Christmas with Southern Living 2022, Reviewed

Ask anybody and they will tell you that I refuse to discuss Christmas until November. This business of putting Christmas items on display in August is wrong in so many ways.  That said, I have nothing against planning for Christmas in the month prior to November and, thanks to Southern Living’s new release in their Annual Christmas volume, Christmas with Southern Living 2022, I am doing that very thing.

Southern Living is known for quality, and it shines through in this festive volume. As usual, there are loads of ideas to inspire holiday cooking and decorating. If you’ve seen previous years volumes, then you are pretty much familiar with the format. Basically, that doesn’t change. But, I find there is comfort in familiarity. Southern Living is someone whom I know I can trust. I never hesitate to put my holiday parties in their hands, and my guests have yet to be disappointed. The first of the book is filled with inspiring ideas for holiday decorating. No matter what you celebrate, there are decorating ideas for you; no matter what your style, you will find something of interest here from colonial and early American to modern, outdoor dining, and bohemian. This section also includes tips on how to wrap gifts like a pro.The second half of the book is on dining that, equally, has something for everyone. I love that they included a section on “board dining.” They have gone way beyond simple charcuterie boards to include an Appalachian Breakfast Board, Creole Brunch Board, “Floribbean” Sunset Board, and Delta Dessert Board. All of the recipes to create these beautiful and delicious looking boards are included.If you like to celebrate the holidays with game night, they’ve got you covered. If Christmas dinner or brunch is more your style, they’ve got you covered too, with recipes that are simple, or more complex, depending upon your skill level and amount of time that you are willing to delegate.Now for the recipes. My favorite part of Christmas is the cookies. I don’t bake them, mind you, I leave that for my aunt, but in this book, I have found quite a few recipes to send to her including my very favorite Iced Sugar Cookies, Pecan Cookies, and Peppermint Pinwheels. Honestly, I could swoon…or slip into a sugar coma. A fun chapter in this book is called “Snacktastic.” It features a variety of fun homemade goodies like Rosemary Bacon Nut Mix, Smoked Gouda Shortbread, Zesty Parmesan Popcorn, Crispy Potato Chips with Caviar, and more.

One of my favorite things about this book is the holiday planner at the back. It is extensive, well thought out, and begins with a planning calendar for November. There is a decorating planner, grocery store list, party planners, gift lists, a place for memories, simple things that you can buy at the grocery store to yield beautiful and fragrant holiday decorations, and a space to plan for next year. I am also a fan of the indexes. You would be surprised at the number of new cookbooks that don’t have one, much less two. This book has a general index, and a recipe index. They’ve won me over with this aspect.

  I get this book every year, and I think this one is my favorite. Pick one up for yourself and see if you don’t agree.

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Southern Living Christmas 2022 from Abrams Books as a participant in their Abrams Dinner Party Program for 2022-2023.

Tablescape Fun

Here is a little eye candy to inspire your holiday table this season. These photos were taken at one of my favorite local shops, The White Hare. They always have such beautiful things, cleverly displayed, and so inviting, that I routinely leave that place with a bag in my hand whether I need anything or not.

One time when I went solely to look at the decorated tables. I took a friend along, and she commented on how impractical these tables were, adding that it would be impossible to actually dine at one of them. That’s true, but that’s not the point. For me, my decorated table is as much a part of my holiday decor as is the lighted garland, figures of Santa, rows of holiday cards, and Christmas tree.

When it comes time to serve a meal, a number of these things are removed. I just like having a pretty table to look at all season long because it cheers me and puts me in the holiday spirit.

Perhaps one of these table settings will do the same for you. If nothing else, they are certainly holiday eye candy. 

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

The Sherlock Holmes Tree

For the first time in 25 years I’ve put up my Sherlock Holmes tree. When I was married to my first husband, we had a large house with a guest room that was done in a Sherlock Holmes theme. Among the things in that room was my miniature re-creation of Holmes’s sitting room at 221B Baker Street, on top of which, every December, I would erect a small tree, and cover it with Sherlock Holmes theme ornaments.

I always enjoyed that tree, and was amazed at how many Sherlock Holmes ornaments I had. When the word got out that I liked Sherlock, people would make me, or scour the earth for, Sherlock Holmes ornaments to add. So, this tree has a lot of history to it.

 It felt so good to put it up this year. The house I lived in with Mr. O-P was too small to have a place for it. So, for the time we spent at that house, the ornaments, and my miniature Baker Street were stored away. It did good things to my soul to get everything out this year. And, as long as I am in an upright position, that Sherlock Holmes tree is going to go up every year.

In fact, I already have plans to make some ornaments of my own to add to the tree next year, and share with others of like mind.

The Sherlock Holmes ornaments are easy to recognize, although some ornaments may not make obvious sense to those who don't know the Sherlock Holmes stories well.

The red bicycle, for example, is to represent The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist.

The goose represents the lone Christmas story in the canon The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.

The old man (who is really Ebenezer Scrooge), reminded me so much of Sherlock playing the old bookseller in The Adventure of the Empty House, that I had to take it off of my Dickens tree and put him on my Sherlock tree. I like him here.

I don't as yet have a hound of the Baskervilles, but I do have a pipe (though not a calabash), and I need to add a Persian slipper. This tree is going to grow in years to come, not in size but in volume.

 For those of you who are as passionate about things as I am about Sherlock, you might consider having your own themed tree. They’re a lot of fun to put together, and always draw lots of comments and interest from family and friends.

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What Does your Christmas Tree Say about You?

It's time to put up the Christmas tree again and, is it just me, or did those months roll around really quickly? It seems like only yesterday that I was planting seeds and waiting with great anticipation to see them sprout. 

As I was getting out the ornaments and other holiday tree embellishments, I was struck by how much the decorated tree has become such a representation of my life and interests. This made me wonder just what trees say about the people who decorate them.

Family is very important to me.

 I am a lover of travel.

I'm a reader of mysteries and avid fan of Sherlock Holmes.

I'm a bit of an Anglophile.
A fan of mail art and decorative stamps, I also like Charles Dickens and “A Christmas Carol.”

I love music, used to be a brass player, and majored in music for a while.

I love the pomp and circumstance surrounding the English hunt.

A new addition last year, I had to pay homage to “Downton Abbey.”

The next time you are decorating your tree, stand back and take a good look. What does your tree say about you? Let me know in a comment below.

  

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