I keep hearing people say Christmas is coming too fast this year. It is true that there were Christmas decorations in the stores even before we had gone trick-or-treating, but really Christmas is always on Dec. 25, so how can it come any sooner?
My family and friends think I spend months preparing my homemade Christmas gifts so don't tell them what I say in the rest of this article. One of my all-time favorite gifts to make is homemade Kahlua. I don't like Kahlua personally, but lots of my family and friends claim to be experts on the way Kahlua should taste so I am going to share with you, my secret recipe.
Lisa's homemade Kahlua
16 cups of good well water
1 1/2 cups Folgers instant coffee crystals
8 pounds brown sugar
2 1.75 Liter bottles of vodka
1 1.75 Liters bottle of brandy
4 teaspoons glycerin (ask your pharmacist)
1/4 cup real vanilla
Boil the water and sugar for 10 minutes, add coffee and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. When cool, add glycerin, vanilla, brandy and vodka. Bottle, cap and set for two months. Be sure to sample the left over. This recipe makes 25-16 ounce bottles. Remember to drink responsibly.
Another one of my all time favorite gifts is an oven mitt, 97 cents at one of our local markets. To it I add one brownie mix in a one gallon zip lock bag. I include directions for baking the brownies on the tag and I add M&M's or crushed Oreo cookies or walnuts. Be creative, it really only takes a minute to make.
You hear at white elephant parties how "it's all in the packaging." This year I am letting my daughter decorate brown paper lunch sacks to hold my gifts to loved ones in. I found some adorable inexpensive candy cane characters at Costco to tie to the top of the bags and they have tags now that peel and stick. It couldn't be any easier. How do you wrap presents in a unique way?
n Congratulations to Johnson Lane resident David Small. He went out fishing on Thanksgiving Day and brought home four, 4-pound rainbow trout for dinner. His secret is a gold Panther Martin lure.
n Piñon Hills Elementary School: If your child left a jacket, sweatshirt or lunch box, come claim it in the lost and found. On Dec. 22 all of the lost and found items will be donated to charity.
n Also the winter holiday concert "The Joy of Song" is set for Tuesday, Dec. 19. First through third grades assemble at 5:30 p.m. and fourth through sixth grades and band assemble at 6:30 p.m. I am looking forward to their beautiful singing.
n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
