Nativity Christmas Story Trail Mix

I was browsing the Internet for a brief devotional for the Ladies' Christmas Cookie Swap at my church this Friday night when I came across a Nativity Christmas Story Trail Mix at www.ahundredaffections.com.  The Trail Mix ingredients and scriptures that accompany them are downloadable on a Christmassy card for free at the website.

I decided to use it at the cookie swap by displaying a jar at each table as a sample for the ladies to see.  They make a nice hostess gift during the holidays or a small gift for friends, neighbors, or a shut-in you don't exchange gifts with. They're also a great way of witnessing to non-believers about the true meaning of Christmas in a non-threatening way.  I have a hair appointment tomorrow and am taking one to my beautician, and on Thursday I'm having lunch with six of my high school girlfriends and will give a jar to each of them.

Below is what my dining table looked like after I shopped for all the supplies today.  It was quite an endeavor and took most of the day.

I bought the 16 oz. Ball canning jars at Walmart [12 for $12.97]  I also got the Hershey Hugs, caramel popcorn, miniature marshmallows, miniature pretzel twists, and honey roasted almonds there too.  I don't particularly care for dates so I left them out.  ;-)

The Buffalo Check fabric [1/2 yard] and jute string came from Hobby Lobby.  I went to eight different stores searching for mini 3 Musketeers candy bars and called a few more candy stores when I got home, but had no success.  Amazon had them but they wouldn't arrive by Friday, so I had to use the fun size 3 Musketeers instead.  Since they're larger, only one will fit in the jar.  I used Hershey gold nuggets for the gold wrapped chocolates.  The chocolate stars came from Dollar General and were another item I had to search for.  Whatever happened to bagged Brach's candy in stores? 

The trick is not to eat the supplies while assembling the jars!  Below is what the front of the jar looks like after it's assembled.

View from the back.  The ingredients are layered in the order printed on the card.

The next thing on the agenda is to make my four dozen cookies, but that's a project for another day.  I'll be sure to post pictures of the Cookie Swap afterwards.

Upton Tea Imports had a recipe for Milk Tea Magic that came through my Facebook feed today:  Steep 2-3 teaspoons of black tea leaves in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.  Remove leaves and stir in a large dollop of sweetened condensed milk.  Enjoy it hot, or let cool and pour over ice.

Numi Organic Tea had a yummy looking tea latte that came through my Facebook feed today also, but they didn't provide any measurements/quantities.  It's made with their drinking chocolate [a new product], Numi aged Earl Grey tea bag, one candy cane and frothed Trader Joe's Coconut Almond Vanilla Cream.  The video looks like the drinking chocolate is put on the bottom of the cup [a tablespoon??], topped with the candy cane and tea bag.  Then hot water is added, and the top ingredient is frothed milk.  It sounds similar to a London Fog tea beverage.