Friday, December 15, 2006

Welcome!

BooMamaWelcome to BooMama's Christmas Tour of Homes. This is the first time I've participated in something this big. It's exciting! Hope you enjoy my little Christmas corner of "Bloggyville." And then go check out all the other Christmas tours.

My Spiced Cranberry Cider is simmering on the stove. Ahhhh. I love that aroma. The recipe is below. Would you like a cup while you look around?

I just have a couple things to share with everyone. The first is our Christmas tree. I've done it in mostly blue and white as those are my favorite decorating colors. You can see some of my favorite ornaments by looking over this past week's posts. A fiber-optic angel graces the top. I love how her wings and dress light up with different colors. Subtle and elegant.
O Christmas Tree

My favorite Christmas collection is my Nativity Sets. They come from all over the world: Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Israel, and the U.S. (probably made in China). My mom made the ceramic angels when I was growing up. And the Little People set was a birthday gift for my daughter when she turned one.
Nativity Scenes

I hope you enjoyed your cider. It is my favorite Holiday recipe that my best friend from Texas gave to me.

Spiced Cranberry Cider

2 quarts apple cider
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 1/2 quarts cranberry juice
4 long cinnamon sticks
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Remove spices and lemon slices. If you like, you can float fresh lemon slices in each cup as it is served. Makes about 25 servings.


I hope you enjoyed a few of my favorite things and you'll stop by again some time.

Merry Christmas!!!

19 comments:

Karen said...

verra nice! Love that cider. Is it really simmering?? I'll be there in a minute. :)

palmtreefanatic said...

Beautiful! Everything looks nice and inviting!

TheNormalMiddle said...

From one collector to another---I love your nativity scenes! :)

Mama Duck said...

Mmmm, cider. Beautiful tree!! I really must go decorate now - all we've gotten decorated around here is the Christmas tree, yipes!

ChupieandJ'smama (Janeen) said...

Beautiful tree and I love the way you displayed your pictures! Thanks for the cider recipe. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Lori said...

I too love the Nativity set, and your tree is beautiful!! thank you so much for inviting me in.

Merry Christmas.

Anonymous said...

I love the nativity sets as well. What a neat idea

amanda said...

I have to chime in with most everybody else!!

I love all your different nativity sets from around the world! what a FUN collection!!!

Anonymous said...

Your house looks lovely!!!
I'm seeing so many blogs I've never visited! Stop by my place too, if you have time.
Merry Christmas!!
Mary, mom to many

Anonymous said...

Blue is my favorite color, so I love that you've done your tree in blue and white!

What interesting and beautiful nativity sets, and I love how you presented them for the tour!

Thanks so much for having us over. :)

Anonymous said...

Very pretty! Thank you for sharing, and have a Merry Christmas!

Susanne said...

Beautiful nativities! Thanks for sharing them!

Overwhelmed! said...

Oh, beautiful decorations, especially the nativity set.

And the Spiced Cranberry Cider recipe looks oh-so-yummy!

I'll definitely stop by again. I want to hear more about your attempts to adopt a second time!

Susie said...

What a beautiful tree! I loved seeing all the pics of your special ornaments. Thanks for the recipe too!

Kelli said...

What a beautiful tree and your nativity sets are wonderful! Thank you for having us over and Merry Christmas!
Kelli

Jenny Quld said...

You have a wonderful home, you have many beautiful Nativity's. I am going to look out for the Little People set, My kids would love it. Thank you for inviting me over, Merry Christmas

Susannah said...

I've never seen a blue-and-white Christmas tree before. How cool! (Like my kitchen!) Also, I love your Nativity collection. Thanks so much for your hospitality. :~)

Anonymous said...

What a variety of Natvity sets! And I love blue ornaments.

Anonymous said...

Your blue and white tree is so pretty! My mom always did our tree in blue and green, and I loved how it wasn't typical. Thank you for sharing, and I am excited to try your recipe, it sounds wonderful! :)