By By Beth Randall / lauderdale county 4-H director
Dec. 22, 2002
By now, you have hopefully completed your holiday shopping or gift making. If not, I have some last-minute ideas that won't blow your budget.
We often think that a really good gift must be expensive, when in reality just the opposite is true. The best gifts are those in which we give our time, energy, talents and skills.
Offer your time: Visit a shut-in, senior citizen or someone who lives alone. Offer to babysit for a family with small children. Provide transportation for errands and shopping for a dear friend.
Provide your energy: Wash and wax floors, refinish an old chair or clean cupboards for your mom or grandmother. Winterize windows or do yard work or shovel snow for your dad or grandfather.
Share your talents and skills: Be creative. Make a dried flower arrangement; sketch, paint, quilt or design a picture; prepare and share baked goods; volunteer to entertain at a charitable event; photograph a friend's child or pet.
Share your interests: Share your favorite music with a music lover. Give a new recipe idea to an avid food enthusiast. Share your gardening know-how with a neighbor. Take a friend's child on an outing.
I know how much I cherish those gifts that money can't buy. It really means a lot to get a hand made item or drawing or a homemade treat. Of course, all gifts made or purchased are special when they are gifts given from the heart.
We at the Lauderdale County Extension Service wish you and your family a safe and joyous holiday season. The Extension Service will be closed for the holidays Dec. 20 – Jan. 1. We look forward to serving you next year.
There is one matter of business that I want to share with you so you can start the new year by attending an Extension program!
A ServSafe Course will be offered Jan. 6 and 13 at the Multi-Purpose Building in Quitman. In 1997, Mississippi implemented a law that requires food service establishments to have at least one person certified in food safety.
The certification is good for five years. If you have been certified in the past, check to see if it is time to renew your certification. To obtain certification from this program, participants must complete 16 hours of training and pass a nationally standardized test. The cost of the course is $100, which includes the book.
If you are planning to participate in this course please call the Clarke County, Extension Office at 776-3951 or the Lauderdale County Extension Service at 482-9764 on Jan. 2.