I have been thinking about Christmas lately. Someone I know started a countdown and keeps telling me how many days till Christmas. Annoying friends aside, it is going to creep up on us all too soon. For many people Christmas while it may be a happy time with family and friends, it is also an expensive time. Every year Christmas seems to get more and more commercial and further and further away from that happy time of year of giving and receiving of oneself, not of one’s bank balance.

So, let’s turn this Christmas around and do some good old-fashioned DIY and make gifts that don’t cost the earth but are full of love. One idea is Christmas muesli. For me, this means adding dried cranberries (craisins) to my usual blend.   Then take that Christmas muesli blend and put it into a nice jar that can be repurposed as a storage jar after the muesli has been eaten. Dress it up with a nice label, or a bow and you have a lovely, thoughtful gift.

This is a good DIY project for someone that doesn’t have a lot of time. It is really simple, and the ingredients are readily available. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 cuts rolled oats
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup craisins

Instructions

• Mix all of your ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Using a wide mouth jar funnel, pour the mixture into a decorative jar.

• Label the jar and decorate it for Christmas anyway you want.

This muesli is easy to make and inexpensive. At the same time, it shows that you care enough to make the effort and think outside the box.

A big part of my enjoyment of Christmas is making other people happy. I don’t do this by spending money on them. I do this by creating meaningful gifts that show my love. I do this by creating meaningful gifts that show my love, something that is priceless.

As always, live well.