A month away!

Well it's offically a month before Christmas today! (Yes, my tree is already up.) So, I thought I would share a few Christmas book ideas with you today.

Peterson's Holiday Helper

“How to recapture those blissful holidays of yore? What’s the secret? I searched and searched and –after a whole hour on the Internet– I found the answer: liquor.”

Yes, says Valerie Peterson, the antidote to holiday stress is, quite simply, to keep good spirits in you. Whether you need to ease the friction at the Thanksgiving table, dull the guilt of smashing one of Great-Grandmama’s heirloom Christmas ornaments, or take the bite out of a New Year’s Day hangover, the collection of cocktails and tips in Peterson’s Holiday Helper will keep you afloat. With festive, original concoctions (such as Pilgrim Sangria and the Ginerous Regift) as well as time-honored classics (Mulled Wine and Eggnog), Peterson administers easy and delicious pick-me-ups for holiday humbugs and soothing calm-me-downs for the inevitable celebratory crises.

Whatever your seasonal malady, Peterson’s Holiday Helper has the cure:
In addition to tasty and therapeutic cocktails, Peterson’s Holiday Helper is filled with vintage photographs and holiday ephemera that capture the jolly old days, as well as helpful tips to further your merry frame of mind. With easy instructions for making basics such as simple syrup and infused vodka, along with more than fifty scrumptious recipes, Peterson’s Holiday Helper will help you maintain that old-fashioned feeling of peace and tranquilization–er, tranquillity–for the entire season."

A Christmas Vigil by Anne Perry
"In these two holiday mysteries set in Victorian London, Christmas comes with a helping of magic and murder.
A CHRISTMAS PROMISE - Three days before Christmas, in London’s East End, thirteen-year-old Gracie Phipps encounters eight-year-old Minnie Maude Mudway, freezing and alone. Only the day before, someone murdered Minnie Maude’s Uncle Alf and made off with his rag-and-bones cart—as well as with Charlie, the beloved donkey who pulled it. Now, Grace and Minnie Maude set off to rescue Charlie. But the path that Uncle Alf had taken to his death was not his regular route, and in his cart, the children are told, was a dazzling golden casket that could very well be a Pandora’s box of evil or a shining prize of hope.
A CHRISTMAS ODYSSEY - Ten days before Christmas, James Wentworth feels not joy but grief. His reckless son, Lucien, has been lured into a world of drugs and wild passion. Wentworth’s only hope, he believes, is his old friend Henry Rathbone, who volunteers to search for the wayward young man with the help of two new companions—Squeaky Robinson, a reformed brothel-keeper, and Crow, a mysterious slum doctor. As this odd trio gathers clues about Lucien’s disappearance on London’s dark streets, they find themselves on a mission whose outcome they cannot begin to guess."

The Onion Presents: Christmas Exposed

"Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without impulse-priced holiday gift books—and now The Onion has unleashed its award-winning team of investigative journalists upon the genre. Christmas Exposed features more than one hundred shocking tales of Secret Santas, shopping mall mayhem,
dysfunctional family dinners, and much, much more."




Twelve Drummers Drumming by C. C. Benison

"Introducing a series utterly perfect for cozy fans of Alan Bradley, Alexander McCall Smith, and Louise Penny. The Reverend Tom "Father" Christmas, the newest vicar of Thornford Regis, an idyllic rural town in England, turns detective when one of his parishioners turns up dead in a drum, and everyone in town seems to have something to confess. Tom Christmas came to picturesque Thornford Regis with his young daughter to escape the terrible experience of losing his wife in the city. Her murder sent him packing to the bucolic and charming town, where violent crime isn't supposed to happen and the greatest sin is supposed to be nothing a member of the clergy can't handle. Then, at the town fair, a woman is found murdered. Tom soon learns that everyone in Thornford Regis has a secret to hide--infidelity, theft, even past murders. Twelve Drummers Drumming showcases a lovely place to live and/or die, and marks the debut of a planned twelve-book mystery series featuring the brilliant Father Christmas." See my review here.

Martha Stewart's Handmade Holiday Crafts

"Join Martha Stewart for a celebration of handcrafted holidays all year-round! New Year’s – Valentine’s Day – Easter – Mother’s Day – Father’s Day – Fourth of July – Halloween – Thanksgiving – Hanukkah – Christmas.

Let Martha inspire your creativity with the most beautiful crafts. The 225 handmade projects include cards and greetings, decorations, gifts and gift wrapping, tabletop accents, party favors, and kids’ crafts, as well as more holiday-specific activities, such as egg-dyeing, pumpkin carving, and tree trimming. Each idea is sure to make the holidays more festive—and memorable. " Watch for my review next week!

"Canadian Living The Complete Christmas Book is the ultimate holiday planner, with everything you need to have the perfect holiday season: essential recipes for family gatherings or intimate holiday entertaining dinners; gifts to make for family and friends; décor projects for all around the house; fun projects in the kitchen; and holiday crafts for the whole family to make. With countdowns and work plans, helpful cooking tips and step-by-step photos, Canadian Living The Complete Christmas Book is the one-stop guide to having your best Christmas ever."



Nigella Christmas comprises reliable, practical, easy-to-follow recipes and inspiring and reassuring advice, presented in a gorgeous package that will make this the ultimate gift to yourself, your family and friends.

Nigella Christmas will surely become an all-time perennial favourite, the book we will all reach for – for minimum stress and maximum enjoyment – at holiday season.

Recipes include everything from Christmas cakes and puddings to quick homemade presents (cookies and chutneys); food to cook and freeze ahead; oven slow-cooking; “hero” ingredients; as well as party food and drinks. And, of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event – from traditional turkey, festive ham and special trimmings; to a Swedish or Polish Christmas à la Nigella; to a vegetarian Christmas feast."

Hope that gave you some ideas! (29 days....)