The Little Things Newsletter #237 – Week 11 Giveaway

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Can you believe we have less than two weeks left until Christmas?? If you’ve been reading these newsletters or following Barefeet in the Kitchen for long, you might have caught on that I adore Christmas. This is my favorite time of year and I look forward to it with extreme happiness for months leading up to Advent.

I try my best each year to have all the shopping done before Thanksgiving so that I can enjoy the season without feeling pressure to get everything done in December. From the anticipation of Christmas morning, remembering and being thankful for Christ’s birth so many years ago, the joy of sipping my coffee by the Christmas tree each morning, and the little Advent surprises for the kids – I truly love it all and try to take the time to enjoy the little things that add up to our holiday traditions each year.

Today, for the eleventh week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Giveaways, I’m giving away this Willow Tree Nativity Set. We’ve had our Willow Tree nativity for almost 20 years and it remains my favorite Christmas decoration to set out each year. We built up the collection slowly and each year as we unpack and set it up, it makes me smile.

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To be entered, leave a comment on THIS BLOG POST telling me your favorite Christmas decoration. The winner will be selected on Tuesday, December 15, 2020 at 11:59pm EST.

Here’s the lucky winner’s comment:

I do realize that the nativity is temporarily out of stock, likely for the remainder of the year. However, I will place an order and ship it to the winner, just as soon as it becomes available again. I’ve looked forward to giving this away for a while now, so I’m not letting that stop me.

ON THE BLOG this week: Soft and chewy Oatmeal Cookies filled with the perfect amount of raisins are a classic that will never stop being made in my house. These have been Sean’s favorite cookies for so many years now I’ve lost count.

This creamy Smoked Salmon Chowder is filled with carrots, onions, celery, garlic, wine, and a hint of bacon. Thyme and dill are added along with the smoked salmon to create a memorably rich and flavorful chowder. If you enjoy smoked salmon, you will love this chowder.

All the flavor of classic gingerbread cookies in a chewy Gingerbread Cookie Bar generously topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting. I’m happy to tell you that these cookie bars trump every gingerbread cookie I’ve ever tasted in the past. So, not only do they win points for being so very easy, they win for being truly fantastic as well.

What I’m CRAVING: This Kentucky Butter Crunch Cake from Creole Contessa looks and sounds amazing. I’ve been craving it ever since I saw it last week!

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these disposable pans that I bought for holiday food gifts. They’re a terrific size for small to medium food gifts. And (2) of the 9-inch round pans perfectly hold one recipe of the ever-popular Cranberry Christmas Cake.

What I’m READING: Holly and Ivy by Fern Michaels. While I enjoyed this book, it was admittedly predictable. Maybe not the best book I’ve ever read, but it was a nice distraction for a few hours. (I realize I’m not selling it here, but I did enjoy it!) The book starts in tragedy but doesn’t continue as a story of grief for too long. It felt hopeful and definitely made me smile in the end.

What I’m WATCHING: It Happened One Christmas. I have mixed feelings about this one. It’s A Wonderful Life is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I assumed I’d like this one. However, the description “In the spirit of It’s A Wonderful Life…A young woman has to give up her dream and remain in her small hometown as head of the family’s building and loan.”

In the spirit of? Well, this movie is almost exactly the same movie, George and Mary have just swapped places. Mary Bailey is the main character going through all of the same moments that George experiences in the original. While fun to watch, it was almost a miss for me as the original movie is simply perfect and will forever be a favorite.

“And we are better throughout the year for having in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile!

Mary

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Mary Younkin

Mary Younkin

Hi, I’m Mary. I’m the author, cook, photographer, and travel lover behind the scenes here at Barefeet In The Kitchen. I'm also the author of three cookbooks dedicated to making cooking from scratch as simple as possible.

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  1. Vickey M Garland says

    My favorite decorations are my willow tree angels that I have in memory of my grandparents, parents and brother. Looking at them remind me that I have angels watching over me and I’m never alone

  2. Andrea Gardner says

    Hi Mary: My favorite Christmas decoration is the Star at top of our Christmas tree ( a tree where the majority of the ornaments have a story or
    memory attached). Our tree is not complete until that bright shining star is lit reminding me of the star guiding the way to Jesus.

  3. Linda Malsbury says

    My favorite Christmas treasure is a wreath my sister-in-law made for our family many years ago. It is special and even more so since she has passed away from breast cancer. It has a family of bears along the bottom & up one side and the other side has a Christmas tree that lights up. Sits above the fireplace every Christmas. Wish I was tech savvy so I could share a picture. Merry Christmas 🎄

  4. Terry C says

    I have two favorites–the 1980’s vintage ceramic Christmas tree of my grandmother’s that is now mine and a little Paddington-esque snowman figurine I acquired (um, stole?) from my mom!

  5. Janet Reinhart says

    My favorite Christmas decoration is a wood plaque I painted last year — it’s a Reinhart Tree Farm sign of a cute red truck with an evergreen tree in the back!

  6. Carla says

    I love our advent wreath. It isn’t fancy, but since our boys were little we’ve lit the candles as a family and read from the Bible. They are now in their 20’s and still ask for hot cocoa before we sit down and take turns reading the devotions.

  7. Lauren S says

    That’s a lovely nativity set! I also have a nativity set that I’ve had for many years. Its simple but sweet, a folk art set purchased at a craft fair. Did you know that St Francis of Assisi is the person that is credited with starting the tradition of a crèche scene on Christmas Eve 1223? I’m a big history buff and looked that up one year.