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!**
I’m getting into the holiday spirit by shopping!! Even though we haven’t even begun decorating for Christmas yet, we have been busy shopping for our loved ones.
I am making candies and cookies – that will put on in the spirit fast!!
I’m preparing to host a Mother-Daughter Christmas Luncheon! Doing lots of baking and listening to Christmas music while preparing!!
Shopping, baking, and having guests over for dinner.
We are remodeling our kitchen, so my world is a mess right now!! I got the hubs to put up few lights outside anyway! I am listening to Christmas music to get me in the mood…..
I am loving our advent this year.
Nothing is better to get you in the mood for Christmas thana 5 year old son that is LOVING the season more than ever! Every bit of it to the tree, making gingerbread house and everyday looking for Chippey Elf! Tonight we start reading Christmas books under the Christmas tree!
Starting my cookie baking; human & furry! The dogs in my neighborhood LOVE me! And so do their “parents”!
I’m making peppermint bark rice krispy treats of course!
We are putting together a quick Christmas party / Open House before my son leaves for Brazil next week!
I made up some “Smell of Christmas” simmering potpouri. I love it it makes my whole house smell like Christmas!
Spending the days decorating our home, shopping for gifts and listening to Christmas music! So excited to celebrate the birth of the Christ-child!
My baking starts next week – Smuckers would fit right in! 🙂
Christmas carols fill the apartment and I am making a DIY cookie platter so I can fill it with fluffy sugar cookies to share with family and friends! 🙂
Watching Christmas movies with my 2 year old!
Our family is keeping things pretty simple this year so I have been doing extra community helping activities with my Camp Fire group and loving it. Nothing like a group of 5 to8 year old doing community service and making little gifts to give to those who need a pick me up!
We are getting the house decorated and in a day or two we are making holiday candy. This is something my husband loves to do(he discovered last year making candy is fun).
Once or twice a week (beginning last week) my boys and I are making a different kind of Christmas cookie together. We put half in the cookie jar and freeze the other half. The plan is to bring out our assortment of cookies on Christmas Eve! I decided to do this because every year I wish I had made more of a variety of Christmas cookies, or had not made them so early in the season (because we ate them all and then had none on Christmas!). It’s been really fun so far!
I take my grandkids and great granddaughters to an annual event in KC called Christmas at the Lake… and they have zillions of lighted displays all around the lake… our tradition is to take the kids reallly late soo we can drive really slowly and watch all the owls in the trees lite up and the “electric snowball fight that goes over the car… it is wonderful and that is the start of Christmas for us!!!
Baking holiday treats and putting into practice an attitude of gratitude 🙂
I am currently getting in the Christmas spirit by baking and constructing a gingerbread house, we do this every year and the girls love it!
Today I am adapting your candy corn sugar cookie recipe that I love, to make little candy cane cookies, which I will mail to my Air Force son who is deployed.
I am getting into the Christmas spirit by decorating the house with lights, setting up the tree and baking cookies and watching christmas movies with the little ones. Also just attended my daughters Holiday concert and that really put us all into the spirit of things.
Today I will send out my handmade Christmas cards to family and friends.
I’ve been making messes of cut-out cookies and construction paper nativity scenes with my 2-year old! And feeling very festive while listening to him constantly singing his rendition of the Little Drummer Boy 🙂
well .. the past few days I’ve been sick, so today I’ve been shopping on Amazon 🙂 but Sunday we took the kids to look at Christmas lights and this weekend I have making Christmas goodies on the to do list, hopefully it can get done.
Tree is up and cookies have been made! We have been reading the Christmas story with our kiddos and rehearsing for the church Christmas program.
Getting ready for the holiday spirit by; the music of course!! In the house, on the phone, & in the car!! Loving it! 🙂
I will be spending the weekend making some of my favorite holiday treats to share with everyoneI know! I am looking forward to my home being filled with the smells of Christmas baking!
I’m printing out a ton of holiday dessert recipes and getting my baking lists ready for the holidays!!
I’m getting into the holiday spirit by participating in lots of cookie exchanges!