I have a good little, very short, Christmas Story for you! (In a minute!) But first, sweet old MUSICA! I’m looking around and it seems like these days, finding and living a fairy tale of your own making gets put on the back-burner way too much. It’s hard! We hurt for the discombooberation of the world. But it’s Christmas time. Magic time, when we remember ANYTHING is possible. The perfect time of year to renew our vows! 
💝 Giving ourselves and our beloveds that happiness at home, reminding ourselves of the faith and beauty that lives in us all, and doing all we can to lift the spirts of those around us. Reminding myself how that is done . . . all the little things, delicious food and kitchen smells from childhood, anything that sparkles, cozy blankies, socks, old movies, flannel jammies toasty-warm from the dryer, singing, extra hugs, walks in nature, quiet mornings and cups of tea. Long night’s rest . . . under the Long Night’s Moon . . .
But first, speaking of Long Night’s Moon, which we 
JUST had, and signifies, yes, the end of these short dark days!👏👏👏 On the Solstice, coming SOON, December 21st, we’re having a dinner party to celebrate the sun setting on the shortest day of the year! GOODBYE! Every day after that will get a little LONGER!! More light! What a wonderful Christmas gift!💝 And so, we segue to my traditional stocking-stuffer to help you remember to dance to the light of the moon in 2026!🎶🎵🎶
It’s 
my full-moon Bookmark, Bellisma Lunisima 💞 (“a hole in the sky, a supernatural nightlight” … 🎵 Jason Mraz), with the dates and the great Native American names for each of the full moons next year. Just click on the link, print it out, have it laminated at a UPS Store (or not), and voila!
I also have a special personal gift for one lucky person🎁 . . . we’re having a drawing! Just leave a comment at the bottom and you’ll automatically be entered into a giveaway that includes all the goodies you see below: There’s a set of two holiday notepads, a box of brass-plated Angel Chimes with candles, a signed copy of my little Home For Christmas book, two designs of my Christmas Cards, and two sets of the cards I love to use for thank you cards… because they have recipes on them!♥️ There’s a Santa dishtowel, a “Home Cooking” tea-pot plate for cookies (or to hang on your wall), and some darling Santa stickers for your cards and gifts! From me to you with LOVE!💝
I’m going to announce the winning name next week! So you get this before Christmas! It’s a lot, but we have so many good things in stock right now, I couldn’t just choose one!! In ADDITION, four more of you, my girlfriends, will receive a copy of my Home For Christmas read-aloud book, and of course, I will sign it however you like! So you can keep it, OR you can give it to a friend! 💝
And one more surprise, just ONE lucky person . . .
will receive one of the very last of our wonderful SANTA CUPS!!! For a merry merry Christmas with love from me to you!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment! (At the bottom of this post, you’ll see a line of tiny words and right toward the end you’ll see “Comments” … they hide it for some reason!❌⭕️)
Also, another wonderful thing . . . I am SO honored to have been recently interviewed for the new Beatrix Potter Society Blog . . . where they ask artists how they 
were inspired by the art and life of Beatrix Potter … such a good question for me.💞 I loved answering it. Hope you enjoy it too, just click the link above . . . I’m always especially happy bringing people together, to perhaps help new people to get to know Beatrix better! If you haven’t joined the Society yet, you would love it. I follow them on Instagram too. Good influences, people who have done wonderful things in their lifetimes, need to be kept alive ~ and there are a LOT of good people giving their time to keep that happening ~ the legacy of Beatrix Potter is one of them!!♥️ There is so much more to learn about Beatrix, and everything is so much more accessible these days!💝
As you know, I’ve collected lots of books about Beatrix, and read them all, and am always looking, when out and about, in used bookstores or flea markets to find my out-of-print or hard-to-find favorites to share with you in my web store!
This year’s crop includes the charming Peter Rabbit Natural Foods Cookbook Illustrated by Beatrix Potter!
I have to show you my copy, a gift, inscribed to me by a very young Girlfriend, Anna Baker.
Adorable, and a pure keeper! And the perfect example of young magic-making in a new generation ~ and I have to say, Good job MOM!💝 Beatrix AND cooking.💞 A win-win for a lifetime of giving, and receiving.
Here’s the cover . . . we have just a few of these in our web store, including the one that this one replaced! Another sweet Christmas gift.♥️
And this! Have you seen this?
It was a complete surprise when I found this large scrapbook filled with copies of Beatrix Potter’s original letters, photos, and journal entries;
showing her watercolors, her family, her books, her story, her paint box, written in her handwriting, if she had made a scrapbook, this is exactly what it would have, should have, looked like!💗 Someone did a WONDERFUL job with this.
I particularly loved how real it felt with all the three-dimensional items, her first Christmas card designs that open, a basket that you can lift the lid, an envelope containing that famous illustrated letter, for you to open, touch, unfold, and read, even a small photo book with pages to turn ~ all set in the English Countryside. It must have cost a fortune to publish this book. I would LOVE to know who DOES things like this these days!!! It’s really so beautiful.
And the secret part, the coup de grace . . . the most amazing thing, on the inside back of the cover is a hidden door that opens, easy to miss and a complete surprise. Waiting inside is a copy of her first book! So in case you find this book in a store, look closely, before you buy it, be sure to see if the little book is still there. (All my copies in our web store DO have the little books, just in cases!) It is HERE!
We also have a few copies of this totally charming old book . . .
. . . the first, most wonderful biography I read about Beatrix, that led me to so much more, when I discovered she was truly
I’ve shown you this book before ~ it has several of Beatrix’s line drawings in it, printed from the illustrated letter she wrote for the child of a friend . . .
I turned the page to this and I heard my book say, “It’s okay, you can paint in me” . . . which of course I did . . . Like a little coloring book! How fun to paint that little blue jacket!!!
All three of these books are in our web store!💝 If you love them, be your own Santa, and put one under the tree for YOU. We also have some of her wonderful figurines . . . AND our jigsaw puzzle! Back in stock just for this Christmas!
This is my stack of her little bunny books, waiting to be packed up to be brought to their new home in California, where they have been very happy on my “Heroes” shelf, where they sit imparting inspirational DNA while I do my 2027 calendars and update my Christmas Book with new art and recipes!♥️
So here is my little Christmas Fairy Tale . . .
As you know last year we moved across the country into a very old 1970s double-wide. It isn’t nearly as large as our old house, but we’d been wanting to downsize, and it was perfect for that! It had an open plan with lots of windows, and oddly, one entire WALL of mirrors, which 
normally I might not have liked, but it brought in a TON of light from the wall of windows on the other side of the room, which in turn brought in the garden, so it didn’t take long before I learned to love it a lot. Below, you can see the mirrored wall, it’s in the dining room part of the open room . . . you can see me there, reflected, and across the room behind me, you can see two lamps and tall windows in the living area, but it’s dark outside, so they are black. Sort of get it? Part of the kitchen is also reflected in the mirror. There’s a doorway to the hall on the right.↘️
I have to admit, making magic in a very old, untouched and un-updated double-wide is more of a challenge than making magic in a 150-year-old Captain’s House (on Martha’s Vineyard, which put us way ahead on the scale of magic from the get-go). Things like plaster walls, thick decorative trim around heavy wooden doors with antique brass knobs and fittings, with a shelf over the front door for pumpkins in the fall. . . these things do 
not exist in a double-wide. If you want them, you have to figure out how to get them! But if ever a challenge is worth it, this is the one. Being that this double-wide lives in the middle of an English garden that we accidentally planted here in 2004 with no expectation of ever living here ourselves! So it’s a double-wide in tree, hedge, bird-bath, hummingbird, and blue-sky heaven. So on we go, building our world, just like we did the first time. But isn’t making a home just the most wonderful thing? Most creative job in the world!👏👏💗 Never forget:
After a lifetime of dreaming, I know this to be true.♥️
So here is another shot of that mirrored wall … because really, if you don’t know it’s there, it can get a little invisible, and what I’m about to show you can be confusing! Call this the “Before” shot.
Of course we were spoiled, our old house came with an old fireplace, all full of ancient whispers, which we loved to decorate at Christmas . . .
. . . we NEEDED a fireplace back there, for our cold and snowy New England winters. But we realized, that due to the mild weather in California, 
we didn’t need or even want a fireplace ~ it would require space! What I actually REALLY wanted, was a mantle! This came to light last Christmas, when I looked around and said, “I have no mantle to decorate! What we need is a FAKE fireplace ~ and we could put it on that mirrored wall in our “dining room! It would reflect candlelight!🕯️ It would be so cozy!” And I gently mentioned it to my darling husband, saying simply, I need a fake fireplace on yonder mirrored wall kind sir, and him replying, something to the effect of, “your wish is my command.” Anyway that’s how I remember it.💞
And so it was. He found a mantle, he found some appropriate pieces to go with it, he made other appropriate pieces, we looked at pictures of other mantles and surrounds, we looked at our old one…
Joe began cutting, glueing, and drilling . . . I never knew his drill has a flashlight in it! How handy! And just like Michelangelo cutting his masterpieces from the marble, just like THAT, our mantle started taking shape.♥️
We just guessed what height to make it ~ the side boards for the surround, are leaning against the mirror to give us some idea of what it would be like… I really loved the fireplace I saw in one of the rooms of Jane Austen’s house in Chawton in the UK . . . narrow, tallish, simple, plain. All it needs is boughs of holly!
This is it, it’s in a tiny room.
But maybe ours would have more substantial mantle, with a sort of back splash like the one on the Vineyard. But tall and narrow… Joe put it on the floor so we could see what it looked like. I laid the sides a wee bit crooked, he straightened them and started putting it together. Pretty soon he leaned the sides against the mirror and balanced the mantle on top. I decorated it, lit the candles, went mad with delight, then undecorated it so he could he take it down. He added an apron, put it back up, balanced it again, I decorated it again, went mad, he took it down, added a tiny shelf at bottom of the apron … etc, three times . . . until we had it all! He glued and screwed it together, and stapled a piece of black velvet on the back. And once again, I decorated it!
And voila! here it is! It’s screwed to the wall ~ now permanent, staying forever ~ here Joe is doing the 
last bits, adding a hook for the other stocking, wearing appropriate head gear. “This is ridiculous,” I exclaimed, laughing out loud every time I looked at it.
I continued laughing while taking a thousand photos, so adorable. I could barely believe the transformation!
I had a mantle! I couldn’t wait to show it to you!!
It takes up no space, is 56″ tall to the top of the back splash; the mantle is 48″ wide and 9″ deep ~ and it changed everything. It even created a sort of natural space on the left where we could tuck in a tree. I’d already purchased a small one because I thought it might have to go on the table (it’s up on a plant stand now), but next year, it’s clear there’s space to have a full-height (but skinny) Christmas tree in the corner!! This fireplace is rocking my world! I love it so much.💫💫💫
Voila, the “after” picture! And now I have this little corner I can decorate for the seasons ~ there’s a place for pumpkins, candles, bunnies and chicks for Easter, for photos, flowers, books, banners, a lamp, or even a birthday cake! We get to have dinner parties in front of the fireplace!♥️ See that little card on the apron of the fireplace? Joe added a tiny narrow shelf (like we had on Martha’s Vineyard). I can PUT things there! And I now have a place where, if I want, I could have fireside chats on Instagram! Or read a story! That is why I would have to call this a Fairy Tale. Because like my mother told me, you can have anything you want, as long as you make it yourself can get your husband to make it for you! Proof positive:
PS, an addendum. After Joe finished his brilliant masterpiece, I went looking on line to see if perhaps others had had this same idea, a fireplace with no fire… a faux fireplace to add extra coziness and charm to a small room. In case my Girlfriends were thinking how fun this would be but have no Joe, I wondered if maybe it would be possible to BUY one that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Because you know, if you dream it you can make it so! I was surprised, shocked maybe, there are so many choices! Little ones, big ones, simple and fancy, whatever your heart desires!♥️ Mas MUSICA? Oui!
Look at this one, clean, elegant, free-standing, and only $150, voila! If I only knew! Ha! well, there you go! I’m so used to asking Joe, I forget that there are other ways to go about this! I love his best of course!♥️ This mantle is even a half-inch deeper than mine… there are photos of it in a living room scene when you go to their site. . . but if this isn’t your cup of tea, there of tons of other ones to choose from ~ some of them are electric and even include the fire!🔥 This world!💝
Speaking of this enchanted world, this wonderful magical outrageously beautiful world that we, the human race, positively do not deserve but are unendingly grateful for, I thought you would like to see what a California Christmas looks like!
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Yup, no snow. And I do miss that thrilling first snow of the season! But the only white you see here are the drifts of sweet alyssum that springs up everywhere in the cool weather.
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The breeze you’re hearing comes down our valley from the Pacific ocean, alyssum fragrance floats in the air, the sun comes out almost every day, shining golden light and long shadows on my daily walk, and the silk trees flower in pink! A total blessing for light deprived person, I put my face up to drink in the sunshine.
But we absolutely DO have winter, it’s freezing at night (40s!!!), sweater weather, for sure ~ even fingerless gloves sometimes ~ and flannel jammies of course, it’s even cold enough for me to put my grandma’s nap blanket on the bed! Extremely cozy! It just probably won’t snow.🤭
Instead, check this out!
It’s a jasmine vine that found this chair on our front deck and is making a home there! I know I’m going to be sorry I let it go! It’ll probably take hours to get it all out! But it’s actually so pretty, and . . . think . . .
. . . what it’s going to feel like to sit in this chair loaded with light pink jasmine, and just rock and smell the flowers!🌸🌸🌸 So, for a possible future moment’s pure delight, here I am waiting for it to bloom, as each day the vine gets more deeply entrenched. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Jack is sending you all his kitty LOVE!😻 So, off we go, onward and upward.Company coming today! Going to Farmer’s Market tomorrow. Need some local honey🍯, and definitely want to see what the farmers are doing for Christmas!🪴 Merry, Merry darling people. Get out into nature if you can, take lots of deep breaths, and stay hydrated!♥️
Don’t forget to leave a comment for the drawing! You can sit in front of your fireplace and read everyone a story of Christmas long ago! “Home for Christmas!”
Your mantle made me think back to the “fireplace” my Dad used to make me every Christmas for my bedroom: cardboard boxes glued together with paper you could buy that looked like bricks. On Christmas Eve, I would hang my stocking precariously on the “mantle” & wake up Christmas morning with goodies inside it. I knew Santa had come. What a joy for a kid!! Many more Merry Christmases to you, Joe, and Jack!
How adorable! What a good dad! Making magic for his little girl! xoxo
I love getting your Willard’s. Really makes my day .
I remember our neighbor growing up having this same created Christmas fireplace for Santa! I was very envious! Thanks for bringing back that sweet memory. Merry Christmas!
I truly love your Willards! They always make me smile. The mantle is a wonderful idea and looks beautiful 😍
Dear Susan,
I too love your Willards. I love the cosiness the mantle creates. Myself and my daughter Sarah Rohan love you. I am disabled from a stroke 12 years ago but I still believe in Fairytales. By the way, my favorite book of yours is Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams. Thank you for being there! Sincerely, Nan
My girl. 💞 Love you. xoxoxo
What a nice surprise today! and I love Beatrix potter too- how can one not. Merry Christmas and looking forward to the new Year Willard!
Dear Susan, What a wonderful holiday Williard!!!! I can’t say enough about how much I love your new “fireplace.” It is perfection and adds so much coziness to the room and so many possibilities for decorating around each holiday. Kudos to you and Joe for making your dream come true!!! I love Beatrix Potter too. Steve and I visited her home after reading your book. We visited lots of special places in England because of you!!! Thank you Susan for an everything you do!!! Merry Christmas to you and Joe. ❤️🤶
I KNEW you’d like it! Thank you The Beverly! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
A magical blog post just in time for the holiday spirit! Merry Christmas to you & Joe!
Merry Christmas to you, Susan and friends! Love all your updates and fun Christmas decor.
I love your words and photos! They are magical. I’d love to be a winner of your charming giveaways.
Happy Christmas to begin with.Love your mantle, it’s perfect. Joe is wonderful, he is the kindest and best of men to quote Jane Austin. Living in California I’m sure is so different from Martha’s Vineyards harsh winters.I know you are a California girl at heart,and keep Martha’s Vineyards tucked up inside in a little corner of your heart.I hope you have a lovely Christmas and happy new year!
I too have a house with a mirrored wall. At first I thought I’d hate it, but once I realized all the light and views it brought, I quickly warmed to it.
Yup, it can even twinkle a bit, given half a chance! xoxo
Love your new mantel! It’s just what you didn’t know you needed.
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas!
I love the fireplace! Have to come back and reread this whole article to absorb it all. History of Beatrix Potter is a treat. Your Santa’s are so cute. If anyone can put magic in house, it’s you
Reading your new holiday Willard made my day! My husband is from England. I just made your clotted cream recipe from the new Summer book this past weekend and he loved it. ❤️😘
Yaaaaay! That made my day! xoxoxo
Your photos certainly convey a feeling of optimism and holiday cheer! Thank you! May you and Joe have in return all the goodwill you share.
Merry Christmas to Joe and Susan! What joy you bring in sharing your lives with us. You two could be living in a tent in the desert and still make it charming! My gift to you both is this song I’m pasting. If it plays. Have your Christmas dance by the FFP (Fake Fireplace) Mantel’.😊
Julie
https://music.apple.com/us/album/keep-me-warm-feat-erin-bowman/934909701?i=934909888
You made me smile today! Thanks for your delightful stories and loved the reminder of Beatrice Potter books.
Merry Christmas!
Love this Willard! I look forward to and enjoy all your posts. Please enter me into the drawing! MERRY CHRISTMAS Susan and Joe, P.S. I love the mantle!
Dearest Susan, I so enjoyed this December blog post! I always look forward to them! Loved your interview with The Beatrix Potter Society…FYI, I named my black & white Tuxedo girl kitty “Trixie” after Beatrix. 🙂 I also would not be a fan of a wall of mirrors–but you made it work and the mantle is Fabulous–good going Joe! Till next time….Merry Christmas! xoxo
Lovely reading this as I recover from hip replacement surgery, helped me feel cosy and warm as the ice machine floods my side with ice water! Merry Christmas!🎄
Feel better soon, and CONGRATULATIONS!!! XOXO
Hi Susan,
I love your new mantle with its endless decorating possibilities. It is definitively the heart of the home. Merry Christmas to you, Joe, Jack, and all the girlfriends!
Smiles,
Karen Holly in New Hampshire
Love, love, love the new mantle. Your decorations are always so lovely. Merry Christmas to you and Joe from Kansas!
I am at my sister’s house, visiting for a few days, enjoying each other’s company. I told her of your blog, sent her a link, and hope she becomes one of the girlfriends. Fingers crossed.
The entire blog was breath-taking. I was holding my breath through the pictures and description of the mantle-building process. I relaxed and exhaled at your ending: “The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.” Wishing you and Joe the most blessed of Christmases.
Merry California Christmas, Sue and Joe!
Love the Willard and pictures of your new enchanted home. Thanks for sharing Joes handiwork and your decorating ideas.
Susan, Your Santa is the best! Sincerely, Karen
Thank you for sharing your lovely home! We downsized to a townhouse 2 years ago and are very happy we did. I never miss a Willard! Merry Christmas to you and Joe🎄
Over 30 years ago, as a young teenager my aunt gifted me a copy of Christmas From the Heart of the Home. I remember thinking then “why would I want this?” Yet somehow that book has stuck to me through growing up and decades of moving houses. It has become part of my holiday ritual. Thank you for it and Merry Christmas!
My grandma gave me a set of pyrex baking dishes for Christmas when I was in my teens. I had a HOPE chest, being so old fashioned, so I put them there for the day I GOT MY OWN HOUSE! 🤣 That was so sweet Anna, I’m glad it stuck to you! xoxo
Merry Christmas, Susan! I just received a gift of your Christmas book and I absolutely love it! 🎄🎅🎄
Love, love, love your new fireplace!!!! 👍
Love, love, love the fireplace! Merry Christmas!
I love your new fireplace. It looks like it was always there. When we purchased our home 40 years ago I knew I needed a mantle. Great Job Joe!!
Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2026! Glad you are living your fairy tale!
We enjoy making your Christmas coffee cake every year for Christmas morning!
Cheers!
Susan, Thank you for sharing your happy gene with the world. 🌎 ❤️
It has been my pleasure!!! xoxo
What a treat on a cold snowy gray day, curling up with “Willard” and seeing dear Beatrix as well as dear Susan, (and sweet Joe). Downsizing can be difficult, but I have learned to be content and make our smaller space a home. My Christmas Village is now spread between two rooms because of space constraints, but it makes me happy just to see all of the lights glowing in the tiny houses. Have a wonderful Christmas from our home to yours!
I have no doubt that it’s pure MAGIC!
YOU, Susan, are such an INSPIRATION to me! I began to follow you back in 1978 when my husband was assigned to an Army unit in Germany and I found a copy of “Country Living” and there you were!!!! Love your Christmas WILLARD! The fireplace…….ohhhhhhh……now to get my husband to build one!
This past September we started a dreamed of road trip from Pennsylvania via old Route 66 to southern CA to be with friends and family for a couple of reunions. Who knew when we arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico that I would end up in their little hospital, told that I had had a heart attack and needed to be airlifted to a larger hospital which put me in Amarillo, TX hospital for 6 days! God isn’t finished with me here on earth…..two stents (100% block in main artery and 90% block in another artery of my heart). Your sweet simple stories are such a joy to me and make me realize how short life is and how thankful I am to still be here with our family! THANK YOU for sharing these wonderful snippets of life!
Wow, what a trip, in more ways than one! Love you had that warning, no worrying to be done, just whip in and voila, you are BACK! Blessings on you and yours Dee, and merriest Christmas EVER! xoxo
Merry Christmas dear Susan! Your mantle is charming! So happy for you. You are very lucky to have a husband who can pretty much do anything you want (as am I!). They just think about it for awhile and Poof! It appears. So grateful for these talented men in our lives. Much love to you all ❤️🎄Diane from Washington Stat
Susan,
Thank you again for sharing your love, outsized joy and creativity! We have a new kitten who showed up on our doorstep. Calling him Magnificat after the piece I’m singing in our Chorale. All our critters love him; it’s truly a peaceable kingdom. I’ve enjoyed belonging to The Beatrix Potter Society for a number of years now, I’m sure other girlfriends would enjoy it as well.
Merry Christmas to you, Joe Jack. and the barn kitties
Linda Z.
Love the fireplace! What a difference it makes! You and Joe are so talented. I hope you have a warm and wonderful Christmas with family and friends. Thank you for continuing to inspire us all.
I have a little reading corner with shelves and a mission style chair. For Christmas I decorate it with many vintage items that bring back warm memories. Love the little tree that has twinkle lights that I place on top of a pile of books that belonged to my Aunt Helen, and the little red carolers. The music box on the top shelf is from the ‘50s and a Christmas memory for my husband. ♥️🎄 It’s amazing how we can create a cozy Christmas within just about anything. Merry Merry Susan!
Beautiful!!
I’m a lifetime fan of Beatrix Potter and love seeing your collections!
I have that Beatrix Potter journal; I don’t know that I ever opened the little back door before, but I did, and it has the little book, yay!
Have you read Susan Wittig Alberts’ Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter? Very charming, stories with Beatrix, and all kinds of animals…
Love the mantel Joe built, perfectly lovely there!
Thank you for the giveaway, and have yourself the merriest Christmas!
Yes, I read them when we were in England quite a while ago!! Sweet! Same to you Donna! Merry Christmas!
I love all of your books but your Christmas book is my favorite! I make your sugar cookies every year and everyone loves them! Merry Christmas! xo
Thank you for the Christmas ideas! I love all the seasons, but this one is special to me. Thanks
Merry Christmas, Susan. I love what you have done to your California home. It’s so cozy and welcoming.
Merriest of Christmases. Is that a word?
YES!!!😂
Love, love, love your handiwork and Joe’s…you both certainly compliment each other. Both very creative souls who found each other and are living happily ever after.
Merry Christmas from cold, snowy, and windy Ohio! We are definitly having early winter here in northern Ohio. It’s a marshmallow world!
Your mantle is adorable! And yes, I enjoy looking at how people decorate their mantles during holidays or for the seasons. I store my decorating goodies by season, except for Christmas, my favorite time of the year & my birth month. I have several of your books displayed with my Christmas decor. All four of my grandchildren (ages 6-7-8-9) love your “Christmas Joy” book & they each have their favorite page…. the stocking page & the recipes. I’d love to win any sort of gift from your drawing. Happy Holidays to you & Joe!
I bet they’d love the story of my Home Christmas! Fingers crossed Christine!♥️
Blessings to you and yours this beautiful season. Thank you for spreading so much love.
Hale & hearty winter greetings to all! Enjoy your holiday season and heart hugs to all!
Happy Holidays Susan and Joe! Love the mantle. Thank you for the 2026 Full Moon bookmark. I look forward to having it all year long.
That is quite a story about the mantle!
Luv the mantle in the new home! So creative and will be so useful year round! Just wonderful! xoxo from Lori in Washington State
Your Willard always brightens my day and we all need that right now! Thank you, Susan. Have a wonderful holiday season.
Merry Christmas and A very Happy, Healthy 2026. Living in NH always brings surprises with the weather. Glad you are able to soak up some sun out on the West Coast.
Susan,
Thank you for inspiring love for life and the wonder all around us. I look forward to your blog posts. Your enthusiasm is contagious! ♥️
Hi Susan,
Such a fun-filled post! I am so very grateful to have a fireplace where I live – it is what adds the certain je ne sais quoi to my cozy home. On the days/nights in the late fall/early winter – I love to light a fire, have some homemade soup (creamy tomato, or chicken tortilla) with my fuzzy socks and bask in the glow and warmth. If I ever need to move, and am not able to find a “real” fireplace, I am inspired to find a mantle and create another cozy space! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! Your stories always make me feel so good. They are so positive and informative. I’ve followed you for probably 30 years, have your books and love the greeting cards you do. Thank you for sharing your stories and experiences.
I love all your creative ideas, and your books and your cups and everything you do. You and Joe have a very Merry Christmas. Sheila
That mantle is perfect! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I love your new mantle! It looks beautiful against the mirror wall! Thank you for sharing with us!
I love the “fireplace!” My son went to school in SLO….I loved visiting so much!
Wow the fireplace is a lovely idea. Very homey! Enjoy your Christmas in California!
Thank you for the new Williard and the giveaways! It’s been wonderful to see a new post from you! I’m glad you and Joe are well and our family wishes you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Happy Christmas! Thank you for the 2026 Full Moon bookmark. Love those. Adore the new “fireplace”. Joe to the rescue once again. Hope you are all having a wonderful and meaningful Christmas season. Watching all our favorite movies, wrapped in blankets and drinking hot coco, munching popcorn and cookies, sitting under the tree. Love this season.
Merry Christmas to you!
I love your Joe!! He is such a sweet man. Slowly but surely you’re making the new space homey as you always do. I really appreciate that about you.
You have planted Christmas joy in my heart, Susan, with your December Willard! Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Happy Christmas, dear Susan and Friends! Such great timing! Earlier today I thought of you and your holiday treasures, had fun shopping your online marketplace, found the perfect combination of gifts for my sister, and had my order shipped directly—so sweet, so simple! Yay! Love, joy, and peace to you in this season of hope and heavenly light — Debra in Austin
Christmas in California! We have the best with greenery all around us. I’m so glad you are enjoying your new/old home, Susan. We are practically neighbors as I live on the southern shore of Morro Bay. It’s been such fun watching the king tides come and go these last few days. Not to mention all the migratory birds. Such a beautiful time of the year!
Cindee in Los Osos
Crazy beautiful, like all the cool rays of sun are echoing! Gets you right down to your bones!♥️
My daughter introduced YOU, Susan Branch, to me many years ago. She was 20- something at the time and I was 40-something. Today, decades later, Susan Branch is still a household name in our family lineage; Your creative delightful art & creativity bond our generations together still. One Christmas I gave my daughter your Christmas Book, & upon opening the gift, she squealed “OH HAPPY DAY”, And now, today, I experience that “Oh Happy Day” feeling whenever I see Willard grace my computer screen. “Susan Branch” carries your own language & your very own sensation of joy and inspiration, yet alive and well right NOW.
Your words are pure sun to me, thank you!!!❌⭕️
Happy Christmas, dear Susan and Friends! Such great timing! Earlier today I thought of you and your holiday treasures, had fun shopping your online marketplace, found the perfect combination of gifts for my sister, and had my order shipped directly—so sweet, so simple! Yay! Love, joy, and peace to you in this season of hope and heavenly light — Debra in Austin
We live in a double wide as well, but we have SO MANY Christmas decorations and bookshelves, there is no room for a mantle, but we do have an electric fireplace!
I love the mantel, what a great idea! Joe is so talented and such a sport. Fun that you captured his reflection in the mirror as he worked diligently to complete this for you! Such love!
Merry Christmas!
I absolutely love your mantle! Joe did such a beautiful job! Your home looks so festive & lovely.Thanks so much for the wonderful give away.Merry Christmas to you Joe & Jack. 🎅🌲🐈⬛❤️
Merry Christmas Susan! Always enjoy your Willard’s! Love, love, love your mantle. Looks like it’s always been there! You will enjoy decorating it for all the seasons!
Our family of 9 (2 adults and 7 children) moved into a beautiful 1951 home almost 3 years ago and we love decorating for Christmas every year. Our old beauty came with a wood burning fireplace… That we can’t safely use because she’s not up to our 21st century codes 😆 But the mantle is perfect for displaying our old family Christmas cards.
We also have a lovely 1940’s style kitchen, complete with a white drainboard sink and little shelves built in around the windows. Can you picture it? It’s been such a blessing to live here and to decorate for Christmas! We have a new kitten this year too named Daisy who is thrilled to have her first visit from “Santa Paws” 😆 Merry Christmas, Susan!!
Yes, definitely! Do you have pull-out breadboard counters? 💞
Merry Christmas! I so love reading your “Willard.” It brings peace in this busy season of baking, shopping, wrapping gifts, and doing all that must be done. My blood pressure always goes down as I read. Best medicine ever. You are a true treasure!
What our world needs now is you, Susan, to keep spreading your positivity, creativity and “happy gene” to all of us as a reminder of how our lives need all the good, heart-warming feelings in life there are if we but remember to appreciate, enjoy and spread them.
Susan, you are such a Christmas soul! Thank you for offering all these wonderful gifts, but most importantly, thank you for sharing your sweet self with all of us. Merry Christmas to you, Joe, Jack, and all those you love!
I so enjoy reading your Willards….thank you for sharing your life with all of us!!! I’ve followed you for years and never tire of reading about your comings and goings!!!! Have a very blessed Christmas!
Your wonderful comments on Christmas and being supportive of one another helped me get out of this pre Christmas funk I have been in for some time. There are so many wonderful things all around us if we only open our eyes and seem them.
The idea to make the mantle is brilliant, you and Joe did a great job. It’s in a ideal spot too!
No matter where you are Christmas can be special! I love the fireplace and no I don’t have a “Joe” but I might just order one for my very small Condo. Thanks for the idea Susan! Mery Christmas
The fireplace looks great! Love it!
You are making your new home as lovely – and as cozy – as your old one!
Hi sweet Sue! I put you in my Christmas letter to pen pals. I love how you healed from heartbreak in a little cottage on Martha’s Vineyard. Did your captains house sell? I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas! You’re simply amazing 💕💕
I went to visit a relative today, here in NH, and was served tea in one of your cups & saucers! When I arrived home, here was your newsletter. Interesting coincidence! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from a lifelong So Cal girl now living in a winter❄️wonderland. Enjoy your ☀️days while you enjoy your beautiful new fireplace.
Lovely and generous gifts, thank you so much!!! Merry Christmas and CHEERS to a new, healthy, and safe new year. ❤️
I so enjoy reading these letters each month. Susan, you brighten my day and in these troubled times, that’s a gift. Thank you!!
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!!
XO
Merry Christmas to you and Joe! Love the mantle!
Your fireplace is perfect! Every home needs a special place to decorate for the seasons. Well done Joe!
Love it, Susan. So cozy.
Just what I needed this morning…wonderful words of kindness and joy from you. This world needs more of that. Love your new mantle. They are so much fun to decorate any time of the year.
Thank you for this lovely christmassy Willard. The Mantle is looking great and wil give lots of charm in your house. I also have that Beatrix Potter Journal book and I love it too.
Dear Susan ; will there be a new England / Scotland book from you? I remember you were working on it. Living in the Netherlands we sometimes take the ferry to have holidays there and I am also in love with all the lovely places to visit there. Merry christmas to you all, greetings from the Netherlands 🎄 🎅 🌟 ⭐️
Hello Susan,
What a wonderful and thoughtful giveaway! I’m actually giving copies of your little “Home for Christmas” book to my four closest friends. I’ve known them all since childhood and we graduated from high school together. I also gave them copies of your “Girlfriends” book a few years ago and we cooked many of the recipes together. The Merriest of Christmases to you, Joe and Jack.
With warm regards,
Samantha (Mount Borah (Idaho) Lady, haha)
Joe is your own Westley. “As you wish.”
Wishing you the very best Christmas season, Susan! Love the fireplace story! If ever one needs a fireplace, it’s at Christmas for hanging stockings! Perfect! Great giveaway! Sending hugs and love! – Nellie
Merry Christmas Susan & Joe!
Wishing you a very merry and happy holiday season ! I know the new year will bring more Willards for all of us friends. Love the fireplace!
Wow, Joe did such a great job making your dining room charming. Makes me rethink a bare wall in my kitchen!!Im also glad you made peace with your mirrored wall. Sending you love across the miles.
Your fireplace is lovely! and the mirrored wall resurrected to a thing of beauty! Great job, elves!! Enjoy!
Greetings Susan! Your blog says it all and more! Thank you for bringing love ❤️ into our lives!
Loved this Willard! What a treat to have a mantle now! Go Joe!
I also just wanted to tell you I found the 1990 edition of your “Christmas from the Heart of the Home” at an antique mall here in Boise, Idaho and I was so thrilled to buy it! 🙂 I plan to make the coconut cookies dipped in chocolate for a cookie exchange with my girlfriends next week!
You will LOVE them, so moist and then chocolaty!!