December 2, 2007

Today is the first Sunday of Christian Advent, and the second advent Sunday if you have adapted it anticipation of winter solstice. Winter solstice is less than three weeks away.

Tips for the day

This weekend may be the ideal time to plan homemade gifts that need to be made ahead:

Pomanders are citrus fruits studded with cloves. They make beautiful natural ornaments. Small ones can be hung, larger ones grouped in bowls. If made ahead and dried in a fixative mixture of spices, they also make lasting sachets for closets or drawers, and the clove scent is said to repel moths! Basic pomander instructions

Some traditional homemade food gifts should also be made ahead, so they can age. Fruitcake for example (don't laugh till you've tried homemade!) Fruitcake recipe (makes several) from MarthaStewart.com

Or why not try homemade liqueurs? Some need standing time. Recipes from About.com

If that's not enough to get you started, Family Fun has a whole section devoted to A Homemade Christmas

Online shopping tip

The GreaterGood online stores for such sites as the Hunger Site, the Breast Cancer Site, the Animal Rescue Site, and others, have some wonderful ornaments made out of natural ingredients. Check these out:

Gold-dipped mistletoe

Metal-dipped maple leaf

Angels made from eucaplyptus seed pods

Peace dove gourd bell

Tip: You can choose which cause to support with your purchase of any of these ornaments. Also check out their Gifts that Give More.

A note about the commerce links on this site: Candlegrove is essentially non-commercial. In some cases, links from this site yield a small affiliate fee. Half of all funds generated by such links help sustain this site. The other half is donated to environmental organizations.