The Martha Stewart Blog

December 5, 2025

Thanksgiving Photos from Employees, Partners, and Friends 2025

My annual tradition of sharing Thanksgiving photos from colleagues, business partners, and friends continues.

Every year I send out an email extending my very best wishes for a safe and lovely holiday. I also urge everyone to take photos of their table settings and feasts, so I can share the images on my blog. There are always so many pictures and so many stories that accompany them - it's among our favorite entries.

Here is the gallery you've been waiting for, enjoy.

: One of my own traditions is to make pies for everyone who works with me at my farm. I offer each member a choice of several pies and then I bake every one from scratch. I hope you saw my posts on @MarthaStewart48 and @marthastewartblog. I made more than 30 pies this year.

: Here are some of the pies cooling in my servery ready to be boxed up and distributed – maple bourbon pumpkin pie, pumpkin honey molasses pie, pecan pie, and chocolate pecan tart. No one ever forgets to pick up their sweet dessert.

: Our own Chief Content Office, Christian Martin, always submits a lovely gallery of photos from his Thanksgiving celebration in Connecticut. Here are his homemade apple pies fresh from the oven.

: There were lots of starters for everyone – and lots of wine and champagne too.

: Christian’s wife, Liz, set s a beautiful table every year – this year for 10.

: A fresh centerpiece always adorns the table.

: The table’s theme colors are blue and white.

: This is the family’s dog, Appa. Christian says, “Appa was, as usual, simultaneously perfect and a menace.”

: The family photo includes two grandmothers, two uncles, Christian’s uncle’s wife, Betsy, Christian’s brother Kabir, Liz, Christian, their kids, and Christian’s mother’s dog, Lexie.

: The turkey was great and the sides were equally delicious.

: It was a very satisfactory day – as demonstrated by Christian’s daughter, Millie, and Appa, napping post-feast.

: Marquee Brands Associate Art Director, Olivia Crutchfield, baked these for her Thanksgiving celebration in Woodbury, Minnesota – sweet potato casserole, sweet potato pie, and an apple pie.

: My agent, Ben Levine, spent Thanksgiving morning at a food bank run by a local Manhattan church, Manor Community Mission. He handed out groceries to those less fortunate and hungry. Ben says, “the work the Mission is doing is amazing.”

: All the volunteers help to unload the truck filled with food.

: The boxes are lined up along the sidewalk neatly, so portions can be organized and distributed efficiently.

: It was such a rewarding experience for Ben.

: Marquee Brands Art Director, Heather Baker, spent her holiday in Mammoth Lakes, California. She says she had a “mammoth-sized holiday feast—shrimp gumbo, turkey, and all the cozy fixings, dished up in the heart of a snowy mountain town.”

: A longtime member of my security team, Bill McCormack, sent these photos of his table and family. Here’s the table before everyone gathered…

: And here is everyone ready to enjoy their meal. It was a full house.

: Here are Bill, Will, Diana and Elizabeth.

: After a full meal, the family participated in another popular tradition, picking up the Christmas tree.

: Marquee Brands Office Manager, Frank Sanchez, and his family, enjoyed macaroni salad, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and an onion, lemon, and tomato salad – an Ecuadorian dish that goes well with rice. And of course, the delicious turkey made by Frank’smom.

: Here’s another view before everyone “dug in.”

: The dogs are always part of the family – Frank’s Mini Australian Shepherd is Loki and the Maltese is Yoshi.

: Here are Frank and Yoshi after their feast. I think Yoshi is eyeing the leftovers.

: Producer, Abigail Lengyel, had a wonderful time with her family for Thanksgiving. Here she is on the right along with her cousin, Megan.

: Abby spent the day with several cousins – here they are catching up.

: The cousins then took selfies to share on social media.

: There was a full spread of delicious dishes on their table.

: Here is Abby joined by her mom and sister.

: Here, Abby is on the right, with sisters Bailey and Gabi.

: Making his first Thanksgiving debut at the family feast is Leonardo.

: Abby makes a cornbread, mushroom, and chestnut stuffing filled roasted cheese pumpkin every year. Here it is empty.

: She actually made two – here they are buttered and stuffed…

: … and ready to transport.

: And finally, on the table and ready to serve.

: This is Abby’s dad and Abby’s niece, Serafina.

: And here is Serafina – she’s grown so much since last year’s Thanksgiving blog.

: Here’s the turkey sliced and ready to serve.

: My friend Christopher Spitzmiller, sent in the following several photos. This is his table. The chrysanthemums were from Bear Creek farm.

: Here’s his turkey from a local farm, Quatrro’s Poultry & Game Farm.

: The ceramic fruit was by Clare Potter. And at each place setting, old Wedgwood transferware plates in blue and white.

: Here’s a closer look. Transferware is a type of pottery made by transferring a print from special paper onto earthenware or a porcelain dish. It first started appearing in the late 18th century and became more popular in the 1820s and 1830s.

: The chocolate turkey came from Krause’s a local Rhinebeck shop.

: And here is just one plate full. There were many to follow.

: The next few photos are from VP Creative Services for Marquee Brands, Ryan Mesina. This year his niece, Olivia, really wanted to make an apple crumble pie, so naturally he suggested my recipe from my 100th cookbook, MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK.

: Ryan prepped the crust with her and then let her run with the rest. Here she is with her boyfriend, Blair, working on the crumble topping.

: Ryan’s nephew, Alex, always requests a cheesecake. The one Ryan makes has a sour cream topping and gingersnap crust, and this year he garnished it with sugared cranberries, which were a great addition.

: Here’s the rest of what Ryan made – a pumpkin pie, chocolate chip cookies, and a big platter of French macarons – hazelnut, pistachio, and salted caramel.

: Here’s Ryan with his family before they tucked into dinner. He says, “we always welcome our extended family and any stragglers. This year we were about 20.”

: Another colleague from Marquee, Carlos Ale, submitted his photos. He spent the holiday with his partner Lina’s family in Cincinnati, Ohio. this is the table setting and centerpiece.

: The buffet was so full.

: Here is the bar cart.

: This is the “grazing table” filled with delicious cheeses, nuts, etc.

: Here’s another view – such a beautiful and inviting display of bites.

: This is a photo of Carlos and Lina.

: And one of the entire family.

: Connie Verducci sent in her photos. She and her husband hosted a wonderful meal at their home. Here is “Tom carving Tom and the buffet ready to be gobbled!”

: The buffet was filled with all the traditional favorites.

: And here is Connie’s table just before meal time.

: The following four images are from the Zelnick and Belzberg Thanksgiving celebration in Anguilla.

: Pigs in a blanket – delicious at any party.

: And here are the turkeys – ready to carve and serve.

: There were lots of sides and starters for everyone.

: Danielle Vadai hosts a wonderful gathering every Thanksgiving. Here is her table.

: Lots of turkeys and fall colors on the table.

: Garrett Gottesman spent his holiday with his family in sunny Austin, Texas.

: Garrett hand-delivered a copy of MARTHA: THE COOKBOOK to his mom and she was thrilled to receive it.

: And my special projects producer, Judy Morris, made her rendition of my Mile High Apple Pie filled with pounds of apples in a flaky crust. What a wonderful selection of photos to ring in the holiday season. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

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Posted in: Employees, Entertaining, Friends, Holidays, Miscellaneous

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December 4, 2025

Propagating Heirloom Chrysanthemums

If you love bright and colorful heirloom mums that bloom in the fall, why not add more to your garden? The process is easier than you may think.

One way to propagate heirloom mums is to use cut stems from existing plants, place them in a rooting environment, and then nurture them until they can be transplanted. Earlier this week, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, did just that - before discarding the old plants, Ryan trimmed the stems to manageable sizes, brought them indoors and rooted dozens of cuttings. It's a quick and easy way to grow more of these gorgeous flowers.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: Chrysanthemums, also known as mums, are popular fall flowers. They bloom when most of the garden flowers have already faded, and stand out in a variety of gorgeous colors and forms. This one in front is ‘Fleur de Lis.’ It’s often called the “Queen of Fall Flowers” with its vivid bright pink tones and delicately curved petals.

: I grew these from small plants I received from Bear Creek Farm in Stanfordville, New York. Bear Creek Farm sells an array of flowers, tubers and seeds and hosts several interesting flower seminars through the year.

: After the plants were done blooming, Ryan saved them and collected many stem cuttings.

: Here are some of the cuttings brought indoors.

: Ryan cleans up the cuttings, removing any leaves from their bottom halves.

: He also cuts off any buds, so energy produced goes straight to root development.

: The cuttings are about eight inches tall.

: Ryan prepares all the cuttings and then puts them aside in a dry place as he prepares the soil mix.

: I use Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix, which is specially formulated for fast root development.

: Ryan adds some vermiculite to the potting soil. Vermiculite is typically gray-brown in color. It is a naturally occurring mineral often used as a soil amendment to retain moisture.

: Then he added some perlite, which is an amorphous volcanic glass and used as a draining and filtration agent.

: Ryan mixes the elements together in a large gardening trug bucket. Ryan is potting up dozens of cuttings, so a large amount of soil mix is needed.

: Next, Ryan moistens the mix.

: And then mixes in a couple scoops of sand to improve drainage even more and enhance aeration. Sand also prevents soil compaction in the pots.

: Then in production line process, Ryan fills a number of pots just up to the lips of the containers.

: Using small pruning shears, Ryan gives each stem a fresh cut.

: Then he immediately dips one cut end into a rooting gel hormone making sure at least one node is coated. Rooting hormone gel, or powder, is available at garden shops and online and is essential for promoting root initiation and development.

: Most cuttings are planted in pairs. Ryan sticks the coated end of the cutting a couple inches into the potting mix until it is secure and the entire coated area is in the soil. Any cuttings that do not take can be removed later.

: Once all the cuttings are planted, they are watered and covered with humidity domes. These potted cuttings will be kept moist but not waterlogged to maintain proper rooting environments.

: Finally, the cuttings are brought into one of my temperature and humidity controlled hoop houses where they will remain for the season. I can’t wait to see how many of these mums take root.

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Posted in: Flowers, Greenhouse, Planting, Potting

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December 3, 2025

Celebrating the Opening of Martha Stewart Home

If you live in Dubai or holiday traveling takes you there, please stop in at a Martha Stewart home store - it's open for business!

I hope you saw photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 as well as on @MarthaStewartMe - last month I went to the Middle East to celebrate the openings of my first-ever stand alone retail shops. Developed with UAE retail partner Apparel Group, there are currently three locations - one at Mirdiff City Center in Dubai, one at Dubai Hills Mall, and one at Mall of Emirates, with more to come very soon. Every beautifully designed space is filled with products I selected and use. Categories include kitchenware, bedding and bath, entertaining essentials, home fragrance, and décor. One can shop for everything from pots and pans to towels and sheets - there's absolutely something for everyone.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: What do you think? Here I am inside one of my new Martha Stewart home stores in Dubai. Additional stores are slated to open in India, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the coming months.

: In my store, there are so many items for the home. Here I am under a rack of my signature pots. Every store has decorative touches from my own home. My most used pots and pans are hung above my personal kitchen counter for easy access whenever I am cooking.

: My Martha by Martha Stewart Stainless Steel Saucepans with copper exteriors are essential in the kitchen. These pots and pans distribute heat excellently and have extra long riveted handles for strength and leverage. You’ll use them over and over for years.

: If you prefer something more colorful, try my heavy guage enamel aluminum nonstick pots and pans. These work well for induction, gas, electric, ceramic, halogen, and glass stovetops.

: Are you baking for the holidays? You’ll want to shop my collection of pans and other baking products. These are made of carbon steel with nonstick surfaces that are easy to grease and quick to clean.

: There is also a gadget wall filled with different kitchen tools including my favorite square ladle.

: My bestselling books are also available in the store – buy one for yourself or gift one, or two, or three for the holidays! Here, my books are displayed with my 12-quart enamel on steel scratch resistant stock pots in “Martha blue” – perfect for cooking large servings for holiday gatherings.

: And looking for drinking glasses? There are martini sets, wine goblets, and glasses for every day use in a range of colors and designs, including my Hobnail Glass Tumblers – great for the kitchen and the bar.

: And of course, bedding is a big category. Elevate your sleep space with my luxuriously comfortable and soft sheets.

: I design my bedding to be ultra light and breathable. My sheets are also very durable and are made to resist stains, tears, and wear from frequent washing.

: My stores are all designed to be bright and inviting.

: Here I am with fashion entrepreneur and digital influencer, Karen Wazen. She has her own eyewear brand and gifted me these sunglasses during my visit.

: Here are some members of my team and the associates at one of the stores before I arrived.

: This photo was taken from the balcony of my hotel, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab – so nice and luxurious. It is overlooking the sea and located across from the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab. The views were breathtaking.

: Here’s another look from my balcony. The resort is located on this stretch of Dubai’s pristine coastline.

: I also made a stop at the Pierre Hermé Paris Cafe, where I met Executive Pastry Chef Steve Thiery. Here we are with a box of their popular macarons. The café offers them in a variety of unique flavor combinations.

: The shop is also well known for its excellent pastries and chocolates – all made by hand.

: Here is a view from above the pastry case – hard not to want to taste every one.

: And here I am with our own Chief Creative Officer, Kevin Sharkey, in front of one of my retail stores. I am so proud to celebrate their openings – and I can’t wait to open the next one!