Victoria November/December 2020

Dear Friends Pondering reader letters on page 11, as well as the Writer-in-Residence and Chimes essays in this issue, I marvel at how memories of Christmas continue to shape modern celebrations, and thoughts drift to my youth. In our household, the festivities began with a day of cookie-making. On the eve of this annual event, Mother would prepare the homemade dough, pull out metal cutters reserved for the occasion, and ready her cookie jar for the goodness to come. I can almost feel the warmth of that long-ago cozy kitchen, full of merriment as we children rushed to the counter. My sister and I devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to fashioning works of art, while our brother had the most fun eating frosting straight from the bowl. All three of us remember fondly these…

Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love. Take a closer look at some of our favorite November/December features: Lighting the Way Admire the twinkling splendor of Filoli Historic House & Garden, dressed to welcome the season in grand holiday style. The Essence of Christmas The home of Hillhouse Naturals co-owner Tracy Batts delights the senses, as the brand’s signature fragrances enhance the sights and sounds of Yuletide. Gifts from Our Kitchen Download our festive printable Gingerbread Cookies recipe card, and find a blank version suitable for taking note of other favorite dishes worth sharing. Escape to Vienna With the city’s lovely architecture serving as an exquisite backdrop for a winter tour, explore Austria’s famed Christmas markets to find an inspiring blend of history, culture, and craftsmanship. We love your…

Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Victoria Classics Book Club selection Little House on the Prairie, observed, “Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.” Readers reminisce about past holidays, sharing cherished moments from their youth that still claim an important role in today’s celebrations. Living with my grandparents, Yuletide was always special. An old-fashioned, real tree took center stage in our living room, with brightly colored bulbs and glass ornaments from Germany adorning the boughs. Grandpa’s handmade wooden manger and wooden candlesticks added to the scene, while Grandma’s carefully stitched Christmas curtains hung in the kitchen. Those shimmering ornaments now decorate my tree, and that treasured manger sits beneath it. Grandma’s Christmas…

In late fall and early winter, this farm comes into its own as a gathering place for family members and friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays draw people to our warm hearth and abundant dinner table. We might have a couple of families of children and grandchildren, an unattached adult child who lives out of state, and perhaps some local friends who weren’t able to be with their own families this year. With three generations at a big holiday meal, we need a Children’s Table. We bring out the card table and four folding chairs, find a tablecloth the right size, and look for some sturdy, if mismatched, place settings for the younger children. I locate our scratched but indestructible blue plastic tumblers. If dropped on the floor, they roll or bounce…

Some of the best materials to preserve are statice, globe amaranth (gomphrena), cress, and larkspur. Drying flowers is easy: Just pick them when they are fully open but not overly ripe, and hang them upside down in a warm, dry place for a few weeks until firm and completely dry. Gently wrap dried bundles in newspaper, and store them away until winter, when they come in handy for wreath-making, crafts, and weaving in with fresh flowers. Dried material is quite fragile, so handle it with care. For the bouquet shown opposite, I scoured our property for unexpected ingredients. Chocolatey azalea foliage, maroon pieris buds, and copper yew set off large peach amaryllis. Dried strawflowers and fragrant hyacinths accentuate the soft palette, while creamy spray roses add softness. I saved the most…

“MY IDEA OF CHRISTMAS, WHETHER OLD-FASHIONED OR MODERN, IS VERY SIMPLE: LOVING OTHERS.”—Bob Hope…