Annual Christmas Cookie Fest

Whew, finished except for the delivery.  Fortunately, J and A take care of delivery each year while P and I finish up wrapping and sweep the crumbs off the floor.

The caramels come first, because they are wrapped individually and stay fresh on the cool side porch.   Caramels are strictly a P and J affair.  They require a lot of patience, standing and stirring. It's the wrapping that is especially time-consuming: little pieces of parchment paper cut into little rectangles, then twisted at each end.  A couple of years ago I bought one of those paper cutter things with the swing arm and the measurements on the cutting surface.  Indispensable. The recipe for the caramels is from Martha Stewart..

Pictured above you see the cookie sheet full of fudge.  The recipe makes 3 pounds.. smooth and creamy.  You eat a piece and then head for the ice water, so if you have trouble getting your daily quota of 6-8 glasses in each day, then eat a lot of fudge.   Ellie's health tip, free of charge.

The cookie selection this year was rather random: Lime Sables, (Martha, again), Maple Sugar Cookies,  Cranberry Pecan Noels (also Martha),  and Espresso Toffee Bars,  The fudge recipe is one my mom used to make and which my my brother Dan also makes at Christmas time to woo friends, family, and office mates.

Once all the treats are made, they are packaged in little white muffin cups and gold candy cups, then packed away for until they are all ready in tupperware containers.

A cutting rounds of paper for-
yes, the round tins.. 

Cranberry Noels, lower tight, and the rest are Pecan Balls.

Once we think we have enough stuff to fill the 15 or so boxes, we stop.  And then we start preparing the boxes.  Each box must be fitted with parchment paper. So, out comes the paper cutter again.

J with the "cutting machine"

the factory..

Finally, it's time to assemble the boxes.. The boxes themselves vary from year to year depending on what I come across, how early I start thinking about it, etc.  Some years they have been wonderful, some years sort of ho hum, as in tins from Target.  This year its a mix of Target tins, white boxes from the paper store, and some red faux leather-y looking things left over from a batch I bought last year at the flea market for fifty cents apiece.  I need to start paying more attention to boxes.  The round tins are a pain to tie a ribbon around..

A filled tin..

So, the assembled tins are ready to rock and roll. I made gift tags from a photo of A's featuring a girl on a swing wearing red boots.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours. 

Ta da. 

So, from my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

Shopping at Home...

There are a million online shopping "clubs" and I am afraid I am a member of at least half of them.  Not really.  But it is embarrassing how many of them flood my mailbox each week.  My go-to of course, is Ebay.  It is only about 8:30 in the morning and I have already knocked a few items on my Christmas list, still, of course, in my jammies and go-to-cozy fleece.

My first purchase this morning - and I will only reveal a few things I have actually purchased- is a "need" voiced quietly by my dear spouse.  I had noticed that our son has been sporting my husband's black cashmere overcoat lately, purchased years ago in Filene's basement or somewhere in Boston on a trip (it was freezing there).  Now it is not that often that it gets cold here- BUT IT'S COLD NOW!

It's a 45% cashmere blend, and comes in black, camel, or gray.  I got the black.  It's $120.00.  If you just want the wool blend (it's 70% wool, 30% viscose) it's $95.  I guess I should know what viscose is, being the fabric connoisseur that I fancy myself to be, but honestly, viscose sounds  a lot like mucous to me.  I mean seriously, couldn't they do better than that? 

I am eyeing these handcrafted little throws that I found on Gilt Group. Should be Guilt Group. 

www.giltgroup.com

There is currently a Geren Ford sale on there.  hmmmmm.  But what I am looking at is much less citified and a lot more in the handcrafted category.. It comes in a variety of about 5 different patterns.. 

Kantha Throw Original price $180: Gilt price $78

Another go-to site is Ruelala.  www.ruelala.com.  Again, interesting choice of site names.  It is like "rue the day I ever met you?"  There are a number of sales on the site now, and as I may have mentioned people in my family have a thing for small leather goods: moleskin journals (do they ever actually journal in them.. dunno, mine is not to wonder why, mine is just to do or die)  So, here are some small leather things:  a small leather journal for $25, a feather America's Parks Atlas , $29 (for the sophisticated RV 'see America' set?) and a leather envelope for $29.  I am guessing you don't post letters in this thing. 

Graphic Image Medium Leather Envelope

It's handmade of French goatskin leather. They say its for papers and photos. It's really pretty.. it comes in black and tan.. I like the tan.. But it's only 7" by 4.5" and it doesn't seem large enough to be of much use.  Perhaps if I were a coupon clipper... or maybe if I carried a stash of large denomination crisp bills around with me.  I could slowly draw it from my sleek Chanel bag, lower my sunglasses, adjust my not-so-politically correct mink wrap, and say "what did you say you wanted for that daaaahhhhling...?"  

But the best site of all for ease of shopping, price and speed of delivery is Amazon.  I think I need me some Amazon stock right now.  I mean P. bought a LEAF BLOWER from them a couple months ago because the shipping was free and he loathed to go to the Sears store which is a MILE FROM OUR HOUSE at the mall.  A leaf blower.  It's his Amazon account, but I know the password. I buy a lot of books, just last night sent my brother and his amour in Massachusetts a Christmas gift of books.  Since I know he won't read this, here is what I sent. 

For her: Steve Martin's new book. 

And for him:  Michael Lewis. Don't know if you can read it but the sub sub title is "Inside the Doomsday Machine".  Described as "fast paced, straightforward, conversational and salty".  Its the story of not HOW the financial meltdown occurred, but sort of an insider story of "who knew?"and how the "great financial storm developed.  Steve Martin's book, I am currently reading.  I read "Shopgirl", Martin's novella of about 4 years ago, and found it lacking in depth.  But the intrigue of the new book is, for me, the context, which is the NYC and international art world, starting from Sotheby's and emanating out.  

Here are some other easy-breezy shopping ideas: monogrammed shirts for the guys in your life from Joseph Banks (all from the armchair), yummy cozy Patagonia fleece pullovers from the Patagonia site.  They had a nice little chat person on the Patagonia site who helps with sizes, other questions of warmth and such, Eric Clapton's new-ish releast "Clapton" and "Crossroads" Festival 2010.

But the best gifts are homemade, I still contend, so I will be writing about our annual all-family-cookie-candy-box-creation-assembly next week....

 Cheers. And a little song.  "oh, the weather outside is frightful, inside it's so delightful...."