NOTE: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all of you who entered! The winners have been notified, and they are #464 (Natalie), #1151 (Wendy), and #1307 (Gloria). Y’all have 48 hours to respond before we pick new winners! 🙂
I have a confession for you all and I hope it’s not too shocking: I am not a fan of jam. Not a jam fan. I like homemade freezer jam because it basically tastes like sweetened fruit, but most jam is just too sweet and sickly and cooked fruit-ish for me. If you’re dying to know what I put on toast or peanut butter sandwiches, I like butter on toast and honey on my sandwiches. Am I weird?
Well, I thought I hated all regular jam until I went to Smucker’s last month and I got to try their Orchard’s Finest preserves (and then discovered, in a cruel twist of fate, that they don’t sell it where I live). Even the names are pretty–Pacific Mountain Strawberry and Coastal Valley Peach Apricot and North Woods Blueberry and Fall Harvest Cinnamon Apple. And the jars? 
Don’t even get me started on the jars. Y’all know how I feel about adorable jars and bottles.
I love this jam because not only does it taste fabulous, but it’s fancier than your average jar of jam, so it’s great for holiday entertaining or gift-giving. Instead of just handing someone a jar of jam (anyone remember the Gilmore Girls where Rory and Lorelai forgot to get Luke a present in Europe, so they brought him a jar of jam and he found it lame?), you could fill line a basket with a festive tea towel and then fill it fresh croissants or homemade rolls and then add a jar of jam with a ribbon on it.
Or you could make a plate of these cookies and deliver them with a jar of jam and a copy of the recipe.
If you’re having a party, you could serve up a plate of crackers and slices of crusty bread with some of your favorite cheeses and a few jars of jam. It’s elegant and easy and requires zero to little prep (which is totally what I need right now!)
Because it’s getting close to Christmas and because it’s Thursday (which has always been my favorite day…don’t ask…), we’re giving away 3, count ’em, three of the following gift baskets:
-6 jars of Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest preserves in a cute little crate
-A set of spreading tools (or something similar)
-$100 gift card to Cooking.com
To enter, leave us a comment telling us how you’re getting into the holiday spirit right now! You need to respond here on this post in the comments section, not through email or on Facebook or Twitter. The giveaway is a short one! It will end next Tuesday, December 13 and the winners will be announced on Wednesday morning.
**Thank you to all who entered! This giveaway is now closed!**
My daughter and I are going to see The Nutcracker this weekend. She’s only four, but she loves to dance, and has watched The Nutcracker on video. I hope she loves it as much as I think she will!
Listening to Pandora play the classics and watching my kids decorate our Christmas Tree.
Browsing for ideas for teacher Christmas gifts. I want it to be useful and not too expensive…
Christmas music while packing for my trip.
Packing up the kids and giving fresh baked artisan bread to the neighbors. Some jam would be awesome to go with the Christmas we are sharing! A good way to get into the spirit for our family is to gather our old coats and take them to the women’s shelter so they can see how giving makes a difference.
the usually baking and shopping, but I also have been buying new christmas cds for myself to increase the holiday magic in my home. 🙂
I turn on the tree every morning, turn on my favorite Christmas Pandora station, and light my spicy candle. I am not a candle person but Prego with 4 kids has the Scrooge in me fighting to get out.
At this moment i am prepping for the youth groups week 2 advent lesson on peace, but i have done a lot this week. I have watched christmas movies while cleaning and working on projects. I have also listened to a ton of christmas music.
Christmas is my favorite Holiday of the Year….so MERRY CHRISTMAS. I am in the season, I have my tree all decorated, my mantle, my kitchen and other things. So have a cherished holiday with your Family like I am going to do.
Oh man. And lorelai told the story about the jamstress. Hahaha. Im finishing up a christmas quilt for the holidays– and as my hubs LOVES brow ans crackers and jam, this would be rad.
making christmas treats!!
organizing the ‘giving tree’ for our church. it helps keep perspective when you know so many have so little.
Playing christmas music and getting ready for our Christmas trip to be with the family in Northern California…and wishing that I get to win this fun basket of goodies (esp. with the 13th being my birthday).
We’ve been opening a Christmas book a day. Just borrowed a bunch from the library and wrapped them up, and the little ones LOVE it.
We baked apple pies and took them to our local fire station to say “Merry Christmas and thank you for your sacrifice” to the fire fighters. Of course, the little tour of the station and fire truck were a nice treat to my son.
I’m planning my neighbor gifts. It’s so hard! I have about a million things I’d love to cook/bake and share with them. I also listen to Christmas music during my planning time at work.
I’m getting the house ready to host a Christmas cookie making party! Of course the house would be ready faster if the stomach flu would leave it already! Thanks!
I am doing lots of present wrapping and baking!
We are reading Christmas books and making Christmas crafts with the kids!
I’m doing Christmas advent activities with my kids every single day!
I actually did Christmas cards this year!! Yea for me. SOMEDAY I am actually going to win one of these giveaways, ha ha.
I’m getting into the holiday spirit by listening to “Now That is What I Call Christmas” mainly for the first cd with all the “old” Christmas songs. I love it! That and taking my kids to Santa Village to make merry and give to those in need.
My husband and I have been singing Christmas carols at the piano in the evening before going to bed. And I’ve been reading the book “The Spirit of Christmas” which is a compilation of short Christmas stories by several authors, one of whom is my mother, Cheryl Barker!
We do an advent-type of thing every night that includes a song, scripture, and poem or story. We also play holiday music on our internet radio station any moment we can!
Trying to teach the true meaning to our 2 year old, making fun candy and starting to get the decorations going!!
I am getting prepped for all of my holiday baking. I went out and bought cookie tins, gift tags, all of my baking ingredients and even sprung for a couple of silpat liners this year to make the process go as smoothly as possible.
We have the tree up and I am baking Christmas goodies!
I also wish jam didn’t have so much sugar. Although, one year my husband made some jam with sugarless pectin. I think my words about adding sugar to taste got lost in the rest of my instructions. So he didn’t put any sugar in the raspberry jam. It was soo sour!
Anyway, that jam sounds really good. We’ve been listening to lots of christmas music and enjoying our first real pine tree.
I’m getting into the holiday spirit by doing LOTS and LOTS of baking! One of my favorite things to do normally, but it just explodes this time of year.
And I remember that exact Gilmore Girls episode! Lorelai tried to make up some story about it being made by an illiterate French orphan – so great
Getting the neighbor gifts ready to send out!