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The Man Who Kept Christmas

Once there was a man who so enjoyed the spirit of Christmas that he decided to keep it always. So he put it in a large jar and set it on the mantelpiece, where it gave a lovely glow all through the Christmas season.

Soon after, however, there was quite a to-do, what with packing away the lights and ornaments and the manger scene, and getting the tree out of the house without it shedding too many needles.

Somewhere along the line, the jar with the Christmas spirit disappeared, and no one seemed to know where it had gone.

Months later, when rummaging about the attic, the man discovered the jar once more; and he was shocked to find the glow was gone. All gone! All that remained was a small, hard, black clinker that rattled thinly as he shook it.

The man brought the jar downstairs and regarded it thoughtfully for a long time. Then, he decided to do something about it. Before he went to bed that night, he got a little brown paper bag and filled it with some odds and ends he hadn't used for months.

During the days that followed, he distributed these odds and ends as he went about his daily duties: A pinch of Good Cheer here; a wish of Good Will there; some Charity, some Thoughtfulness - some Love.

And lo! One night he came home to find his jar of Christmas spirit glowing brightly as ever, shedding its radiance throughout the home and into the dark night beyond.

And ever since, he has kept the spirit of Christmas glowing.

Reprinted from Dohbran's Inspire

Gifts & Other Goodies

Last week, we promised you some great gifts to make....

Cinnamon Ornaments

You will need:

3/4 cup applesauce
1 4.12 ounce bottle ground cinnamon

Mix together to form a stiff dough. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Make hole at top of ornaments on rack to dry. Let dry 1-2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally. Hang with decorative thread, ribbon or natural raffia. Makes 12-15 ornaments.

If you include a bottle of Cinnamon Oil (sold with the potpourri supplies), these can be refreshed throughout the year.

Reprinted from Helene's Place Site Ring

Lavender Ointment

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons beeswax
(look in the sewing supplies section, or try a health food store)
3 tablespoons cocoa butter
1 Vitamin E capsule
15 drops lavender essential oil

Combine the olive oil, beeswax and cocoa butter in a double boiler. Heat till melted, then remove from heat. Prick a hole in the Vitamin E capsule and add this and the lavender essential oil to the beeswax mixture, beating well. Pour into small jars or tins and cool before replacing the cover. Use for chapped skin, bruises, or other minor skin irritations. This is nice on dried feet, elbows or hands too.

Reprinted from Granny Moon's Morning Feast

Find recipes for more body-pampering treats in our Natural Cosmetics section

Gift in a Jar Recipe
White Hot Chocolate Mix

1 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Combine ingredients and place in a small decorative clear glass jar.

Attach a gift card with these instructions:

Combine 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/4 cup White Hot Chocolate Mix in a pan over medium heat. Whisk until the chocolate is melted.

Reprinted from Kitchen Crafts 'n' More

Find more tasty sweet treats in last year's 12-24-03 issue of The Cat's Meow and on our Recipes Page

Mackerel Cat Munchies

1/2 cup canned mackerel, drained
1 cup whole-grain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Brewer's yeast, optional

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the mackerel with a fork into tiny pieces. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop mixture by 1/4 teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350*F (175*C) for 8 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Reprinted from CooksRecipes.com

Find more easy kitty treats on our Cat Treats page

If you don't want to make your own gifts, you can buy the cutest cat stuff! See our Catmas Gift Guide

And, be sure to check out all the new eCards, Talking eCards, Screensavers, printable snailmail cards, and more on our FreeCard page!

Something Special... Because Some Gifts Should Be Shared

Every Day Is Christmas
Click ^^^^ To Enter

The Cat's Meow is becoming 2 sites!

Several weeks ago, our helpful friends at Bright Byte notified us that we'd outgrown our website. So, in order to serve you better, we decided to create 2 websites. Here's what you'll find in our new plan of organization:

www.the-cats-meow.com

www.online-thecatsmeow.com

• Backgrounds


• Emoticons


• Ezine & Website Tips & Resources


• Games & Trivia


• Free Music & Cat Sounds Downloads


• Webmaster Resources

Please visit both sites! Let us know if you have any problems finding your favorite pages!!!

Friday Cat Blogs

Felina, the hostess of The Cat's Meow's new Cat Blog?
(Move your mouse over her to play with Felina!)

Recently, it's become quite trendy to have a Friday Cat Blog, a sort of forum in which everyone shares pictures of their cats and interesting cat-related articles. We are thinking about having a Cat Blog at www.the-cats-meow.com. Although (as with any forum) you'd have to register to use it, it would be free, and would allow our community of subscribers to interact, and get to know each other while sharing stories, newsy tidbits, and pictures of our favorite furry friends.

Please let us know if you'd be interested in having a Cat Blog at The Cat's Meow

Find out more about the Cat Blogging trend at Carnival of Cats and The New York Times