December Newsletter

Oreo Peppermint Bark

 Who doesn’t love a good sweet treat to go along with the holidays? I know I sure do! My favorite pastime is cooking and baking so I thought I’d share a handful of my favorite things to make during this time of the year. I hope you may try one out or even them all this holiday season!
Ingredients:
-10 mini candy canes, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
-12 Oreos, chopped (about 1 cup)
-1 cup milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)
-1.5 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions:
1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper
2. Add milk chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and spread flat. Sprinkle with chopped Oreos. Chill for 10 minutes.
3. Add white chocolate chips to a microwave safe boal and heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Pour over Oreos and spread to the edges of the milk chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped candy canes. chill until set, break into pieces and serve or package to give! Kirsten, UTVA Ambassador

The Christmas Stocking

There once was an old man who had three beautiful daughters. These three daughters all wanted to get married, but the family lacked the dowry needed to give to future husbands for the daughters. So one night; as St. Nicholas was passing by, he heard about the daughters’ obstacles from local villagers. St. Nicholas knew that the old man would not take charity, so he would have to help them in secret. While the family was asleep, he tossed three pouches of gold down the old man's chimney. These pouches landed in some stockings that were left out to dry. When the daughters awoke, they found the pouches and were overjoyed because they could then afford to marry. Holly, UTVA Ambassador

Helping Out for the Holidays

Have you ever seen the unprivileged in your community? Or have you wanted to help out somehow, but you didn’t know what you could do to help? I can tell you there are steps you can take to figure out how to help in your community. First, you could go to a search engine of your choice and just type in “community service” and the city you live in. This way, you can look at a wide variety of things that you could do that are near you. Second; if you don’t really know what exactly you want help out with, you could always make a simple donation. Here are some great websites where that option is available:
www.utahfoodbank.org 
www.utahhumane.org 
www.legacyinitiative.org
Trudi, UTVA Ambassador

Christmas Break Reading List

The Christmas season is getting closer, and the weather is getting colder. Who doesn’t like to sit by the window with a blanket while it is snowing and read a book? Here are some Christmas-themed books to read during the winter season:
* Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
* Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Chon and David Levithan
* The Sheik’s Ruby by Jennifer Moore
* The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
* Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis
* Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes
Keturah, UTVA Ambassador