OSU Extension: Gratitude…it’s for all seasons and all ages

Sharing your gratitude can be a welcome contrast to the emphasis on gifts that often comes with the holiday season. Studies have shown many benefits to practicing gratitude, such as improved mental health by increasing frequency of emotions of happiness, pride and contentment, and balancing out challenging emotions like anxiety and depression.

Expressing gratitude can lead to the way for hopeful possibilities, decisions, and actions. Practicing gratitude can benefit physical health as well, by engaging the part of your nervous system that helps you feel more relaxed. Expressing gratitude can bring people closer together and strengthen family relationships.

Fortunately, gratitude is a practice that can be cultivated in children. Here are several ways you can foster gratitude in children:

• Be a good example. Look for ways to demonstrate generosity and thankfulness. Offer a sincere thank you to a check-out clerk or someone who holds open the door for you. Include your children or grandchildren… tell them specifically why you are grateful for them and for the things they do, like putting away their shoes.

• Point out examples of generosity. Help children notice when others go the extra mile to be helpful. When we focus on the good, we are more thankful.

• Talk about those less fortunate. When children hear about others that don’t have as much, they learn to be more thankful for what they have. This might be an enjoyable time to teach them how to give back through charitable organizations.

• Build on a child’s strengths. Help children use their interests to show gratitude. If they are good at drawing, they could make a card for someone. If they like to bake, they could make something for a neighbor or community bake sale.

• Make gratitude part of your rituals. You can practice gratitude at bedtime or mealtime by asking a child to think of three good things every day.

However, you choose to foster gratitude, be consistent. Children learn by example. Practicing gratitude can bring families of all types together, build children’s sense of purpose, and improve mental and physical health for all involved.

“Gratitude and attitude are not challenges; they are choices.”– Robert Braathe

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”

-- from Winnie-the-Pooh (A.A. Milne)

Call to action: Consider ways you can teach gratitude by example. After showing appreciation to someone, discuss with the children in your life how you think that made the other person feel. Ask what ways they can show their gratitude to others.

Source: OSU Extension Family Consumer Science Gather Your Gratitude ChallengeSource: Shannon Carter, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Fairfield County, carter.413@osu.edu

Holiday cacti are fun to grow

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), and Easter cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri) are popular houseplants, often given as gifts during the holiday season. They are grown for their beautiful, exotic flowers.

Holiday cacti can be very long-lived. It is possible for these plants to live over 100 years, passed down from generation to generation. Although true cacti, these plants are native to rainforests.

Holiday cacti require good drainage and aeration for healthy root growth. Holiday cacti bloom best when kept somewhat pot-bound.Healthy plants may only need repotting every three years.

Recommended potting mix for holiday cacti:

• 1 part sterile potting soil

• 2 parts peat moss

• 1 part sharp/builder's sand or perlite

When watering your Holiday Cacti it is best to lace plants in a sink to drain when watering. Remove excess water from saucers and decorative pots. Excess water may result in dropping flower buds, wilting and root rot. Allow soil to dry out between watering.

Plants won't grow well in heavy, wet soils. Do not allow plants to sit in excess water after watering. After the plants have finished blooming, water less frequently, increasing again in spring or early summer when the plants resume more active growth.

Plan to Fertilize monthly June thru August with a balanced houseplant fertilizer at half-strength. In the fall when flower buds are forming, change to a fertilizer with low nitrogen (N), and high phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) formulation.Example: 0-15-10 (0% N, 15% P, 10% K)

Once flower buds have started to develop, holiday cacti do not like to be disturbed. Plants may drop buds due to drafts or sudden changes in temperature or humidity levels. Direction and the amount of sunlight they receive can result in dropping buds.

If the plants are to be put in a warmer room than the one in which the buds started, move them there as soon as the buds appear.As long as there is adequate light and a relatively cool night temperature, the flower buds should continue to develop normally. They will reward you with spectacular blossoms.

Tips for keeping your cut Christmas Tree alive

Does adding Aspirin, Preservative, 7-Up, Sugar help keep my Cut Christmas tree alive? The answer is no!! The main need for a real tree is WATER! Check and refill the water daily. A freshly cut tree can take up around a gallon of water every day.

Please note, when the tree stops taking water, it’s probably time to get it out of the house. If the tree begins to lose needle or the needles are brittle definitely remove it to reduce fire hazards. Recycle the tree. Many municipalities accept trees and will run them through a chipper to use as compost the following year.

The Problems with Baking in Canning Jars

While they may look like easy gifts to give, you don't want to give the gift of foodborne illness! Bread or cakes baked in canning jars, then applying the lid, can create a low-oxygen environment. This, combined with baked goods high in moisture and low in acid, can support the growth of botulism.

Canning jars are not designed to be used in the oven per manufacturer recommendations. Dry heat puts stress on the jars and can cause them to break. The best options? Use oven-safe baking pans for baked goods. Freeze baked goods for later use. Learn more at https://extension.psu.edu/food-preservation-setting-the… and https://www.clemson.edu/…/canning-tips/36cakes-breads.html

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Gratitude…it’s for all seasons and all ages