I always look forward to the Christmas magazines year in and year out and many are saved and recycled for their ideas and recipes for future years. The ones I have picked up so far are down below. I predominantly collect the magazines as over the years they have had some super recipes and indeed ideas for foodie gifts which recipes and ideas I tend to collect. I think in all fairness each magazine has a lot to give it really at the end of the day comes down to what you are actually looking for. I prefer a more traditional take on Christmas, but that is not to say I do not appreciate some of the more modern decorations.
The two magazines in the bottom right hand corner are from previous years.1. Country Living Christmas Magazine
Lovely seasonal visuals in this magazine with some nice easily achievable simple decorations to make yourself which are quite charming. There are some excellent articles including Emmetts Store in rural Suffolk and the provisions look lush.
Lots of ideas for making garlands and other decorations out of paper cut stars which have been cut from old sheet music, suggestions for using plant life such as growing your own Amaryllis bulbs from the end of November and then using them in your Christmas decorating.
A selection of traditional food recipes as well as some different ways in serving the veggies i.e. roasted sweet and sour Brussell Sprouts and Three Root Boulangere. There are vegetarian recipes as well as meat recipes.
A nice selection of sweetie food gift recipes including Raspberry and Vanilla Coconut Ice which uses frozen Raspberries, Spiced Brown Sugar Cookies, Twisted Honey Caramels, Dill Rosemary and Yogurt Biscuits, Mixed Olive and Thyme Biscotti (not my cup of tea as I do not like Olives), Rocky Road. A selection of recipes for cocktails and canapes which look yummy, a recipe for Cranbrillo.
Quite a lot of do it yourself decorations including a Dala Horse made out of air drying clay, embossed Santa, Star, Angel, Heart and Swan foil decorations, Stencilled Crackers, Lace Printed paper chains, mini fabric stocking, jam jar snow globes, fabric covered baubles.
My favourite feature however is the Silent Night Holy Night feature about Pluscarden Abbey in Scotland and the Benedictine Monks who mark the holy days of December.
A very beautiful magazine with loads of lovely articles.
2. Simply Christmas
There was also a freebie gift which consists of five wooden baubles with cut outs of Mistletoe, Joy and a Heart. There is a section on the magazine as to how to use them or craft with them. I do like them but you get duplicates of the Joy and Heart but not the Mistletoe which is my favourite.
There are also Gift, Food and Decoration Planners with proposed time frames, which obviously you can adjust to suit your own requirements. A selection of decoration trends and picture ideas of how to use and style them. A few stylised homes with the Christmas theme that are gorgeous. Some lovely ideas and some lovely homes. Recipe for Mincemeat Oat cookies and Devil's Staircase Gravadlax which uses beetroot and Devil's Staircase Gin to cure the salmon. From personal experience having made Gravadlax at home myself home cured salmon bears no comparison to the bought. In fact it has more flavour. Some nice ideas for preparing your own table settings including foraged items. Recipes for traditional Christmas food and recipe for spiced Cranberry Chutney, Vegetarian gravy, a selection of bakes including Stollen spirals, Banana Bundt cake with Butterscotch, Apple and Amaretto cake and a selection of different tipples.
3. Your Home Christmas
Some lovely simple decorating ideas. A comprehensive section on Christmas trees and the types available both fresh and fake. Beautiful visuals to inspire with ideas on how to decorate with simple things to create your own wreaths from different materials. Ideas for decorations from foraged items. A lovely foliage door wreath which is larger than normal with instructions on how to make. A section on simple home crafted tree decorations including some vintage button wreaths for the tree. There is also a useful section with good ideas on how to save money as well as celebrate Christmas. There is also a delightful crafting section entitled a Lovingly Crafted Christmas including making your own crackers, creating a felt garland for the table and lino cut cards, Christmas stockings, recycling candle lightbulbs to make baubles for the tree, and loads of other ideas. There is also a lovely section on home made gifts, creating a boot jack from wood for pulling off boots and wellies, a lace, a bowl created from a lace mat ideal for serving sweets such as sugar almonds or bon bons in. Making soap, decorating wooden boards with pyrography (wood burning) design included. How to set the Christmas table and jazz it up. I love this one too. It really has got a lot in it for £3.99.
4. Homestyle Christmas
Some lovely ideas for decorating your home. Some with instructions. Details of wreaths available to buy ready made or make your own. Details of bought decorations available. Some of them look lovely. A gift guide, some lovely styling ideas. A craft section for making upcycled cards, how to make your own paper wrap, a Christmas centrepiece using fir cones, seed pods etc. from the wild.
There is a nice section on Edible gifts including Christmas Millionaire's shortbread, Brandy Vegan truffles, white chocolate and berry Rocky Road which looks lush, white chocolate, cinnamon and almond crackles, salted fruit n nut bark, sugar cookies. There is a very good main event dinner menu for both meat eaters and vegetarians including a Bailey's Profiterole stack, Red Velvet Cranberry cake, Spiced Pear Tarts, Chocolate Hazlenut Wreath. Lots of very good recipes to cater for everyone. I like this one too. For £3.99 one of the cheaper mags.
5. Good Food's Homemade Christmas
I must say that I am very taken with this. Lots of ideas for foodie gifts including Apple Pie Chutney,, Mulled Wine and Cranberry jam, Clementine Curd, Quick salted peanut brittle, mince pie truffles, Christmas spiced salt, Candy cane vodka, Christmas pudding gin, Candy cane cocktail. There are some simple decorations to make, a section on freeze ahead meals, a selection of home made biscuits both sweet and savoury. There is a slow cooker section as well the slow cooker brisket with golden ale gravy and horseradish mash looks lush. There is also a naughty slow cooker hot chocolate fondant cake, slow mulled cider, slow cooker clotted cream fudge. A delightful white chocolate cake that can be styled in two ways. A section for the kids to make some seasonal treats including hot chocolate Reindeer cones, carrot cake pops. A fantastic section on baking. The main event for both meat eaters and vegetarians. Recipes for mint fondants, rum balls, chocolate coated marzipan, meringue mushrooms and lots more besides. Well worth the £5.99.
These are the ones I have found so far and as I have said above I believe that they all have something useful in them. It depends on what you are looking for.
Catch you soon.
Pattypan
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I'm going into town later so I think I shall look at the Christmas magazines. It would be nice to have a flick through one over the weekend for some new ideas. I like the look of the Good Food one.
ReplyDeleteThe Good Food one is excellent for the recipes. Some very different takes on mince pies but also on foodie gifts. I keep the magazines year in year out so that I have a range of ideas and recipes to go to. What is in fashion one year soon goes out but it is nice to revive things now and again. Hope you manage to get your magazine. Tricia x
DeleteLast year, as part of a magazine subscription to good housekeeping, I received their Christmas collection magazine which had lots of lovely recipes. We tried out a number over the Christmas period and the ones everyone enjoyed we have had again throughout the year. I renewed my subscription and received the current Christmas collection magazine and it's really disappointing, nothing that grabs me to cook.
DeleteHi Devon Mum, I think from personal experience they do vary a lot in consistency and quality. However it is totally disappointing when you buy a magazine on its quality of content one year and as you say buy it on that premise and be totally disappointed with it. That does go for a lot of things in general though. I have bought preserving books in the past which have been announced as new only to find that most of the content has been used in prior books. All I can say is that try if you can to have a look at some of the mags and see whether it takes your fancy or not. Sometimes it is the picture quality that sells the magazine, and it can have very little content in it. Equally not so in your face photos in the magazine can end up with no end of projects in it. It is unfortunately very much swings and roundabouts and what you are looking for in a magazine and if a recipe or two takes your fancy. Take care Tricia x
DeleteThank you for the reviews - esp of the Simply Christmas. I wondered what the duplicates would be - and do you think its a random selection? Maybe if I bought one I'd get two mistletoe and one joy! I thought the heart was a reindeer with curly antlers. But this post has been very useful, as I only allow myself one Xmas mag.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela, could be random not so sure. I stand corrected, yes you are right it is a Reindeer. I just saw the hearts. Thank you. Most of the ones I have seen have had the Mistletoe on top if that helps. Hope you are keeping well Tricia xx
DeleteThanks Tricia, I'm well, OH not so brilliant. I couldn't make up my mind about hearts or reindeer, it's not obvious. Joy was my favourite!
DeleteOooh, I'm tempted now! That's a very good selection of reviews. I was looking at one recently but had Tam at my elbow, and she talked me out of it . . . Comes under the heading of "too much stuff" and I fear she is right, as I held on to Christmas issues from the past, only getting rid of (bonfire sadly) when we moved. You can't pass them on to charity shops as they won't take them.
ReplyDeleteHi BB, I do hold onto my Christmas mags as I find them so different and so full of recipes that are not always available or found. I stack them in Magazine holders and keep them to hand as I do not just use the recipes in winter months or for Christmas. It depends what you want to do. A lot of people like myself want the recipes and the crafting, others want a coffee table type magazine or natural decorating elements. Others just want to see what is available from the shops either physical or internet. My local Charity shop always used to take the nicer magazines and sell some in the shop. However I know many charity shops these days have buyers for the rags, magazines and printable stuffs, linens and mats and a lot go there rather than into the shop as they potentially get a higher price. It depends on the shop and the area. Hope you manage to get the one you want. Take care Tricia x
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