Pizza Kits for Christmas

On top of all the Christmas baking and candy-making we did (sharing half of what we made with others), the girls and I put together 13 "Pizza Kits" to give away to our Amish neighbors, our preacher's family, and their Sunday School and missions teachers.

We were trying to come up with something different. Something that everyone in the family could enjoy. Who doesn't like pizza???

We hit the Dollar Tree (everything in the store is $1) and found everything we needed to complete each kit that would make two 12" pizzas. Each "kit" included two 12" round pizza pans, two packages of pizza crust mix (only 33-cents each), one jar of pizza sauce, one package of pepperoni, one container of Parmesan cheese, and one pizza cutter. We covered and kept each kit together with shower caps we also bought at the Dollar Tree (package of 8 for $1). Total cost per 8-piece kit: $6.78 (and a half-cent plus tax). Not bad for a gift that will feed a family!

We printed labels on our computer and taped them onto the shower cap. A bow would have been a nice touch, but honestly we didn't even think about it at the time. We had thought about buying pizza boxes to arrange the stuff in, but the pizza sauce jar was too wide to have shut the box. The shower caps worked great, allowing the people to see what the gift included. While they did fit snug, you can't, however turn the gift up on it's side or the heavy ingredients will fall out.

Two Parties and Community Service

Yesterday was a busy day for us...

After our school day, first stop was our reading club Christmas Party:

 

We left that party to meet students from our martial arts school to go to an assisted living facility. The academy had collected 642 pairs of socks to donate to two facilities in town. Half of the kids went to one while the other half went to this one. Maddy and Kenna enjoyed going around talking with the residents. The group sang a couple of Christmas songs for the residents, left 321 pairs of socks to be passed out to the residents, and then headed back to the martial arts school for a Nerf War party.

 This lady (seated, in wheelchair) just celebrated her 99th birthday!

 All the residents enjoyed the kids' songs, but this sweet lady was also clapping along.

 This dear man is a friend that I've known for years...

I used to teach a Bible Study class at the facility once a week.

 The martial arts kids singing to the residents.

The Nerf War began! There were around 30 (or more) kids and I have never seen so much foam ammo flying around. They divided into teams and had a line they could not cross. Safety glasses required. Maddy and Kenna had a blast!

Thinking that a birthday party in the backyard, with a supply of Nerf guns and ammo, and the kids would entertain themselves for hours!