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Possibly one of my favorite posts to research is this one, where I find awesome Nativities for those of you who love to collect them and add them to your Christmas display. I can't possible compete with some of the people I know who have literally thousands of beautiful, cute and memorable nativities. I have a few and I know that it is impractical for me to get many more and have to store them somewhere. But, I sure do love to look at them and admire the beauty of the way the beautiful story of the birth of the Savior is depicted by many artists.
Let's start with this beautiful one from Peru. It is so simple, sweet and humble. This one reminds me of one that I have, gifted to me by my daughter and SIL from Ecuador. I love it!
Since my son was a missionary in Africa, I found a couple of Nativities from that continent. I didn't find a set specifically from the Ivory Coast where he served, but the styles I'm seeing in these still remind me of the things he brought home from there.
This first one is from Uganda. I love the brightly colored fabrics! 
This next one is from Machakos, East Africa and is made from banana fiber. If you look closely, you will see how intricate the work is on it.
Finding a Nativity carved from olive wood isn't very unusual, but this set is particularly beautiful. I love the natural element of the cave, which will be different for each piece, making each set unique. But, be aware that each piece of the set is priced individually!
Finally, besides Nativities, I also love Advent calendars. I posted about those this year already! So, If I have a chance to combine an Advent Calendar with a Nativity, that is real Christmas Joy! That is why I fell in love with this Nativity Advent set when I saw it!
 
Those are my 2023 favorites this year! I hope you see one that speaks to you.
I'm super excited about our upcoming women's group activity at church in December! We are having everyone bring their favorite Nativity so that we can have a display of them for everyone to see and admire. I think I've decided which one I will bring, or maybe two, and I can't wait to see what everyone one else shares!
Past Nativity Posts:
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This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.  Charcuterie Boards continue to be the rage and for good reason! There is a lot of good finger food on them and they look so inviting and appetizing! Madalynn is particularly good at arranging a beautiful charcuterie board. Last Mother's Day, she surprised me with this one when I walked in the door from church.  She built it on my huge wooden cutting board. It was so beautiful and tasty! Madalynn and I were talking the other day about what a great gift a charcuterie board is. It doesn't have to be expensive either. Maddy had the idea that if you made one on a round board, it could look like a wreath for the holidays. Plus, not only is the food on the board a nice gift, the cutting board itself is a gift that lasts. I was able to find this nice round board on Amazon that isn't so large that the price to fill it would be outrageous, but held plenty to snack on and the board itself is very nice and not too expensive. It is only $13.99!  Filling the Board: Meats and cheeses are the most common and popular way to fill a board. We were having a family party that we made this charcuterie board for. (I bought the stuff, Maddy arranged it!) I bought:
 I purchased everything at my local grocery store and looked for what was on sale or marked down. It was very reasonable. You could also choose dips over the brie and some spinach or other veggies as dippers. Other ideas for boards could include: cookies or other sweets and desserts.  Imagine something like this on your round platter!  How about a Hot Cocoa Bar Charcuterie? You can even include Hot Cocoa Bombs along with extra marshmallows, sprinkles, cookies (Tim Tams!), whipped cream, chocolate bits, candy canes, cute mugs, chocolate spoons...the list goes on.  Who to Gift Charcuterie Boards To:
How to Put a Charcuterie Board Together? My best advice is to look at some of the pictures above and more online to get ideas on how to arrange the meats, veggies, and condiments. Just try to achieve a balance visually and have plenty of variety of colors and textures to make the board pleasing to the eye.
When giving a charcuterie board as a gift, be sure to keep it covered with plastic and refrigerated until you are ready to give it! And beware, because once you make a beautiful charcuterie, you will be the popular guest at the party! Enjoy! Don't Forget These Ideas:
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.  I have been sharing handmade gift ideas with you lately. I've been pretty busy and productive making these and these for family, neighbors and friends as I prepare for Christmas this year. Making things myself really helps to put me in the Christmas Spirit! Another very popular gift I'm working on this year are a couple of recipes for gifts in a jar. With grocery prices being so high this year, I feel like some food gifts will be appreciated by many and I have found and come up with some great recipes! Plus, I've found efficient, quick ways to pack and seal them so that making up a bunch of these gifts is a snap! First, I'll start with a couple of recipes! One uses a quart jar and one uses pint jars.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.  I've been noticing that there are a lot of crafts and ornaments made with vintage sheet music around the internet this year. Another trend are the ornaments that have the names that Jesus Christ is known by throughout the scriptures. I love both of these trends and decided it would be great to combine them into one style of ornament. I love keep Christ in Christmas and this a beautiful reminder of Him that can hang on the tree the entire season.
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to fifteen! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! 
Click this link and visit 3WinksDesignShop on Etsy. Find our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, our For the Love of PIe e-book and more of our creations!
 
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April 2025
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