Sweet Home Quilt Co.

One of the things I love most at this time of year are the hundreds of blog posts featuring Christmas decorations…you’ll see everything from the most simple and elegant to those that are really elaborate and over-the-top. I actually don’t mind the insomnia so much at this time of year because it gives me plenty of time in the wee hours of the morning to peruse the eye candy! I keep a notebook of ideas and I love finding the little hidden nuggets in these pictures that make me reach for my notebook to jot a note to myself or draw a little sketch of something I want to remember.

I’ve spent hours over the last week enjoying the Christmas Tour of Homes 2010 from Nester. There are over 700 homes on this blog tour! But don’t be tempted to skip any…you’ll be sorry! Find some quiet time over the next few weeks and enjoy the beauty…I have to go find another notebook!

Melisa

Well, maybe not a chicken dinner…but how about my cute little Moda charm kit giveaway! The winner is Carmen who said:

I always have to have a shortbread of some kind on my cookie plate. This might be the one this year!

Congratulations, Carmen! Send me your mailing address and I’ll get the kit out to you.

The grand prize winners will be announced Tuesday over on Sherri’s blog at This & That so be sure to check in with her to see if you’ve won.

Thanks to everyone who spent the week with us enjoying the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop, and for the many sweet comments you left for me. I had a lot of fun, and it really helped get me into the Christmas spirit…I hope we did the same for you!

Happy Holidays!

Melisa

Don’t forget to bookmark this blog to keep up with the goings on at Sweet Home Quilt Co., or better yet, subscribe to our feed and be notified by email when I put up a new post.

I’m sad that this is the last day of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop, but I’m excited that it is my turn to share a fun holiday project with you! But first, let’s talk about cookie exchanges since you have dozens of new cookie recipes to try!

Hosting a Cookie Exchange Party is the perfect way to get together with friends over the holidays with the added bonus of getting a variety of cookies to have for other holiday occasions without all the work!

I’ve been to cookie exchanges where guests brought copies of their recipes along with their cookies. If you plan your date far enough in advance you can have your guests send their recipes to you in advance so you can compile a book of cookie recipes for each guest as a party favor! Having prizes is another fun idea – you could give prizes for the best-looking cookies or the most creative packaging and give mini cookie cutters, jars of sprinkles or flavorings as the prizes.

Don’t forget the Christmas music!

There are hundreds of resources on the web to help you plan – everything from The Rules of the Cookie Exchange to Cookie Exchange Invitations. There are a gazillion recipe sites, too, but you won’t be needing those because you’ve got plenty of new cookie recipes from this blog hop to keep you busy for a while! There’s still time to plan a fun Cookie Exchange Party with your friends so get out your calendar and pick a date!

The cookie recipe I’m sharing with you today was shared with me a couple of years ago by my good friend, Ruthanne. These rank right up at near the top of my favorite cookies list … I think I made at least a half dozen batches that first Christmas!

To download and print the pdf version of the recipe card, click here.

I decided since we were baking all these cookies that we needed a cute decoration to dress up our cookie jars. My Cookie Jar Wrap is quick to make – add them to cute jars filled with homemade cookies for those last minute gifts on your list! It could also be adapted to use as a Candle Wrap, and by all means, make it with fabric instead of wool if you prefer!

Our other featured designer today is Vickie over at Spun Sugar Quilts. I can’t wait to see what she’s cooked up for you! And don’t forget to grab the recipes from everyone else, too!

I have enjoyed reading your comments so much – seems we’ve brought back lots of memories for you with our stories and cookie recipes, and I love the stories you’ve shared in your comments. As one of the featured blogs today, I get to have a little giveaway so you’ll want to be sure to leave a comment on this post. I’ll post the winner on Sunday. Oh, I should probably tell you what you’ll win…how about this cute little kit!

Oopsie Daisy Charm Kit featuring the Lollipop collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

Make sure you’ve left a comment on each blog each day so you’ll be entered to win the grand prizes…yes, I said prizes! Seems we have enough great stuff to put together TWO grand prizes…I wish I could win! Sherri over at This & That will announce the grand prize winners on her blog Sunday so be sure to check back…it might be YOU!

Melisa

P.S. Don’t forget to add my blog to your favorites….or better yet, subscribe to this blog. Then you’ll get email updates when I write a new post! I hope you’ll come back to visit often!

When I learned that today’s Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop theme was to share a not-to-be-missed holiday tradition, I knew immediately what I’d share…my aversion to tacky outdoor Christmas decor and the fun we have with it every season.

When it comes to outdoor Christmas decorations, a wreath on the door and maybe a single candle in each window is my preference. I enjoy looking at outdoor decorations that are tastefully put together…lots of white lights and greenery, etc. It is those that go overboard with no conceivable theme other than every imaginable color of lights and all sorts of inflatable ‘things’ that just set my teeth on edge.

When my kids were small we made it a tradition to drive around on Christmas Eve to see the Christmas lights and decorations. The boys got a big kick out of spotting the tackiest decor we could find just so they could see mom shudder! As they got older they would scout out the tackiest outdoor displays they could find in the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, and each  would secretly choose their own favorite “tackiest” to see if they could pick the one Mom would hate the most. It became a competition between the boys and their excitement in directing our Christmas Eve drives to specific destinations would be palpable all day long.

My boys are all grown with families of their own now, but they have all continued this tradition. Mike and I still drive around and look at the Christmas decorations on Christmas Eve, but somehow, it just isn’t the same.

Another must-do every Christmas are my mother’s Date Wraparounds. I think these might be my favorite cookie of all time, and I only make them at Christmas time…it keeps them special!

To download and print the pdf version of the recipe card click here!

I can’t wait to see what fun project Roseann has created for you over at Rosebud’s Cottage, and Brenda at Little Acorns is sure to have something just as enticing. Pick up your cookie recipe from everyone else, and don’t forget to leave a comment!

Tomorrow is the last day (boo hoo!) of the blog hop, and it is my feature day. I’ve cooked up a cute little project for you and will share a great cookie recipe that will be perfect for your holiday cookie swaps!

Melisa

Our Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop theme for today is to share our go-to holiday book, and for me that would be the annual Christmas with Southern Living books. I have several in my collection and I pull them all out year after year beginning in September to get ideas for Christmas decor, recipes and gifts. These books are timeless…

Both my mother and my grandmother have been subscribers to Southern Living magazine as long as I can remember so it is somewhat of a tradition in my family. Many of the decor ideas from the Christmas annual are much too fancy for my Christmas decorating efforts but I can always find inspiration that will trigger my own creativity. And the recipes…I have never made a recipe from Southern Living that disappointed me.

PDQ Turtle Cookies are a favorite Southern Living recipe that I’ve made for years, first with my boys and now with my grandchildren.

To download and print the pdf version of the recipe card click here!

Hop on over to visit with Lissa at Moda Lissa and Julie at Quilts4Julie to see what great project downloads they have for you, and pick up the recipes from everyone else on the blog hop…and don’t forget to leave your comments on each blog…you might win a great prize!

Melisa

We’ve made it to Day 3 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop…are you on a sugar high yet from all these yummy cookie recipes? You’ll hit the jackpot today with fun project downloads from Celine at Perkins Dry Goods, Patrick Lose and Kelly Ann from Kelly Ann’s Quilting, and don’t forget we’ve all got great cookie recipes for you so don’t skip anyone!

Today’s theme is cocktail party conversation starters (or how to avoid standing in the corner alone!) Two words…don’t go! Just kidding…but seriously, I’d rather have a tooth pulled than to have to go to a cocktail party with lots of people I don’t know, mixing and mingling over drinks and party conversation…not my favorite activity. 

My cocktail party strategy? Find someone else standing alone, looking as uncomfortable as myself, and strike up a conversation with them. I’ll usually start out with a comment about the food or the decor or something innocuous like that, and then ask the person something about themselves…people love to talk about themselves!

Most importantly, always have an exit strategy! There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a conversation with someone you don’t want to talk to (except standing in the corner alone, of course!) I’ll usually just say I need to find the ladies room and excuse myself.

Food is always a good conversation starter, and you’ll get lots of compliments when you serve this old Southern favorite… 

To download and print the pdf version of the recipe card click here!

The fun continues tomorrow so be sure to come on back and see what I’m cooking up for you!

Melisa

Welcome to Day 2 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Holiday Blog Hop. You’ll want to be sure to visit Heidi at Hens and Chicks and Monique at Open Gate Quilts to see what great holiday project downloads they have for you. I’m having fun collecting all the recipes from everyone’s blog, and I hope you’re filling up your recipe box, too. Don’t forget to leave your comments on all the blogs to be eligible for the prizes. Today’s theme is holiday sanity savers, and I have a couple of tips to share with you.

When my boys were small, I worked a full time job that involved a LOT of travel so Christmas preparations were always an ordeal. Extended families in two states who always wanted us to be ‘home’ for Christmas complicated matters even more. I always dreamed of creating a perfect Norman Rockwell-esqe Christmas…

In reality, I usually ended up in a different Rockwell-esqe scenario…

The holidays are a time for creating memories, but I was usually too tired and stressed out to enjoy them much because of my unrealistic expectations. I finally realized when my youngest son was a teenager that I wasn’t creating ‘perfect memories’ with all of my frantic preparations…the memories I was creating were of a frazzled, stressed-out mom who was too busy running around trying to make things perfect to be able to enjoy the fun of Christmas with my family. After this epiphany, my goal was to relax and truly experience the joy of Christmas with my family. How did I do it?

First, I ditched the traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. I remember how I would slave for hours in the kitchen preparing everyone’s favorites, only to have the whole bunch eat in 20 minutes, leaving only the mess of leftovers and dirty dishes for me to deal with. Resentful? Ya, I felt the sting of resentment! Our new tradition is to have soup and sandwiches for Christmas dinner, usually different from year to year, and I’ve never had one complaint since I made the change!

One other significant change I made is that I no longer wrap gifts. My least favorite Christmas activity is wrapping gifts because I’m just not very good at it. My gifts were never as prettily wrapped as I wanted them to be, and I’d always put it off until the last minute which usually meant I’d be up late on Christmas Eve frantically wrapping gifts. Several years ago, I started making pillowcases from my extensive stash of Christmas fabric and all the gifts are put into the pillowcase and tied up with ribbons and name tags. The pillowcases become a gift in themselves (my grandkids look forward to them every year), and I can whip those up in a tenth of the time it would take me to individually wrap all those gifts.

One activity I still make time for is cookie making, but I do have favorites that take only minutes to prepare like these Tea Wafers.

To download and print the pdf version of the recipe card click here!

I hope you’re enjoying the hop as much as we’re enjoying putting it together for you. Tomorrow’s topic: the dreaded cocktail party conversation! I can’t wait to read these posts!

Melisa

Today is the first day of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Holiday Blog Hop, and we’ve got some really fun plans for the week! First up is Sherri Falls of This and That  so be sure to hop over to see what fun project she has for you today, and be sure to check out all the other designer’s blogs for their cookie recipes. Most importantly, don’t forget to comment on the blogs…you could win a great prize!

As I was thinking about today’s theme, Christmas Trivia … myth or truth, my thoughts kept going back to my Grandfather’s love of soft peppermint candy at Christmastime. Candy canes can be found every where at Christmas, and are as much a decoration as a sugary treat. I did a little research on the origin of the candy cane, and learned that it wasn’t always crooked or striped.

Historians say that candy canes were originally all white sugar sticks used as tree decorations. In the late 1600’s a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent the sugar candy sticks to resemble a shepherd’s staff, and gave the candy canes out to children to keep them quiet during long nativity services.

Striped candy canes appeared about 1900, along with peppermint and wintergreen flavors, which became the traditional favorites.

My grandfather’s favorite were the soft peppermint sticks, not the hard brittle candy canes that are usually found at this time of year. At one point, Bob’s Candies in Albany, GA (which was about 35 miles from my grandparents’ home) was the world’s largest manufacturer of candy canes, and every year someone would give my grandfather a big box of Bob’s Candies Mint Sticks as a gift. My grandmother would dole these out to the grandchildren during our visits, usually accompanied by a glass of chocolate milk. We’d sip our milk using the mint sticks as our straws until they literally dissolved…that’s how soft and porous they were! I think this is probably the reason I can’t eat chocolate and mint together today…we would make ourselves sick drinking chocolate milk with peppermint stick straws!

I do love peppermint candy, though, particularly the soft peppermints – I just love the way they dissolve on my tongue! In celebration of the candy cane, enjoy this fun recipe for Candy Cane Sugar Cookies:

To download the recipe card as a pdf file click here!

Come back tomorrow when I’ll share another cookie recipe and my tip for saving your sanity during the crazy busy Christmas season.

Melisa

I’m thrilled to be participating with a dozen other makers & bakers in the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop. There will be a new designer project featured each day, and dozens of scrumptious cookie recipes just in time for your holiday baking and gift-giving! There will be daily prizes and a Grand Prize drawing. You’ll want to be sure to leave a comment on each designer’s blog on their featured day to be eligible for their prize giveaway.

Here’s the line up…make sure to bookmark each blog so you don’t miss a thing!

November 15
Sherri Falls – This & That

November 16
Heidi Kaisand – Hen and Chicks
Monique Dillard – Open Gate Quilts

November 17
Celine Perkins – Perkins Dry Goods
Patrick Lose – The Latest News from Patrick Lose
Kelly Ann Richardson - Kelly Ann’s Quilting

November 18
Lissa Alexander – Moda Lissa
Julie Stewart – Quilts4Julie

November 19
Roseann Kermes – Rosebud’s Cottage
Brenda Riddle – Little Acorns

November 20
Vickie Eapen – Spun Sugar Quilts
Melisa Morrison – Sweet Home Quilt Co.

On the seventh day, we’ll be resting (and eating cookies!)

Mark your calendar, and help us spread the word by sharing the details on your blog, Twitter, and Facebook. We don’t want anyone to miss the holiday fun we’re cooking up for you!