By Sun and Candlelight

Ham ... or Not Ham?

 (Planning Easter Dinner)

This is the question my mum and I first ask ourselves as we sit down to plan Easter Dinner each year. Bill and I co-host the holiday with my folks, in that, we always hold it at my house, but my mum does most of the cooking. We plan, shop and prep together ...

... it's always so much fun. :)

And we always have a large crowd (18 this year!), which is lovely, but it all takes a good bit of planning and "do-ahead." So with Easter Sunday fast approaching, we started the conversation last week ... and we're honing the finer details just now ... but the answer to the above query was ...

"Yes."

 (But there might be turkey, too.)

So on paper, our Easter Menu looks like this at the moment:

* Cocktails and Appetizers *

a big fruity Easter punch - something pink and refreshing - that can be made a bit more "lively" with a splash of light rum or sparkling wine

assorted soda//beer/wine

artichoke dip with French bread

assorted cheeses served with fruit and fig butter

fresh cut vegetables and herb dip

parmesan cheese straws with pesto

* Dinner *

ham (and possibly turkey)

roasted spring vegetables

mashed potatoes

salad

devilled eggs

baked beans

Irish soda bread

toasted dinner rolls

assorted condiments

* Desserts *

freshly brewed coffee

rhubarb grunt

Guinness cake

bird nest cupcakes

*tbd*

assorted Easter candies

~***~

So, as you can see above, I have my Easter Planning folder all ready to go. I used spring colors because they make me happy - yellow folder, ivory and aqua paper, vintage sticker. :) And on that paper I wrote out our menu, things to do, errands to run, etc. Inside the folder I have last year's checklists (for reference) and magazine clippings and printouts with recipes and ideas I'd like to use. I also have a list of Holy Week plans and activities stapled on the inside cover.

So it all looks very organized, which is a good first step! The trick now is scheduling those to-do's over the next two weeks so it all actually gets done. I want Easter to be a glorious day of celebrating with good food and family, but I also want to keep myself grounded, relaxed and with a very open heart. I don't want to lose sight of the true beauty of Easter because I'm trying to frost those darn cupcakes, lol! This is why I find a detailed "do ahead" plan so helpful - for any day, really, - but especially at the holidays.

And when it all comes together with energy and good cheer ... then we can all relax and rejoice ... Alleleuia!

***

Well, I hope you're all having a nice Tuesday ... it's bright and brisk here again (only in the 40s!) so it feels more like March. I don't think I'll get my Teatime post up today, but I will definitely do so tomorrow ... I hope you'll join me if you can!

Take care, my friends! ❤

Turkey Day Shopping

This past weekend I worked on our Thanksgiving Day "game plan" so I thought I'd write about that topic a little ...

(Or maybe a lot if I get carried away, as you all know I'm apt to do.)

But first, a word about food shopping in general ...

Because Earlybird doesn't do that well with multiple-stop shopping (though he's gotten SO much better with shopping overall), I usually run my weekly errands when Bill's home from work. Typically, this would be Saturday and/or Sunday. (I really prefer not to shop on Sundays, but sometimes it can't be helped.) To make the best use of my time (and our money) I try to have a menu plan in place for the coming week, my coupons all sorted, and a detailed shopping list broken down into an itinerary.**

So I set out Saturday morning to shop - list in hand, gas in tank, coffee in cup holder. It takes up a good chunk of my day, but I like getting most of it done in one fell swoop, and, to be honest, I kind of think of it as "me time," lol. (There are still a couple of quick marketing trips with EB through the week.)

In the case of Thanksgiving, however, I'm going to have to split things up a bit!

Thanksgiving, after all, is the biggest "family dinner" of the year. There's just so much to plan and prepare! We need to order a turkey! Do we want a farm-raised turkey? We'd better check the pantry! Do we have the spices that make the cranberry relish so good? Are we trying some new side dishes this year? And how about pies - what do we need for the pies? Are we making pies? Buying pies? Assigning pies? :)

These are all good things to think about this month - and for obvious reasons, it's preferable to think about them earlier in the month rather than later. Today is November 8th - I'd say it's time to think about them!

So, while I am still working on my menu (we're expecting 18 this year!), I have planned out my "Turkey Day" shopping itinerary. I have done this carefully, because for one thing, I am limited on time, and for another, I don't want to be out there when everyone else is out there, fighting for cranberries and yams. So after considering my rather lengthy list - and consulting with my mum - I determined I need to do a combination shop - stopping at the local farm, a Whole Foods market, as well as my regular supermarket.

So!

~ The boys and Mum and I will drive out to the farm one weekday morning next week (aka field trip!). Here we'll get keepers like local cranberries, apples, pears, squash and the like. We'll most likely pick up a few random "gourmet" items that catch our eye.

~ Our Whole Foods visit will take place the weekend before Thanksgiving. Very early that Saturday morning - I'm talking 7 a.m. - we'll head over to WF's and here we'll buy our natural food stuffs. A lot of what Earlybird can have I'll buy here - as well as special treats for the kids after-dinner. (Hammonds natural candy canes have become a post-turkey-dinner tradition. We might try pumpkin spice this year!)

~ The Tuesday before the big day, I'll pick up our free-range turkey from the farmstand down the street. They officially closed for the season on Halloween, but they open back up on this day to pass out the turkey orders. It feels good to support a local farmer and it's nice to know our turkey will have led a (relatively) long, happy life. :)

~ My regular market shopping (for basic dinner staples) will happen very early in the morning the day before Turkey Day (again, we're talking 7 a.m.!). Bill has that day off from work, so I'll run out bright and early to get the remaining things we need for our dinner. Then I'll head back home to bake ... and clean and cook and iron, etc.!

~ Also, I will send Bill out to the liquor store on this day to buy any spirits we'll need. We generally offer beer and wine at Thanksgiving dinner, but we also like to serve one "signature" cocktail for each holiday we host. Last Easter it was an "Easter Bunny Cocktail" and last Christmas we served "Candy Cane Cosmos." We haven't decided on this year's special drink yet ... but I'll be sure to let you all know!

Ok, so there are my notes and thoughts on holiday dinner shopping. This framework holds true for Easter and to a certain extent, Christmas, too. It might seem like a lot, but by thinking ahead and carefully planning out those lists, the shopping should be relatively quick and enjoyable. (Plus I'm keeping better track of my spending.) Generally speaking, if I'm not rushing about or fighting the crowds, I actually enjoy my marketing days!

(Oh, and the "**" above was to say, I have a follow-up post in the works about my overall menu planning and marketing routine. I hope to get that up sometime later this week.)

In the meantime, I hope you all have a nice Tuesday. The weather is going to be beautiful here in New England today - warm and sunny! - but we'll be taking things slow. I have a couple of kids fighting head colds, and one of them (my poor EB) was actually sick to his stomach this morning. So needless to say, I have a little extra laundry to do ...

I'll see you again soon, my friends ... stay well and be safe!

:)

This Year's Holiday Planner

It's hard to believe how fast Fall has flown by - Halloween is just six days away! Have you squared away your costumes? Laid in your candy stores? Picked out your pumpkins?

Now according to the local mall, I'm waaaay behind schedule, but now that October is coming to a close, I'm ready to set my sights on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the busy, bright and beautiful holiday season ...

To that end, I recently assembled my holiday planner, and placed it in the front section of my homekeeping binder. I keep it here, in this "place of honor," since I'll be concentrating on holiday plans now through the end of the year.

In our home, we host Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas afternoon gathering. These are the two "big" entertaining events for us. At this time of year I'm also planning for a few feast days, a meaningful/magical Advent, and a homey/happy New Year's celebration.

Lots of fun to be had! Lots of plans to be made!

And so, as family "cruise director," I really depend on my holiday planner ...

Behind the cover page, are all my planning pages. I used my greenroom legal pads (with soft green and blue accents) for these pages.

(A list of those planning pages is included below.)

I also added in a print-out of Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving and Christmas checklists.

And I used some pretty scrapbooking paper to make a November and December calendar.

(I doodle a lot - I'm silly like that.)

Next, I set up an open folder for the various holiday "clippings" I collect - recipes, catalog pages, craft ideas and the like. I just used a leftover bit of scrapbook paper and folded it in half, like a bill-fold.

A small metal clip holds it all together.

In this way, it's easy to flip through the assorted pages and see what's what.

I stuck the clippings in my counter basket, where it's right in-view and in-reach. I've been adding things regularly - in fact, just this morning I added a recipe for mini mince pies. :)

The planner itself rests on the countertop - alongside my weekly file folder and calendar. Behind the holiday planner is the rest of my homekeeping binder. After New Year's I'll retire the whole planner to the back of the binder. (And next year I'll review and start afresh.)

Here's a list of the planning pages, in order:

(Green = Thanksgiving ~ Blue = Christmas ~ Red = New Year's)

This year's Grateful Tree project

Notes for November feast days & birthdays

Thanksgiving Dinner: guests, menu, make-ahead and cooking times

Shopping list (items/itinerary)

Table notes - seating/decor

House cleaning & prep list

Random to-do's

Activities & family traditions

Special words

This year's Advent Calendar project

Advent Sundays

Notes for December feast days & birthdays

Christmas to-do's: general, weekly

Christmas Cards 2011

Holiday newsletter-blog notes

Christmas Gifts 2011

Shopping list (items/itinerary)

Decorating: inside, outside

Gifts to make and bake

* Cheerful Hearts *

Activities & family traditions

Christmas Eve/Day timetable

Christmas Buffet: guests, menu, make-ahead, cooking times

Epiphany

Welcoming 2012

New Year Family Goals

* Charitable Hearts *

*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*†*

It seems like a lot, doesn't it? Well, the holidays do take some work, after all ...

Of course it's easy to go overboard, but hopefully with a cushion of time and perspective, we're able to keep things in balance. Because it's such a special time of year, and I don't like to spend it rushing around, stressing out or feeling low. If starting this far ahead and making all these lists brings us a little more peace and contentment this Christmas, then I'm all for it!

Well, I hope this post posed some ideas that might be useful for you. I'm sure we all have different lists - not to mention expectations - for the holidays, but I hope you enjoyed this all the same. :)

I also hope you all have a great week, and that you enjoy these last days of October. Our foliage here is just past peak, but with a rainstorm in the forecast for Thursday (not to mention a bit of snow!) I'm sure the trees will be bare before week's end. Such is the passing of seasons ~ and Autumn certainly goes out in a fiery hurrah!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by today. I wish you all well, and I look forward to being here again with you soon ...

*❤*

Random Wednesday

Dear Readers ~ 

As I write, it's very early in the morning ~ dark as night, rainy and cold. According to the forecast, this will be our last soggy day and then a stretch of nippy dry weather has been promised for the weekend and beyond. The heat is rumbling through the house and I turned the family room fireplace on a few minutes ago. Suddenly my children are waking and slowly the coffee's kicking in ...

So now for a few random thoughts:

Educator Weeks Ahead!

Barnes & Noble has an Educator Appreciation Week coming up! Beginning this Saturday and running through Sunday, the 17th. I plan to stop by and pick up a few things (hopefully some Christmas gifts!) as well as a frothy steamed milk flavored with pumpkin spice (thanks to Sarah for the suggestion!). I believe Border's is also running their Educator Appreciation Week, today through Sunday. So get those teacher cards ready!

***

My Current Holiday Planner Tasks:

Work on Thanksgiving menu. (Our goal is to serve a mostly local feast!)

Order a free-range farm turkey - done!

Brainstorm this year's Advent Calendar project. (Wreath? Tags? Bulletin board?)

Ask boys about Halloween costumes.

***

For Dinner Tonight:

Smoked chicken sausage and roasted vegetables, served over rice. Oatmeal-raisin cookies for dessert.

***

Reading Notes

I finally finished Mockingjay last night (the third and final book in the Hunger Games series). It was very good ~ a shocking, but satisfying, end to an absolutely enthralling story. No idea what I'll read next ... maybe I'll do a little browsing at B&N on Saturday? (What are you reading right now?)

***

Well, I guess that's all for now ... time to get things rolling here, now that the darkness has lifted, and breakfast is being requested. ;)

Have a great day, everyone ~ see you all again sometime soon. :)

A Peek at My Holiday Planner(s)

"It's that time of year ..."

(Well, almost.)

Actually, there are 12 whole weeks until Christmas - but we all know that sounds like more time than it really is. Honestly, doesn't it seem like it was just Labor Day? And yet here we are in the midst of the first week of October!

Now, I don't like to rush any season - as the poem goes, something bright in all! - but I so dislike a rushed, frantic Christmas. I don't like buying last-minute, meaningless presents because I didn't have the time (or the materials) to help my children make homemade gifts. I don't like missing special events - a tree lighting or a choir concert for example  - because we didn't make the time to go, or we simply forgot. I don't like buying too many presents for my kids because I was rushed and disorganized as I shopped. I don't like paying big $$$ for express shipping because I didn't get my orders in on time. And I really don't like looking back on the "Christmas That Was" and realizing we missed a bunch of small, but essential things ... like making Grammie's gingerbread, or visiting a creche, or watching a favorite movie together.

Not that we can - or should - try to do everything, every year. But with a little forethought and preparation we can be sure to cover the important to-dos while including the more meaningful traditions.

And so here I find myself in need of a game plan - and therefore, in need of a planner. Here's what I made up over the weekend  ...

I started with a small red binder, which I purchased at Staples. (It's a smaller version of the standard 3-ring binder - 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches.) I made up a pretty collage for the front cover ... 

... and added stickers to the spine:

Inside the binder, I filed loose-leaf paper and five tabbed dividers:

The sections include:

Countdown: a note page for each week leading up to New Year's (things to do, themes/things to celebrate, etc.)

Thanksgiving: all my lists for Turkey Day (cleaning, decorating, ordering, menu, etc.)

Greetings: the Christmas card list

Giving: gifts to buy, to order, to ship, to make ...

Activities, etc.: craft ideas, family fun, faith-related activities, events to attend, decorating notes, etc.

The nice thing about a planner of this size, is it will easily fit in my purse or backpack, making it convenient to take with me when running holiday-related errands.

But ... I still need a place to keep loose bits of information like magazine clippings, event flyers, and things I've printed out from the internet. So I also made a holiday file folder for just this purpose.

On the cover, using a ruler and pencil, I made a calendar which covers the weeks from Halloween through New Year's. I've only just started filling it in ... it's really more of a fun visual than a true working calendar. (Kind of like the Martha Stewart reminder calendar.)

Inside, I made a pocket from pretty scrapbook paper:

And on the left inside cover, I stapled paper for random notes.

(I toyed with making this folder my only holiday planner - using the stapled note page for plans and lists - but I really need more writing space than this would allow.)

And so there I have it - my two holiday planners for 2010.

I also have a holiday tote bag for storing my planners as well as any holiday magazines, catalogs and library books. I'll keep it parked by my workspace from now through New Year's.

Well, that's all for now ~ but thanks, as always, for stopping by! It's a dark dreary morning here - so chilly we turned the fireplace on! - and I find myself strangely in the mood for a cup of hot cocoa ... maybe with a dash of peppermint. ;)

I'll keep you all posted on my planning progress ~ I hope to do lots of "holiday planner" posts over the next several weeks! :)