Today my family enjoyed steaming bowls of gumbo on a cold, rainy day while 
watching lots of Christmas specials on television.
We pulled names for our Secret Santa.
The girls and I sipped our first cup of holiday herbal tea: Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride
Though we could not find as many varieties as Dawn did, our eggnog has been bought and I owe Dawn a big "Thank You" for starting a new holiday tradition in the Gibson household. We love eggnog and enjoy it every December. This 'eggnog taste test' is sure to be a tasty new tradition...along with our teatime tasting.
The Rubbermaid storage bins were dusted off and carried to the front porch in preparation of Christmas decorating.
The gold chocolate coins from St. Nick are stored in the closet Santa's workshop along with the books ready to be wrapped.
And this evening finds me enjoying Marybeth Whalen's new ebook A Recipe for Christmas JOY with my cup of Sugar Cookie herbal tea.
This book has a hidden recipe inside of it and, with each turn of the page, the ingredients only got sweeter. Let me share some of the ingredients with you.
Today I was bemoaning to my husband how every year Christmas comes around and I don't have the hundred dollars or so to buy new tree ornaments or a new door wreath or all the other delightful decoration purchases that the stores boast. I don't seem to have that natural knack of decorating on a low budget. I've found a kindred spirit in Marybeth. Marybeth admits that she, like myself, is not an interior designer. Woe is us. Yet her ebook has revived the possibility in me that I can offer my home something extra. A Recipe for Christmas JOY offers simple crafty ideas that I know I am capable of doing. They promise beautiful and clever results for my humble household and my meek budget. And Marybeth does not shirk away from addressing the burden of Christmas spending in a section called 'Budget Busters'.
Indeed, this book has all the trimmings you would expect to find in a Christmas book...and more. It has a handy calendar starting in November and taking you through the month of December which will keep you on top of all the little protocols that will make your family and friends think you have borrowed the magic touch straight out of Mrs. Claus' cupboard.
And there are recipes you would least expect to find in a Christmas book but that certainly add to the bounty extended to other members of your family. If you own a pet dog, you'll know what I'm talking about. Without knowing it, Marybeth has blessed me with a recipe for Gourmet Doggie Biscuits in her new book. We love our dogs and every year the children want to purchase crazily priced toys and stuff to place under the tree for the dogs. I always refuse. My children love our canines so much that last year they took the Jesse Tree and decorated it just for Peppy and Frenchie...complete with French lace and construction paper ornaments. This year we will plan a special day just to make and bake some special Gourmet Doggie Biscuits for our beloved best friends, wrap them up in red and green tissue paper and tuck the packages inside a small red stocking.
Then there are the recipes for humankind. Ohhhh, the recipes!
- Eggnog Bread!
- Slow Cooker Apple Butter!
- Old-fashion Wassail!
- Reindeer Candy!
- Christmas Morning Casserole!
- Friendship Tea!
I'm sold! I need not look any further than this new book by Marybeth Whalen and my cooking stove. :)
While working on this book, Marybeth did not forget to share the most important recipe of all. The recipe card that floats throughout this book as a bookmark reminds us that Christmas is all about JOY:
- Jesus
- Others
- Yourself
In keeping the capital C in Christmas, thus focused on Jesus, Marybeth offers us a section entitled "25 Ways to Make the Holidays Holy Days". Gotta frame that!
In remembering that this is a special time to remember and care for Others, the book's ideas and suggestions are endless.
And, last but not least, Marybeth remembers all us wives and mothers who give of ourselves in order to share the birth of Christ with others. For the week after Christmas she reminds us and guides us ---with a complete list of Scriptural Meditations---to relax, ponder, meditate, and receive the message that God wants to share with You during this holy reflective time. With this gift from Marybeth, this will be the first year I partake of a gift written simply for myself. While my children play with Santa's sack, I will take this Joyful Christmas Recipe, catch my breath, and think about the upcoming new year and the one gift that truly matters.
A Recipe for Christmas JOY sets the tone for my family that this holiday season will be tranquil and joyful and rich and homespun. This book is sure to bless us all with a Christmas we will never forget!
Thank you, Marybeth, for sharing your JOYful recipe with us all! It arrived just in time.
Comments