We are in the final countdown to Christmas, so if you still need some ideas for a gift, ALB has you covered! Check out some of our lovely ideas to really give your gifts the personal touch.
Category: Holiday Collection
Project Christmas
76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas
McCullough and Cooper
1982
This book is my kind of nightmare. These women probably start planning the Christmas on December 26. Obviously, from the introduction, you can already tell they have wayyy too much spirit. All that is missing is a Gantt chart and a Powerpoint. Since this book was published prior to many of those project management tools, I guess we can let it go. That alone makes this book a weeder.
Holiday Recipes of the Doomed
Holiday Season Cookbook
Favorite Recipes Press
1981
As we start head into the holiday season, you will obviously need to step up your cooking game. This book is here to lead the way. This book contains all those lovely recipes from your favorite Home Ec teachers from high school. From what I can remember, I am not sure I would trust my home ec teacher to have something to contribute. After reading these recipes, I think we can assume that most of the home ec teachers aren’t necessarily going to win any cooking prizes.
Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving
Wyndham
1963
We have another Thanksgiving holiday book from the olden days. This book is more the familiar story those of us of a certain age remember as the “true” story of Thanksgiving. Of course it reads a bit more sweetly and glosses over some of the rougher experiences of the Pilgrims. Not to mention under playing the role of the local natives in keeping the colonists alive that first winter.
Thanksgiving Fiction for the Kids
Smashed Potatoes
and other Thanksgiving Disasters
Murphy
1994
Someone had to remind me that this week is Thanksgiving week. It is one of my favorite holidays since it really requires nothing but some turkey and the Detroit Lions failing to win a football game. Usually we post fiction on a Friday, but since I have a Thanksgiving title, we will be featuring this one before the holiday.
This one is for the middle elementary set. The family is preparing for the holiday when Mom is called away to help a relative who is ill. Mom sets a reservation at a local place since she won’t be there to cook. (Evidently, Dad is too incompetent to cook as well.) Megan decides this isn’t how they should do Thanksgiving dinner and cancels the reservation. She is going to step up and cook. Of course, nothing goes to plan and Megan realizes her dinner is fast becoming a disaster. However, she eventually realizes that Thanksgiving is really about family togetherness.
Holiday Party Menus
Better Homes and Gardens
Holiday Cook Book
1967
Just in time for your holiday cooking! All your special occasion dinners are here. Aside from the standard Thanksgiving and Christmas choices, we have those special foods for simple gatherings, like fancy sandwiches for the entire group. Again, the same loaf, cake-like sandwiches that have appeared on this site more than once or twice. God forbid you make a mistake and think you are biting into a loaf cake.
But wait, there’s more! Try a fruitcake for your next Christmas dinner. My late father was convinced there were only a handful of actual fruitcakes out there. Since no one likes it, it just gets re-gifted into eternity. I don’t think I have even seen a fruitcake since the early 1980s. I remember trying it as a kid because, cake, but nearly choking on the awful taste.
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day
Phelan
1965
As a mother (retired), I am totally okay with Mother’s day. (Actually, I am okay with anything that nets me a present or two.) This book gives us an overview of Mother’s day in the US and other countries. Not too bad, but somewhat boring. Then I got to the page about Mother’s Day in Yugoslavia, now Serbia. Evidently, Mom gets tied up by her kids. Really. Before you jump to any weird conclusions, I searched for some verification.
Mother’s Day is celebrated before Christmas as part of the Serbian Orthodox tradition. Mother’s Day is celebrated along with Father’s Day and a Children’s day as part of preparation for Christmas. These holidays are about remembrance and tying the past with the present. (This info is from the Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Eastern America and St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church)
St Patrick’s Day Special
At the Butt End of a Rainbow and Other Irish Tales
Livesey
1970
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone. I actually forgot today was St Patrick’s Day until I had an appointment and the staff was all decked out in green. COVID has killed my sense of time and I am stuck in some sick rendition of the movie Groundhog Day, repeating the same day over and over. Since I am married to Southside Irish and have been to the parade, drank beer, and marveled at the green Chicago River, I feel obligated to share this post from 2012. You can read the original post here.