Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2026 i Country Living

If this issue just arrived in the mail and you’re thumbing through it quickly while standing up over your kitchen counter and sorting through bills (boo) and greeting cards (yay), I encourage you to stop and save your magazine reading for later. I know it’s incredibly hard to carve out moments for yourself during this shaken snow globe of a season, and I want this issue to be part of whatever time you can, in fact, find for yourself—or at least a motivator to make that time. Now that I have your full attention, please settle into a cozy armchair by a roaring fire and escape into the comfort and joy that these pages provide. Whether it’s baking a cable knit-inspired cake (pg. 39), hosting a candlelit dinner in a…

At Your Service Though silver hollowware has existed for centuries, it became more widely available after 1742 with the English invention of the Sheffield Plate technique, which fused silver with copper. The serving platter, introduced in the 1600s as a handleless “salver” used to present food that had been safely tested for poison to royalty, remains its most enduring form. (Handled trays appeared in the late 1700s.) Today, value largely depends on whether a piece is sterling (92.5% pure) or silverplate. Sterling pieces range from $150 for tiny trinket trays to over $1,000 for large platters, while silverplate typically runs from $200 to $800. Toast of the Town In the 1800s, meals in wealthy households were elaborate affairs, with even the humblest foods served in specialized vessels. At breakfast, toast…

More Holiday Desserts! Scan the code at left (or visit countryliving.com/desserts) for more hall-of-fame holiday treats, including Red Velvet Snowflakes, Millionaires’ Shortbread, and Chocolate-Peppermint Fudge.…

Commune with costumed carolers along gas lamp–lined streets……and 11 more ways to celebrate the holidays in the Golden State’s gateway to snow-capped realms. But First, Brunch: Mornings at Heartwood Eatery include honey butter toast and cinnamon-laced golden milk lattes. Wander Through Time: Built in 1861, the gingerbread-trimmed Firehouse No. 1 Museum (top) offers a postcard-perfect glimpse of Gold Rush–era architecture. For a deeper dive into the region’s mining past, head to the 856-acre Empire Mine State Historic Park. Fill Your Stockings: Designated a National Historic Landmark, Downtown is lined with independently owned boutiques. On Broad Street (opposite), pop into Kitkitdizzi for giftables like Mark Follansbee’s locally made ceramics (bottom right), then mosey over to J.J. Jackson’s to peruse holiday stationery. Hit Your Stride: At nearby Royal Gorge, the largest cross-country…

Some people enjoy Yellowstone for the Dutton family drama. For others, there’s another rugged yet refined character stirring up interest: the Dutton family home. Count Grace Start as part of the latter group. “I loved the Duttons’ log cabin,” she says of the TV family’s 6,000-squarefoot ranch. Even so, when she and her husband, Ted, bought their own log house a few years ago, they had no intention of bringing the “rich ranch” style of the series’ Montana digs to their humble Holland, Michigan, property. Instead, the hands-on couple, who traded their suburban house for a wooded retreat, created their own version of a refined log home—built to suit (and grow with) their family of six. This is the couple’s third home makeover, meaning they are now seasoned pros at…

IN SEASON Pinecone Wreath Skip the evergreens for this door hanger that lasts all winter long. To make, secure an array of pinecones of different sizes and shapes to a round wreath base, then embellish with aerosol snow spray. Get full instructions at countryliving.com/wreath. SAVE THE DATE Country Calendar Here’s where the pickin’ is good this month. (Love antiques? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, “Thrill of the Hunt,” at countryliving.com/vintage.) First Monday Trade Days November 27–30 | Canton, TX For more than 150 years, thousands of vendors and shoppers have attended this flea market, the largest in the nation. cantontxfirstmonday.com Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market Every Sunday (weather permitting) New Milford, CT Early bird shoppers can start as early as 5:30 a.m. at this nearly 50-year-old Sunday event that often hosts…

Masthead PAGE 2 Vintage pine cone ornaments: Bosky Dell Vintage; @mitzileejones. Currently Craving PAGES 10-12 Custom hanging plate rack; ferrinironworks.com. Vintage cabbage ware dishware; replacements.com. Bells (on island); brookeandlou.com. Copper apron front sink; nativetrailshome.com. Unlacquered polished brass faucets; newportbrass.com. Cabinet hardware; rockymountainhardware.com. In With the Old PAGE 23 Platters and trays: Batterby House, shopbatterbyhouse.com; Gryphon Estate Silver, gryphonestatesilver.com; P.O.S.H., poshchicago.com; Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com; Watson Kennedy, watsonkennedy.com; Weston Table, westontable.com. PAGE 24 Toast racks: Batterby House, shopbatterbyhouse.com; Watson Kennedy, watsonkennedy.com; Weston Table, westontable.com. PAGE 25 Candlesticks: Gryphon Estate Silver, gryphonestatesilver.com; Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com. Biscuit boxes: P.O.S.H., poshchicago.com. PAGE 26 Jiggers: Gryphon Estate Silver, gryphonestatesilver.com; Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com; Seeing Pink Elephants, @seeingpinkelephants; Sourced Modern, sourcedmodern.etsy.com; Watson Kennedy, watsonkennedy.com. PAGE 27 Revere bowls: Gryphon Estate Silver, gryphonestatesilver.com; Home + Well Studio, homewellstudio.etsy.com; Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com. Feathering the Nest PAGE 56 Potted trees; stofferhome.com. PAGES 58-59 Snow gear; northernclassics.com. PAGES 60-61…

The world’s first website had just gone live, Father of the Bride made us all want to wear sneakers with wedding dresses, and an ivy garland studded with berries framed the doorway of the cozy 1800s pine cabin in North Carolina featured on our cover. ALSO IN THE ISSUE: A thatched gingerbread house made from shredded-wheat biscuits, a Canadian spruce (left) embellished with crocheted ornaments and abandoned birds’ nests, and a Southern holiday menu complete with whiskey sour punch, a Cheddar cheese ball, and a corn spoon bread. All Access subscribers can scan above to enjoy this entire 1991 issue (and others!).…

1 Escaping to a tucked-away cabin with a pile of books and plenty of kindling 2 The annual influx of season’s greetings from friends and family near and far 3 The understated beauty of homemade garland created from popcorn and dried citrus 4 Rewatching the favorite holiday movie you can quote line by line 5 The creative satisfaction of crisply wrapped corners and a well-tied bow 6 Viewing snowy scenery—and fuzzy faces—during winter drives through the countryside 7 Embracing every possible way to merry up the mantel 8 The sleepy week between Christmas and New Year’s Day when the world seems to spin a bit more slowly Follow us on Instagram @countrylivingmag for a daily dose of Simple Country Pleasures.…

“I’ve been collecting these boxes for about 25 years.”—S.M.W., New York, NY WHAT IT IS: Victorian-Era Tartanware Antiques Roadshow Executive Producer Marsha Bemko shared your collection with appraiser David Walker of Walker Decorative Arts, who explains that “tartanware” is the name given to Scottish souvenirs made of wood and decorated in Scotland’s iconic pattern. “Produced in and around the town of Mauchline in Ayrshire, Scotland, from the early 19th century until the 1930s, tartanware was originally made by hand-painting the tartan designs,” says David. “But by the 1840s the firm of W&A Smith had invented a machine that custom-printed the designs on paper, which was then glued to the wooden article before the addition of layers of protective shellac varnish.” (Learn more at countryliving.com/tartanware.) WHAT IT’S WORTH: $80 to $350 each (depending…

When you envision a gathering in a barn, you likely picture hay bales with perhaps a swath of string lights. But that’s not the case for Courtney Allison. As the author and creative behind French Country Cottage (frenchcountrycottage.com), Courtney is known for combining her love of European elegance with a more casual California country aesthetic. That’s why, in her barn, you’ll find a crystal chandelier hanging above a patinaed table flanked with upholstered Louis-style dining chairs. The barn’s exterior is also a hybrid, blending elements of Pennsylvania’s iconic 1872 Star Barn with a standing seam metal roof that’s in keeping with the pastoral properties of California’s wine country. The romance gets stepped up a notch during the holidays, when an eight-foot tree lights up the barn and twinkle lights grace…

Rooted in both tradition and practicality, the tabletop tree can be traced back to 19th century Germany, where small evergreens decorated with fruits, candles, and handcrafted ornaments were commonly seen in homes. Concerns about deforestation later led to artificial alternatives made from dyed goose feathers, and those feather trees found their way stateside—and into the famous Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog—in the early 1900s, which boosted demand for pint-size pines. While tabletop trees today don’t tend to be quite so sparse as the originals, something about their petite stature still lends them a humble, homespun sweetness in keeping with that of Charlie Brown’s famous fir. Their streamlined silhouettes also allow us to spread the holiday spirit to spaces beyond the living room—a kitchen tree embellished with cookie cutters, a playroom…

WITH THEIR NAME DERIVED from the German word putzen, meaning “to decorate,” these mica glitter–adorned cardboard constructions have their roots in Czechia and Slovakia. Popularized in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century thanks to prolific Japanese makers, they were once holiday mainstays, easily available at local five-and-dime stores. These days, amid renewed interest in homespun holiday decor and folksy flourishes, designers and collectors alike are flocking to putz houses for their nostalgic style. While vintage options are still widely available at antiques stores, modern manufacturers such as Cody Foster now also offer their own “glitter houses.” Learn more at countryliving.com/putzhouses.…

FIELD NOTES Buying Cinnamon While the milder Ceylon is often considered “true cinnamon,” the kind that is commonly found in stores (and suitable for most recipes) is the spicier, bolder cassia. For full flavor, look for sticks that are tightly rolled and uniform in color and that give off a strong, sweet aroma when lightly scratched. Ground cinnamon also should have a rich scent and be a deep reddish-brown hue. From the Farm to Your Table Here, six ways to embrace peak cinnamon season. Recipes, pg. 88…

It’s a crisp, cool day at Thorncrest Farm in Goshen, Connecticut, and Kimberly Thorn fills chocolate orders in the creamery while her husband, Clint, is in the barn tending to their herd of Holstein and Jersey cows. The high school sweethearts first found inspiration for their chocolate and dairy provisions business in 1984 when Kimberly tasted bespoke chocolate while working on a farm in Ireland. Two years later she began making her own chocolate at home, and Clint, who had been raised on his family’s dairy farm, knew he had what it took to breed and tend to the animals responsible for his wife’s most crucial ingredients: milk, cream, and butter. Having now been in business for 42 years, Thorncrest Farm & Milkhouse Chocolates (milkhousechocolates.net) has become a celebrated local…

Branching Out Once the holiday soundtrack starts streaming in Christina Salway and John Moskowitz’s home, it’s up to John to find the family a perfect tree. “It should be noted that he is Jewish, and he is also the biggest Christmas enthusiast of all three of us,” says Christina. “He won’t tell us when it’s going to happen—one day he just rolls in with a tree in hand.” A quilt-turned–tree skirt and a gingerbread tree topper reinforce the old fashioned, homespun feel of the tree’s trimmings. Christina Salway and her husband, John Moskowitz, spent years making a list—and checking it way more than twice—of things they were looking for in a forever home. After an exhaustive search and nine previous home renovations (several of which you’ve seen featured in Country…

Coconut Coquito WORKING TIME 10 minutes TOTAL TIME 45 minutes MAKES 6 to 8 servings 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk1 (15-ounce) can cream of coconut1 vanilla bean, halved and seeds scraped out2 teaspoons ground cinnamon2 cinnamon sticks, plus more for serving¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Pinch of kosher salt1½ cups Puerto Rican rum 1. Combine sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream of coconut, vanilla bean and scrapings, ground cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Remove from heat and let steep at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days. (Chill if steeping for longer than 30 minutes.) 2. Discard solids. Stir in rum. Serve over ice garnished with cinnamon sticks. Citrus Salad with Cinnamon Agave Dressing…

Table Trimmings Whether a casual brunch or a formal dinner, these table setting ideas will help you set the scene. Holiday Decor From creative ways to top your mantel to wow-worthy wreath ideas, you’ll find ample inspiration. Festive Farmhouses Nothing gets us in the spirit quite like a country home all decked out for Christmas. Gifts for Everyone And we do mean everyone—even those hard-to-please teenagers and dear ol’ Dad.…