The Christmas Kitchen by Tammy Maltby

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Tammy Maltby

and the book:

The Christmas Kitchen

Howard Books (October 6, 2009)

***Special thanks to Jennifer Willingham of Simon and Schuster for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tammy Maltby is a writer, speaker, and media personality. For eight years, she was the co-host of the Emmy Award-winning television talk show, Aspiring Women. She serves on the board of the National Women’s Ministry Association, Christian Women in Media and Arts, and Women of Courage International. She and her family live in Colorado Springs, CO.


Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Hardcover: 132 pages
Publisher: Howard Books (October 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416587659
ISBN-13: 978-1416587651

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Press this picture to browse inside the entire book:

My Personal Thoughts on this Book:
I absolutely loved this book. There are so many recipes that I want to try and her ideas for ways to make the holidays fun and not stressful were great. I have never been someone to have parties at my house (only a handful of times has that ever happened) and I don't have the first clue how to be a good hostess, but this book covers all the bases when it comes to all that stuff. The best part is it's not in a stuffy and super fancy kind of way, but in a way that is practical and in my opinion, much more comfortable and enjoyable. The thing that struck me most though was when Tammy said "I love the Christmas hymn that urges, 'Let every heart prepare Him room.' Because that's where the most meaningful Christmases begin: with preparing our hearts and our lives (kitchens included!) for a season that is full of joy, and yes, peace." What a wonderful reminder of what Christmas really should be. If I had any complaint about the book, it would be that there aren't pictures of the finished products of the recipes. I really like to be able to see a picture of things so I know if I did them right. Other than that though, I thought this book was a sweet reminder of what Christmas really is about and about sharing our love with others, sometimes through what we prepare in our kitchen or the time we spend in it with family and friends.

Christmas Giveaway at 5MinutesForMom.com

I highly recommend getting over to 5MinutesForMom.com and entering any and all of the great Christmas Giveaways they have going on right now. You better hurry though because the contest ends tomorrow! So get on over there and get your chances to win some awesome stuff!

Great Gift Idea #10 - TickleMe Plant *With a Giveaway!*

I discovered a fun little product that Asher is loving. It's called the TickleMe Plant. As the name suggests, the plant actually moves when you "tickle" it. It's been a great little project that is also a learning experience for him. He insisted on only planting one of the seeds in the little pot, but that's ok. He loved putting the water in the little pellet and seeing it expand and then planting the seed. He put it on the window sill in the kitchen and checks it everyday. He adds a little water when it needs it and is so excited to see it growing. It hasn't reached it's full growth yet, but I really wanted to get this review out there to give people time to order for Christmas. I think these would make great stocking stuffers. I also think that homeschooling moms would probably really like this. You could use it as part of a lesson. It's a great way to get kids excited about plants, gardening and nature. Not only that, it can be used to teach responsibility of taking care of something and making sure it has everything it needs. The older boys keep checking it too and can't wait to get to "tickle" it. So, it's proving to be something they are all interested in. Along with the TickleMe Plant Party Favor I was sent, was a card with 10 fun experiments and educational activities you can do with your TickleMe Plant. Very cool.

Here's a description of the TickleMe Plant Party Favor from their website:
TickleMe Plant Party Favors or individual Student Kits! Each Party Favor contains: 1 TickleMe Plant Seed packet (Mimosa pudica), 1 reusable Mini-House (recycled plastic). 1 plastic mini flower pot, 1 soil pellet, Easy To Grow Instructions. Only $5.95! - Mini-House size 5" x 3" x 2.5". (*Due to small parts, the Mini-House is not recommended for children under 5 years old.)


At only $5.95 each, they are affordable and you could even go in with other homeschooling moms to do an order for a discounted price. Now, that's cool.

I saw these in a cute little shop when I was in Frankenmuth a few weeks ago and they have even been featured on The Today Show! They are guaranteed to grow and overall, I find them to be a fun, educational product.

So, wanna hear some cool stuff about what the company is offering you? They have been kind enough to offer my readers $2.00 off of your order by using the code MOM at checkout! How nice is that? And that's not all! They've provided me with a TickleMe Plant Party Favor to give away too! See below for how to enter to win this great item just in time to stuff it in a stocking for Christmas morning!

This contest will be open until 11:59 PM on December 13th. At that time I will use random.org to determine the winner. The winner will then be emailed and have 24 hours to respond, otherwise I will choose a new winner. This contest is open to U.S. residents.

Leave separate comments for each entry and leave your email address in this form - Jane (at) yahoo (dot) com

Mandatory Entry: Visit TickleMePlant.com and take a look around. Come back and tell me one thing that looks interesting to you on the website that I didn't mention above. (1 entry)

Extra Entries:

Follow my blog-You can use this as an entry whether you are a new follower or a current follower (1 entry)

Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog and leave me the link to your post (5 entries) This counts as 5 separate entries so leave a comment for each and just number them.

That's 7 chances to win! Good luck!

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes. My opinions expressed in this review were honest and genuine and I was in no way persuaded by the company involved.

We've Got Winners!!!!

The winners have been notified and have 24 hours to respond to claim their prizes. Here's who the lucky winners were after using random.org!

The winner of the necklace of their choice from A New Thing is...
Comment #19 - JenniferB


The winner of the Hip-T is...
Comment #11 - S.Smith

Congratulations, ladies! I know you are going to love your prizes!!!

A Question For My Readers

I was wondering what you guys think about the reviews and giveaways. How are you liking them? Do you find them helpful? Do you like the giveaways? Are there certain kinds of products you would like to see reviewed or have opportunities to win? I'm open to any and all suggestions, so suggest away!

Whoa, that was NOT cool.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a slight headache and by the time my alarm went off for church this morning, I was miserable. My head hurt so bad that I just shut off the alarm and went back to sleep. Brian and the boys got up around 8:00 and I stayed in bed. I didn't get out of bed until almost noon. This is unheard of for me these days. I got up and ate some cereal, drank some water and took some Excedrin. Things continued to go downhill from there. I was so nauseous and miserable and kept running into the bathroom because I was sure I was going to be sick. I ended up wrapping myself up in a blanket and crashing on the couch for about an hour and a half. When I woke up, Brian had dinner ready and I ate something. So far, so good. My head doesn't feel 100%, but compared to what I felt like earlier, I'll take it. Hopefully I'll continue to feel better and be all good by tomorrow morning. I have so much I want to get done around the house and I really need to get on it tomorrow. So, here's hopin'.

Oh, and don't forget the giveaways that end tomorrow night! Be sure to get your entries in by clicking on the links on the right of my blog under "Current Giveaways" and reading the directions to be sure you enter as many of the different ways as are mentioned! Good luck, everybody!

Back Home

We just got home after spending Wednesday through today at my Mom and Dad's house with my sisters, their spouses and my niece. We had such a great time hanging out and just spending time together. It does feel good to be home now though and I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. In fact, I'm about to head off to bed now, so I'll get on here with a better post tomorrow. ;-)