“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Toys in ev’ry store, but the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be on your own front door.” ~ Meredith Wilson

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”….seems it starts earlier every year. Since mid-summer, stores have been enticing us to start our Christmas shopping early. Try as I might, I don’t get in the mood to decorate or shop until a few weeks before Christmas. I know Christmas is coming when my neighbors decorate their homes; it is then I realize I had better get busy!

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is pull out all my Southern Living Christmas books that I have saved through the years and spend several hours just dreaming.

During the festive Christmas season and other seasons of the year, most of you like to decorate your front door with a holiday wreath. Here are a few good reasons to decorate your front door now or any time during the year:

• Door decorations can be fun and easy to make.
• Start with a wreath made of greenery or grapevine or use a flat-sided basket and add seasonal silks or dried florals. A pretty bow always adds a nice accent.
• It is a great way to say “Welcome” to those who pass by, to those who come to visit, or to the family who lives there; it can be a welcoming sight when returning home at the end of the day.
• A wreath adds curb appeal and dresses up the front of the house. Consider the color of your home….either brick, stone, or siding, and select colors that complement your door decorations.

“May the prettiest site you see be the holly that will be on your own front door.”  

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

“Soon the bells will start and the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing right within your heart.”

Every year I look through my recipe box and pull out recipes my family enjoys during the holidays. Many of these recipes were shared by friends who have enriched my life through the years. Just seeing the recipes brings back special memories of Christmases past. This recipe was given to me by Helen Bethea of Chatsworth, GA. Helen passed away a few years ago, and I have many wonderful memories of our times together and will forever be grateful for her friendship.

Pecan Tassies

½ cup butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

Cream together and shape in 1” balls. Press balls into a mini muffin tin. Makes 24.

Filling

¾ cup brown sugar

1 Tbs. butter, melted

1 egg

¼ tsp. salt

½ tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix together. Fill shells and bake for 25 minutes at 350.