THE SHARING SEASON

This book is an exploration of the end-of-the-year holidays...  

Of the giving and partaking that's involved in "the sharing season".  Of the spirit and implications we invest in those days - and might need to revive.

It's also a 250-page idea manual...

For ways of sharing that encompass the types of principles behind giving, gathering, the pleasurable trappings of decorating, and tradition-honoring (or tradition-creating)...  Suggesting many different approaches, and individual means, to making our expressions of the holidays more enjoyable, more meaningful, more in concert with our desires.  (And more fun!)

Frugal:  without ostentation, with aptness (no matter what the financial outlay).  Meaningful:  with thought and direction - and maybe in many layers.  Holiday:  whatever you celebrate at the end of the year (wherever you are - with or without the snow :^).

Starting with the earliest inklings of the season...  Greetings, maybe; a reminder to step outside of the everyday and plan for celebration.  Matching those public decorations with your own - for your own reasons.

Following along with the pleasures of congregation...  Get-togethers, whether large or intimate.  How to make them successful for everyone.  How to draw people in... and harmonize.  And ensure warming memories for the future.  (And have fun!)

Filling in all around with suggestions for memorable, meaningful gifts - those tokens of sharing.  Lots of ideas to choose from, brainstorm from.  And for those who enjoy making their own...

128 recipes - for "gifting foods" (unusual and diverse gourmet treats), and other things.  (Want to know how to make kids' paints?  Or how about your own formulations of personal care products?  Christmas tree fire-proofing spray, non-allergenic dog biscuits, or a gingerbread cabin and firs?)

Then, instructions for 89 relatively easy manifestations of the will to lift the spirits and touch the heart...  Gifts, garlands, ornaments, and other contributions to the needs and enchantments of man and beast.  Useful, creative, recycled, and soon-to-be heirloom stuff.  (Fun stuff!)

"Wrapping up" with the bedazzlement of gift presentations - with and without wrappers.  Beautiful, mysterious, idiosyncratic, goofy.  (And great fodder, if you like, for the imaginative packaging of following years.)

See... 

  

CONTENTS

Introduction	5
Disentangling Meanings	6
Elemental Questions	7
Section I: The Preliminaries	10
Why Participate in the Flurry?	10
What to Do about the "Have-To"s	14
Greetings in the Mail	16
Styles of Holiday Greetings	18
Ideas for Handmade Greetings	24
Holiday Celebrations	26
Principles for Holiday Get-Togethers	29
Table Decor	39
Holiday Decorating	41
Principles for Decorating	42
Trees and Other Focal Points	44
Ornaments	48
Garlands	53
Tree Skirts	56
Christmas Stockings	58
Wreaths and Swags	59
Windows and Sills/Mantels	62
Outdoor Embellishments	65
A Little About Christmas Tree Care and Decoration Storage	67
Making the Tree Stand Up Straight	67
Extending the Life of a Cut Tree	68
When It Comes to Tree Clean-up Time	69
Storing the Ornaments and Other Decorations	70
Section II: Gifts	71
What Do We Want Them to Mean?	71
The Art of Achieving Our Gift-Giving Goals	73
Principles for Gift-Giving	75
Handling Gift Exchanging for Large Groups	97
Categories of Gifts, for Idea-Generation	100
Foodstuffs	100
Personal Stuff	105
Clothes	107
Just for Fun	109
Creative	112
Useful	119
For the Yard	124
For Outdoor Activities	127
Found Objects of Great Beauty	128
Miscellaneous	129
Packaging - The Outer Part of the Gift	131
Principles for Packaging	132
The Gift Container	134
+ Wrappers	134
+ Receptacles	136
Decorations	139
+ Ribbons	139
+ Doodads and Other Adornments	141
+ Personal Tags	143
Styles of Wrapping/Decorating	146
+ Disguises	146
+ More Possibilities	148
Wrapping the Wrapper for Mailing	149
The Art of Gift-Wrap-Opening and Decoration Recycling	151
Section III: Recipes and Instructions	156
Recipes/Ideas	156
Instructions	216

  
Has your delight in the sharing season waned?  Or do you merely need inspiration for expressions of it, both in your relationships (for others) and in your surroundings (for you)?

The Sharing Season began as a musing on what the end of the year had come to be for me - out of a desire to recapture what I had come to miss.  What I hope now is that it might be a tool for you to use for a similar purpose... a prompting toward introspection that can lead to renewal.

(Not the seasonal arranger in your family?  Give the book to that one as a gift. :^)

(Or get it just for the recipes/instructions...)
 

$14

  
.PDF file download -
readable on almost any stand-alone computer
(GUARANTEED TO PLEASE)
 

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Copyright 2002 - Gordon Pioneering
  

(snow by Altan :^)