has only a few apple trees. I can build garden totes. Several people have already told me they want special food items. One person requested that we cut a Christmas tree for their family. I will also ask if there are any special requests for garden seed and save/package heirloom seed in pretty little homemade packets. I know it will be a busy summer, so I will try to plan ahead.

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