It’s one of my very favorite things to get pictures from cool client parties, and it’s even more incredible when those clients are colleagues that I admire! Melissa at Buckets of Grace thought on the Gingerbread Christmas Cookie printables for an entire year before she hosted her family gingerbread house party. And I just love all the details she came up with!

Design Dazzle recently asked me to share DIY project in her 100 ideas of Christmas wonderful series.  I was hard at work at the Penguin Christmas Party from last weekend at the time, and since I had so many DIY projects going on, I shared this starburst ornament that I used to decorate the trees and presents at the party. They were so pretty and I loved the handmade look of them.

Click HERE to go see the how-to steps yourself!

My daughter begged for a Christmas party this year—lucky for her it doesn’t take much excuse for me to start designing an event! It was a fun experience planning this party; Maddie was there every step giving her input on what games to play, what food we should eat and what we should drink and give out as favors.

 The front rooms of the house were decked out for the party in red and green with a “Chilly & Cheery” penguin theme.  I handmade virtually everything in this party from the paper ornaments (tutorial here), ribbon rosettes on the aprons, paper trees on the tables, chair backs and wreaths (see the how to here).  These were all great touches that anyone can pull off with a little effort.

We had a table full of fruits and vegetables for the kids, and a small sweets table. Edible Details sent the cutest little fondant penguin toppers for our cupcakes that the girls later put in front of their gingerbread houses. Renee of Bees Knees Creative sent some adorable (and delicious!) sugar cookies that perfectly matched our little penguin graphics. Both these penguin-shaped sweets were huge crowd pleasers!

And all those red stands? I’ve said it before–there isn’t anything a can of spray paint can’t fix. I picked up some footed bowls and a candle stick at Goodwill and painted the outside (not the inside where the food goes!) The striped plate came from Wal-Mart.

Other items on the table were peppermint fudge covered oreos, divinity (a favorite southern candy), white chocolate drizzled popcorn with m&ms (“snow crunch”), and chocolate cookie dough truffles. The favorite on the table were the “snow cones.” I dipped a large marshmallow in candy melt, rolled it in coconut and then placed it on a tiny ice cream cone and topped it off with a red m&m. Easy and fabulously fun! I’ll put up a pictorial tutorial soon to show you just how it was done.

So excited to finally share this Christmas shoot with everyone. I loved designing and styling these printables for a “Merry Little Christmas” and very happy to see it on the blog for Amy Atlas Events today. Take a peek there, and later this week I’ll have the whole shoot posted here for everyone to see!

Credits:

The holiday season is a busy bustling time–when children spend a lot of time not in school. And I have to have to keep them busy so it’s also a happy holiday season! Over the summer we had a list of  ”50 fun things to do this summer” (we got the idea from another blog–thanks whoever you are!) and the  kids had such a great time crossing each item off the list. It seemed like a great way to welcome the Christmas season as well–THE Christmas List: Top 20 things to do to Celebrate the Christmas Season. My oldest is already firing up her sharpie to start checking away.

For everyone out there who loves lists as much as my kids and I do (my husband is morally opposed) we’re offering a free printable to cross your Christmas “I”s and dot your holiday “T’s”. Thanks to Ashley Dickson for the design!

The list is an 8×10, so it’s the perfect size to put in a frame, or just layer with paper for a pretty hanging like I did in the picture. Download your list here.

 And if you’re in prep mode for holiday gift giving and parties, don’t forget to check out our holiday printable sets in the store:

• Mod Holiday (with or without Santa!) in red, black and white
• Merry Little Christmas in pale blue and red damask with reindeer and snowflakes
• A Penguin Holiday - in red and green; perfect for classroom parties!
• Gingerbread Christmas Cookies - get some Christmas cookie love
• Snowflake Holiday Party – a more grown-up theme for celebrating

Finally- the last installment of the Joyeux Noel Dinner party. Just in time to make it all again for December 25th! I’m writing up my shopping lists today to start baking and prepping again. There have been a few comments about the extent of our menu; I do spend a few days cooking for this meal everytime we have it and have made it so many times, I have the cooking choreography down to a science. And just like so much of the holidays, preparing this meal is a ritual for me and I enjoy it!

The desserts displayed on the secretary are ones I usually make for our holiday dinners; I also usually do a from-scratch chocolate mousse pie that is nice and light after a heavy meal. But with the addition of the decorating, something had to give! Sometimes you have to know your limitations. These desserts are also usually made as full-sized pies. But I wanted to do something a little different and make these all in tiny servings so I made a few adjustments to the recipes. I’ll give you how to make them both ways in this post!

SHERRY ALMOND PIE

I am ever so grateful to Courtney at Pizzazzerie for debuting this party. I gave her the exclusive on this recipe, and you can find it here.  The recipe was created by my Grandmother, Lula Anita Leatherbury. Or as we call her, Grandma Nita. Did I mention I was from a Southern family?  This pie is unlike any you’ve ever had, and the flavors are so surprising, you’ll quickly add it to your go-to list. It’s a very light and fluffy pie, and pairs perfectly with a spicy meal in winter or as an airy finish to dinner in the summer.

I usually use rolled pie crusts from the grocery stores to make sherry almond pie, but with the amount of tiny pie crusts I was making for everything else, I decided to use graham cracker crusts instead for some variety.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (roughly one of the packs from the box)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

Just mix these three ingredients together, and press into a muffin tin. You’ll have to use a small spice bottle or something similar to get the crust to compact to the sides of the tin; a spoon and my fingers weren’t enough when I did it – but maybe I was having an off day?? I baked the tin of crusts at 350 for 8 minutes to set them as I wanted to be sure they would be easily removed from the tins. I then placed them in the refrigerator to cool.

After the crusts were cooled, I filled them with the sherry almond mixture and put them back in the fridge to set. Some time later, I whipped up some meringue for topping…

Meringue Pie Topping

• 3 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of cream of tartar

Beat your eggs until frothy, then add the sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Add the flavoring last! Spoon onto your pie or (pielettes) and spread to the edges to seal the filling in. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes until you get those gorgeous brown peaks.

With the sherry almond filling, you’ll want to put these immediately back in the fridge. After an hour or so, use a fork to gently pop them out of the muffin tins and serve!

GRANDMA SEIDL’S APPLE PIE – DECONSTRUCTED

Holiday meals are about tradition, and I do have another side to my family; they are from Michigan. This apple pie was passed down to me from my Grandma Catherine, and I learned to make it from her standing by her side in her farmhouse kitchen. Nothing was ever written down; we just did it. Every time I make this pie, I want to try all the fancy pastry shapes and designs I see around in the top of the pie, but every time I can’t bring myself to and cut the same wheat patterns Grandma did into the crust.

The key ingredient in this pie is a nice, tart apple. Grandma had an apple tree behind her house that had perfect apples and gave any pie that came from her house a distinct flavor. Granny Smith or a less tart apple with a touch of lemon juice will make due for those of us without fabulous apple trees in the backyard. These measurements are approximate; so a little more or a little less of everything isn’t going to hurt the end result.

• 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cubed
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 T tapioca pudding mix
• 2 pie crusts

Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and tapioca mix in large bowl. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Place second pie crust on top, and cut several holes in top to let out steam while baking. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour on top of a cookie sheet (will save cleaning the oven later!)

For the dessert display in the Joyeux Noel dinner, I skipped baking in pie crusts, and just put the filling in a 9×9 pan and baked it. I cut wedges of pie dough, brushed on some milk and sprinkled some sugar over them and baked them until done. I put the apple pie filling in votives to serve, topped with fresh whipped cream (1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup sugar, beat until stiff), a cinnamon stick and a pastry wedge. This looked a lot harder than it was to make!

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

To make the tiny bites for these, I cut circles out of the pastry dough and put them in mini-muffin tins. You’ll need 2 to 3 pie crusts if you do it this way. I mixed the filling as below, but left out the pecans. I placed a whole pecan in the top of each bite to finish and put them in the oven!

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
• 8 ounces chocolate chips (bittersweet or semi-sweet is best!)
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 frozen pie crust, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and the flour. Add the eggs, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 1 hour.

CROQUEMBOUCHE

The french meaning is “crunchy in the mouth” or “will burn your fingers beyond belief.” Found that one out the hard way! This is such a beautiful dessert, though, it is worth the effort. I do have to make a confession … I actually made a cheater’s croquembouche. The thought of making all those tiny pastries and then filling them made me want to throw in the towel before I started. While perusing the frozen food section, I spotted pre-made cream puffs…and that sparked an idea! You’ll need about 80 or so of these puffs to build a decent size croquembouche.  Then all you  need to do is add the caramelized sugar! I adapted this from a recipe I found on Food Network.

Caramel:

• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup water

Put the sugar in a saucepan (something not so large it won’t be difficult to reach in and dip your cream puffs) and make an x in the sugar. Pour the water in and allow the water to slowly soak into the sugar. Boil the sugar water until it turns a light golden color – no stirring necessary! Once it’s the right color, place the saucepan bottom into an icebath to stop the cooking. Dip the puffs in the caramel (CAREFULLY!) and place them together to form a circular base and keep building the circles of puffs smaller and smaller to form trees.  The caramel hardens as you go and gives it structure. Drizzle your croquembouche with caramel all over. You have the option of adding decorative elements at this point like flowers and sugared nuts and other sparkles, but I thought it was pretty as is!

Thank you so much to everyone who has visited this thread of posts – it was so fun to share a few of our family traditions and some family lore to boot. And stop by the Etsy store to check out the printable for this dinner; the proceeds from the Joyeux Noel collection are going to the Alzheimer’s Association!

It’s a lucky thing Christmas and Thanksgiving only come around once a year. Because yes, I do cook every dish from scratch, including the desserts on that menu! It’s always two days of cooking for 20 minutes of eating, and while it seems an awful lot of work, I do enjoy the ritual of preparing all that food.

The main course of our meal generally looks like this:

• Brined Turkey
• Spiral sliced ham
• Sweet potato souffle
• Andoille Sausage Stuffing
• Green bean casserole or other green bean dish
• Cranberry-Orange relish
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I’ve been asked a few times why the ham AND the turkey. It’s the way it’s been as long as I can remember, and I continued the tradition when I moved out. In the end, it comes down to the fact we usually make gumbo in the days after Christmas, and you can’t make a good gumbo (or jambalaya) without ham stock and a good poultry stock. So we always have both!

ON BIRDS AND PIGS

Dad’s been deep-frying turkeys in crawfish pots for more years than I can count, all shot full of spicy marinades. I did mine that way, too, for a number of years before I tired of disposing of all the peanut oil. We have collectively moved to brining our turkeys; Alton Brown’s is the best I’ve had. Always moist and juicy!

The ham I guess I do cheat a little on. We always get the kind you only have to heat up. It’s also a bonus that the hams are pre-cut! I am usually borrowing a neighbor’s stove to get everything baked, but when this hasn’t been available, we’ve been known to use crock pots and grills and portable roasters to get the ham cooked and everything to the table at once.

SWEET POTATO SOUFFLE

One of my many many faults is that when I say Thanksgiving dinner is a 4pm, I mean it. So when my favorite neighbors were late for dinner one year by about an hour, all was forgiven and then some once I wrapped my lips around these sweet potatoes. I coulda died—only wish they had shown up sooner so I could have eaten less turkey and more sweet potatoes! So thank, you Julianne, we continue to enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 3 large cooked sweet potatoes, pureed
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup milk

Topping:

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter softened

Mix all potato casserole ingredients together in processor and process until well blended. Put into a greased baking dish and add topping that has been mixed together and crumbled over potato mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE STUFFING

When this made its debut at Biggs Manor in 2003, we knew we had a winner. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas since, we have religiously made this stuffing. We chose it at first because it paid homage to our Louisiana roots, but since then have made it because it was so darn good! Andouille sausage is very much a regional item, so if you can’t find it, substitute a spicy smoked sausage. I also always get the best results using a fresh made (from the recipe on the cornmeal can) loaf of cornbread. My brother uses and swears by the Jiffy mixes, but I just don’t think it’s as good; but if you use this recipe, you’ll find your own preference!

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 pound andouille sausages, cut into 1/3-inch pieces
• 1 12-ounce package breakfast-style bulk sausage
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped red bell peppers
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 loaf cornbread, cubed
• 1 cups (about) combination of chicken broth and ham stock.

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add all sausages and cook until brown and cooked through, breaking up bulk sausage with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onions, celery and red bell peppers. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Stir in green onions, thyme, hot pepper sauce and sage. Transfer sausage mixture to large bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Stir cubed cornbread into sausage mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

To bake all of stuffing in baking dish: Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Add enough broth/stock to stuffing to moisten (about 3/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups.) Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down; bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes longer.

Last night, Courtney (one of my frogs) held a little get together at her house to have hot chocolate and walk around with the kids to see the neighborhood Christmas lights. It was a great excuse to get together! Courtney loves planning little events, and is always coming up with creative ideas. I saw these little cupcakes she made and had to share the idea.

Completely no bake, these hot chocolate cupcakes will take seconds to make. She bought chocolate mini-cupcakes at the store, added a candy cane for a handle, and a few marshmallows on top to finish up the little hot chocolate “mugs.” SO cute!! And so easy!!

And to go along with her “hot chocolate” theme, she had little Christmas gifts for all the kids who came. The cups were used for hot chocolate during our Christmas light stroll, and the little mittens meant to keep little hands warm while we were out in the cold — cold for Florida, that is! A single candy cane was in the cups (and we thank her for the lack of candy) and some other Christmas-themed activities. Her favor bags are always so thoughtful!

I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of the holiday decorations she put up around the house…bulbs hung from the chandelier, a baby sock advent calendar, a tree of ornaments made from the kids’ pictures, and apothecaries filled with colorful bulbs on the counter and a cup full of candy canes. These details were easy to put up, and definitely made a great visual impact in her house. Thanks again for a lovely evening, Courtney!

The appetizers for this table look much more fussy than they are – all were made ahead of time then popped into their little pretty dishes right before serving. The oysters I let my husband shuck; I don’t eat them (traumatic early childhood oyster experience – thanks, Dad!) so I don’t cook or otherwise prepare them. We had actually planned for Oysters Rockafeller as an appetizer, but prep work for them was a little beyond what we were able to do and prepare the meal itself. We did save a couple dozen for the next afternoon when we weren’t rushed to cook and I’m told they were amazing! Alton Brown from the Food Network always seems to have can’t miss recipes, and his Oysters Rockafeller were no different.

The Pommes Annette were absolutely delicious! And something you need to give yourself a little lead time to make. They are a bite-size version of the classic French pommes Anna. I’m going to give you two versions of this – Martha Stewart’s recipe, and the way I actually made them. I love love love Martha’s ideas, but sometimes her methods are a little fussy for fussy’s sake. You bake these in mini muffin tins – she recommends having two to cook it her way, but I didn’t have two so made it work my way!

Taken from Martha Stewart’s Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook. 24 pieces when made.

POMMES ANNETTE

• 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature plus 1 T  melted butter
• 24 small sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 1/2 tsps fresh thyme leaes
• 18 to 24 fingerling potatoes, skin on
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the center. Using some of the melted butter, generously butter mini muffin tins. Place 1 sprig of thyme in teh bottom of each cup.

2. Using a mandoline, cut the potatoes into 1/16-inch-thic slices (about 240). Using a pastry brush, butter both sides of 24 of the potato slices with the room-temperature butter. Place the slices over the thyme sprigs to make the first layer. Top each slice with about 1.8 tsp of the goat cheese, and season generously with salt and pepper. Make 9 more layers, alternating unbuttered potato slices with the goat cheese; only the top and bottom potato slices are buttered. Sprinkle a few thyme leaves on the last layer of goat cheese.  Finish with one last slice of buttered potato on top of each cup.

3. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over each muffin tin. Brush the paper generously with the remaining melted butter. Place the parchment, butter side down, over teh potatoes in teh tin. Plase a second muffin tin of the eaxct same size on top of the parchment and press down. Place a large cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet on top to compress the potatoes and place in the oven.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the weight., the tope muffin tin, and the parchment paper. Bake the potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes more, until golden brown. Let cool slightly 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the inside of each cup. Using a butter knife, gently remove each Pommes Annette and turn over onto a serving platter.

And now for how I actually made them.

POMMES ANNETTE PAULA

• 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature plus 1 T  melted butter
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tsps dried thyme leaes
• 18 to 24 potatoes
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

I couldn’t find fingerling potatoes or fresh thyme among my three regular grocery stores, so substituted rosemary sprigs and dried thyme and regular potatoes. Greased one 24-opening muffin tin with butter. Placed in little sprigs of rosemary.

Using a sharp knife and cutting board (no mandoline here) I sliced my potatoes thin. These potatoes were WAY too big to fit into the little mini-muffin cups, so I took a very small cookie cutter (about 1.5 inches) and cut circles out of my slices. There were a lot of slices. Skipping this step would have made the process so much easier.

My pastry brush was AWOL. I melted all the butter and just dipped my slices in the butter and dropped the m into the muffin tin. After the first layer went down, I put a little tiny bit of goat cheese on each potato circle. Then alternated potato circle, goat cheese until there were 9 potato circles. I dipped the 10th layer of potato circles again in the butter and placed them in the tins. At this point I realized I completely forgot to salt and pepper each layer. Oops. I just put a heavy hand to the last layer, and truly I don’t think the extra sodium was missed. I sprinkled the dried thyme over each cup and a dab extra butter.

I then buttered my parchment and put it over the muffin tin. I try to have a fairly streamlined kitchen, so I don’t have too too many duplicates – there is only one mini muffin tin in my kitchen so I could not compress and weight my pommes Annette like Martha. I took one of my spice jars and smashed each cup down as tightly as I could before I popped the whole tray in the oven. Since I made these the night before, I cooked them for 30 minutes, pulled them out, let them cool a bit and wrapped them for the refrigerator. Right before the turkey went in the oven, I put the pommes Annette back in for 10 minutes to heat and crisp them. Using a fork, I carefully removed each one and put it into a wonton spoon to serve.

The hot crab dip and parmesan crackers were fabulous and I really liked how the handmade crackers looked peeking out of these mini-martini glasses (purchased at World Market.) To streamline this app, just use a butter cracker or something similar in stead of going the handmade route. I made the dough 2 days before I needed it and baked the day before dinner.

PARMESAN-ROSEMARY ICEBOX CRACKERS

Taken from Martha Stewart’s Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook. Makes 20.

• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• 2 tsps finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus extra sprigs for garnish
• 3 T very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup (2.5 oz) finely grate Parmesan cheese
• 5 T sour cream
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Combine the flour, salt, peper and the chopped rosemary int he bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Add 1 T of the sour cream at a time, pulsing each time to combine. Process until the dough comes together and is well combined.

2. Transfer the dough to a clan work surface. Shape the dough into a 2-inch-wide log. Wrap the log with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Slice teh well-chilled log into 1/4 inch thick clices. Transfer the slices to a baking sheet. Dip a spirig of rosemeary into the egg white and place it in the center of 1 cracker slice. Repeat with teh remaining rosemary and crackers. Bake immediately, rotating the sheet halfway through cooking, until the crackers are golden brown adn firm in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. (The crackers should not get too dark around the edges.) Transfer to a rack to cool. The crackers may be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

HOT CRABMEAT DIP

I sort of merged a few crab dip recipes I found for this preparation-

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 T milk
• 1 cup crabmeat
• 2 T chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Pepper to taste
• Top with 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Soften cream cheese with the milk and beat well. Add remaining ingredients to the cream cheese and blend well Put in oven-proof shallow dish, topping . Bake in oven at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Not everything on your table can be made from scratch. It’s simply too much for a regular hostess to do while executing a four course meal. I made these Apricot Brie puffs for my mother’s party this summer, and they were a wild success. I don’t really have a recipe per say for them. I take a sheet of puff pastry, cut it into little square, put a little piece of brie and a tiny bit of apricot preserves in the middle of the squares, pull the corners in so they look like little purses and pinch the edges shut. They get popped on a pan and baked according to the directions on the box! Simple, but super tasting and fancy looking.

Stay tuned for dinner and dessert!

Holidays around here are very much about roots and tradition. And an obsession with really good food. I recently came up with an explanation why we are all so crazy about eating at our gatherings when, of all things, I was reading a Rachel Ray magazine where she equated her recipe stash as a scrapbook of memories and adventures. I think this is why food is so important to us; as a military family, we didn’t grow up next to grandma and grandpa or aunties and uncles, and we associated the very different food we ate on our visits with family as memories.

Case in point, I still remember sitting in the kitchen with my brother Sean after making my first Sherry Almond Pie from Grandma Nita. We both took a bite, and immediately said to each other, “Tastes like Grandma’s house.” Jambalaya reminds me of 300 year old oak trees, dripping Spanish moss, and the scent of humidity and magnolias. The fragrant sweet smell of Aunt Rochelle’s cookies brings me back to her farm house kitchen and the sturdy round wooden table, and Old Bay and a good beer will always take me home to the waterfront of Virginia picking crabs and having laughs with loved ones.

So yes, when we eat, it is more than just sitting down for a good meal. We’re sitting down with our memories, and with the company of good friends and family, making new ones. And with a little extra atmosphere and a few new dishes, I’m hoping the memories of Christmas this year will be spectacular.

The pictures shown on this post are our actual Christmas dinner with my husband’s family, who came down this past week for the holiday. I wanted to celebrate the atmosphere as much as the food this year at dinner! As I said, my father’s side of the family is from New Orleans, so family cooking always has a decidedly Cajun/Southern flavor, and was part of my inspiration. And I admit, there is a Christmas song from my favorite New Orleans Christmas CD called “Joyeux Noel” that I sing all year long that I couldn’t get out of my head and on to paper quickly enough as a design.

I’d like to say that each piece of decoration here was specifically chosen just for this dinner. But really, everything but the magnolias and ribbon was already around the house and it was just a matter of rearranging. And if I were at Grandma Nita’s, I would have just wandered out to her back acre and climbed my favorite magnolia tree for some blossoms or used some of her prize-winning camelias!

It was fun weaving in a little family history and heirlooms when I planned this dinner. The dinner table was set with a hand made table cloth and set of napkins from Malta that were gifted to us last Christmas by our Nashville-based brother and sister-in-law layered over burlap for texture. I also set out our wedding silver and candlesticks, magnolias, antique silver toned chargers and my collection of plates I bought just because I thought they were pretty—none of them match.The favor boxes I designed after the ironwork in the quarter, and attached a gift tag with some jute to each box to make the boxes also serve as a place card.

I was thrilled when Nicole of Tradewind Tiaras sent over a dozen of her sparkly crystal napkin rings to use for my place settings. I accented each one with boxwood sprigs after consulting my new favorite florist around the corner, Buds and Things. The tree was already in the room, and I took everything off but the bulbs when I started decorating for dinner. I love the simplicity of this look, and it makes it blend with everything so much better. After a hunt for a real extra large wreath for this room here in Florida, I had to give up and use an artificial, but would have really loved to see some pretty boughs hung in the window.

I love Kate Lander’s style—the cotton ruffles she uses just inspire me. So I took a little time to sew some ruffled chair accents with her in mind that turned out just wonderfully and added a little something extra special to the table! I left mine unfinished, as it suited the overall look of the room and added a knotted ribbon, Christmas bulb and sprigs of boxwood. I used a sheet that was no longer used on the beds for material and then pinned on the ribbons an bulbs so I can use these again for another occasion!

My husband’s grandmother’s buffet was used to set our pre-dinner-wait-for-the-turkey-to-be-done appetizers out. Even though we all love that Louisiana flavor, there are some of us that don’t eat seafood so there are a variety of little bites here.

With any luck, I’ll be able to put up the recipes for these dishes this week. But if you’re on the hunt for pretty appetizer ideas, I can’t recommend Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook enough! The Pommes Annette and Parmesean Crackers came from this book, and over the years I’ve tested many many of the other recipes.

When it comes to dessert, I always want a little bit of everything. So I made my usual holiday favorites and made them bite-sized so we could exercise a bit of portion control with our little bit of everything. The croquembouche was a new adventure, but very worth the effort and singed fingers! The sherry almond pie with the meringue top is my grandmother’s; I still have the worn handwritten recipe on an index card scrawled out by her hand. It’s as much an heirloom to me as the furniture! I set all our treats in hy husband’s great grandmother’s secretary. When it was refinished, I wouldn’t let them do the inside, as I loved the worn wood from all the letters my husband’s grandmother wrote at the desk. This was a beautiful dark backdrop for our sweets! And the best part was I got to savor a little of each without feeling too bad about having too much.

I learned to make apple pie at my Grandma Catherine’s apron and it is the singular request from my mother whenever I visit that I make it. It’s one of those things that never really gets written down, you just do it. I did play with the recipe a bit this time as I wanted bite sized pies; so I took it apart. I baked the filling separate from crusts I sugared and cut into wedges. I added a dollop of whipped cream to apple filling,  a cinnamon stick and the cooked pastry into a votive and made a heavenly little dessert.

While I do like to decorate a little for dinners such as this, we are usually a tad more casual. Why such an effort? Not to put a damper on the festivities in this post, but our family is racing a clock with Alzheimer’s and we’re trying to make as many beautiful memories for us and the kids before it’s too late. A picture-perfect setting for dinner was a good start to the week! The printable items seen on the table are available in my Etsy store here, and all profit made from the sale of this collection will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

So from my family to yours, a Joyeux Noel, and hope you make many happy memories this holiday season! As for us, we had a wonderful week and are looking forward to doing this all again for my family on Christmas day!