DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   Nothing quite celebrates the feeling of the Holiday season like an engrossing and wonderful book. Many stories have been written about Christmas and Santa Claus, but very few of those take the theme and make it into something truly special and important. Here are ten of the finest examples. Be sure to post your favorites in the comments. 10. The Greatest Story Ever Told Fulton Oursler    In this highly regarded 1949 account about the life of Jesus, Oursler imbued the New Testament gospels with life, embellishing them with descriptive detail, dialog and personality. The compelling fictionalized narrative remains faithful to the scriptures throughout. The author captures the essence of the compassionate, yet forceful Son of God and his mission amidst the political, religious and social turmoil of the early first century. This program’s messages are timeless and ever relevant and will have wide appeal. 9. The Polar Express Chris Van Allsburg

     Plum pudding or Christmas pudding , as it is more popularly known, has its origins in England. It is often served about Christmas time, or usually around Advent time. It has been a family tradition in many homes to have a "stir up Sunday", when each child is allowed to stir the pudding and make a wish. What is Plum Pudding?     It's almost black color comes from the heavy dried fruits that are used to make it. Traditionally, plum puddings are boiled or steamed using a pudding cloth and would sometimes have charms mixed inside them.  The charms may either be a silver coin, a silver thimble, anchor or ring which all stand for good things in life such as good luck, wealth, a happy marriage and a safe trip.     A plum pudding does not really have plums in it, but it is full of dried fruits and nuts,mixed with beef suet and citrus fruit juices or alcohol such as beer, rum or brandy. It is often dried out before it is served, as the longer it is allowed t

The Origins of Hogmanay   A guid New Year to ane an` a` and mony may ye see!    While New Year's Eve is celebrated around the world, the Scots have a long rich heritage associated with this event - and have their own name for it,  Hogmanay.    There are many theories about the derivation of the word "Hogmanay". The Scandinavian word for the feast preceding Yule was "Hoggo-nott" while the Flemish words (many have come into Scots) "hoog min dag" means "great love day". Hogmanay could also be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon, Haleg monath, Holy Month, or the Gaelic, oge maidne, new morning. But the most likely source seems to be the French. "Homme est né" or "Man is born" while in France the last day of the year when gifts were exchanged was "aguillaneuf" while in Normandy presents given at that time were "hoguignetes". Take your pick!    In Scotland a similar practice to that in N

How to: Make a texture roller  This project is instant gratification. Something that is not that common in the world of clay. With this texture roller, you can use it as soon as the hot glue has cooling, which is very fast. It’s a great project to do in a class, or on your own so you have a custom tool that no one else has. Supplies: a roller of some sort (cut up pieces of PVC, empty rolls of tape, couplings for PVC, plastic rolling pins from the dollar store or craft store). a sharpie. a hot glue gun. They only cost a couple of bucks. extra hot glue sticks. Draw your pattern onto the rolling pin. It’s easier to work out the pattern before with a Sharpie than it is later with the hot glue. Think about some sort of connected pattern, they tend to have the best results. And don’t go overboard with the lines, you’ll regret it later. And remember that the hot glue line aren’t going to be perfect, so just go with the imperfection. While you’re drawing, plug in your hot glu