Here's another holiday memory. This blog was originally posted on December 20, 2017. Enjoy!
I love how my home looks when it is filled with holiday decorations.
I opened three buildings for my recent holiday gathering here at my Bedford, New York farm. My Summer House, which I use as a library for my vast collection of books, was dedicated to "Caroling & Champagne". My longtime housekeeper, Laura, filled nearly every room with gold and silver - trees in every corner and on every table, with gleaming ornaments and garlands I've collected through the years. It looked simply magical.
Enjoy these photos.
My Summer House was the original house on the property. It was first built in 1770. It has been rebuilt and restored, but it remains on its original footprint.
Many of you have seen the back of the Summer House, where I created this tranquil sunken garden, now covered in burlap for the winter.
For my party, the Summer House was dedicated to singing joyful Christmas carols and sipping delicious champagne. It was also where guests could enjoy my eggnog, plum pudding, and fruit cake, and sit and share holiday stories and plans.
Guests entered the home to see the grand center stairway and handrail bedecked with a long garland of silver balls.
I love how it wraps around the dark wood railing.
Behind the front door is a wreath. I also have a wreath on the front of this door.
This room is filled with gold and silver trees and ornaments – I love how everything glistens.
We also used white and cream-colored ornaments, and ornaments in shades of copper and brass – all these metallic colors blend together beautifully.
I love this tabletop tree, flanked by candles in front of this bookcase. It’s decorated with gold balls and ornaments shaped like pinecones.
Atop the mantel, cardboard trees lined up in a row.
The room looks elegant yet festive, with lots of seating for my guests.
In the center, another tabletop tree with more shining gold ornaments. This one is set inside an urn, painted in gold. Trees don’t always have to be propped up in traditional stands – look for interesting vessels that can be used instead.
Laura hung these pinecone ornaments on the fireplace screen – such a pretty touch.
In another corner is this tall sterling tinsel silver champagne artificial tree – it’s from my Christmas collection at The Home Depot. goo.gl/judpnB
More pinecone ornaments and traditional balls cover the branches. When hanging ornaments, I like to use wire that is close in color to the tree.
Metallic wreaths are hung in every window.
This tree sits on one end of the center hallway. It is a skinnier tree, but I love how it is dressed – overflowing with ornaments. If you look closely, we used tinsel at the bottom of the tree to surround the wicker tree skirt.
This mantel is decorated with silver balls in a variety of sizes – so simple, yet so elegant.
Here is another silver tinsel tree with silver pinecones and a silver tinsel garland draped on its branches.
For the stand, we spray painted a section of a log in silver. These tree stands were made from felled trees and cut right here at the farm. I always try to repurpose whenever I can.
And in this room, we decorated the long counters with pink and green trees.
Glass globes sit in simple Jadeite bowls. These trees are in natural wood tree stands, also cut right here at the farm.
And each tree is decorated with only a single ornament at the bottom – this one is a green pinecone.
And this one is a natural colored pinecone with a pink ribbon to match the tree.
Here is a view from one end of the room – it is simply gorgeous.
Champagne glasses sat in a silver tray nearby.
I love this view of the napkins folded and positioned in a circular pattern on top of a Jadeite cake stand.
Window seats are decorated with little houses and more trees.
Here are a snow-covered house and church sitting on another table.
I love this photo of the wreath, chair and the beautiful tree outside – everything is so pretty. Tomorrow, I will share photos from my Winter House, where Chef Pierre Schaedelin prepared and served all our glorious savory foods. What do you think about the decorations in my Summer House? I am interested and eager to read your comments.
Wherever you are this holiday, I hope you are able to enjoy the time with those near and dear. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing a few of my favorite holiday and blog memories from years past. This blog was originally posted on December 19, 2017.
I love this time of year when everyone gathers together to celebrate the holidays.
This weekend, I hosted my annual holiday party at my Bedford, New York farm. Nearly 200-guests wandered in and out of three buildings, each with a different and festive theme. My Winter House was where my friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin, and his talented team from PS Tailored Events, prepared and served a variety of delicious and savory dishes. Champagne was served in my Summer House, and for those looking to satisfy their sweet cravings, the Tenant House offered an array of beautiful holiday cookies and candies. Friends, family, and neighbors also enjoyed hayrides, caroling, and photos with Santa! It was a cold late autumn day, but everyone had a most wonderful time!
Enjoy these photos.
Here is my Tenant House, where my daughter, Alexis, and her children stay during visits to the farm.
During the party, it was filled with lots of “Candies & Cookies for Young & Old”. Each of the houses was labeled, so visitors knew what to find inside.
After opening the door, visitors saw decorations on every table and wreaths in every window.
These mini natural mint pillow candies and all our hard candies came from Hammond’s. http://www.hammondscandies.com/
The long table is filled with homemade cookies surrounded by whimsical woodland animals and miniature figurines. Our test chefs, Jason Schreiber and Molly Wenk baked more than 1000-cookies for the event. Many of the recipes are from my books and my web site at MarthaStewart.com.
As many of you know, my longtime housekeeper, Laura, has an exceptional talent for decorating. Every year, she creates the most stunning displays. This is a little snowy gnomes’ village set on the table.
It is complete with tiny figures, such as these playful gnome carolers.
There are cookies everywhere – the children were all amazed at the vast selection of cookies. Here is a display of delicious gingerbread, sugar cookies, and zaleti.
Zaleti is the traditional name for the northern Italian cornmeal cookies, usually made with lemon rind and grappa-soaked raisins.
Here’s a big favorite – iced sugar cookies. I love using natural elements in my decorating. We used very flat slices of wood to display our cookies.
These are called sables – French salted butter cookies.
And of course, we added a bowl of caramel corn with nuts. Watch my recent Facebook LIVE and see how we wrapped these to give away as a gift. https://www.facebook.com/pg/marthastewart/videos/
We made this candle holder from a log – it’s perfect for holding our LED votive candles.
More sugar cookies shaped like stars, deer and crescent moons – we used a large variety of cookie-cutter shapes.
These are glazed lemon poppy shortbread cookies.
Laura displayed a row of iced sugar cookie Christmas trees and snowflakes along one side of the table on faux bois napkins.
Here are traditional gingerbread men and a big sugar cookie snowflake.
These are churros stacked neatly on another wooden board.
Look at this display of Christmas trees – I love how each colored tree is decorated differently. On each side are brown butter cardamom shortbread cookies from our Martha & Marley Spoon Holiday Cookie Box.
Behind the long table are planter pedestals topped with woodland stuffed animals and bottle brush trees.
Because my grandchildren stay here when they visit, I love decorating the space for them with lots of colors and stuffed toys.
This tree is adorned with simple yet decorative pinecone garlands.
We also used Hammond’s candy cane Christmas trees as ornaments.
And Hammond’s candy canes
The mantle in the Tenant House is decorated with a Christmas village scene.
And on the table, more cookies, candies and safe LED pillar candles. I love the gnome cookie display surrounded by Hammond’s ribbon candies – it would be great for a magazine cover.
On another Christmas tree, Laura placed lots of bird ornaments, like this red one.
I think these acorn ornaments are so pretty.
In the kitchen, there are more plates filled with tasty cookies, including Alexis’ chocolate chunk cookies, zaleti, and brown butter cardamom shortbread from our Martha & Marley Spoon Holiday Cookie Box.
Laura brought out these wonderful toadstools – I made these on “The Martha Stewart Show” – everyone loved these stools.
Alexis’ Chocolate Chunk Cookies went so fast. We used her chocolate chip recipe, only with chocolate chunks instead – so delicious.
Here’s a winking sugar cookie gnome and buccellati. Buccellati cookies are Sicily’s best-known Christmas cookie – a thin pastry wrapped around a filling of dried figs and nuts.
Here are more buccellati cookies, sugar cookies and in the back, red-brown butter cardamom shortbread cookies.
As cookies were eaten they were quickly replaced by more – we had lots of cookies to go around!
Here are more gingerbread men, Alexis’ chocolate chunk cookies and Buccellati.
These are called Casadinhos. These are Brazilian cookies with guava. It is made of two little sugar cookies filled with guava paste.
Here are gingerbread men standing around our Noel Nut Balls from our Martha & Marley Spoon Holiday Cookie Box.
Here’s a stack of peppermint brownies from our Martha & Marley Spoon Holiday Cookie Box – they were all gone by the end of the party.
On the staircase, Laura used these beautiful bears to greet guests as they turned the corner from the kitchen – so cute.
The living room was also decorated for children – with the coffee table complete with a decorating project for our smallest guests.
On the large stuffed bears and mini Christmas trees – yoga Santas.
Here is another yoga Santa – everyone loved these ornaments.
Polar bears sat nearby.
And as guests left the Tenant House, they saw this lovely display of deer amidst trees, and silver and gold snowballs. Everything is so pretty – thank you, Laura! Tomorrow, I will share photos from my Summer House – you’re going to love it!
I love this time of year when everyone gathers together to celebrate the holidays.
Yesterday, I hosted a very special gathering for the entire staff at my farm. All my employees work so hard during the year - caring for the property and my many pets and gardens, and helping me prepare for all the meetings, shoots, parties, and other events that are scheduled through the year. I prepared a festive holiday buffet in my Winter House kitchen with help from Chef Molly Wenk. It included delicious shrimp cocktail, pigs in a blanket, Stilton cheese with my brown butter shortbread cookies, caviar and homemade melba toast, potato latkes with sour cream and applesauce, crudités, cider, a salami platter, lots of tasty holiday sweets, toasted homemade marshmallows and chestnuts, and of course, my famous eggnog. It was a busy morning of cooking and preparing, but we had a most enjoyable end of year celebration.
Here are some photos.
To show my appreciation for all of their hard work, I prepare a special holiday luncheon for my Bedford staff every year. My home is all decorated and the holiday lights are turned on for the occasion.
I planned the gathering for 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Everything was ready just in time. Here are Alex, Phurba, and Chhiring waiting on my terrace parterre – hungry and full of holiday cheer.
I have a “no shoes” policy in my home, do you?
In my Winter House kitchen, I prepared a wonderful spread of food. This is Stilton cheese served with brown butter shortbread cookies – try it, you’ll love the combination, I promise.
Here’s shrimp cocktail from Mt. Kisco Seafood. It went very quickly.
I also served delicious Black Diamond caviar. The caviar accompanied sour cream and mini melba toasts I made earlier in the day. It was also a very well-visited station at the buffet.
Molly made lots of pigs in a blanket – a favorite at all my parties.
And here is a large platter of crudités – bell peppers and fresh celery – delicious with green Goddess dip.
Kevin O’Leary, my archivist, was happy to try everything.
A platter of salami – this was also devoured quickly.
And crackers to go with anything.
Chef Molly stood nearby making delicious potato latkes, also known as potato pancakes. These are always served hot and crispy.
… And always enjoyed with homemade applesauce and sour cream.
All the rooms in my Winter House are always decorated for the holidays. I try to do it a little differently every time, but it always includes lots of trees – big, small, green, gold, and silver.
Earlier in the day, I went out to pick up this croquembouche from Bedford Village Pastry. A croquembouche or croque-en-bouche is a French dessert consisting of choux pastry puffs piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel.
I served a lovely amber colored cider with citrus.
Here is my famous eggnog, freshly made and positioned right at the end of the counter in my servery for easy access. It is requested at every holiday party I host. The original recipe is in my very first book, Entertaining, Clarkson Potter 1982. And now in the new 2025 re-released version. There’s lots of everything – bourbon, cognac, rum, heavy cream, and eggs from my chickens.
Holding their cups of eggnog – Pete Sherpa and Fernando Ferrari from my outdoor grounds crew, and my driver, Andres Velastegui – they’ve all been with me for many years.
Here’s my housekeeper Elvira Rojas waiting her turn to fill a cup of eggnog.
Molly also made cookies – chewy chocolate gingerbread…
… And sparkling sugar cookies.
Here are some decorated sugar cookies wrapped and ready to take home.
And for chocolate fanciers, lots of chocolate candies to enjoy.
Here’s my head gardener Ryan McCallister and Jimmy Oliveros from my farm team. It was so nice to see everyone having such a good time.
My dear friend, Muffin Dowdle, brought gifts for everyone too – candy bars and scratch off lottery tickets wrapped in cellophane bags and tied with festive ribbons.
After the buffet lunch, I planned a fun “grab bag” gift-giving activity – everyone picked numbers from a bowl and then lined up to make their selections. Here’s my housekeeper Enma Sandoval picking up her choices.
Next in line, my gardener Matt Orrego – what’s in there? Shoes?
Pasang Sherpa, Helen Peparo, Juan Londono, and Chhiring Sherpa wait their turns.
Outside, a nice fire in my sugar pot warmed cold hands. This is one of several huge cast iron sugar kettles I keep as fire pits. They add such a nice accent to the terraces and have always been fun conversation pieces during gatherings. It was a wonderful luncheon and afternoon together. I, along with my entire staff, wish you all a safe and joyous holiday!
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