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!**
We are pulling out all the Christmas decor and baking cookies tonight! Can’t wait to go get our tree this weekend! Hope I win 🙂
Christmas tunes, decorations up, advent calendar rolling, lots of family time, and baking in full force!
I love holiday crafts with my kids. We are busy bees making ornaments of all varieties for them to gift to our loved ones.
Got the Christmas music on in the background while I’ve started all my favorite holiday baking–pies, cookies and cakes!
We’re having our friends Christmas party tonight! White elephant gifts, of course.
Finishing a cute little homemade Christmas gift for my 6 year old granddaughter!
Today, I’m making Pipineer (a tiny Swedish cookie) and a huge batch of homemade, ready-to-use hot cocoa mix. My kiddos love hot cocoa every morning in darling Santa mugs!
Cute jars! I have been trying to listen to Christmas music to get me in the Holiday mood. So far it isn’t working very well, I might need to amp it up a bit!
I’m getting into the Christmas spirit by making felt Christmas trees with my class of 4th graders. They are going to give them to their parents!
We having doing the Elf on a shelf for our youngest….I think it will become a great tradition.
Watching the Muppets’ Christmas Carol does it for me every time!
we are teaching my 2 boys Christmas carols and making fresh bread to bring to the neighbors.
Christmas music, decorations, making treats (to eat and give away), reading Christmas stories with the kids…I love all the things we do as a family right now, it’s so easy to have the Christmas spirit about!
We finally have our tree up and now we’re listening to christmas music.
We have been listening to the old radio program “The Cinnamon Bear” every night!
Our cookie party is this week, so my house is COVERED in cookies because I do all my cookie baking the week before and whatever doesn’t get packed up and shipped out in boxes ends up as my cookie contribution to my cookie party. (My favorites are your Cadbury Egg Cookies w/ Hershey’s Mint Chocolate Chips – not Nestle’s green and black mix – has to be the Hershey’s ones!) There is nothing that gets you in the mood better than a cute little kid decorating sugar cookies – we go through a LOT of sprinkles around this time of the year!
P.S. I’ll buy you jam and send it to you if you’d like – you know I’m not a big scary man! 🙂
baking holiday goodies
We decorated the tree last night, I am finishing the inside decorations today, and we are listening to non-stop Christmas music. We will also be going out as a family caroling and delivering goodie plates to neighbors, friends, those that live alone. And if that doesn’t put me in the Christmas spirit, then I guess planning and carrying out the ward Christmas party should, right? Love those little jars of jam!
Getting into the holiday spirit by thinking about what Christmas treats I’ll be making for gifts.
I’m making my office nice and fat bc I am cooking up a storm and they’re my guinea pigs 🙂
Baking!
Two words: Sugar Cookies.
By making delicious holiday goodies and packing on the pounds…how else do people get ready for Christmas?
Getting into the Season by listening to Christmas music everywhere I go and baking like a crazy fool.
We pick out new christmas mugs every year. Then the night we set up the tree we drink hot chocolate in our new mugs
I am baking and making holiday decorations. I love that the kids are old enough to participate in making crafts and cookies!
Still not feeling the holiday spirit yet – this has been a very busy last few weeks working. I’m looking forward to spending time with family, and hopefully then I’ll start feeling a bit more like Christmas.
I’ve been reading about Christmas traditions in other countries lately! Also I’ve been shopping and preparing to go visit our families soon!
While i am suppose to be working, I am surfing the web for all kinds of fun Christmas traditions to start with our new daughter and doing some online shopping!!
We’ve just started making some homemade gifts for teachers today. What a fantastic giveaway! Thanks for the chance.