Christmas means so many things. For me there is a lot of tradition and ritual with the holiday. As a child, our family would head to Osage, Iowa, to cut down a fresh tree at Bud's Tree Farm. I can remember stomping through the snow very clearly. There was the decorating of the tree. I loved to do this part and Mom usually let me! Except I think I did let her put the red bows on at the end. I love to wrap packages. A few close friends (and now all of you) know that I dream of the perfect wrapping station at home. Have you seen those pictures in magazines that devote a closet or an area just to wrapping packages. Oh, to dream. And, those you've had to unwrap my presents know I love tape! Then there is the making of cookies. Mom still chuckles at me..."Mom, please, can we make a double batch of roll-out sugar cookies? Please. I promise, I won't get tired before they are all frosted." I'm making cookie dough this morning so that Henry and I can make cookies tonight. And, there is the Christmas Eve tradition that Grandma Moore always served chicken and biscuits. What a treat. I could tell you about the year she suggested she cook something besides chicken and biscuits...we had chicken and biscuits. There's my mom's Christmas bread...yummy. Are you getting hungry yet? (All of the recipes are in the family cookbook. If you need a copy, just let me know.) And, then there were the special packages we'd receive from Grandma Moore--the cross-stitched pillows, the hand-pieced quilts. Treasures. Oh, and writing the note to Santa and leaving him milk and cookies. (If you're a parent, please eat those cookies and don't put them back in the cookie container!) And, how early can we get up on Christmas Day to see what Santa has left us.

So, I've started the Christmas process at our house, although it's a little slower than usual with three kids! And, I love to include hand-made, special things amongst those decorations. I thought I would share a few with you.



The wreath is made by Liz Anderson of Ankeny, Iowa. I have known Liz since my first day at Meredith Corporation. She was a copy editor in the book group. Besides doing copy editing (as a freelancer today), Liz also has a business of creating wreaths. You might wonder why...well she and her husband, Loren Kruse (and also Editor in Chief of Successful Farming) own a tree farm in Grundy Center, Iowa. For three days each year they sell Christmas trees and her wreaths. Since our fireplace is large, I knew we'd need a big wreath and she was willing to make that size for me. I think Loren had to build a larger tank for her to dip it in! But, it looks beautiful on our fireplace. Thanks for the delivery, too. They dropped it off on their way home from Grundy Center in an ice storm. What troopers!

On the mantel you can see the stockings, well, three of the stockings hanging.



These stockings are for Dad, Mom, and Henry. I'm guessing you can figure out which one is mine! I've got the girls's stocking fronts stitched, and even one for Winnie, our dog. Just need to find a few minutes to finish assembling them. The girls get snowflakes on their stockings, and Winnie has bones!

And, I've had a chance to put up one of Grandma Moore's quilts in the dining room. The red is so stunning on the green wall.