Couples' Newsletter | December 2019- Christmas Edition
LoveNote2
The Newmans remind couples they are each others' perfect gift on Christmas Day and every day; offer Christmas gift ideas; remind couples to order their Christmas cards; share Christmas party ideas; share a Christmas cookie recipe; spotlight great Christmas songs and Christmas movies; suggest apps to remember during the holidays; and, share date ideas specific to Christmas.
Your Perfect Gift
Last week, in our quarterly newsletter, we talked about being best friends with your spouse. For this Christmas edition of the LoveNote2, we want to remind you that not only should your spouse be your best friend, but you should see him/her as your perfect gift from God; second, only to Christ, he/she is your best gift, your perfect gift. For the holidays we are searching the malls and Amazon and other online stores for the perfect gift for our loved ones. People are asking us what we want them to give us for Christmas. You have Jesus and you have your beautiful wife/your handsome husband…what else do you really need?

Sometimes when we are having a disagreement or going through a rocky period in our relationships, we find it hard to believe that our spouses are our perfect gift, but they are, and we must ‘receive’ them as such. Sometimes we forget that marriage is intended to help us mature emotionally and spiritually. We are supposed to refine, strengthen, sharpen one another. Our spouse is the sandpaper that God uses to smooth our rough edges; they are the instrument God uses to help us become who we were created to be. We miss this when we focus on our spouse’s flaws instead of focusing on fixing ourselves based on any feedback, we have received from them or others who love us.

At the Art of Marriage conference last week, we were reminded that when God created Eve, Adam ‘received’ her as his perfect gift. He didn’t know if she was going to be kind, trustworthy, respectful, or fun. But Adam knew that God created her for him. He knew God and he knew that God is good, therefore, he received Eve as God’s perfect gift for him. And, what are we supposed to do when we receive a perfect gift? We should say, “thank you”! Every day when we open our eyes to a new day, we should tell God and our spouses that we receive them as our perfect provision from God and we are thankful.

Here are a few ideas for things we could say to express our gratitude (say any/all that apply):

You are exactly who I needed. You are amazing! I am extremely grateful to God for sending me you. You are the best gift I’ve ever received. You are such a great friend. Thank you for: your generosity/your giving spirit, your support, your strength, your leadership, your dependability, your friendship, your tolerance/patience, your compromises and your sacrifices, your sense of humor/always making me laugh, your being a great parent for our children, your loving me in spite of my flaws, making me a better person, your faithfulness, being trustworthy, being so understanding and willing to communicate…

We are sure your spouse would appreciate hearing these words as much as they will appreciate receiving anything else you plan to do for them or get them for Christmas.

We wish you the merriest of Christmases!

In Love,

Paula and Sherman

 
Christmas Gift Ideas



  • Monogrammed Leather Air Pods Case
  • Personalized Men’s Wallet
  • Indoor Skydiving Lessons
  • Personalized Socks
  • The Official Beard Bib
  • New York Times Custom Football Book
  • Yeti- Rambler Lowball Cup
  • Ancestry DNA Test
  • Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones
  • Wireless Bluetooth Hat
  • Grilling Tool Set
  • Race a Ferrari
  • Make Your Own Hot Sauce Kit
  • Personalized Pocket Watch
  • Personalized Padded Bleacher Seat
  • Fitbit Wristband
  • The Art of Shaving Kit
  • Personalized Photo Collage Ties




  • Pop Instant Print Digital Camera
  •  Monthly subscription to Rocksbox (switch out jewelry)
  • Instant Pot (pressure cooker)
  • Heated Fleece Wrap
  • Personalized Spa Robe
  • Flexible Tablet Stand
  • Airfryer
  • Engraved lipstick case
  • Amazon Echo
  • Personalized Jewelry Box
  • Personalized Rhinestone Tumbler




Christmas Cards
It's not too late to send your Christmas cards. You have lots of options...ecards, boxed cards, personalized cards!



 
Minted:
 

 




 

Christmas Party?
It's not too late to plan a Christmas party.

Christmas Party Theme Ideas include:
  • Naughty or Nice
  • Dirty Santa/White Elephant
  • Gift Exchange Poem (Mr. Right)
  • Gift Wrapping Party
  • Ugly Sweater
  • Cookie Exchange Party
  • Santa’s Christmas Breakfast Party
  • Ornament Exchange Party
  • Christmas Caroling Party
  • A Musical Christmas
Christmas Cookie Recipe

Easy Christmas Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
 
 
Directions:

Cream butter and sugar in mixer bowl until light.

Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and blend well.
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add to creamed mixture and blend well.
Divide dough into 3 parts; wrap each snugly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to roll out.

Dust work surface and rolling pin with flour.
Roll out 1 piece of dough at a time to ⅛ inch thickness.

Cut with cookie cutters (press cutters into flour before using on dough).
Chill dough if necessary.

Place cookies on greased baking sheet.
Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles. Bake at 350 ℉ (180℃) F for 13 minutes, or until golden.

Cool on wire racks.

Christmas Songs Spotlight

  1. All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey
  2. This Christmas by Donnie Hathaway also by Chris Brown
  3. Please Come Home for Christmas by Aaron Neville also by Luther Vandross
  4. Someday at Christmas by Stevie Wonder and Andra Day
  5. Merry Christmas, Baby by Christina Aguilera
  6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland also by Luther Vandross
  7. I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Brian McKnight
  8. The Christmas Song by Whitney Houston
  9. Share Love by Boyz II Men
  10. Santa Baby by Faith Evans
  11. Give Love on Christmas Day by New Edition
  12. Baby It’s Cold Outside by Fantasia
  13. Silent Night by The Temptations also by Aretha Franklin
  14. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas by The Drifters
  15. O Christmas Tree by Aretha Franklin
Christmas Movies Spotlight

  1. The Perfect Holiday
  2. Last Holiday
  3. The Best Man- Holiday
  4. Holiday Heart
  5. Dear Secret Santa
  6. Almost Christmas
  7. Marry Me for Christmas
  8. The Perfect Gift
  9. Snowglobe
  10. Johnson Family Christmas Dinner
  11. A Baby for Christmas
  12. A Christmas Carol
  13. A Christmas Story
  14. Miracle on 34th Street
  15. Elf
Apps to Remember at Christmas

  • Timer- for cooking your turkey
  • No Time to Cook- recipes, shopping lists, tasks delegation
  • Evite, Punchbowl, or Paperless Post- invitations to Christmas party or Christmas dinner
  • Instacart- hire someone to grocery shop for you
  • Spotify- make a Christmas party playlist
  • Google Shopper- find gifts for your loved ones
  • Christmas Gift List (Android) and The Christmas List (iOS)- organizes your gift shopping list and budget/funds
  • Zaggle (iOS)- downloadable music for your party
  • Christmas Music Tree (Android)- free holiday music; let’s you make an 8-hour playlist
  • Christmas i-Card (iOS)- create a holiday card with your own photo

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Fun Things to Do

  • Make gingerbread houses
  • Matching pajama pants for everyone in the family
  • Christmas Eve luminaries for your street/neighborhood
Christmas Date Ideas

  • Black Nativity- November 9- December 3, 2019; December 14 - December 22, 2019 at the Barn Dinner Theater in Greensboro, NC- https://www.barndinner.com/
  • Carolina Youth Ballet’s Spectacular Nutcracker Ballet- Friday, November 22nd at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 23rd at 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • SiriusXM Presents The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s Christmas Rock Tour- Wednesday, November 27th at 7:30 p.m. at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC- https://www.dpacnc.com/
  • Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical- Friday, November 29th (2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and Saturday, November 30th (11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.), at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • A Snow White Christmas- Saturday, November 30th – Saturday, December 14th at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • The HipHop Nutcracker (Touring)- Saturday, November 30th at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC- https://www.dpacnc.com/
  • NC Symphony-Holiday Pops- Tuesday, December 10th at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill, NC- https://www.ncsymphony.org/events/237/holiday-pops/
  • Theater in the Park: A Christmas Carol- Wednesday, December 11th at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, December 18th at 7:00 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • NC Symphony-Holiday Pops- Saturday, December 14th at 3:00 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • A Christmas Carol- Wednesday, December 18th – Sunday, December 22nd at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham, NC- - https://www.dpacnc.com/
  • Theater Raleigh: Oh, What a (Holy) Night! - Thursday, December 19th at 8:00 p.m. at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
  • Carolina Ballet Presents: The Nutcracker- Wednesday, December 18th-Sunday, December 29th at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts, Raleigh, NC- https://www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com/
 
 
Additional Things to Do for Christmas:





Sherman and Paula Newman| 919-730-1107 | lovenote2@hotmail.com | NIFS website, www.newmanskillbuilding.com