Southern Lady November/December 2019

I’ll be home for Christmas …” What a heartwarming line that is! For me, the holidays are all about family, and our house becomes a hub for everyone to get together. There is such pleasure in carrying on special traditions and reminiscing about years past—the stories never get old no matter how many times we tell them. In this issue, we celebrate the comforts of home and hearth, starting with the gorgeous Christmas morning scene on our cover. It just radiates warmth and cheer. If you’re pressed for time to decorate your home in such splendid style, don’t worry: On page 109, designers Cindy Barganier and Denise McGaha give us their best tips for holiday décor that’s elegant without a lot of fuss. At the end of the day, it is…

Nothing puts me in the Christmas spirit like classic carols. I crank them up in the car and around the house all season long, but they are loveliest in person, whether sung by a full choir or a cluster of companions on a street corner. Although my age was in the single digits the last time I went caroling door-to-door, I’ll never forget the delight on the faces of neighbors and friends who welcomed our musical merrymaking—it was pure magic. Our caroling party on page 59 pays homage to this beloved tradition. Gather a group to make the neighborhood rounds as you sing time-honored tunes, then scurry home for a warming feast. From figgy pudding and popcorn to roasted chestnuts and pumpkin pie, the treats on the menu were inspired by…

Get a glimpse of the beautiful images our social media friends have shared with us, capturing their own inspiration from the pages of Southern Lady. Top row: Silver trophies and bottlebrush trees bring good tidings to @cutertudor’s tabletop, while a lush magnolia garland adds festive flair to a home photographed by @hillheady. Following @hostandhaven’s lead, leave guests on a sweet note with a prettily wrapped gift of cookies. Middle row: It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for @realestateredesigned in this shot by @1862_farmhouse. After a brisk walk in a winter wonderland, warm up by sipping peppermint tea like @rea_stylenc. Bottom row: @mrs.jessicaedwards makes spirits bright with a punch that is equal parts alluring and delicious, while @louisianafarmhouse gussies up her kitchen for the season with a wispy garland.…

Lela Gerald’s father, Jack Bellows, is a quintessential jack-of-all-trades: racecar driver, deep-sea fisherman, woodworker, and, perhaps most notably, self-proclaimed pepper jelly connoisseur. After nearly 50 years of tinkering with his signature jelly recipe and gifting it to loved ones at Christmastime, Jacko—as his grandchildren know him—gave Lela his blessing to commercialize his take on a Southern pantry staple. “If you have a jar of pepper jelly, you have a party,” says Lela, who walked away from her marketing career in 2012 to establish Jacko’s Pepper Jelly, the premiere product offering of her small business, Sweet Lela’s Kitchen. Lela, an only child, has always been encouraged by her father’s can-do attitude and fearless pursuit of wide-ranging endeavors. “Dad is relentlessly curious, and I think from a very young age he felt some kind…

Soon after Thanksgiving, impressive displays of sparkling lights and elaborately ornamented front yards elicit oohs and aahs as we drive through neighborhoods dolled up in their Christmas best. But in Biloxi, Mississippi, the multihued luminescence of holiday décor gleams all the brighter as it reflects off the calm waters of the Mississippi Sound. Locals bedeck boats of all shapes and sizes with festive decorations as part of the coastal community’s Christmas on the Water Boat Parade, which always takes place the first weekend of December. Founder Rusty David chairs the small committee that coordinates the annual Saturday-night event, a family-friendly affair that has coincided with other festivities around town for more than 30 years. “It kicks off the Christmas season on the Gulf Coast,” says Rusty, who also helps organize the children’s…

In quaint Rowan County, North Carolina, the Patterson family farm has been growing quality produce for the last century, always bustling from spring to fall. The harsher cold months offered limited work and revenue opportunities—until the mid-1970s, when Phyllis Patterson was struck by the possibilities of poinsettias. “My mom saw the need,” says Randall Patterson, the current third-generation co-owner of the farm with his brother Doug Patterson. “We had employees that weren’t very busy because of the cold temperatures, and a good place to work is in the greenhouse with heat and shelter. It started out with one small greenhouse—maybe 500 to 600 plants—and we’ve been able to expand from that.” These days, the Pattersons devote five greenhouses to the poinsettias, producing about 15,000 per year. While the rest of the farm…