Country Living The Farm Chicks Christmas: Merry Ideas for the Holidays [Hardcover]

Serena Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2010 | Series: Country Living

For “Farm Chick” Serena Thompson, Christmas means a house overflowing with ornaments, lights, and cherished treasures, and the aroma of baking cookies to welcome family and friends. Here, she shows us how to spread the magic of the season, with ideas for entertaining, decorating, tree trimming, charming crafts, and 17 recipes for yummy holiday sweets-plus tips for wrapping food and gifts.
As in The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen, Serena weaves delightful stories of her family and friends throughout the book, calling forth nostalgic smiles that remind us of the importance of tradition at this special time of year.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Hearst (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588165213
• ISBN-13: 978-1588165213
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Serena bounced through the first years of her life in a hippie gypsy wagon, hand-built by her father, wandering the back roads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Her family eventually settled into a tiny cabin in the woods on property that was once inhabited by American Indians. She spent her days searching for arrowheads, teaching herself to sew on a treadle sewing machine and to bake in a wood-burning stove, with no running water, refrigeration, or electricity in her home.

Her family lived frugally and early on, inspired by my parent's thriftiness and style, she gained a knack for thrifty creativity and turning ordinary objects into something useful. And Serena dreamed of the home she would create for her own family someday. Serena is now married to her husband, Colin, and they have four sweet boys. And her dreams have come true.

Along the way, she founded The Farm Chicks Antiques Show, created thefarmchicks.com, and authored The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen with her best friend, who has since retired from the business. Serena now runs The Farm Chicks on her own and writes about her life as an entrepreneur, wife, mom, author, and Contributing Editor for Country Living Magazine on her blog, www.thefarmchicks.typepad.com. She thinks of herself as the luckiest girl in the world, doing what she loves day after day.

Serena's second book, The Farm Chicks Christmas, was released in the fall of 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bring on the Fa La La - Farm Chick Style!, September 8, 2010

By 

Caroline P. Hampton (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Country Living The Farm Chicks Christmas: Merry Ideas for the Holidays (Hardcover)

Christmas "Farm Chicks" style is just what I was hoping for this season. I am a big fan of Serena Thompson (previous book, site, products, blog, etc) so, of course I had her new publication, The Farm Chicks Christmas on pre-order the minute it was available. I was not disappointed in the least. The beautiful photography alone is worth the price of admission - but, never fear Ms. Thompson has given us many more "treats" to freshen our holiday plans. A few favs - the Pom Pom Ornaments (especially if you have super little ones and need non-breakable on your tree), and wrapping & shipping ideas (including Gift Card Holders & Wrapping Paper Village).

A few recipe highlights for me include - Marble Bread and the Mini Orange Bundt Cakes. No way to choose, so I'll be making both.

And, if all that doesn't seal the deal for you --- included is adorable color recipe cards (perfect to make copies and expand your collection or for gifts) and sticker gift tags. Love a free gift with purchase! This is a beautiful holiday book - full of lovely stories and collections. As a fan of the brand, The Farm Chicks know how to throw one heck of a holiday extravaganza!

Cheers!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Retro-inspired country Christmas is a walk down memory lane..., October 10, 2010

By 

S. Hodge - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Country Living The Farm Chicks Christmas: Merry Ideas for the Holidays (Hardcover)

"The Farm Chicks Christmas" by Serena Thompson is the follow-up to 2009's The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much. The first Farm Chicks book was a countrified cookbook peppered liberally with stories and reminiscences by Serena and Teri, antiques-inspired craft ideas (a reusable stencil was included in the front), and comfort food: easy recipes for breakfast treats, appetizers, soups and salads, and decadent desserts, over fifty in all.

"Farm Chicks Christmas," on the other hand, is written only by Serena, a contributing editor for Country Living magazine and antiques show hostess (her best friend Teri has retired from their business). The book still includes numerous country-inspired craft ideas; you'll find decorative, retro-inspired self-adhesive gift tags and notecards at the back, along with various decorating ideas for "the most wonderful time of the year." However, the ratio of crafts to recipes is reversed from the first book; there are only 17 recipes included at the back with gift-giving suggestions on how to package them.

"Farm Chicks Christmas" captures the magic of childhood Christmases, from family visits to the tree farm (complete with recipe ideas for hot drinks to tote along), holiday decorating ideas (holiday scalloped bunting, vintage-inspired snowball pompom ornaments, cone trees and vintage funnel trees, banners and more), and photos of Serena's friends' and family's homes decorated for Christmas.

Much of the book is more like a scrapbooked photo essay, with crafts sprinkled in every few pages. Also, the decorating tips (and included photos) are vintage country in the Farm Chicks fashion: displaying old farm toys standing in coconut snow, for example, or stacking metal funnels to make "trees." If you're not a fan of all things country, this probably isn't the holiday book for you.

The included holiday recipes are few, and aimed mostly at gift-giving, like the sweet and salty nuts, mini orange bundt cakes, and various types of cookies (butter cutouts, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls, snowballs, Spritz cookies). As with the previous book, a handy list of metric equivalent charts is provided at the back. I tried the sweet and salty nuts recipe first, and though tasty, I didn't think that the "sweet" flavor predominated; it was more of a subtle afterthought (there's only 1.5 tablespoons of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of honey for 3 cups of nuts).

Overall, "Farm Chicks Christmas" is a nostalgic walk down a snowy memory lane, but it has narrower mass appeal than "Farm Chicks in the Kitchen" due to the reversal of the recipe-to-crafts ratio and the genre-specific decorating style (I enjoyed the many beautiful photographs, but won't find myself making yarn-ball wreaths or filling jars with spare Christmas lightbulbs anytime soon).

(Review copy courtesy of Sterling Publishing)

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars anticipation, September 17, 2010

By 

loohoo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Country Living The Farm Chicks Christmas: Merry Ideas for the Holidays (Hardcover)

I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new Farm Chicks book. Although it is a nice book, it does not compare to the first Farm Chicks book. It is more like what you might see on a blog. So although I'm not sad that I purchased it, had I seen it first I may not have done so. The first Farm Chicks book was far better.