Food for Friday

Okay, yes, I know it’s Monday… I had the cook book picked out, and the recipe, and I took the picture on Friday … and then was completely sidetracked by Saturday’s events.  So, it’s Food for Friday on Monday.  It’ll still be tasty!

 

Since we’re well into fall and thinking about sweet potato casseroles for Thanksgiving (or is it just me who’s already thinking about turkey day?), I’d like to try these biscuits – with a little cinnamon-spiced cream cheese and a cup of spiced tea – a delicious fall treat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Potato Biscuits

 

Ingredients

 

3/4 C mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 C milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1-1/4 C all-purpose flour

4 t baking powder

2 heaping T sugar

1/2 t salt

 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix the potatoes, milk, and butter.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the potato mixture and combined to make a soft dough.  Turn the dough onto a floured board and toss lightly until the outside of the dough looks smooth.  Roll out to one-half-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter.  Place the biscuits on a greased pan and bake for about 15 minutes.  Watch your oven; if they brown too fast, lower the temperature.

 

I think you could also serve these with a really hearty, savory beef or chicken stew as a nice counterpoint to the meal.  She’s included “The Lady & Sons Beef Vegetable Soup,” but I think you’d need four chefs to prepare all the ingredients for that one (you’d have about six each…).

 

Enjoy – and let me know what’s on your menu for Thanksgiving this year.  I just spotted a recipe for Pumpkin Flan that I must try…

 

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Weekly Deals at ChristmasPlace.com

LED Lights ~ time to stock up!  Through this Friday only, buy 2 strands and get a third strand of the same lights free.  That’s a great deal for these long-lasting, economical decorations.  Check out all the colors and styles available this year.

Snowbabies “In a Spin” figurine – 50% off – what a cutie, Snowbaby in a real knit cap, spinning with a penguin pal on a snow disc.  To complement your Snowbabies ornament collection, how about a  13″ tree from Department 56 specially designed to display them to best advantage?  It’s well-priced this week at only  $6.98!

Also, be sure to check out the “Christmas in a Box” gift sets for the troops ~ we still have some available, and time to ship them out before the holidays.

So many things going on of which you can take advantage – hop over to the site and register for the Week 2 Gingerbread Giveaway – ornaments, ribbon, and stems this week! 

And don’t forget, free shipping on all orders over $100, and free gift with your online purchase, either an ornament or an angel. 

* 47 Days! *

~ Janet @ The Christmas Place

Department 56 Retirement Day

It’s the end of the year, and that means Retirement Day for Department 56 collectibles.  When a piece is retired from production, they literally break the mold so that no more pieces can ever be made exactly like the original.  This limits the collection, adds value to your favorite pieces, and gives the artists space to create new designs.

We’re updating the Christmas Place Department 56 collection right now with retirement information, and soon you’ll be able to see all the retired pieces – but once we’re sold out, these pieces will disappear from the site.

Stop by tomorrow for the signing, and you can see the retired pieces in the store as well!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S.  Secondary Market sales of previously retired pieces start at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning!

Support Our Troops with Christmas in a Box Gift Sets!

We are so excited about this special offer!  Many of our service men and women will miss being with family and friends at Christmas because of their committment to military service.  Christmas Place has come up with three gift sets that each offer a mini Christmas celebration in a single box, especially for men and women serving in the armed forces, to bring the holiday to them.  

The Christmas in a Box gift sets are offered in three varieties.  Each kit starts with a mini snow Christmas tree and a jar of snow (yes, we even know how to package that up!), and then is stuffed with a variety of holiday treats.  The two larger boxes include a Santa hat, and all three have a musical CD from our very own Singing Santa.  The three basic gift sets are:

• Snowman theme, for $69.99
• Ladies theme, for $99.99
• General theme, for $99.99

The sets are packed in those nifty postal boxes, so shipping (to APO/FPO addresses and to continental U.S. addresses) is included in the price!

The staff here at Christmas Place is especially happy to create these gift sets in honor of our own family members who are serving overseas.  We send each set out with best wishes for the health, security, and safe return of all the men and women serving our country around the world, and with thanks that we are able to help them celebrate the holidays wherever they may be.

There are only a limited number of Christmas in a Box gift sets available, and time is short to send them out – so order today!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Department 56 & Mark Roberts Signings!

This weekend, November 7th, we’re hosting two talented and creative artists for signings here at the store!

Barbara Lund, a designer of the classic Dickens’ Village series of collectible, lighted houses and accessories, and whose father originated the series many years ago, will be in the store from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to sign Department 56 houses.  She will be happy to sign any of the village collection pieces we offer.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Dickens’ Village collection.

Candle Shop Anniversary Edition

In addition, our annual Secondary Market sale for retired Department 56 collectibles will be taking place in the courtyard on Saturday and Sunday, November 7th and 8th.  We are expecting no fewer than six collectors in the sale, so you’ll see a nice variety of retired pieces – a great time to fill in your personal collection.  We’ll be making a donation to the Women’s Care Center in Sevierville, Tennessee, for this event.

Although some people only choose to set up their villages at Christmas, we know many of you proudly keep them on display all year round – and we’d love to have you share photographs with other collectors.  When you have time, check out forums.christmasplace.com, where you’ll find a forum on Christmas Village Displays. 

Holly Jolly Fairie

Also on Saturday, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., America’s favorite maker of Christmas fairies and elves, Mark Roberts, will be in the store for a signing of his charming collection.  In addition to figurines, Mark also offers some very whimsical purses with fairies attached, for those who go all out at Christmas time.

Fairy Prince Purse

 It’s all happening for you here at Christmas Place this Saturday & Sunday!

 ~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Christmas Place Weekly Deals

Have you been to the deals page yet this week?  Time is running out on this week’s specials -

• 25% off Candles and candle accessories
• Free Shipping on orders totaling $100 or more

It is also Week 1 in our Gingerbread Theme Giveaway!  To get the decorating started, this week we’re giving away 5 strands of gingerbread garland, 5 sets of gingerbread lights, a 16″ Mr & Mrs Gingerbread Claus pair, and a tree-top gingerbread bow.  Remember, you can enter once a day.

More deals headed your way!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Two for Tuesday

Look what I found over the weekend – a Charlie Brown Christmas tree!  This is just adorable.  (And, as I found out when I started to photograph it, the bulb can withstand a drop of several feet onto a ceramic tile floor…a real plus!)  Notice the blue scarf warming the base – it was left out of the picture on our shopping site, but it is a part of the set.  This will really save you some decorating time!

Charlie Brown Tree

These three aluminum snowmen with the giant feet have mad bouncing skills!  I should have checked to see if they had sticky feet, because they would make great bobblers for the dashboard of the car.  They are a little hard to photograph, but Frosty on the left has a shovel, Frosty in the middle carries a Christmas tree, and Frosty on the right is ready to hit the slopes for some downhill skiing.  These would make great, inexpensive gifts for everyone who enjoys the fun of Christmas.

Bouncy Snowmen

Are you enjoying standard time as much as we are today?  It’s dark out already!  I hope I left the porch light on.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Tree Giveaway Winner!

We have a winner in our October Christmas tree giveaway from Christmas Place.  Congratulation to Lisa B. from Weaver, Alabama!  Lisa has won a 7.5′ Quickshape Christmas tree – she’s going to have a really easy time setting up her tree this year.

Now stay tuned, because we’re going to start a special gingerbread tree theme giveaway, and you’re going to want to get in on this one for sure.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Gumdrop Tree

Have you got a sweet tooth, especially around Christmas?  Our tasty Gumdrop Tree should satisfy your cravings!

Gumdrop Christmas Tree

How about tucking a cute little story-telling bear into your Christmas tree?  Looks like Teddy drifts away for his long winter’s nap with a stuffed kitty to keep him company.

Our clever design team hot-glued tasty cupcake and gingerbread house ornaments to a cake stand and anchored that in another section of the tree.

The bright red and green fluted items in the tree are giant cupcakes!

They’ve used real candy in the tree too – the Whirly Pops and spiral candy cane will be enjoyed long after the holiday, no doubt.

A personal favorite of mine is the strands of pink and yellow popsicle lights woven through the tree.

When you’ve loaded all the goodies on the Christmas tree, add a Gumdrop Snowman to your decor as the finishing touch (well, except for all the packages, of course)!

Now that’s a sweet extravaganza for Christmas!

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

Christmas Place Weekly Specials

Be sure to check out this week’s special deals!

• It’s the last week of free shipping for orders $75 and over.
• It is also the last week to enter our tree giveaway for a 7.5′ Quickshape Christmas tree.
• Exclusive on-line specials through Friday, October 30th:
  • Buy 2 rolls of ribbon, get a third roll free
  • All Christmas tree toppers are 30% off
  • Select John Deere merchandise is 33% off

Have you noticed the featured items on the right side of our new home page?  These items are discounted exclusively on the web, and we’ve included a wide variety of gifts and decorations.  If you want to see more choices, just click the refresh button on your browser.

~Janet @ The Christmas Place

P.S. Don’t forget, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month, so check out our Breast Cancer Theme.