Product Description
Enjoy the simple pleasures of a country Christmas. Brimming with new ideas, Farmhouse Christmas has old-fashioned recipes like country chicken pie, golden mashed potatoes, hearty beef brisket and sugar cream pie. Learn to make Grandma's hug quilt, share yummy gift mixes from your pantry and create homespun giftwrap. Filled with charming illustrations...it's a classic. Hardcover, 224 pages. (9-1/4" x 6-1/2") ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another Great Book wtih all the Holiday Trimmings!
Farmhouse Christmas is another great Gooseberry Patch Book filled with charming memories and excellent recipes sure to warm your heart and feed your tummy!

Learn how to make Oatmeal Molasses Bread, Sugar Cream Pie, and Country-Style Ribs or Mom's Chicken & Dressing!

Those of you who are not familiar with Gooseberry Patch, will be charmed by the stories, illustrations and suggestions for healthy and happy living put together by country friends, Vickie and Joann!

Farmhouse Christmas is another excellent volume in the Gooseberry Patch collection.

Great Ideas to Make a Christmas You'll Remember
This book is wonderful....reading it is like talking to a good friend about holiday traditions.There are ideas for homemade gifts such as pancake mix, cookies in a jar, ornaments, and keepsakes.The recipes sounddelicious and include items like an edible cookie bowl, Granny's Pot Roast,Caramel Apple Crisp, and Snickerdoodles.Build a fire, grab some hotcocoa, make some homemade gifts, and cook up some warm food for yourfamily....this one is a hit! ... Read more

Product Description
'The Spirit' is back and it's bigger and better than ever, with more Christmas concepts for making the holidays bright and beguiling. The 17th title in the popular Leisure Arts series inspires with ideas and how-to's for gifts, foods and decorations that appeal to all levels of skill and budget. From the fragrant eucalyptus leaf ornaments to the elegant edible chocolate decorations, readers will glean endless ideas for a fun-filled and festive Yule. Featuring 192 luminous pages and over 120 glorious photographs, The Spirit of Christmas gives new readers and old fans more than ever before. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

rileys gammy
I love this xmas book.It is #17 of the Leisure Art collection Holiday books.Every book in this colletion is fabulous...and again they did not let you down with this holiday book!It features many unique desserts, entire menus as usual and an entire section of table decorating for the holidays.Included also are exquisite pictures of home decor for the holidays for the entire house!Also info on Hanukkah included...Don't leave this book out of the collection!

Spirit of Christmas Book 17
As expected from this series, the photograpy and presentation are beautiful and the instructions for recipes and projects clear and accompanied by diagrams where needed.

This year's decoration themes are Snow Business, a jolly, felt snowman theme for kids of all ages, Christmas Provencal, floral, muted shades of cream; Contemporary Classic, featuring amarylis to stunning effect; Twelfth Night Splendour, in burnished gold; Natural by Design with squash, fruit and greenery; and Woodland wonder with cardinals and natural decorations.I rather liked the pretty chocolate section featuring the "trees" on the front cover!Beautiful and delicious!

This is a great book!
I just loved this book!It has wonderful ideas on gift making and giving that aren't cheap or "cheesy". There is something to make for everyone on your gift list. It has been photographed beautifully and the directions are clear and concise.I highly recommend this book ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Christmas Gifts of Good Taste
This is probably one of the best in the "Memories in the Making" Series.I would definitely recommend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
With this book in hand anyone who wishes to create a storybook holiday season with the least fuss and expense will find it easy to deck the halls with energy and skill. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Down Santa Claus Lane
I first found this book at the local library.Since it was not a recently printed book, I was not sure that I would find it to buy.I found it easily on Amazon and received the book quickly.It was brand new and a wonderful purchase.The diagrams for counted cross stitch embroidery are very well done and the designs make you want to immediately look for your floss, material and needle.

Down Santa Claus Lane
Beautiful book includes many cross-stitch patterns of victorian and patriotic Santa's re-created from antique postcards. Projects include framed pictures, stocking, pillows, and ornaments. If you collect santa's or postcards you'll love this book.

Some thing for everyone
Down Santa Claus Lane is a gentle meander along the Victorian by-ways of yester-year, crammed with lush reditions of Father Christmas in various guises. The charts are drawn from old art work sources such as post-cardsand Christmas cards. The use of colour is imaginative and trouble has beentaken to find many styles. In this book Santa comes in red, yellow, green,blue, and brown. Something for everyone. There are thirty different charts,each one easy to read and the finished stitchery is displayed innumerousways, from straight forward framed pictures to cushions, pillows, andstockings. There is even a chart dedicated to baby's first Christmas,surely no doting grandma could resist the urge to stitch that one?As thisis an American book there are a few all American Santas. This is a truelysuper book, well up to the house standard of Leisure Arts and one of myparticular treasures. ... Read more

Product Description
The heart of Christmas is joy and generosity; nowhere is its spirit more beautifully captured than in this graceful volume from the editors of Victoria magazine. Their favorite Christmas vignettes form the basis for this elegant approach to America's best-loved holiday, lavishly illustrated with four-color photographs.

Come experience the winter season in a new light: a snowy homecoming, a horse-drawn sleigh ride, holiday lights ablaze in a Victorian neighborhood in the South.

To set a festive and romantic mood at home, Victoria The Heart of Christmas offers special decorating ideas -- fresh lilies tucked into the front-door wreath; treasured family photographs framed in silver and hung on the tree; a mantelpiece with white roses and gold ribbon; a table set for two with heirloom lace.

You'll also find page after page of recipes for traditional holiday treats and gift ideas from the kitchen -- creamy trifle, spicy plum pudding, lavender jelly, and a complete Victorian dinner Dickens would have loved. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

book purchase as gift
My sister likes all Victoria publications.She really liked this book.It was in great condition.

Love this book!
I was not disappointed with this book.Great photos that put me into the Christmas spirit almost immediately! Great recipes too! The cheddar cheese soup turned out wonderful this Christmas and I will certainly make it again throughout the year!Get this book!

Victoria: The Heart of Christman
Through the glorious photography and settings you are drawn into
the nostalgia so evident in the Victorian scene.Moreover, it
is in the text that you are gladly carried away to another time
and age which, sadly, has been set aside upon a shelf marked Christmas Only.
The recipes are well worth the price of the book which is bound to garner your
favor and loyalty when you choose to create not only a Victorian, but a gracious setting.

Nice to look at but..
I thought this book would be more of a "how to", but it is definitely not. It does have some recipes in the back, but on the whole it's a "lookin at" book, and it wasn't what I expected. It is gorgeous, but not very useful. ... Read more

Product Description
Christmas spirit sparkles with imagination in this collection of fresh decorating ideas, homemade gifts, and delectable treats. From down-home country to lavishly traditional, this popular holiday how-to book has tons of gorgeous photos and loads of budget-minded ideas for cooks and crafters of all ages and skill levels. Knockout photography shows how to entertain, dazzle, and delight with tempting recipes, stylish decor, and clever gift ideas. From themed events like a `Cowboy Christmas` to `Ready in a Jiffy` recipes, this all- inclusive guide shines anew with The Spirit of Christmas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Love these books
Truly enjoyed the ideas in this book.Love all of the Spirit of Christmas series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Very Merry Christmas Indeed!!!!!
This book is full of delightful Christmas patterns for all ages and in a wide variety of items. There is an emphasis on joy throughout the designs. And, it is a Better Homes and Gardens annual tradition edition. You really cannot go wrong with this book. It will give you many hours of stitchery and treasured heirlooms to those who receive your work. The colors are bright and brilliant but well coordinated to each design. Some patterns are simple, others more complex. You can adjust your color choices and change the entire appearance of a piece from traditional to contemporary if you wish or stick with what is suggested. This book is meant to be a suprize and for me it was a very pleasant one! And, at the current prices, I fail to see how it could be any less to anyone else. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of Christmas projects, decorating tips, and cooking suggestions designed to involve the entire family is presented with detailed patterns, step-by-step instructions, and colorful photographs, and offers many opportunities to create meaningful, inexpensive Christmas gifts. Original. ... Read more

Product Description
Add that extra bit of magic to your Christmas with one of fifty fun and inspirational projects.With traditional favorites, variations on classic themes, and original ideas, there is something to suite all tastes.Choose from a citrus Christmas tree for the table, a savory plum pudding, and handmade wrapping paper and cards.Color photos accompany the clear step-by-step instructions.Includes 16 pages of templates, patterns, and stencils. ... Read more

Product Description
No holiday is more joyously anticipated than Christmas. It is a time to share, to entertain, to party, to give, to celebrate--and it is also a time when there seems never to be enough time!

With simple, straightforward solutions, 365 WAYS TO PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS puts the fun back into holiday preparations. The commonsense tips for avoiding the
December crush include such simple, easy-to-do ideas as:

 ¸         recipes for flavored vinegars and condiments
 ¸         drying spring and summer flowers for holiday bouquets
 ¸         memorable edibles such as Chocolate Applesauce Cake
 ¸         making easy ornaments such as Paper Snowflakes
 ¸         complete menus for everything from a Holiday Cocktail Party to a Christmas Eve Open House

With a place to record gift, card, and party guest lists, a template to create individualized gift tags, a host of recipes both new and traditional, 365 WAYS TO PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS is guaranteed to be the only Christmas book you'll ever need.
Amazon.com Review
Don't worry--this isn't a book about Santa displays in October; it is, however, a compilation of commonsense tips, great craft ideas, and lovely make-ahead food items, all designed to help you enjoy the holiday season rather than dread it. There are indeed 365 items and activities in the book, starting with year-round collecting hints, followed bysections on gifts, cards, wraps, and invitations, home decoration (including easy ornaments for the tree), holiday entertaining, and finally some thoughts on holiday traditions--new and old. This all-in-one sourcebook will guide you to New Year's in one piece. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Timeless treasure for Christmas
This book is not new, but is still a lovely hardcover book that is a great hostess gift or Christmas gift.It is full of 365 numbered tips, recipes, traditions, and ideas to make your holidays special.Very affordable--nice to give or receive.The book is not elaborate, but still has nice drawings throughout to show the bow or craft or ornament that you're making.A++++ in my book!

A Keeper!
I bought this book about 10 years ago, when I was first setting up my own house for Christmas. I read it cover-to-cover as soon as I got it, and have referred to it periodically since then. Many of the ideas aren't my style, but even those get me thinking, and there are plenty of other ideas to use/adapt.

There are no pictures to inspire, but the writing is crisp, the ideas are good, and the text is easy-to-read. The chapters cover:

Getting ready throughout the year
Preparing/buying gifts, wrap, cards, etc. (including food gifts)
Decorating the home/garden
The tree
Entertaining (including recipes)
Traditions

Some of my favorite ideas/recipes are the "Braided Wreath for Birdies" (a bread wreath with birdseed), "Winter Wonderland Centerpiece," and an never-fail party favorite, "Chocolate Indiscretions" (not quite a sin, just an indiscretion). I've considered picking up this newer edition to check for updates and new ideas -- and just because my paperback one is falling apart.

Great Book!
If you actually counted every idea this book suggests, you'd come up with loads more than 365, not to mention all the ideas of your own it inspires you to come up with!Entertaining, gift suggestions, wrappings, decorating, addresses for mail-order companies, recipes & lots more, all in one book.This is the book I've been wanting for years ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
This holiday season, Anna Getty chef, mother, organic living expert, environmental advocate, and writer helps families save money and reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing style or tradition. Anna advises how to choose the best tree (real or fake?), mitigate the negative effects of necessary travel, recycle post-holiday, and more. She shares favorite holiday recipes for organic appetizers and homemade craft ideas such as pinecone wreaths and recycled sweater pillows. With inspiring photographs, extensive resources, and advice from the 'Lazy Environmentalist' Josh Dorfman, Seventh Generation's Jeffrey Hollender, and other leading eco-experts, families might just find that these tips help them stay green all year long the perfect New Year's resolution!

Q&A with Anna Getty

Q: How can being green save you money?

Getty:  When you use less you buy less. If we buy less ipso facto we save money.

Q: How does the book help to teach your kids to be green?

Getty: This book is about creating family traditions. This book is about being more green during a very wasteful time of year. If we incorporate our children into these new traditions of crafting with what we already have, making gifts and not buying gifts, we help our children become more green and more conscientious about respecting the planet. Children learn through example. If we make changes with our own wasteful habits , our children will adopt these changes as their own.

Q: What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Getty: Baking Christmas cookies with my daughter and her little friends.

Q: What is a good place to start if you are new to the green movement?

Getty: Start with easy doable steps. If you are not recycling, start recycling, if you still use stores plastic bags switch to paper (many paper bags are now made from recycled paper) or better yet bring your own cloth bags. Do one or two things and let them become a part of you rather then too many at once and then give up. In terms of the holidays, ditch the store bought wrapping paper. Most store bought wrapping paper uses virgin paper stock and toxic dyes or ink. Go for recycled wrapping paper or reuse paper (just be careful when you open gifts so you can save it to rewrap). Or find alternative ways of wrapping like using old maps or music sheets, or pages out of magazines or old newspapers and books.

Q: Are there any tips from the experts in the book that surprised you?

Getty:  Darren Moore of www.ecovations.com surprised me with the information that having ones home Energy Star Home Performance tested could cut ones energy consumption in half. I also really loved Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation's tip about being reflective and appreciative during the holiday time.

Q: What’s your favorite recipe or craft from the book?

Getty:  Hard to pick as I love so many of them but my favorite recipe hands down is the Trufled Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese and the Recycled Christmas Card Gift tags is pretty high up there in the crafts.

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Recipe Excerpts from I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas

Truffled Goat Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

Salt Dough Ornaments

... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

Christmas Decorating
I liked the idea behind this book about utilizing materials that you may already have to decorate for example using pine cones as an ornament or gift bow. However, I felt like the suggestions were on the costly side. I didn't see the average person (especially in this economy) shelling out the extra money for the suggestions included. It just wasn't practical in my opinion.

Preachy and Smug, but influential nonetheless
I was very excited to pick this book up because I have been rather active in "greening" up my lifestyle, and this is the first one I've read devoted to the holidays.
The book covers many areas the holidays entail, from shopping to decor, from food to entertaining, all in unique ways to be more cognizant of the way we use our resources during a season we may be more inclined to be wasteful. The layout of this book is very appealing.It's full of colorful, inspirational photos, and all the topics and segments are in very digestible, eye catching formats.Naturally, books in this "green" genre tend to regurgitate alot of the same information, and this book is no different.Getty uses the "whimsical" subject of the season to not only suggest ways to be environmentally conscientious during the holidays, but during everyday.
Sounds good, huh?Well, while her intentions are good, this book is a bit on the smug side, rather than the helpful side.While this book may be full of colorful, inspirational photos, they aren't very helpful.For instance, this book contains many DIY natural alternative classic Holiday decor projects, such as nut wreaths, evergreen garland, etc.And while there are photos galore of these finished projects, there are no pics of the process on how to make these pretty projects.And while on the subject of the crafts in this book, I am surprised how hit or miss these projects are. Some of these projects, such as those mentioned above, had me so excited that I was searching for acorns, twigs, etc in my own backyard.But then there were quite a few projects that were misleading.Sure, the pictures in the book made a used tea bag look festive, but Getty displays alot of materials (in the photographs) that aren't readily available to the average DIYer.I simply don't have foreign newsprint or sheet music or stray cashmere just laying around at my disposal.While she suggests using materials I may have lying around to do the same project, all her project photos use materials I don't have access to, so I wonder just how good a tea bag would look with cheap wrapping paper used to decorate it, instead.
Still interested?Well, the topics she covers in her eye catching segments, have a tendency to be preachy, self satisfying, and at some points, down right irritating.Most of the book is chapters devoted to the larger areas of the season, such as giving or entertaining, etc.Here, she tries to use her previous experiences from her eco-forward childhood and her current eco-conscientious family to inspire and encourage the reader to live a life as "green-enviable" as hers.Throughout these chapters are sub segments in different borders or colors that pertain to the subject at hand, such as eco-expert tips or the ever annoying "celebrity green tip" (eye roll) that tie into the chapter.There's even a recurring segment called "global green" that tells the reader how "green" other countries are.The problem with all the writing in this book is that, despite the smarminess of the author and some of her contributors, I really don't think she means to be as smug as she sounds.I really think she is trying to be earnest and genuine.So I would say that this book can be inspirational if you take the text for what it is.
Want more?I will say that this book is chockful of unique, nutritious, and interesting recipes, especially for appetizers and drinks.I'm not sure how they tie in to the eco-friendly philosophy of this book unless these foods are local in the area Getty lives.For example, fresh figs, while available in my area from time to time, are NOT local and are rather expensive.I wouldn't necessarily consider these recipes eco-friendly as I would consider them clean and simple gourmet.I will say that if you are interested in using foods you may have never tried before, but may have heard of, this book has alot of those kinds of treats.But for a price.Most of these foods do not look like cheap eats.
To summarize how I feel about this book, I would say to try to get ahold of it from a library and preview before purchasing.I think this book definitely has a specific audience, and will sell to them well. Despite the eco-snootiness of this book, I, personally, found enough inspiration in it that I will refer to it during holiday time.I would not recommend this book to a first time "green self-improvement" reader. This genre already has the unfortunate stigma of coming off "better than thou" and this book doesn't help improve that.

pretty much pointless
Not as helpful as I'd like.I was hoping for some easy to do Christmas decor, perhaps using things already around the house.But too many of these crafts just look exhausting -- the decorated matchboxes, for example.For one, where can you even get matchboxes anymore -- everywhere I go doesn't allow smoking indoors.And why would you give decorated matchboxes as a gift?No one smokes I know smokes, and certainly wouldn't refill a matchbox. And the point of being green shouldn't be to give others stuff that they wouldn't want or use. And, really, vintage Chinese egg ornaments?It requires you to empty an egg, essentially, which means wasting it, and going through a painstaking effort for a round, fragile ornament.I don't know.Maybe if I were more Martha Stewart-y, I'd get the need to jump through these hoops.But I'm not, and I don't.

The recipes in here look fine, but nothing you can't find in any normal cookbook.

Also, there's an annoying preachy tone to the writing.I mean, do we need a section on "breaking the plastic water bottle habit"?Seems to me that the people would be attracted to this bookare already green -- they are looking to apply green ideas to Christmas.So why talk to them as though they have just discovered recycling?

I will give it one star -- the roasted acorn squash soup with parmesan and crispy sage looks worth trying.

Crafty, Tasty Book
This is a good book for people interested in making environmentally friendly Christmas ornaments. One I particularly liked is the pine cone and nut wreath.

To be honest I'm not a guy who really makes crafts and I appreciate the book's recipesmore.

I like her ideas and advise on helping to keep the planet clean. Suggesting readers stop buying plastic bottled beverages and chose aluminum or glass instead. He page on choosing the healthiest candles was also very interesting.

The recipes are different and I'll enjoy trying them.

This is a good book, more people need to get interested in the planet and I highly recommend it.

Even Christmas is Going Green...
I liked this book. I grew up in the country where simple and natural was considered pretty, opposed to glitz glamor and the caked-on make-up of the city life. I like a sparkle or two, but Christmas has become so vain and wasteful these days. I'm not an environmentalist in the sense that "green" things are in style, and therefore I have to be "green"; rather, I like the thought, time and effort that homemade gifts and decor communicate. When you cook for someone, make them a gift that is unique or decorate with natural beauty it is almost always a better gift.

This book has great decor ideas, as well as recipes. Try it out! Anyone can buy tie for someone, but here are some great ideas for gifts and food! Truffled goat cheese mac and cheese! Yummo! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Lots to do
This is a great book for celebrating the holidays. There are a lot of activities to do and each are very cute! Great recipes, too! ... Read more

Product Description
Everything needed to plan Christmas party games, crafts and favors, and edible goodies and drinks to guarantee a memorable holiday is included in this idea-packed book. Choose activities from six different party themes and learn to build an edible snowman, shave Santa's beard, make a human Christmas tree, and drink from a snowball. Also included are fun party ideas for New Year's Eve and creative ideas for learning about Christmas traditions around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great book
I bought this book hoping that it would have some fresh ideas for my kids' class parties instead of the same old games and crafts we've been doing it seems year after year.I was worried that even if it had new ideas they might be too invovled/time-consuming for the hour and a half we typically have for the whole party.I was pleasantly surprised that this book had so many ideas to choose from that were original and fit into our limited time frame.I highly recommend this book.

Wonderful Book for Anyone Planning A Christmas Party
So you're planning a Christmas party, one where there will be fun and games, and lots and lots of kids. But where do you start? Well, first of all, purchase CHRISTMAS PARTIES...WHAT DO I DO? Wilhelminia Ripple has created the perfect book for anyone planning a Christmas party. Filled with over 125 wonderful ideas for crafts, games, and holiday snacks. Wilhelminia teaches you everything you need to know to throw the most fantastic Christmas party of the season, complete with instructions on how to create Elf Handprints, how to build an Edible Snowman, make a Human Christmas Tree, and much, much more. Whether you've thrown Christmas parties before or not, CHRISTMAS PARTIES...WHAT DO I DO? is the one thing you'll need to make your Christmas party better than anyone else's. A wonderful book that absolutely must be a part of your book collection.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Christmas Parties What Do I Do?Buy This Book!!
This book has Christmas Spirit on every page, with holiday games,crafts, and goodies from all around the world. It really brings out the child inside us all. With an added bonus of 13 pages for New Years Eve. I am a Parent and Day Care Provider, to me this book is as much a part of Christmas as the Tree.

Christmas Parties...What Do I Do?
A sparklingl book and many ideas to use for Chritams affairs. The games and crafts are tremendous.This book is great for anyone hosting a Christams Event for any ages.The chapter of The What, Why and How of Christmas Parties is a great beginning for any type of party and gives you a starting point. Suggestion:Purchase a complete set.

A user-friendly instructional reference
For anyone wanting to recapture the nostalgia and "family friendliness" of the Christmas season, Wilhelminia Ripple's Christmas Parties: What Do I Do? is a terrific place to start! This attractively presented compendium offers more than 125 creative ideas for games, crafts, and holiday snacks that will make every Christmas gathering fun and memorable. The themes offered for consideration including Christmas Trees, Stockings, and Candy Canes; Snow, Snowmen, and Snowflakes; Santa Claus and His Elves; Rudolph and His Reindeer; I Believe in Angels; and Christmas Here, There, and Everywhere. 36 easy craft projects are clearly laid out with step-by-step illustrations. Christmas Parties is enhanced with 40 simple and delicious recipes for Holiday treats and drinks; 36 "Santa-Approved" games; and more. There's even suggestions for celebrating the end of the Christmas season with "New Year's Tips and Fun Party Ideas" from here at home and around the world. Christmas Parties is a thoroughly "user friendly" instructional reference that will be appreciated by one and all, year after year, Christmas after Christmas. ... Read more

Product Description
Welcome to Southern holiday celebrating at its finest. With this beautiful hardcover volume, readers can cook, bake, make ornaments, and dress the house from top to bottom in seasonal finery. Includes complete instructions and patterns for more than 20 projects and 70 luscious holiday recipes. ... Read more

Product Description
Where do you go for old-fashioned, country-style Christmas fun?To Gooseberry Patch-®, of course! New Country Friends-® art and heartwarming decorating tips, fail-proof craft instructions, and irresistible holiday recipes make this the perfect guide for creating a memorable Christmas. Decorating ideas such as making a story blanket or family memory wreath get everyone involved. Includes easy-to-follow instructions for charming gifts such as handcrafted snow globes, aromatherapy candles, and beaded watchbands. Plus oodles of tasty treats for entertaining at home or giving as gifts. Also includes helpful tips and favorite recipes from devoted Gooseberry Patch-® readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ideas Galore
I just ordered this book after finding it in my local library. As with all Gooseberry Patch books I have found many ideas for crafts and recipes. I plan on adapting the wreath on the cover for part of my holiday decor and the marshmallows dipped in chocolate and stuck on a peppermint stick will be made and shared with co-workers and friends. You really cannot go wrong with these charming books and I enjoy looking through them again and again.

Good Recipes....Would be better with fewer Crafts....
I'm a big fan of the Gooseberry Patch Cookbook series. Particularly the large spiral bound versions, but the'Christmas' series produced by Leisure Arts is a little hit or miss for me- Mostly because I prefer recipes instead of crafts, and Christmas has over 80+ pages of crafts and about 40+ pages of recipes.

There are some great recipes in this one. Seafood Lasagne, Eggnog Cookies, and Christmas Tree pull-apart rolls. The presentation is cute, and the stories and ancedotes nice and heart-warming

If there were fewer crafts, and more recipes, I'm sure I'd like this series more. 4 stars, because the crafts dominate the book a little too much. ... Read more

Product Description
The Christmas Table serves up comfort and joy with helpful hints and recipes to plan an unforgettable holiday feast. Award-winning author Diane Morgan fills the book with festive recipes and decorating ideas that are sure to become favorites. On Christmas morningopening presents will be even sweeter with a breakfast of Cinnamon-Scented Bread Custardand delightful recipes like Juniper Brined Roast Turkey and Whipped Yams topped with a Crunchy Praline Crust will be instant yuletide classics. This comprehensive holiday guide also includes recipes for Christmas cookiescandied nutsand other giftable goodies. With simplebeautiful crafts and deliciouseasy-to-follow recipesThe Christmas Table ensures a very merry Christmas for everyone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Pretty fancy, but delicious
Many of the recipes are non-traditional, but I already know my family's traditional recipes! I got this book to look for new Christmas recipes. It's great!

A wonderful gift
The Christmas table was a wonderful Christmas gift!Just one or two of the recipes would have been worth the whole book, but I'm discovering more and more as I have time to read.The time tables in the back for pulling off a wonderful Christmas brunch or breakfast or dinner look very helpful and I'll be using them next year!

Another good book
As a retired food editor, I certainly didn't need another cookbook, but I purchased this one because I know Diane Morgan does quality, creative work. The recipe for Mocha Pots De Creme is worth the price of the book. I especially like the way Diane drops in helpful "cook's notes," as well as the occasional specific buying tip for ingredients, such as chocolate. Her sense of humor comes through in the menu for "Chrismukkah, the hybrid holiday meal." The leftovers section has a recipe for ham macaroni and cheese -- and its fun photo shows a dish mostly disappeared. I'll be using her menu for Christmas brunch on New Year's Day when my alma mater, the Michigan State Spartans, play in their bowl game. Win or lose the game, the food should be great.

beautiful book for the holidays
I have several of Diane Morgan's cookbooks, and I have just added The Christmas Table. The book is visually stunning, with gorgeous colored photographs. Even better, it is filled with wonderful recipes, from traditional favorites like prime rib (done here with a salt and garlic crust) to inventive, contemporary offerings (whole roast salmon with farro-herb stuffing). There's a chapter on holiday brunches and another on Christmas gifts from the kitchen. But the real reason I keep buying Diane Morgan's books is because the recipes work! They are well written and easy to follow, and even the most complicated ones are explained clearly. This is a lovely gift to give for the holidays. My lucky sister will be getting one this year.

Overly Fancy, Less Traditional
The Christmas Table has a photograph of a mouth-watering ham on the cover - reminiscent of the hams of Christmases past - but the recipes inside are anything but traditional Christmas recipes.The selections include appetizers, such as sake oyster shooters and pistachio and chive goat cheese on puff pastry wafers, side dishes of sautéed brussels sprouts with garlic and parmesan and puree of celery root, main courses of short ribs bourguigonne and Christmas goose.Thankfully, the desserts are a little more traditional, with persimmon pudding and gingerbread bundt cake with crème anglaise.There is even a section on Christmas breakfasts with overnight cinnamon bread custard and blueberry ricotta pancakes.

A number of the recipes have too many ingredients and the preparation time is longer than most working cooks will want to try.If you are looking for a cookbook of traditional recipes that you can get on the table in reasonably short order - keep looking - there are better cook books out there.

Reviewed by Sharon Lebrun ... Read more

Product Description
The only guide to celebrating a greener Christmas shows you how to make your home merry, bright, and eco-friendly! Part craft, gardening, and cookbook, part home décor and entertaining guide, A Greener Christmas lets the whole family get in on projects that are simple, seasonal, and of-the-moment. Welcome guests with candlelit lanterns, hand-stitched stockings, and cozy homemade wreaths. Trim your homegrown tree with shiny recycled tinsel, spicy dried citrus fruits, and wood-scented pine cones. Give heartfelt, environmentally-friendly gifts like homemade herbal teas and mulled wine sachets, all wrapped up in gorgeous, reusable packaging. And set a mouthwatering holiday spread, with the freshest breads, cheeses, meats, and produce, all sourced from local farms. Edited by food and lifestyle maven Sheherazade Goldsmith, this book will help you plan the most beautiful, most festive, and most responsible Christmas yet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Yay, a new approach to Christmas!
I was so pleased to come across this book at the public library, that I had my son purchase it for me for my
birthday which happens to be in early December. I find the book filled with wonderful, doable craft ideas as
well as useful suggestions for recycling and new recipes. The only less than favorable comment I would make is
that the recipes feel "incomplete". Somehow, the details of how high to preheat your oven, or even the cooking
time is not clear or given at all. But my overall response if very positive, and I would recommend this book!

Love, love, love this book
I'm not really a crafty type of person, I actually have several more thumbs than necessary!But the easy crafts in this book and the terrific directions and easy to find and afford supplies for them make crafting for Christmas a real treat.I had previously taken this book out of the local library several times, then seeing that it was coming out in paperback decided that I really needed my own copy!Great book!

Some interesting projects here
I liked this book primarily for the beautiful photos and inspirational sidebars, but I did find a few items that I had time to make for the very busy and hectic 2008 Christmas season. I tried the rosemary nuts, they were delicious. Make sure to cool them completely, and preferably don't eat them until the next day. These are delicious, and very different from the usual spiced pecans that everyone makes. They look lovely when put into cellophane bags and tied with a ribbon. I also made the felt ornaments (stockings, trees, etc). I didn't use the patterns in the back but just cut mine freehand.

One thing that didn't work out at all from this book was the stained glass cookies. The advice to cook the cookies on buttered wax paper resulted in the paper sticking hard and fast to the candy part of the cookie. This was an abject failure. The dough was pretty good though, and I ended up decorating and eating the mini-cutout shapes (that I had baked along with the stained glass cookies) by themselves.

not impressed
This book didn't do it for me ... reminded me of early '70's crafting books and didn't resonate with today's world.

Great Book
I really love this book.It's an absolutely beautiful book with gorgeous, homey photographs and wonderful ideas for gifts to make including Christmas ornaments, plant clippings, recipes (mulled wine, and preserved lemons are two of my favorite ideas), cards, fabric boxes, sachets and fabric pots...I am using this book to teach my children to make the gifts that they give.This book will provide them with beautiful gift ideas for years. ... Read more