Christmas Past and Sunday Morning Coffee

Christmas is about memories and traditions. It’s a time to create new memories and to reminisce about Christmas yesterday and Christmas past.

Christmas Mimosa.

Thanks for joining me for Sunday Morning Coffee, post-Christmas edition. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and are happy and full from celebrating with family and friends, presents, and yummy food. Grab a cup of coffee and join me to reminisce about Christmas yesterday and Christmas past.

Volume 43

A Little Bit About Me

Saeta-Family-Christmas-2021

Christmas Day 2021

I am so grateful to have each of my sons and our fabulous daughter-in-law home for Christmas this year. This holiday season has been truly magical starting with our family trip to Hawaii the week after Thanksgiving and now to have them home for Christmas, I am literally giddy.

We all did wake up a bit later than in Christmas past and everyone grabbed a cup of coffee before heading to the living room to open gifts. The gift opening, joke-cracking, and togetherness, however, were something that makes my heart so happy. What was inside the gift wrap was not nearly as important as who was in the room.

This is our family Christmas photo. We took this photo in Hawaii in early December of this year. Who knew it had been raining just a few minutes before we took this photo?

Christmas Past

Vintage Christmas Balsam Hill

I grew up in a family of five children. I am the middle child in that handful of children. Perhaps I suffer from typical middle child syndrome, but from the time I was little, I always wanted the holidays to be extra special and meaningful.

When I was young, I would hand-make Christmas gifts for everyone in my family. My love for sewing, crafting, and making started at a very young age. Creating something made specifically for someone was my gift-giving gaol every Christmas.

I have two sisters and White Christmas was always our favorite Christmas movie. My sisters and I still will break into the “Sisters” song whether we are together or on the phone on Christmas.

My brothers and sisters and I are spread out across the country now, but we are still very close. We are each busy with our own families now, but the memories of Christmas past are such a special part of each Christmas for me.

A New Tradition – A Christmas Mimosa

How to Make a Christmas Mimosa

Somehow I imagined when my kids grew up Christmas wouldn’t be as much fun.

Boy was I ever wrong.

We have so many traditions that were started over twenty years ago and yes, we still do them today.

We still pile in the car on Christmas Eve and head out to look at the Christmas lights. Dave still reads T’was the Night Before Christmas to us all before we head to bed on Christmas Eve. We still open the stocking in the order of Youngest to Oldest and our gifts Oldest to Youngest.

So when I decided to make Christmas Mimosas on Christmas morning … they were a huge hit.

These blue ice molds are just so much fun. You can fill them with anything you want so I chose orange juice, cranberry juice, cranberries, and a bit of fresh rosemary.

Look how easy they are to make!

  • Orange And Cranberry Christmas Mimosa
  • Christmas Mimosa Ice Stick Molds
  • How to Make Christmas Mimosa
  • How to Make Frozen Mimosa Ice Sticks
  • Christmas Mimosa Frozen Ice
  • Christmas Mimosa Ice Trays
  • How to Make a Christmas Mimosa
  • Christmas Mimosa Ice Sticks

The Champagne glasses are from anthropologie.

I made them on Christmas Eve, in about ten minutes, and froze them overnight.

After we opened our gifts, I put the molds in Champagne glasses and poured the champagne over the top.

Christmas Mimosa

I love that the color of the champagne changed immediately. Plus they tasted fantastic and stayed very cold. I can honestly say I had never had such a wonderful Mimosa before!

I can’t wait to make these for New Year too.

Christmas Dinner

christmas tradtions christmas dinner

As my boys have grown, they have all become “foodies” and my daughter-in-law is a fabulous cook, so the Christmas dinner production is now a family affair. While the menu is a traditional one from Christmas past, we all pitch in to create the meal. While there might be a new dish introduced or a new version of a recipe, this menu is maybe my most favorite of the year.

Here is what is on our Christmas Dinner Menu:

Green Leaf Salad with Cranberries and Carmelized Almonds

Beef Tenderloin with Red wine reduction Sauce and Horseradish Cream

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

Gluten Free Rolls

What was on your Christmas Day menu? Do you ever change it? Please tell me about your traditional Christmas Day dinner, as I would love to know!

Making Spirits Bright in the Kitchen

What’s Ahead

We had a 2022 Planning and Strategy meeting last week. It’s true as we do that here at My 100 Year Old Home a lot.

While I might make it look easy, posting content seven days a week takes careful thought and planning. We are excited about 2022, we have some really fun ideas we are cooking up.

What are you most interested in seeing on the blog? Please share with me what you love and what you want to see more of.

Starting tomorrow, look for some posts that will highlight the best of the year. I have joined together with some of my favorite blogger friends and we will all share our highlights from the year. You will not want to miss this!

Watch Me Live!

I was invited to become a part of the Amazon Live program and it has been so much fun. I only share items that I own and love and it has been a fun new medium to connect in. Have you watched any of them?

This is all new to me and I would love to hear what you think. I have one this week about Organizing the Christmas Chaos so be sure to check it out and let me know what you think!

Here are a few of my latest Amazon Lives! Just tap on the links to listen.

I am not quite ready to take Christmas down just yet. I love how cozy and festive our family room is. Just one more week before I start to pack it all up and tuck it into the eaves of the attic.

Christmas Family Room Home Tour

Getting ready for New Years? In Pasadena, New Years is a really big deal because of the Rose Bowl. Here are some fun ideas to get you ready to ring in the New Year!

Christmas Family Room Vintage Items

If you are looking for some new recipes for New Years, check out the link below

You can find my Christmas Party recipes here. This list is actually the larger menu. There are lots to choose from whether your New Year’s gathering is small or large!

Reflections on the Week

Last week was all about leading up to Christmas. I shared a recap of our Christmas party, Christmas Crafts with Buttons, Last Minute Gift Wrapping Ideas, 11 Ways to Set Your Christmas Table, and some fun Christmas decor.

I hope you enjoyed all of these very fun holiday ideas.

Good Things From Martha

My friend (haha) Martha Stewart shared a fun article titled Martha’s Holiday Party at the Farm.

Wow. And I thought our holiday party was nice …

What’s Ahead for the Week

This week I will be sharing all of your favorite blog posts from the year together with the favorites from some of my best blogger friends. You will not want to miss one single day next week. I promise!

Catch up on Sunday Morning Coffee

Shop My Home

Pin the image below to your entertaining boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!

Christmas Past

For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome

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15 Comments

    1. I bought the vase about fifteen years ago. It’s quite thin with rounded edges. I put fresh cranberries in the vase, added water, and then added faux flowers! Haha.

      Reply

  3. Happy & Merry Leslie,
    Your “making” posts, whether they be crafting, diy-ing, or food-ing, are my favorites. Yes, I too have been a masker from my preschool days. (Still make the bulk of my income sewing). Thanks for sharing so readily and generously.
    Looking forward to an amazing 2022!

    Reply

    1. Diane,
      that makes me so happy. I hope to be crafting forever as I get so much pleasure from it. I am thrilled to learn that you enjoy it too.
      Leslie

      Reply

  4. Ditto on the request above for your cranberry & white flower centerpiece “container” …so “simply” beautiful. Also could you please share your recipe for scalloped potatoes? I made a Pinterest “version” on Christmas Day and it was way too greasy. Thank you for sharing ALL of your ideas and the never ending inspiration. Happy New Year to you and your family!

    Reply

    1. Barb,
      You can read about the vase above. I tried to find a similar one to link but no luck. Charlotte made the potatoes and I will get her recipe and link to it later today!
      Leslie

      Reply

  6. Our Christmas dinner is Italian! My husband and sister-in-law both come from Italian families and boy can they cook! We had homemade sauce and meatballs, spaghetti, lasagna, salad and homemade bread. Yum! For breakfast the next morning we had zeppoli.
    I enjoy your posts so much and look forward to seeing what 2022 brings.
    Happy New Year!

    Reply

    1. Oh, Italian, yum and your menu sounds fabulous! I have so many things planned for 2022, it is going to be an incredible year!

      Reply

  7. Leslie, those Mimosa glasses are worthy of any cocktail shared by those exquisite characters on Downton Abbey, soooo beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your talents and your generous heart with us. Your caring and thoughtfulness is showcased in detail in everything you create. I hope you have a wonderful New Year, as you continue to inspire us all.

    Reply

  8. Could you share the recipe for the Beef Tenderloin with Red wine reduction Sauce and Horseradish Cream? It sounds delicious.

    Reply

    1. Hi Kim – It is quite yummy! Search Christmas Party recipes on the blog, it is listed in that post, along with all of the other recipes that I make for the Christmas party! Enjoy!

      Reply

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