Just CrossStitch

1 min read

As we selected the designs featured in this issue of Just CrossStitch, St. Nicholas, our cover project, was immediately one of my favorites. I loved the traditional style of this piece, and Santa’s sack filled with pine branches reminded me of my fam

Woman's Weekly

2 min read

Christmas is all about traditions – and that’s especially true of the main meal. At what other time of the year would so many of us reach for a bag of Brussels in the supermarket? Turkey with all the trimmings, mountains of roast veg and plenty of

Antique Trader

4 min read

The Santa Claus we all know and love today — the white-bearded and rosy-cheeked grandfatherly man, trademark red suit trimmed with white fur, a sleigh filled with toys — has morphed through a variety of looks over the centuries. From the description

Today's Quilter

1 min read

“I love the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore, so I was delighted when TQ asked me to design something relating to the title of it. I had the idea immediately and as I specialise in Redwork and love the effect of framing w

JOY Magazine

2 min read

Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he

JOY Magazine

2 min read

Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he

Just CrossStitch

3 min read

The Victorian era was a progressive time when new ideas about ways to celebrate Christmas were being introduced, and accordingly, some sampler art began to be filled with spot motifs and pictorial designs that illustrated these new ideas in needlewor

NPR

1 min read

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, NPR's Scott Simon updates "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for 2020.

Los Angeles Times

4 min read

LOS ANGELES - When Stephen Hill first purchased tickets to "A Christmas Carol" at South Coast Repertory, he was a newly divorced father from Laguna Niguel, trying to cheer up his 6-year-old daughter, Chelsea. That was back in 1995. Fast forward to Ch

Tatler Homes Philippines

3 min read

“Christmas is such a busy season in Manila! I try my best to go through my days peacefully so as not to forget what the season is truly about,” says Stephanie Kienle Gonzalez, COO of furniture company Philux. “To me, more than materiality and fluff,

The Christian Science Monitor

3 min read

Each December I reread Charles Dickens’s 1843 classic “A Christmas Carol,” and every time, for different reasons, it moves me deeply. I picked the book out of a remainder pile at one of the big chain bookstores in the 1990s, and it sat untouched on m

The Atlantic

5 min read

In 1800s New York, the overlapping interests of middle-class families and the wealthy produced a cultural practice that’s still in place today.

Country Life

1 min read

BY mid December, Christmas Day normally feels like a light at the end of the tunnel; an oasis that promises a family feast and some rest after a month of frenetic activity. This year, its prospect is no less welcome, but the journey there seems incre

The Critic Magazine

4 min read

WHEN YOU THINK OF CHRISTMAS, you think of the Victorian era, and of Dickens. Only the most hard-hearted of skinflints could resist his evocation of the festive period, which has been emulated and ripped off ever since A Christmas Carol was first publ

CrossStitcher

1 min read

AT WHAT POINT DO you declare it Christmas? If you are anything like us, it is probably not when the supermarkets start selling crackers or rolls of wrapping paper. Stitchers are different – even in mid-summer we’ve been known to hatch an idea for a g

Chicago Tribune

5 min read

CHICAGO - Michael Mesirow's earliest memory of Christmas Day is in a back office of La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago, helping his father tug off the heavy black galoshes and hang the red velour suit he had worn that morning to visit young pat

Stamp Collector

1 min read

Jersey Post have released eight illustrated stamps depicting the story of the much-loved festive poem ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ along with an accompanying miniature sheet. Illustrated by local Jersey artist Nanette Regan, the eight stamps feature t

American Farmhouse Style

3 min read

When you hear the phrase, “Santa’s workshop,” a Utah farmhouse probably isn’t the first image that comes to mind. But tour this festive Utah abode, and you may begin to re-envision Saint Nick’s headquarters. Thanks to abundant snowballs, a “North Pol

Lifestyle Asia

1 min read

With all the trials that we’ve collectively endured this year, only the finest Christmas celebration is deserved for all of us and Rustan’s is here to make it swift and easy for all of us—from decorating to gift shopping. Aside from providing the saf

NPR

2 min read

No public Christmas displays. No celebrations. No holiday socks or Santa costumes sold by vendors. What's behind this seemingly Grinch-like stance?

Palm Beach Illustrated

1 min read

The holidays are my favorite time of the year. How can you not love a season that’s all about family, friends, and tradition? In our multicultural family, we blend Greek and American customs to create a unique celebration that my kids love because it

The Atlantic

6 min read

In 2014, The Killers released a Christmas single, “Joel, the Lump of Coal.” Rather than featuring a traditional Christmas character, the song tells the bittersweet story of Joel, an animated chunk of coal who wants to be given as a Christmas present.

Country Style

2 min read

THERE WAS A TIME when I thought that Santa’s helpers were elves. And I was nearly right. Decades on, I’ve realised that all those Christmas stories that featured elves should have read Elvis. Elvis is a celebrated character in our community, so named

NPR

4 min read

The tradition of leaving a snack for Santa on Christmas Eve isn't unique to America. Children in many countries leave out a range of foods and beverages for Santa to eat or sip on.

Futurity

3 min read

For as long as people have been shopping for Christmas, there’s been concern about turning a religious celebration into a commercial bonanza. This sentiment reaches back to when America was a backwater and the celebration of Christmas went from drink

Southwest Art

1 min read

WHEN TOM Browning created his first painting of Santa Claus back in 1980, it was just for kicks; at the time, the artist was already a rising star in the genre of western and wildlife painting. But after a reputable publisher took notice of Browning’

Stamp Collector

1 min read

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens, one of the world’s most famous and loved writers. To celebrate, the Isle of Man Post Office working closely with the Charles Dickens Museum, London, has created a set of six caref

Woman & Home

7 min read

TV and radio presenter Margherita Taylor, 48, lives in London. My favourite thing about the party season is the chance to get dressed up. I love spending time outdoors in wellies and a waterproof, but it’s lovely to get dressed up, get the glad rags

PaperCraft Inspirations

1 min read

The Faber Castell Gelatos are an exciting new way to colour, with a medium that can be applied to a variety of different surfaces, like paper, fabric, canvas and wood, thanks to a creamy, smooth consistency. They are water-soluble, acid free, odourle

The Atlantic

4 min read

Before Americans could have gift-giving on a massive scale, they needed a way to move all those goods around.