I was so late decorating this year that I bought my outdoor decor instead of doing my own. By then it was too cold to hack branches off my mother’s pine tree and with a $40 urn on sale for $15 who could resist? Plus the plaid ribbons were so cheerful! $30 hanging baskets were $11 and door wreaths were $5. The matching plaid ribbons from the dollar store were $1 – I do love a bargain. I have a neighbour who is very talented at bow-making and can be bribed with cookies.The partridge was finally hung in the pear tree where he can twirl around in the wind. I was gifted a chocolate truffle Advent calendar the first of December. I’ve never had an Advent calendar before and have to admit it’s a nice idea, portion control and so many sleeps until Christmas and all that, but I have no idea what it has to do with Advent? Nevertheless, I’m thinking of buying a cosmetic one from Marcelle my favorite skin care line, in the Boxing Day sales as what better way to sample new products, and I saw a tea one in the grocery store for a tea lover. (yes, this is how the mad men merchandisers get you.) The season started with the Swiss Chalet Festive Special which is basically the same as their regular meal except for the dollop of cranberry sauce, the scoop of stuffing and the box of five free Lindt chocolates which you pay for with the increased price. Inflation inflation…. and ended with the big turkey dinner and all the fixin’s…..which encored as turkey stew (today) and turkey pie (tomorrow) – that turkey was the gift that kept on giving. Henceforth, it’s back to salads. (New plaid Christmas plates, courtesy of Winners, and the shallow bowls/plates are from the mission thrift shop – 12 plates for $1 each. Just what I need – more china! I kept four and gave the rest away. It makes me sad when I see all the lovely china that must have graced someone’s dinner table at one time so I feel it’s my duty to redistribute it to people who will appreciate it.) Salads…..and more salads. New Years resolution – eat healthier.I was happy to hygge at home…With a bottle of mulled wine – the non-alcoholic kind. and a Christmas puzzleduring the big blizzard of 2022. We got off rather lightly – only six inches of snow but the winds were wicked and the whiteouts fierce. The partridge was not amused.Here’s to a calmer and more peaceful 2023. Happy New Year’s to all my Readers!
Loved this “Christmas at a bargain” post, Joni. Yes, I agree with you about redistributing lovely old china. Those estate sales are fun but always made me think how sad that there was no one left to inherit.
Thanks Jo! I think sometimes there’s some one left but they don’t want to inherit it as young people don’t want all that stuff – they’d rather eat out!
For some reason I’m craving turkey now @ 5 in the morning. 🙂 We used to get those advent calendars for Christmas from my grandma. She would get a package from Germany ..sometimes just little pictures, and once in a while, filled with chocolates. Yea, we had a teaser of a blizzard here in Iowa last week too. Kind of disappointing in the end..Big build up all week, but in the end, just 6 inches, wind and some subzero temps. Thankful the electric never went out. Can’t imagine what that must be like for more than a few hours.
You’re up at 5am?? Horrors – I haven’t seen that time of the morning since I retired. I wouldn’t want to live in Buffalo – so many people dead. I feel like I live in the ‘banana belt of Ontario” as we tend to miss those storms that blow off the lakes.
I dropped off some Christmas decorations at our local upscale resale store. I was surprised at what I saw. There were Byers collectibles for a good price, lovely Christmas dishes, etc. I made a note to look there first next year.
I got some great outdoor wreaths at the thrift store a few years ago for $2 each. The one where I got the winter dishes is a more upscale one, but it’s hit and miss in all of them. The only thing I can’t handle in those places is the racks of used clothes. I only look at dishes, books and puzzles, and frames for my mother’s art, but I have a friend who clothes shops there. It makes me cringe. I should blog on thrifting sometime.
I have a friend who shopped there while she was going through massive weight loss from bariatric surgery. They had nice clothes. No one at work could tell they were resales. I rarely go there because it’s hit and miss and I’m usually looking for something specific. The was thrown away by the beautiful Christmas dishes.
I love looking in flea markets and antique shops for plates and other tableware, even a single dish sometimes speaks to me.
Love the decorations, especially when topped with snow!
Thanks Dorothy! I thought they were cheerful and cheap. I read a suggestion recently about buying old casserole dishes at thrift stores so if you were taking food to someone you didn’t have to worry about getting the dish back, which I though was a great idea – so much nicer than plastic.
Thanks! Yes, the year is winding down….where did the time go? The Santa puzzle was more challenging than Mom expected, as some of the colors were off – the Christmas tree was more dark/black than green. Working on a lovely snow scene now – Santa was good.
The meals and salads all looked good Joni – Swiss Chalet I can remember from when we lived in Canada. I liked the plates – they all look so festive. I have heard of the chocolate Advent calendars but never saw one before. Something to look forward to every day. You did get a good bargain on your holiday greens and they look so cheery, from the boughs to the ribbon – they look even cheerier with the snow and I don’t blame that partridge … I would be angry at the cold and wind blowing me around too. You had some fun with the new camera – are you comfortable with it now? The pictures are all so sharp – I can even see the individual pieces on this cute jigsaw puzzle.
Swiss Chalet has been around forever – I remember going to the one on Young St. in Toronto when I was a student, but the Festive Special probably only 25 years or so. The price was up to $42 for two takeout dinners, when you used to be able to get two dinners for $20 with a coupon? I only paid $22 for my turkey breast, so it seems crazy in comparison, considering how many meals we got off it. We had turkey sandwiches and soup today, as I had to run errands in town, and didn’t get the pie made – so that will be tomorrow and I may freeze it for later. My stew turned out good – the pandemic has made me a better cook. Stew is not something I’ve made very often. The greenery was a little dry, but still okay for the price and a lot easier than freezing outside. I should have done them earlier. Today I bought the Marcelle skin care calender – a $80 value on sale for $25, but it only had 12 days of beauty – still it was stuff I use all the time, plus new items to try. Marcelle is a line for people with sensitive skin – nonperfumed, hypoallergenic etc. I’ve used some of the products for years. Ha! re the camera – I took all the pictures with the old cell phone. The problem with the new camera is it’s expensive so I’m careful with it, so no standing outside in the freezing temps. Plus I’m not totally comfortable with it yet. Those were the only pictures I’ve taken since recently, as I don’t take many in the winter. It’s dreary out there now – much of the snow has melted, and rain for the weekend, but better that than snow. Don’t worry re the deleted gmails. I’ll go back tomorrow and if there’s anything important that I said I’ll resend it. I hope you enjoyed your days off, and your shorter week!
I do remember Swiss Chalet Joni. We didn’t go out to eat very often, just for birthdays and my parents’ birthdays were in Winter so if the weather was snowy, we weren’t likely to go out. The Swiss Chalet dinner looked good and gave you a break from cooking, but those prices are steep – good thing you got a lot of mileage out of the turkey breast. I have not been out to eat since my mom and I last went, likely for her birthday in 2009. I never learned to cook, so I just make things in the crockpot which is not too imaginative, although I did buy some cookbooks for different dinners, even desserts to make in the crockpot. I only really can use it on the weekend now unless I don’t walk in the morning. Sometimes I can make a dinner early in the morning and have it before I start work. Well, you could have fooled me with the photos – they were crisp and clear and like I said last night, you could even see the individual puzzle pieces. I don’t take my camera out in extreme cold either. The small camera I will take photos but quickly and it is in a pouch and in Winter, I have a zipper pocket in my coat and I keep it in the pouch in the pocket next to me, then just take it out. I have some newer batteries I still have not used … it was flashing kind of slow a year ago, so I got new batteries and just never used them as it was working fine in warmer temps. It flashes slow when it is cold so you take a photo, it takes a bit for the flash to catch up on a really gray day. We have had so many gray days, the only recent photos I took outside were of a long-tailed duck I had read was at Humbug Marsh so I went to see it. That’s it … I have a lot of photos to sort thru. I still feel badly about deleting the e-mails by accident. My Comcast is not working right now – it does this about once a week, no clue why and they raised it to $117.00 a month. It had been $114.00, now this. I don’t have TV or phone bundled which is why it is so much. I am looking forward to the time off immensely – I worried through last week’s four-day holiday due to the brutal temps and high winds. I didn’t walk this morning as there was black ice and slippery spots. Tomorrow morning is fog and rain. Good weather to be inside reading.
Thank you for sharing these delights. I am happy to say that in my part of the world we have been enjoying some very hot weather (so salads have been most welcome) and some welcome rain yesterday. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the coming year, Joni.
Thanks Anne…..I’m not sure how productive I’ll be in the New Year as winter is a bad time for topics. I don’t know which is worse….cold weather or way too hot!
I felt like I was visiting a designer’s blog. You certainly decorate with flair and I love the use of colours. My wife would really appreciate all the things you did. Excellent photos and the cheerful colours are perfect for these shorter days. – Dave
I usually leave the outside ones up until the end of January. The inside ones will come down after Jan 6 Little Christmas. It’s not looking very wintery out there this week!
Your decorations look so pretty and appropriately festive. Made me happy to see them. I didn’t know there was such a thing as non-alcoholic mulled wine, but will look for it next year. I love the concept of applying hygge to your home. Warm and cozy? I’m there for it.
I saw the wine advertised in the grocery store flyer for festive food ideas. It wasn’t bad, drinkable, but the acid in it bothered my stomach after. I may blog on hygge as I just finished a book on it. You can never have too much hygge, even if the weather looks like spring, but then I like to hibernate anyway.
You may have been late decorating, but that’s OK because I’m late reading. Those were lovely decorations, and I admire anyone with the ability to make such things.
I like those thrift store dishes too. When we were engaged, Marianne loved a certain pattern of dishes and I (stupidly) talked her out of choosing them. Years later, we came across a full set at an estate sale and Marianne finally got her dishes! It probably worked out because our original set is long gone.
What a lucky find! It was meant to be. I think I’ll blog on thrifting. I haven’t posted since. I find if I’m caught up reading, then I get behind in my writing. I don’t know how you manage to write two blogs a week, the car one and the WP one.
thehomeplaceweb 
Loved this “Christmas at a bargain” post, Joni. Yes, I agree with you about redistributing lovely old china. Those estate sales are fun but always made me think how sad that there was no one left to inherit.
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Thanks Jo! I think sometimes there’s some one left but they don’t want to inherit it as young people don’t want all that stuff – they’d rather eat out!
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For some reason I’m craving turkey now @ 5 in the morning. 🙂 We used to get those advent calendars for Christmas from my grandma. She would get a package from Germany ..sometimes just little pictures, and once in a while, filled with chocolates. Yea, we had a teaser of a blizzard here in Iowa last week too. Kind of disappointing in the end..Big build up all week, but in the end, just 6 inches, wind and some subzero temps. Thankful the electric never went out. Can’t imagine what that must be like for more than a few hours.
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You’re up at 5am?? Horrors – I haven’t seen that time of the morning since I retired. I wouldn’t want to live in Buffalo – so many people dead. I feel like I live in the ‘banana belt of Ontario” as we tend to miss those storms that blow off the lakes.
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A wonderful walk through your Christmas. I vote for a calmer and more peaceful 2023 too!
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I dropped off some Christmas decorations at our local upscale resale store. I was surprised at what I saw. There were Byers collectibles for a good price, lovely Christmas dishes, etc. I made a note to look there first next year.
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I got some great outdoor wreaths at the thrift store a few years ago for $2 each. The one where I got the winter dishes is a more upscale one, but it’s hit and miss in all of them. The only thing I can’t handle in those places is the racks of used clothes. I only look at dishes, books and puzzles, and frames for my mother’s art, but I have a friend who clothes shops there. It makes me cringe. I should blog on thrifting sometime.
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I have a friend who shopped there while she was going through massive weight loss from bariatric surgery. They had nice clothes. No one at work could tell they were resales. I rarely go there because it’s hit and miss and I’m usually looking for something specific. The was thrown away by the beautiful Christmas dishes.
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The turkey dishes look real good. Have a very happy new year!
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Thanks – the pandemic has made me into a better cook. Stew is something I never would have made years ago…
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I love looking in flea markets and antique shops for plates and other tableware, even a single dish sometimes speaks to me.
Love the decorations, especially when topped with snow!
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Thanks Dorothy! I thought they were cheerful and cheap. I read a suggestion recently about buying old casserole dishes at thrift stores so if you were taking food to someone you didn’t have to worry about getting the dish back, which I though was a great idea – so much nicer than plastic.
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It’s a perfect idea. I buy single 50-cent flea market plates for exactly that reason, It works great for food sales, and taking dishes to shut-ins.
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Lovely decorations. You did a fabulous job. Your meal looked wonderful and loved the Santa puzzle too. On to New Year’s now!
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Thanks! Yes, the year is winding down….where did the time go? The Santa puzzle was more challenging than Mom expected, as some of the colors were off – the Christmas tree was more dark/black than green. Working on a lovely snow scene now – Santa was good.
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A delightful tour with you again, Joni. Your bargains doth make a charming blog post! All good wishes for a more peaceful New Year.
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Thanks Annie! Same to you!
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The meals and salads all looked good Joni – Swiss Chalet I can remember from when we lived in Canada. I liked the plates – they all look so festive. I have heard of the chocolate Advent calendars but never saw one before. Something to look forward to every day. You did get a good bargain on your holiday greens and they look so cheery, from the boughs to the ribbon – they look even cheerier with the snow and I don’t blame that partridge … I would be angry at the cold and wind blowing me around too. You had some fun with the new camera – are you comfortable with it now? The pictures are all so sharp – I can even see the individual pieces on this cute jigsaw puzzle.
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Swiss Chalet has been around forever – I remember going to the one on Young St. in Toronto when I was a student, but the Festive Special probably only 25 years or so. The price was up to $42 for two takeout dinners, when you used to be able to get two dinners for $20 with a coupon? I only paid $22 for my turkey breast, so it seems crazy in comparison, considering how many meals we got off it. We had turkey sandwiches and soup today, as I had to run errands in town, and didn’t get the pie made – so that will be tomorrow and I may freeze it for later. My stew turned out good – the pandemic has made me a better cook. Stew is not something I’ve made very often. The greenery was a little dry, but still okay for the price and a lot easier than freezing outside. I should have done them earlier. Today I bought the Marcelle skin care calender – a $80 value on sale for $25, but it only had 12 days of beauty – still it was stuff I use all the time, plus new items to try. Marcelle is a line for people with sensitive skin – nonperfumed, hypoallergenic etc. I’ve used some of the products for years. Ha! re the camera – I took all the pictures with the old cell phone. The problem with the new camera is it’s expensive so I’m careful with it, so no standing outside in the freezing temps. Plus I’m not totally comfortable with it yet. Those were the only pictures I’ve taken since recently, as I don’t take many in the winter. It’s dreary out there now – much of the snow has melted, and rain for the weekend, but better that than snow. Don’t worry re the deleted gmails. I’ll go back tomorrow and if there’s anything important that I said I’ll resend it. I hope you enjoyed your days off, and your shorter week!
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I do remember Swiss Chalet Joni. We didn’t go out to eat very often, just for birthdays and my parents’ birthdays were in Winter so if the weather was snowy, we weren’t likely to go out. The Swiss Chalet dinner looked good and gave you a break from cooking, but those prices are steep – good thing you got a lot of mileage out of the turkey breast. I have not been out to eat since my mom and I last went, likely for her birthday in 2009. I never learned to cook, so I just make things in the crockpot which is not too imaginative, although I did buy some cookbooks for different dinners, even desserts to make in the crockpot. I only really can use it on the weekend now unless I don’t walk in the morning. Sometimes I can make a dinner early in the morning and have it before I start work. Well, you could have fooled me with the photos – they were crisp and clear and like I said last night, you could even see the individual puzzle pieces. I don’t take my camera out in extreme cold either. The small camera I will take photos but quickly and it is in a pouch and in Winter, I have a zipper pocket in my coat and I keep it in the pouch in the pocket next to me, then just take it out. I have some newer batteries I still have not used … it was flashing kind of slow a year ago, so I got new batteries and just never used them as it was working fine in warmer temps. It flashes slow when it is cold so you take a photo, it takes a bit for the flash to catch up on a really gray day. We have had so many gray days, the only recent photos I took outside were of a long-tailed duck I had read was at Humbug Marsh so I went to see it. That’s it … I have a lot of photos to sort thru. I still feel badly about deleting the e-mails by accident. My Comcast is not working right now – it does this about once a week, no clue why and they raised it to $117.00 a month. It had been $114.00, now this. I don’t have TV or phone bundled which is why it is so much. I am looking forward to the time off immensely – I worried through last week’s four-day holiday due to the brutal temps and high winds. I didn’t walk this morning as there was black ice and slippery spots. Tomorrow morning is fog and rain. Good weather to be inside reading.
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Thank you for sharing these delights. I am happy to say that in my part of the world we have been enjoying some very hot weather (so salads have been most welcome) and some welcome rain yesterday. I look forward to reading more of your posts in the coming year, Joni.
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Thanks Anne…..I’m not sure how productive I’ll be in the New Year as winter is a bad time for topics. I don’t know which is worse….cold weather or way too hot!
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I felt like I was visiting a designer’s blog. You certainly decorate with flair and I love the use of colours. My wife would really appreciate all the things you did. Excellent photos and the cheerful colours are perfect for these shorter days. – Dave
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I do like to make things look nice…..especially if it’s a bargain!
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Your decorations are very festive. Will you leave them up long?
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I usually leave the outside ones up until the end of January. The inside ones will come down after Jan 6 Little Christmas. It’s not looking very wintery out there this week!
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I know – your outdoors ones look so lovely with a layer of snow on them.
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Your decorations look so pretty and appropriately festive. Made me happy to see them. I didn’t know there was such a thing as non-alcoholic mulled wine, but will look for it next year. I love the concept of applying hygge to your home. Warm and cozy? I’m there for it.
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I saw the wine advertised in the grocery store flyer for festive food ideas. It wasn’t bad, drinkable, but the acid in it bothered my stomach after. I may blog on hygge as I just finished a book on it. You can never have too much hygge, even if the weather looks like spring, but then I like to hibernate anyway.
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I don’t know what you do better Joni, cook or decorate! I love your plates and I have that same roaster pan.
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You may have been late decorating, but that’s OK because I’m late reading. Those were lovely decorations, and I admire anyone with the ability to make such things.
I like those thrift store dishes too. When we were engaged, Marianne loved a certain pattern of dishes and I (stupidly) talked her out of choosing them. Years later, we came across a full set at an estate sale and Marianne finally got her dishes! It probably worked out because our original set is long gone.
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What a lucky find! It was meant to be. I think I’ll blog on thrifting. I haven’t posted since. I find if I’m caught up reading, then I get behind in my writing. I don’t know how you manage to write two blogs a week, the car one and the WP one.
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The two posts a week is really taxing, and I’ll be glad when it’s over.
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