How to feed a hungry crowd at Christmas

 

 I'm a big proponent of planning ahead for any holiday, occasion or visit.  I'm always looking for ways to plan better and more intelligently.  

One of my favorite bloggers is Yvonne at Stonegable, and I have saved a ton of her ideas to share with you all.  Her post How to Feed a Hungry Crowd at Christmas is worth its weight in gold and could be easily adapted to feeding a crowd any time of year, especially when one has out-of-town guests staying in the home or nearby.  I intend to use some of Yvonne's ideas when we have family visiting for two weeks in August.  I think it could simplify things nicely.

I encourage you to read Yvonne's post for yourself, but I will share a few of her ideas that I gleaned.  A coffee bar to start the day, along with some pre-breakfast snacks and nibbles, sounds like a really good idea.  In a perfect world, one could adapt that idea for summer by making it a smoothie bar, but I don't have the space, the blender, or the wherewithal for that, so I would just use our existing coffee bar with its k-cups for coffee, hot chocolate, and spiced cider.  I can also make sure I have plenty of ice cubes prepared and ready for making any of these beverages iced.

This idea might work out very well during the family visit in that the snacks could tide us over till lunch, allowing us to bypass an actual breakfast on days we are headed to the beach or a car trip to a touristy destination.

For days at home when we might have a regular breakfast, we could make it a hearty brunch with meat, eggs, and potatoes, etc.  Then skip lunch and serve a midafternoon appetizer spread, maybe with iced tea or lemonade.

Yvonne suggests that Christmas supper be a meal in a bowl, maybe with sourdough bread on the side.  So for summer, I am thinking main-dish salads like macaroni with tuna, chicken salad, chef's salad, etc.  And also with sourdough bread on the side.  If we wanted dessert, it could be a cookie tray (my hubby is already baking and freezing cookies and fudge for the family's visit) and possibly some good ice cream.

Wow, I am so impressed by how this post has helped me to come up with some great ideas for our family's August visit.  I will talk these thoughts over with my local daughter, and we'll come up with some potential menus.

Hope Yvonne's ideas are useful to you as well!

A sweet little stocking stuffer idea

 

 This is a very little stocking stuffer idea indeed.  Raise your hand if you have ever heard of a needle threader.  Raise both hands if you have ever actually used a needle threader!

For years I couldn't figure out what those funny little items in purchased needlebooks might be. They sort of looked like flimsy metal coins with thin wires attached. 

Then I learned that they were needle threaders.   And you can buy them in packs of three.

At this point in my life I'm challenged enough by seeing to thread needles that I have actually used these on occasion.  And when I made sewing kits for young granddaughters, I made sure to include a pack of needle threaders.

This sweet needle threader made with felt and thin wire is a design from Wild Olive.  I think it is just so cute!  

Photo from Wild Olive

Mollie, the designer, did not specify the size of wire that she used in this project.  (It was a leftover from a craft kit.) So you might need to experiment a bit with different wire sizes.  I am also thinking that I might try sandwiching a purchased metal needle threader in between the felt pieces, leaving the wire loop exposed.  

Isn't this an adorable little project?  Felt and hand sewing projects are perfect for lazy summer days!  

Christmas in July!

 Yes, it's July again!  I have debated with myself quite a bit about whether or not to do my annual Christmas in July posts here in my Christmas kitchen.   Many years I have scheduled the posts ahead of time.  This year I'm just not getting much of that done,  but I've decided to go for Christmas in July anyway and see what happens.  

If all works out as I hope it will, there will be recipes, craft and gift ideas, things to make now for the holidays, Christmas fabric, maybe a poem or two and who knows what else?  It will be interesting to watch the posts fall into place.  Stay tuned!

Easing the door open ever so slightly

 

Actually, I really have no idea if I can do this daily Christmas in July posting this year or not.  But I'm attempting it.  Hence, the only partially opened door.  Stop by tomorrow, and we will see what the month brings from there.  I will do what I can ... because I really would miss Christmas in July!

Sweet log cabin plates

 

Observant readers may have noticed the edge of a plate in my last post -- the one about the winter cross stitch that I "framed" in a Mason jar -- and might have wondered about it.  These are actually plates that I got at the thrift store.  I probably paid no more than $2 apiece for them, probably less.  I did a little research on them and thought readers would enjoy hearing more about these pretty winter plates.

They are from a company called The Cellar and from what I can determine were sold at Macy's back in the day.   They were made in Italy in the 1990s and are hand painted.  I have no difficulty believing this, as the plates vary a good bit in color and just the overall look.  Even if one had a "set" of these, probably none of them would exactly match.

Though not all that old, these plates are technically vintage.  The pattern is called "Log Cabin Christmas" (though to me they are not all that Christmasy -- just wintry, and therefore more versatile).  You can see a good number of the other pieces in the set here at Replacements Ltd. where you can purchase a plate for $40.

You can find everything from plates, bowls, and mugs to salt & pepper shakers, cake pedestals, butter dishes, sugar bowls and creamers, and much, much more.  I especially fell in love with the teapot below:

 I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more pieces as I visit thrift and antique shops.

And there you have the intel on a very sweet thrift store find that I am so pleased with!

A wintry cross stitch finish

  This little stitchery, a freebie from Erin Elizabeth Designs, was one that I completed last winter but .had not figured out a finish for.  The design depicts a little snow globe, sort of a tallish shape.  I finally came up with the idea of displaying it in an upside down pint Mason jar -- and yesterday I took a few minutes to make it all work.

I pressed the cross stitch really well and trimmed it down a little and pressed all the raw edges to the back.  Then I rolled it up to make it fit in the jar.  I quickly saw that it was going to need something inside it to help it hold its shape and not collapse within the jar.  In my cardboard stash I found a white marble-look side panel from a tissue box.  I rolled it up, taped it together with packaging tape, and rolled the stitchery around it.  That made the difference and gave me just the look I was going for.

I'd thought I might glue a sparkly snowflake button or two to the lid of the jar, but I haven't done that yet.  I sort of like the plain look, but when I get it out next year I may decide it needs a sparkly snowflake.  Meanwhile, I'm loving this little finished project just as it is.

So happy to have completed this at last!

A sweet Christmas card for Rudolph Day

 

 Recently I came upon this sweet Christmas card front.  Usually with card fronts (after scanning them to use as graphics) I just add them to my stash of freebies to tuck in with Etsy orders.  I loved this one so much I decided to also blog about it -- and what better day than Rudolph Day to do so?

This is such a pretty winter country scene -- a classic red house in a snowy landscape with leafless trees, a clump of white birches, and plenty of glitter to add dimension and sparkle.  There's even a stack of firewood at the end of the house.  I would love to live in this house!

Then there's a split-rail fence and several red cardinals about.  Just a classic country scene.  The greeting reads "Christmas Greetings -- and warm wishes for your happiness always."

The back of the card front, though, carries a message that I loved and wanted to share with readers.

The text is sort of light so I'll share it here:

Meeting again at the
crossroads of the year
with memories of
happy hours gone by
and high hopes
for the year to be.

I love this thought -- meeting again at the crossroads of the year!  That may just sum up the reason why I continue to send Christmas cards -- to meet up, even if only via the mail, and check in with people with whom we share memories of happy hours gone by, people whose new years we have high hopes and prayers for.  This might be a sentiment I would add to a handmade Christmas card.  It would also be lovely as a sort of Christmas blessing to cross-stitch and display.

Anything seems possible on a Rudolph Day in March!