Christmas was the be-all, end-all celebration on the farm. Pages and pages on the topic appeared in The Farmer’s Wife, and these pages weren’t just about food—although recipes for all the various components of parties and holiday gift baskets certainly abounded. The magazine’s experts expounded on the best and latest ways to decorate home, tree, and parcels and to create homemade gifts for family and friends, as well as games to be played to capture the spirit of the season. In short, The Farmer’s Wife presented its own opinion—both grand and humble, broad and minute, and always, always bearing in mind the idea of community among its readers—about the ways in which Christmas should be celebrated. You’ll find in this book a smattering of that opinion. Here are recipes to see you through the entire Christmas season; gift ideas guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing; tips for decking your halls; and even a few stories to delight both the young and the young at heart.

Lela Nargi is the author of Around the Table: Women on Food, Cooking, Nourishment, Love . . . and the Mothers Who Dished It Up for Them and Knitting Lessons: Tales from the Knitting Path. She is also the editor of The Farmer's Wife Baking Cookbook, published by Voyageur Press. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. www.lelanargi.com