Holiday Blog Hop Day One-

Day one of the Holiday Blog Hop begins!

Welcome to the Henry Glass Jolly Holiday Party! We are so glad that you're here to celebrate the holidays and to join in on all of the fun that we are going to have. There will be giveaways, stories and lots of inspiration.


This is how the blog hop will work:

Visit with each designer. You'll find her wonderful holiday post and a special design that she's made for you.

Here's the exciting line-up:

November 13, 2011 Fresh Cut Quilts and Jillilly Studio

November 14, 2011 The Noble Wife Jacquelynne Steves and Lizzie B Cre8ive

November 15, 2011 Vicki Oehlke Willowberry Lane, and Little Quilts and Lucy Morey 

November 16, 2011 Barbara Jones of Quilt Soup and Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched

November 17, 2011 Leanne Anderson and Brenda Pinnick 

November 18, 2011 Janet Nesbitt and Pam Soliday of the Buggy Barn and Renae Allen of RGA Design

Dana Brooks of Lazy Daisy Cottage 

November 19, 2011  Linda Lum DeBono, and Chelsea Anderson

Each day the designers of the day will post on her site. Click on the links above to go to the designers' blogs some holiday fun. In each post you will find each designers'  secret holiday word. Collect all of the words and post it on the Henry Glass blog  from November 19-24 and we will draw a name to win the grand prize.

What's the grand prize? Lots of fabric, of course, and each designer will be sending you something special.

I have been asked to answer a few holiday questions so you can all learn a little more about how my family and I celebrate our holidays.  So here goes.

1. What is your favourite holiday food?  I love roasted turkey on Thanksgiving and because my husband's family is British they also serve roasted chestnuts which I have grown to love!  For Christmas, I think it could be anything that is served and I would enjoy it just because it is such a wonderful day to be with my family.  But the one thing I remember and miss the most at Christmas is my Mom's Ambrosia Salad.  She always used fresh fruits that were not necessarily in season, walnuts and handmade whipped cream in it.  I think she may have added vanilla and some cinnamon to the whipping cream sometimes too, but I can't remember.  It was the best part of Christmas dinner to me.

2. Does your family have a favourite holiday tradition?  My Mom always made a big pot of Wassail each year which was our version of Hot Apple Cider.

3. Did you like or hate sitting on Santa’s lap? I don't really remember sitting on Santa's lap.  But my kids look forward to it.  My oldest almost didn't do it last year and I don't know if she will this year.  She thinks she is too old!

4. Was there a gift that you really desperately wanted? Did you get it?  I wanted an Easy Bake Oven in the worst way and one year I got the Holly Hobbie Easy Bake Oven-- my big sister was green with envy!  We had lots of fun with it though.  My Mom didn't like the mixes much, so when she baked a cake or cookies she would give us a little batter to use and cook with.  We thought we were geniuses in the kitchen!

5. What’s your favourite holiday movie?  I have a couple of favorites that I never like to miss watching each year.  The Preacher's Wife (the original with Cary Grant), Miracle on 34th Street in black and white of course, and It's a Wonderful Life.  

6. Favorite holiday song? Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee is my favorite holiday song.  

You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xNuUEnh2g 

7. Do you make many holiday presents? What do you like to give?  It really depends on the year.  Some years, I get very ambitious and make gifts and some years I don't.  I have made quilts for family members in the past, but don't do it each year.  Some years my girls and I make ornaments or a craft while they are on Christmas break.  Last year it was a gingerbread house, I swore I would never try that again.  If I do it will be with a hot glue gun to keep the walls up!

8. Would you prefer a large fully decorated tree or one like Charlie Brown’s tree?  I grew up in Oregon, so each year my dad would find a Christmas tree vendor selling trees out of his truck on the side of the road for $5.00 and bring one home.  We never went to the lit up parking lot vendors to get one.  Some years it probably looked a little sparse in places, but they were always pretty and stayed fresh forever.  Now we have an artificial tree because in Utah you just about need a loan to buy a fresh tree, and my oldest daughter has allergies so it is easier on her.

9. If you could go back in time, when would you say was your most favourite holiday memory?  My favorite holiday memory is each of my kids' first Christmases and every year after with them.

10. Do you like a big family gathering at the holidays or do you prefer a small dinner followed by hot chocolate by the fire? When I was little none of our extended family lived near us, so it was always quiet and at home.  I prefer to keep it just my little family nice and quiet, by the fire.  That is not what I get though!  We have a huge gathering of my husband's family at someone else's house.  Someday though, it may be different and I may long for those loud, huge family gatherings!

I made up this Mug Rug in hopes that you may find it useful for making your own holiday gifts.  This along with a mug and maybe some APPLE CIDER mix, or Hot Cocoa mix is sure to please anyone on your gift list!

Pattern PDF

So now you need to go see my friend Jill over at Jillily Studio

and tomorrow you need to go and see my other friends Jacquelynne from The Noble Wife and Liz and Beth at Lizzie B.

(For those of you who need extra help finding the secret word-- look for the word in BOLD, plus the theme of my mug rug is a huge hint to that.  The word is in my post twice in bold lettering.)