Synopses & Reviews
Even now that we're all grown up, we can't help but look back on our childhood holidays and hope to recapture that elusive spirit of joyful anticipation. Celebrating Christmas is so often about nostalgia. With a nod and a wink to the days of Christmas past,
It's a Wonderful Christmas presents classic images of the Yuletide icons of mid-20th-century America.
Bubbler lights and glow-in-the-dark icicles. Catalogues crammed with toys. Norad bulletins tracking Rudolph's red nose through the nighttime sky. Along with hundreds of such quintessentially American illustrations, author Susan Waggoner stocking-stuffs her lively text with fascinating bits of information, lore, and lists. Wonder what the all-time most popular Christmas song is? How the tradition of the department store Santa got started? The answers are here. Loaded with images of vintage Christmas cards, wrapping paper, magazine ads, Lionel toy trains, and more, all in full color, this charming book will appeal to anyone who associates Christmas with home movies, "The Chipmunk Song," and Santa relaxing with an ice-cold bottle of Coca-Cola.
Review
andldquo;In her new book, Handcrafted Christmas, [Waggoner] shares homemade vintage craft projects that are inventive but also preserve the treasured history of Christmas traditions.andrdquo;
Synopsis
Fans of nostalgia can craft their way through the holiday season with this newest volume by popular Christmas author Susan Waggoner. The 40 easy projects range from charming punched-tin votive holders, to Russian teacakes for holiday parties, to your very own edible gingerbread house (complete with miniature snowmen on the front lawn). Peppered with engaging facts about the holidays gone by, this is the perfect book for crafters who long for that vintage holiday look.
Synopsis
Oh, those Christmas memories. We all have them, locked away in our hearts. But what about the Christmases we werenand#8217;t there for? The one our favorite heirloom ornament came from, or the one we know only from a picture of our newlywed parents smiling under the mistletoe?In Christmas Memories, Susan Waggoner, author of STCand#8217;s Itand#8217;s a Wonderful Christmas and Under the Tree, looks at bygone holidays from the perspective of those who lived them. Beginning with and#147;Christmas in the Melting Pot,and#8221; which depicts yuletide in the early 1920s, the author presents detailed snapshots that re-create holiday seasons past. She chronicles the gifts, activities, fads, and fancies that made each Christmas unique; indulges in fantasy shopping at yesterdayand#8217;s prices; shares thoughts from letters, diaries, and magazines of the era; and makes the past pop to life with vibrantperiod art. Readers will revel in the irresistible nostalgia of Christmas Memories.
About the Author
Susan Waggoner has written numerous books of fiction and nonfiction. She is the author of STCand#8217;sItand#8217;s a Wonderful Christmas, Under the Tree, Classic Household Hints, and, with Robert Markel, Cocktail Hour, Vintage Cocktails, and Make Mine Vodka. Waggoner lives in New York City.and#160;