A Jar Full Of Surprises

Tonight we had our Church women's meeting (The Relief Society). We focused on doing something we could give as gifts for Christmas. The committee had everything decorated in Christmas colors. It looked very festive! We do our Christmas meeting in November because we don't have one in December so it's not so busy for us to try and squeeze one more thing in during that crazy month. We made "gifts in a jar"..I'm sure everyone has made these before. We have too, but they are fun and easy and nice to give away. We are just a small branch here in Ohio. So to have about 25 women there is a great turnout for us. It's been a pretty crummy week for me. Challenges at work have been very depressing. I haven't been in the best of humor..just ask Donna (Starkey Hollow)! I wasn't looking as forward to this meeting as I should have been. I have a great committee that did an awesome job of organizing this. Food was prepared, ingredients assembled, and much planning and set up was done. I was grateful I didn't have to stress over this. I was even more grateful for the fun atmosphere that was there. A special feeling of love and friendship that surprised me and brought a smile to my face that wasn't there most of this week! So the real "gift in a jar" wasn't in the ingredients....it was in the air that made it into my heart. I'm glad I was there to enjoy it!
Before we put our gifts in a jar together we had a lite meal of soup, salad and bread and dessert. The salad (made by me) was refreshing and tastey...but I almost forgot to take any pics and when I did finally get around to it, most of the food was almost gone and everything looked sort of..well, almost gone! We also had bread and an assortment of desserts that were also part of what we were putting together in our jar gift project.
We had 2 soups for our gifts in a jar. We were able to sample each soup so we could have an idea of how they would taste. Both were really good. This pic looks funny because most of the soup was gone and it didn't make for a pretty picture! Trust me when I tell you that it was wonderful!
The tables were laid out with all the ingredients and note cards that gave the amount we would need for each step in filling our jars. Funnels, measuring cups and spoons and the finishing touches with material and ribbon were all ready for us.
The finished product looks very cute. It holds most of the ingredients that you need to make a soup or a dessert. But the real gift tonight was the gathering of women of all ages to share a lite meal, fun conversation, working together, laughing, and feeling a togetherness that uplifts us. The month of November encourages us to remember our blessings, and tonight I'm grateful for this small gathering of friends.