Christmas Gifts

Donation to NSU Foundation
Money

“Giving a gift of an education lasts forever,” Dottie Krzyzanoksi, executive director of NSU foundation.

Flower Pots
Small terracotta pots
Small rocks
Potting soil Seeds - flowers, herbs, etc.
Paints, brushes, glue, glitter, etc.

Paint and decorate the pots and their bases in with creative designs. Put a layer of rocks at the bottom of the pots so that the water can drain out of them. Fill the rest of the pot with soil leaving about a half of an inch of space at the top. Follow the directions on the seed packets and plant your seeds in the pots. Water the seeds and give them away!

Candy Bags
Candy (holiday candy, preferably in wrappers)
Christmas fabric
Ribbon
Scissors

Cut the fabric into a circle or a square about one foot in diameter. Place the fabric face down on a flat surface and put a generous handful of candy in the middle, make sure that there is some room around the edges of the cloth. Pull the edges of the cloth together to form a bag. Tie the ribbon around the top of the bag.

Necklaces
Durable thread or fishing line
Beads
Clasps

Thread the beads on the thread in interesting patterns. Make the necklaces different lengths. Let your friends pick out their favorite one!

Cookies in a Jar
dry cookie ingredients
jar
ribbon
wooden spoon
paper for baking instructions

Get your favorite recipe for cookies and then layer the ingredients in the jar. After that, add the lid, top with ribbon and wooden spoon, and add baking instructions.

Christmas Ornaments (Florence Deckert)
Cornstarch
Baking soda
Water
Food coloring
Paint or glitter
Modeling Clay:

Blend 1 cup cornstarch, 2 cups baking soda.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups cold water, food coloring (if desired)
Heat over medium burner on stove. Stir constantly until it reaches a doughlike consistency. Cool the clay and cover with a moist cloth until ready to use.
Roll out dough just like you would for Christmas cookies. Use cookie cutters for shapes. You can use glitter or candy sprinkles to decorate while still moist, if you wish to. Using a toothpick, make a hanging hole in the ornament. Allow to dry. Thread ribbon on string into the hole for hanging.
Once dry, you can paint, seal with lacquer and then leave as is!

Spicy Cup of Coffee (Florence Derkert)
Coffee filters (basket-type)
Ground coffee (a good dark roast)
Empty coffee mug (can be purchased for $1)
Ground cinnamon
Holiday ribbon
Gift cards

Take one filter and put two scoops (almost 1/4 cup) of ground coffee into filter. Add about 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon. Gather up ends with a holiday ribbon. This will make one pot of coffee. Place the bundle into the mug. Wrap the mug in the same manner as the coffee grounds using tissue or other wrap. Tie gift card into ribbon around top of package.

Fruit Basket (Linda Richards)
Fruit (bags of apples and oranges)
Cellophane (colored or plain)
Ribbon

Create your own fruit basket by wrapping two or three pieces of fruit in cellophane and then tie with ribbon.

Easy Recipes
Recipes submitted by Florence Deckert

Chocolate/Peanut Butter Confection Peanut Butter Balls
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, room temperature (can substitute margarine to reduce fat content)
1 teaspoon vanilla
16 ounce package of powdered sugar

Smash all together until mixed well. Chill 1/2 hour.

Chocolate coating
Melt together:
6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate baking chips
2 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Take peanut butter mixture from the refridgerator. Form into balls around 1/2 inch in diameter. Dip in chocolate covering completely. Set aside. Before chocolate is set you can garnish top of each, if desired, with walnut half, peanut, cherry or anything else goes good with combination!
When chocolate is set, you can put into small gift box or tin.

Carmel Corn
3 quarts of popped popcorn (about 16 cups)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup of white corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla Nuts - optional

Bring sugar, syrup, and butter to boil, stirring constantly. Boil (low) 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will turn a carmel color.
Turn off flame and add vanilla. Pour over popcorn (and nuts, if used) and mix well. Turn out on greased waxed paper or butcher paper until cool.
Best if made within a day or two of consumption/giving.

Inexpensive Gift Ideas
University Bookstore

Here are some inexpensive gift suggestions (gifts under $10.00) from the University Bookstore:

-NSU Golf Ball and Tees Gift Set ($5.95)
-NSU Golf Towel ($4.75)
-NSU Beanie Bear (Maroon or Gold w/ tshirt) ($7.95)
-NSU Ceramic Christmas Orniment ($8.50)
-NSU Glass Christmas Orniment ($5.95)
-Writing Journal ($7.70)
-Set of 2 NSU Wine Glasses ($9.90)
-NSU Glass Stein ($6.95)
-NSU Picture Snow Dome ($5.95)
-Dominoes Game ($7.95)
-Picture Frame ($9.95)
-NSU Stocking Hat ($9.95)

Also there will be a sale during buyback week, so students are likely to get an additional discount on all of the above items.

Christmas Sugar Plums - American Diabetes Association
Nancy Bertsch, Nutritionist

It’s the night before Christmas and visions of sugar plums may be dancing in your head, but what about the calories?

Holiday treats often have many calories, but they taste so good. With some simple substitutions, you can have your “sugar plums” and eat them too. When baking holiday sweets, you can reduce sugar in recipes by one fourth without changing the product. To increase the sweet taste, add more vanilla or cinnamon.

Favorite sweet candy? Choose a piece you really love and save it for an after meal splurge. Holiday cookies have few calories, if you only eat one, so plan how many of each kind you need to eat - then space them so you can enjoy each of them throughout the day or party.

When it comes to leaving Santa a treat, use the same rules - leave low-fat milk to offset the calories in Santa’s favorite treats. Leave dried or fresh fruit to provide a sweet taste and then leave just a few cookies to satisfy Santa’s holiday craving.

Christmas Open House

There will be a Christmas Open House for the Student Organization Offices (Room 207 in the Union) on December 13th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. People are encouraged to stop by anytime during those hours for a cookie and a cup of Christmas Cheer.

Pancake and Sausage Feed