From the December archives, part 2

 

Here's a second December archive post!  Because I have so many years worth of archives (I started this blog in 2007) I plan to do three archive posts this December, and will do three different ones for my Kitchen Table blog.  Today is the second installment here in my Christmas kitchen.

From December 2013 I selected a couple of fun posts: Oh, those Christmas magazines! and a Mini Pinterest Party that we had that December.

Lord, Bless the Cards We've Written is a lovely little poem from 2014.  Very inspiring.

From 2015, you might enjoy Five Favorite Festive Cookies, especially if you are looking for some last-minute cookie inspiration.

 

An Egg Casserole for Christmas Breakfast is the post I selected from the 2016 archives.  It's delicious and worth trying if you don't already have a traditional favorite.

From 2017, I chose two posts: Mulled Cranberry Orange Juice is a festive warm beverage we love.  And Does your Christmas season look a little different this year?  might be helpful reading for you or a friend for whom this is true.

And from 2018, here is a craft idea to make Glittery Little Trees which would look lovely with a display of glittery little putz houses.  While the grandkids were doing some crafting here, they came upon the stash of cut-open paper tubes I had saved to make these.  I quickly looked up the directions and Ari made one.  Sam took the basic instructions and made a tree, which he then wrapped with green yarn and decorated with gold cord.  He even made a stump for the tree out of another tube and wrapped it vertically with brown yarn.

Hope these ideas from the archives are helpful to you!

 

From the December archives, Part 1

 

 Sometimes it's fun to go back and do an archives post.  And I have never done December archive posts. ot seems, although I've done them for other months.  Because I have so many years worth of archives (I started this blog in 2007) I plan to do three archive posts this December, and will do three different ones for my Kitchen Table blog.  Today is the first installment here in my Christmas kitchen.

From December 2007-- Embellished work socks -- these were repurposed from my hubby's work socks and make beautiful decorative stockings to hang.  I also learned that I apparently had tried that Chocolate-Dipped Maple Logs recipe before, since I said in 2007 that I had some in the freezer.  The things we learn from the archives!

In December 2008, I apparently had the goal to post every day, but managed it only ten times.  This was the best and most informative post of the lot: How to make rag garlands.

Just for fun was a simple post from 2009 featuring a very whimsical vintage Christmas card. 

From December 2010 come Recipes to simplify the season -- soups and stews and one bread machine recipe.

Christmas Star dishcloths to crochet is a favorite pattern I posted about in 2011.  I've made loads of these over the years.

Lastly, from 2012, these Glittery paper ornaments were a fun project for me.   I did stars, snowflakes, crescent moons, bells, trees -- and they have held up amazingly well stored in fluctuating attic temperatures over the years.

So there you have it ... part 1 of my Christmas Kitchen archive posts for December!  Hope you find something here you'll enjoy!

And two more from the November archives

As promised, here are two more posts from the November archives!

Planning for Christmas baking is just a simple account of how I got a few supplies and ingredients into my pantry in preparation for baking Christmas cookies and other treats.  What you need will, of course, differ from what I need, as we no doubt have varying Christmas favorites.  But this post will hopefully offer you a bit of inspiration to begin your baking.

I didn't go into detail in that post, but just at the very least you will want to stock up on basics like flour, sugar, butter, and so on, and whatever special ingredients you use around the holidays.  Last week I bought pecans and walnuts, for example, and light corn syrup.  Things that I don't necessarily keep on hand all the time.  And it really helps to make a list of what cookies and other kitchen gifts you intend to make.  Locating the recipes for each one (easy for me since I keep them all in a Christmas binder) and looking them over helps with making a list of ingredients one needs to buy.

And then one more from the archives: A 1950s cookie recipe is for my mother's Date-Oatmeal Cookies, which she always included on her cookie trays for neighbors and friends.  They are very good and just the epitome of the 1950s Christmas cookie, being perfectly round, festive with dates and nuts, and with a candied cherry half centered on each.  I'm thinking I may bake a batch myself this year, just for old times' sake!

Two from the November archives

I went browsing through the November archives here in the Christmas kitchen, and found a total of four posts I'd like to share with you.  I thought I would share two of them today, and two more later in the week. 

 This is a perfect time to read Clearing the decks for Christmas preparations.  I just re-read it myself and was quite inspired.  This post will help you through this busy season with more simplicity and ease than you may be used to.

The joy of handcrafting for Christmas shares my heart for crafting handmade gifts.  Sadly, there will be very few this year.  Real life responsibilities have intervened to the point where I just can't fit in time for crafting in this season.  I do hope to make a few ornaments, perhaps.  And I'm praying that by the time I consider crafting gifts for next Christmas, my responsibilities will have lightened a good bit.  But, all that aside -- if you love crafting for Christmas too, you will enjoy this post.

In the next couple days, I'll be sharing my other two picks from the November archives.  One will help you simplify your cookie baking, and the other is a vintage recipe my mother always baked for her cookie trays.  See you then!

From the October archives here in the Christmas kitchen ..

In both of my blogs, I've been trying to do a couple posts from the archives each month.  In the process of trying to do so for October,  I've found that there were some Octobers when I didn't post here at all.  Shame on me!  The only excuse I can come up with is that October tends to be a busy month for us and a time when we often have traveled somewhere.  For whatever reason, there's a scarcity of posts in the October archives.

As a result, I only have a few links to share today.  Here goes:

From 2007, Easy Patchwork Coasters are a project I've made many times and referred to many times on both blogs.  They're not really patchwork, but look that way as a result of folding, stitching, and turning.  A project I highly recommend for using up smallish scraps of Christmas fabric!

This Advent Countdown project is one I did some years ago from a Gooseberry Patch Christmas book.  I actually made three of these.  It took some time but was a very rewarding project.

This post on Baking, Beverage, and Seasoning Mixes shares a link to a long list of such mixes.  I love giving these as part of a gift basket!

A fun little gift for a 1-year-old is fabric alphabet letters to play with and, as they get older, to spell out words.

And lastly, I blogged about a favorite kids' book from my own childhood: The Animals’ Merry Christmas!

Hope you've enjoyed this quick browse through the archives!

A couple more from the September archives

Just a couple more posts from the September archives!

I couldn't resist linking to our Mini Christmas in September from 2012.  Just a fun memory!

And then this one: Thinking Out Loud -- from last year, and still timely, especially for people like me who have a history of overextending themselves.  Due to my estate responsibilities, this is going to be another year of very few handmade gifts. 

Maybe these thoughts will be helpful to someone else!

A few posts from the September archives

Image from The Graphics Fairy

I guess I must not post very often in September on my Christmas blog, because there were not a lot of posts in the archives to choose from.  Still, here are a few, and I'll post a couple more of the links later in the week.  Today I want to focus on some handmade gifts that you could complete if you started in the next week or so.

Personalized Cookbooks make a wonderful gift and are great for any gift-giving occasion, not just Christmas.  Over time, these have become my standard wedding or shower gift.  It's an easy project, but is time-consuming.

Christmas Tea Towels are fun to make, and are nice gifts for your daughters or women friends, maybe even co-workers.  You know your friends' tastes.  I myself would always enjoy receiving a gift like this, as I would decorate with it even if I didn't use it to dry dishes!  A whole set of these would be a nice gift for a family member.

And then there are these Pillowcase Grocery Totes and a nifty way to present a set of them as a gift.  I made a set for each of my daughters one Christmas and have since made a set for myself.  They are handy for many uses, but always elicit favorable comments at the grocery store!

Have fun with these ideas!

A few posts from the August archives

Graphic from The Old Design Shop

Here are just a very few posts from the August archives here at my Christmas kitchen.  I suppose that, at least for the past few years when I've been doing Christmas in July, I have a good excuse for August being rather a lean month as far as postings are concerned. 

How I adapted the “Christmas in a Can” idea might give others some inspiration for gifts to help with a family's Christmas celebrating.

A dollar store find inspired me to make this Quote Journal for a friend.  If you can find a pretty, small blank book or journal, you might like to do the same.   Give her God’s Word in your handwriting is a post I found by Karen Ehman that presents a similar and very good idea for friends.

Candied Walnuts are a wonderful kitchen gift in their own right, but also great topping a salad of spring mix, dried cranberries or blueberries, and feta or blue cheese with a fruity vinaigrette.

Photo from Taste of Home

Have fun with these ideas!

From the May/June archives

Well, I never did get here to the Christmas kitchen to post any links to the May archives, as was my goal.  So I think I will put May and June links together in one post.  I haven't typically posted a lot in those months.  Recently I seem to have been saving most of my writing energy for Christmas in July posts. 

From the June 2010 archives, the following dish towel gift idea was fun to put together.

I simply love dish towels myself, and I love making them and embellishing them in various ways.  This is a nice gift for any time of year.

Same with this one from May 2013 -- Lego Sacks which are a very practical yet fun gift for kids and would be wonderful for a birthday or anytime.

Lego sack closed for storage

Lego sack opened for a play surface.  Just add Legos!

I've made quite a number of these, and they are so helpful for putting away the Legos when one is done playing with them for the moment.  Just pull the drawstrings to safely enclose the Legos, and hang it from a peg, doorknob or bedpost.  One of my granddaughters didn't think she needed a Lego sack, but when she saw how useful her brothers' sacks were, she changed her mind.

From May 2014, I chose Peppermint Brownies.  I said these were going on my tentative baking list for the coming Christmas, but of course I forgot. Hopefully for Christmas 2017!

Photo from Taste of Home

These look so good!

And lastly, from May 2016, Snowflakes on a Warm Day pictures some very unique vintage Christmas cards I recently found.

There are several more designs and they really are worth a look if you haven't seen them.

And that's it for this month's archive post!

From the April archives

I'm hoping to do a post every month this year looking back at the archives of my Christmas kitchen.  I started in March and anticipate that it will be as much fun for me going through my own archives, as I hope it will be for you, my readers.

Mrs. T's Christmas Kitchen began publishing in 2007, so here is a post from that very first April, concerning kitchen gifts remembered.  

When I was growing up, we both gave and received wonderful kitchen gifts at Christmas time.  This post tells about some of them and may inspire you for your own kitchen gifting this year.

As I look back over the archived posts, I see that April seems to be a pretty lean month for me as far as posting.  No April posts in 2008, 2009, or 2010.  In 2011, I had just two.  One was a Rudolph Day post and the other a quote.   Rather than send you to the archives for the quote, I will just share it here:

"No matter what the calendar tells us, somehow in a crafter's heart and hands it is ever 'a little bit of Christmas'."
~ Crafts'n' Things magazine, April 1993

Inspiring, don't you think?  And so true.  I made the above bow at another season entirely, in response to a "junk bow" challenge on a crafting forum, to use up bits and pieces of craft material leftovers.

For April 2012 I had only one post, another quote.  This one is from Cook & Tell, December 1982:

"Food, love, and remembrance are stars in the Christmas constellation.  In order of magnitude, love is star number one.  Without it, remembrance is only ritual, and food is mere sustenance."  -- Karyl Bannister

An important thought.  I have lost contact with Karyl, and wish I knew what has become of her.  She had a great deal of insight and wisdom as well as wonderful recipes and delightful wit.  I chose the photo below to illustrate that post because it pretty much says it all: a dear little cookbooklet with the title Best Loved Foods of Christmas.  I recall my mother bringing this out every year!

In 2013, I failed to post in April.  2014's lone post was this delightful Almond Chocolate Biscotti.

photo from Taste of Home

 I had intended to add this recipe to my 2014 baking list, but apparently that didn't get done.  Maybe I can add it to 2017's tentative list, as this festive biscotti recipe does look good.  It's made with a chocolate cake mix.

My only other April post was Best Wishes -- another vintage card,

which featured another card from the bundle sent me by my friend Ann in New Zealand.  See the linked post for exterior views of the card.


And thus ends my April archives post.  Methinks I need to do better about posting in April from here on out!  I do have many, many ideas for posts.  Just not enough time!