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⁠Holiday Story Prompt:⁠
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As Christmas gets closer it gets many people into a certain holiday mindset for good or ill. For many people it is not all a happy time of gifts and candy canes. Put yourself into the shoes of someone less fortunate and share your story of a small act of kindness that helped you through the holiday seasons.

Artistry and Coffee

Challenge Day 4:

I have done these for years for my family, but this time i am also doing one for the Artistry and Coffee Community. Check out the Video below… And Happy Holidays!!!

Challenge Day 3:

This should be an easy one, except when you do something more than the generic stack that you buy at your local Target or Wal-Mart. When you decide to do something a bit more personal, it can take some time and effort to get it right.

For my family this year we are doing our own once again and we are very late, we are taking some photos as is most common and then laying some wonderful designs along with it before getting them printed locally and shipped out.

Off to the design boards!!!

Having some creative holiday fun to create a keepsake item that can be enjoyed for years to come, this year we started creating a hand print tree skirt to mark the progress of our little ones year over year.

There are many ways that you can achieve a beautiful keepsake, so have fun and make it an enjoyable activity for the whole family. Are there other keepsake projects that you have in mind? Feel free to call them out and share.

Challenge Day 1 Activity:

Choose a friend or family member or several that you feel gratitude for especially in the current environment of this year. We all have worry and stress, dealing with the pandemic and the ramifications of the changes our society is going through, but we need to take a moment and appreciate the silver linings where we can. So take some time away from those wonderfully engaging shows that we all love to binge watch and sit down with a legitimate pen and paper, and find your own words to express appreciation for those that have supported you this year and/or have made a difference in your life.

Some tips to get you started:

1. Write as though you are addressing the person directly.
2. Don’t worry about perfect grammar or spelling.
3. Describe in specific terms what this person did, why you are grateful to this person, and how this person’s behavior affected your life. Try to be as concrete as possible.
4. Describe what you are doing in your life now and how you often remember his or her efforts.
5. Try to keep your letter to roughly one page (approximately 300 words).

Keeping safe during delivery is also important, sending the letter by mail instead of hand delivering it, or better yet, schedule a video call and read it to them directly so that they can hear the details directly from your own mouth is a great way to express that gratitude. It will do wonders for both you and the recipient.

It is key to note that this is different from just writing a simple “Thank you” note or letter. Being grateful is about appreciating what one has, as opposed to what one wants, while thanking someone, you are acknowledging your thanks for something that has been given to you.