When we had to replace our oven a few years ago we got a double oven that is the same footprint as a regular oven. The top is a smaller oven and the bottom is a full sized oven. I love it!
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Yes, we have one like that as well! I’m so glad we did. Most of the time, we only use the smaller oven and it warms up so fast.
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It’s only me and mr jemimah here for Christmas, so I’ll probably make us pizza and some of his favourite baking like meringues or ginger crunch. I like some traditional food like Christmas pudding and fruit mince pies, but since that’s just for me, I might buy a small amount of something rather than making a batch.
Those double ovens are great! we used to have one of those. Our house here has one of those extra wide family size ovens, and it’s a silly size for two people really. Although I can make two pizzas at once (carnivore for mr jemimah and vego for me). I got an air fryer for cooking single serves of things, it definitely seems more efficient for day to day use.
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I have never heard of a double oven, what a great idea that is though. I resent all the counter space a toaster oven monopolizes, built right in to the main appliance would be so much better.
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Ours is a Samsung Dual Cook, it’s amazing. It’s a trend here now that kitchens in middle class homes have two full-sized ovens (usually one a steam oven, the other one a microwave combi oven) but first, we lack the space for that, and second, that’s a ridiculous amount of ovens for two people. So our Dual Cook is perfect. We’ve had it for four months and I’ve used the full oven twice, when we had visitors. We’ll use it more often over the festive period but the rest of the year, we don’t need that oven space.
The really fancy homes have Aga cookers with like 5 ovens but unless you really live in an unheated farmhouse and employ half a dozen people who all need lunch every day, that seems like overkill.
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Just a little reminder as we head into the holidays: please don’t forget LC this year! We enjoy this place for all the fun swaps, inspirational craftalongs, and incredible inspirations. We have formed some lasting and amazing friendships. And we have done it cost-free. Please think about giving to show your support and love for this great community! Let’s keep this Craftalong going for years to come!
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What a delight it has been for me this morning to catch up on this thread all the way from July! I am reminded that Delia’s countdown we got at Costco last year needs to be refilled! I am also reminded that I am “behind” this year on my handmade gifts list! The quotes are because I am on schedule, it’s just that it’s a later schedule than usual. We’re hosting TheMisterT’s mom and his sisters family of four for a Thanksgiving for a long weekend the weekend before Thanksgiving so prepping for that is taking precedence. A soon as they leave on Tuesday morning, I am going to have to bust a move - lots of sewing to do:
Lounge pants for TheMisterT and for his sister (not matching, but I wish I had thought of that!)
2 pairs of boxers for Delia to give TheMisterT: these are already cut!
New stockings for TheMisterT and I: I finally found fabric that came close to my vision that was a good price, etc.
I also have 3 paper crafts for friends to do. I will focus on all the stuff that needs to be mailed first and will try to accept that I have until dinnertime on Dec 24 to work on TheMisterT’s gifts and the stockings!
I am sooooo lucky and grateful that so many people in my gift-giving circle truly appreciate handmade things! I know not every crafter/maker has this. I think just about everyone in my family (even those we don’t exchange gifts with) really value the time and thought spent on my made things. Same with my friends. The downside of this lovely and beloved trait, is that sometimes I think they are disappointed when their gifts are not handmade! But I really try to make things specifically for them which means sometimes I just don’t have an idea. This kind of leaves my SIL’s husband (BIL once-removed? 
) out a lot of the time. I think he was really tickled that I made him lounge pants last year! Men can be so hard to craft for! Especially if you don’t really know them super well! Why do they like such dumb things? 
I still have some store bought gifts to figure out for some people, and for some I know what to get, but have to find the right stuff! I waiting to ask my mom if there was anything particular on her list and she requested flannel PJs. I would’ve probably tried to make some if I’d known earlier. I still may try after the holidays - I mean, who doesn’t need two pairs of PJs? She’ll be doing radiation therapy soon and will be tired from that, so more soft cozy PJs might be especially welcome.
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18 days until December 1st?!
40 days until Christmas Eve-eve?! (23rd)
I best get my sock yarns back out!
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40 days!!! That’s … not a lot.
We have the final guestlist for Christmas with my family - 6 people in total for Boxing Day. That’s all the close family on my side, my family is small. I’m actually surprised my sibling’s spouse is joining us, as they typically don’t. I don’t actually know them too well, even though they’ve been in the family for a decade, because they usually stay away from family events. My impression is they’re a bit of a snob but I could be wrong. The last time we were all together at Christmas was pre-Covid and back then, my grandma was still alive and the whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins) visited her and everyone brought random dishes. So this close family meal thing is a new tradition.
Although I asked everyone and everyone said they had no food preferences/dislikes/allergies, one of my siblings is actually a lifelong vegetarian, and my parent eats very little meat and almost no fat 
. My other sibling, Mr. Imma and I eat almost everything. I literally have no idea about my sibling in law, only that they didn’t list anything so I assume they don’t have allergies.
I’m thinking of making a main “meat” dish and a main “vegetarian” dish, equal amounts of both so that everyone gets to try both if they want, and a couple of vegetarian sides such as roast potatoes, salad, vegetables. I’ll make sure there are enough healthy options. Plus a simple starter and dessert. We’re not a “fancy” family, we’re just going to put all the dishes on the table and everyone can serve themselves.
I know my sibling in law is from a different background and can be snobbish about “simple” home cooking. I also seem to remember they’re a wine / liquor snob. We don’t drink wine or liquor at all. Literally, we don’t even own wine glasses. I don’t drink at all, Mr. Imma is a moderate beer drinker (nothing else) and occasionally we have other beer drinkers over and then he picks up a couple of craft beers. 90% of our visitors just drink beer or soda.
I think my sibling in law would expect wine, and they and my sibling are the only ones who are going to drink it. I don’t really see myself going through the trouble of getting advice in a wine store, buying wine and special glasses for it, just because this one snobby person that I barely know wants to drink wine. I have no idea about their wine preferences either. Would it be rude if I just let Mr. Imma pick a couple of types of craft beer that match the dishes? Plus we’ll have regular beer, water, sparkling water, soda. I know my sibling and their spouse also like beer, I just seem to remember they prefer wine with dinner.
Funny, if this was my friend, and I knew they liked a particular drink, I would just go and get it even if I don’t drink it. But wine is such a complicated thing, it requires so much research. I don’t even like this person, and they’re a bit snobbish. So it would be hard to get it right. I have a friend who loves Baileys, and it’s so much easier to just go and grab a bottle of that.
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Would it be wrong to reach out to your sibling and just let them know, “We’ll be offering some [drink offerings listed] and some craft beers but i seem to remember you and spouse like wine, would you want to bring one along for yourselves so that it is one you really like? Also, full disclosure: we dont have wine glasses so if using a juice glass/mug/random drinking vessel is a problem I wanted you to know before you got here”
Or maybe telling everyone “Feel free to bring your favorite beverages if you like, we’ll have [list of drinks choices] for everyone but if you want something specific please feel free to bring it along. We have plenty of glasses and such but we don’t have wine glasses here, if that matters to anyone.” Or something like that?
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I second this. Either ask your sibling to bring, or tell everyone to bring their choice of drink if they dont like what you have. And good idea to add that you dont have wine glasses.
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Hm, you say that… And now its one day less. Better get on those needles! 
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I would think that the guests who drink would bring a bottle of wine for the hostess, who then has the option to serve that wine or another. We don’t drink wine either, but I have purchased many bottles of wine to take as hostess gifts when we go to other peoples’ houses. I would just let them know that you don’t mind if they drink wine, but it would be best if they brought what they liked. That is not rude at all. You don’t need fancy glasses, but we keep a few stemless wine glasses (that look like candle holders to me!) for the very few times people bring wine.
My sister and her husband were here visiting this weekend. I got some great ideas for gifts for them!
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I think I have some nice water glasses that could pass as stemless wine glasses, I’m pretty sure they’re still in storage and that I didn’t get rid of them.
I never bring wine as a hostess gift, I usually bring chocolate or flowers or a type of liquor that the host likes. Maybe I’m just intimidated by wine 
i’m pretty sure my sibling in law is the type of person that has strong ideas about what wine goes with what food. Not sure if they know my sibling used to drink Liebfraumilch from a cardboard box… I’ll just tell them to bring their own wine if they want to.
For the main meat dish, Mr. Imma has requested turkey. Now we just need a veggie main course, and a couple of sides.
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When I worked at a prestigious law firm in Atlanta, they made us go to a wine class along with etiquette and personal grooming classes. I think that is when I decided that I just was not cut out for corporate ladder climbing. I know a bit about wine, but I don’t really care. I drink what I like and it is not usually wine.
Flowers are also a wonderful nice hostess gift, although, with family, usually they just bring themselves. I love how things are much more informal now. The stress of formal dinners made them less enjoyable to me.
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Lol, kids have broken all the glasses we’ve ever had. It’s mason jars now, or a random plastic kid cup from when they were little.
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Yep, I agree. BYOB. Bring your own beverage. My extended family does that at the big Christmas gathering that they always schedule at the most inconvenient times anymore so I never go.
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We’ve never had formal holiday dinners in my family. When my grandma was alive, the whole family gathered at her place. She would cook a huge roast beef and everyone else in the family brought a dish. Totally random, no coordination, but we always ended up with more than enough. She’d put up a huge foldable table in her living room and we’d sit on a huge table with all these different chairs. My sibling’s partner is from a different social class, and I felt they always tried to find an excuse to skip our ramshackle Christmas gathering. I know in their family, they do a formal, gastronomic dinner that can last until midnight because there are so many fancy courses. Nothing wrong with that of course, if that’s what they like, but my sibling-in-law always seems to turn their nose up to the way our family does things. I’m not even sure because they’ve skipped so many events I barely know them, honestly. But it’s silly to care about what a random person you barely know thinks. I’m just telling them to bring their own wine if they want it.
In the Netherlands, it’s tradition to get a food hamper from your employer at Christmas, and if they’re lucky, Mr. Imma’s hamper will have a fancy wine or champagne again, and they can take it. Last year we gave it to the neighbours as an apology in advance for the DIY we were going to do. My employer gives vouchers, which is smart, but not as fun as unpacking a hamper.
We’re having family over in mid-December as well, and we’re going to try out the turkey recipe for them (we’ve only made turkey once before). The veggie main course, we’ll just try it out on a weekday, for ourselves, it’s not difficult. As a starter, we’re eating mushroom vol-au-vents, a family recipe. It’s old-fashioned but almost everyone likes it.
As for Christmas crafts, I still need to do a few:
- wallhanging for Mr. Imma
- personal swap for someone here
- extend my Christmas tablecloth as much as possible (I still have a leftover bit of that fabric, I used to have a shorter table)
- either make or buy gifts for everyone visiting on Boxing Day, or no one (haven’t decided)
- make a hostess gift for Christmas Eve, we’ve been invited and I’d like to bring something handmade as a gift, she’s asked for a hat or gloves before.
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A hat or gloves sounds like a wonderful hostess gift! My mind immediately goes to something boring like wine, chocolates, or flowers, but this is so much more thoughtful and personal.
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The hostess barely drinks, is diabetic and has more plants in her house than any other house I’ve ever been at! So I had to come up with alternatives. She’s a very sweet person, she’d appreciate any gift, but I want to give her something for her and not something she’s going to feed to someone else.
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