Happy Hanukkah to everyone who is celebrating! With Hanukkah and Advent both here, it’s a very welcome season of light in a year in which we have seen quite a lot of darkness. Welcome to the Hearth and Soul Link Party!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party welcomes blog posts about anything that feeds the soul. Things that feed the soul may include (but are not limited to) recipes, decorating, crafts, family, home, DIY, organization, travel, book reviews, the arts and self improvement.
NB. Please only share blog posts. I’m sorry, but links to Facebook posts etc will be deleted.
What’s Been Happening
We are enjoying the start of the Christmas season with lots of virtual get togethers with friends. Thank goodness for FaceTime and Zoom! I’ve been working hard on blog posts for the New Year and Spring as well as getting started on the Christmas baking.
These Orange Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies are one of my most requested recipes. I also made one of my husband’s favourite Christmas recipes last week.
Full of Christmas flavours, my delicious, warmly spiced Brandy and Mincemeat Cake recipe is a lighter alternative to fruit cake that is perfect for any occasion. Even folks who aren’t fans of traditional fruit cake love this easy to make cake.
And, I’m excited to be sharing a travel post that is perfect for armchair travelling! How do you fancy celebrating Jane Austen’s 245th Birthday with fans from all over the world?
The Jane Austen House Museum is open for pre-booked visitors on specific days of the week, however they have an absolutely fabulous selection of events online. There’s even a 360° Tour of the house that is almost like being there. Find out more here! (If you are interested in the virtual tea party, please do visit the post I’ve linked to soon as it’s on Wednesday 16th December. Scroll to the bottom of the post I’ve linked to.)
Thank you all for sharing your wonderful content!
Season of Light Featured Posts
Season of light featured posts (from top left, clockwise):-
Celebrate the season of light with A Sustainable Winter Bucket List from Becca at Life of an Earth Muffin
Give a heartwarming and thoughtful gift with Literature and Cookies – An Affordable and Memorable Gift Idea from Helen at 3 Winks Design
Ms Helen’s Granddaughter Lauren, shared these beautiful Spitzbuben Cookies, a special treat for the holiday season. It’s so lovely when our blogs become a family affair!
Struggling for gifts for those hard to buy for folks on your list? Liz of Howling at the Moon has a thoughtful homemade gift idea – Personalized Christmas Ornaments!
On with the party!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party
- Please do not link to anything except blog posts. Please share the permalink to your blog post, and not to the home page of your blog.
- Linking your blog posts here means you consent to me sharing as many of them as I can on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook and featuring them on my blog with photographs from the post. It’s easier for me to share if you have share buttons on your blog, and if you put links to your social media on your home page.
- Please consider sharing the party with your friends and followers. There are share buttons at the top and bottom of this post to help make it easy.
What will you share this week? I look forward to your posts. Take care and have a wonderful week!
Comments & Reviews
Light is always welcome in the darkness. Your party is one of those lights. Thanks for bringing it each week!
Oh Sandra, that is such a lovely compliment! Thank you so much!
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season, April!
Thank you, Kathi! I wish the same to you!
Hi April,
Thanks so much for featuring Laurens Spitzbuben Cookies and giving her such a warm welcome to the blogging world. It has been so much fun to share the blog with her, and thank you so much for helping to make it special! Hope you are having a good holiday season although limited hope it is good!
Miz Helen
It’s a pleasure, Miz Helen! I was so happy to see you sharing your blog with Lauren. I hope your holiday season is lovely too!
Have a very Happy Christmas, Apri!
I will be busy baking this week and next, and I will try your orange gingerbread cookies as they look wonderful!
Pat
I hope your Christmas is wonderful too, Pat – and that you enjoy the cookies!
Hello, April!
Thanks so much for featuring my spitzbuben cookies! It looks like you have a lovely party full of fun ideas and recipes. I will be trying out your orange gingerbread cookies. They look delicious! The sustainable Winter ideas from Becca will also be great during this time where it feels like there is so much consumption.
Have a happy holiday season!
It’s lovely to ‘meet’ you Lauren! Your cookies are perfect for the holidays and they sound so delicious. I hope you have a very happy holiday season too!
Thanks so much for the feature, April! I hope you are enjoying this holiday season! Thanks for all you do to help other bloggers!
It’s a pleasure, Helen! Thank you for your support too!
That virtual tea party sounds like so much fun.
I thought so too, Barbara. The best thing is, it doesn’t matter where you live, you can be a part of it!
I agree: it is very welcome to have light come in this season, wherever it can seep through the cracks. I’ve been super grateful for FaceTime and Zoom this year too, more than ever. Your Gingerbread cookies look so delicious! Christmas foods are so fun. Have a great week, April!
I hope you have a wonderful week as well, Lisa!
Holiday baking is always fun April and I bet your baking tastes so yummy. I hope you have a nice week and thanks for hosting the fun.
Thank you so much, Julie! I hope you have a lovely week as well!
Thanks for hosting and bringing a bit of light! I brought by Caramelized Onion Squash Galette. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Thank you for all your support of Hearth and Soul, CJ!
Thank you very much for featuring my Christmas ornaments, April!
Wishing you a great Christmas season with your loved ones.
Liz
It’s a pleasure, Liz. They are lovely! Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas too.
This is what I featured on my blog 12-7 to 12-11-2020. On Tuesday was Christmas Tree Pizza Pull Apart. Wednesday saw Sugar Plum Fairy Iced Cookies. Thursday was Red Velvet Iced Cookies. And winding up Christmas specials was Gluten Free Ranch Dip. Enjoy!
Everything sounds delicious, Marilyn, and the Sugar Plum Fairy Cookies sound magical!
Thank you, April, for hosting this lovely party! I enjoyed all your features and inspiration on here! Wishing you a very safe and happy Christmas!
Hugs,
Tee @ Teedidldydee
Thank you so much, Tee! Wishing you and yours a very safe and happy Christmas too! Hugs x
Mmmm your treats look delicious as always. I’m off to check out Jane Austen’s home on line.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy your virtual visit to Chawton 🙂
My boys were literally asking me about mincemeat; they literally thought there was meat in it! That isn’t a popular dish here in the US but they must have heard someone talking about it.
Oh bless them! Definitely no meat in mincemeat!! There used to be back in Victorian times but not now, it’s all dried fruit, spices and yummy sweet things. Weirdly though, ground beef is known as “mince” here – as in “You need mince to make hamburgers”. British English can be very confusing!!
Happy Christmastime, April! I hope it’s a blessing to you and yours. Thanks so much for hosting, it has been a while for me to share. 🙂
Welcome back, Theresa! I hope you are well. Thank you for your good wishes. I hope Christmas is a wonderful time full of blessings for you and yours too.
Your baked goods look so tempting!
Thank you, Lauren!
A virtual Jane Austen tour is right up my alley! And orange gingerbread cookies…yum! Thank you for what you share each week April and for hosting. Have a great rest of your week!
I’m so glad, Marielle! I hope you will enjoy it. And thank you! I hope you have a lovely rest of the week as well.
Oooh, I would love to tour Jane Austen’s house!
You should definitely try out the virtual tour, Kristie. It’s really good, and perfect for these strange times.
Thanks April for hosting and the tip about Jan Austin’s house tours. My post are #125 & #126 this week. Enjoy..
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing, Nancy!
I left my links hurriedly before so I wanted to come back to comment. Your cookies are so pretty! How cool on the Jane Austen museum. I’d love to visit in person one day but I love that they’re doing so many online events. I hope that such outreach continues even after the pandemic as it’s been pretty awesome. Our museums here are doing the same. I love your featured links this week. Having co-hosted a link party in the past, I know how hard it is to decide which links to share during the holiday season because there’s so much that’s worthy. Christmas cookies, ornaments, and a winter bucket list are certainly all worthy!
Merry Christmas, April! Thanks again for hosting Hearth and Soul week in and week out. You are a gift!
Shirley
Thank you so much, Shirley! What a lovely compliment! 🙂 Merry Christmas to you too!
Those cookies and cake look so very yummy. Wow. Hope the start of your holiday season is good.
Thank you so much, Patrick. It’s going pretty well, thank you. Hope your holiday season is off to a good start too!
I’m a little late this week! I seem to have developed a pneumonia and have been exhausted all week. Today is the first day I am feeling somewhat normal again. Thank you so much for hosting and I hope you are having a great week, April!
Oh my goodness, Cindy, do take care. I’m sorry you haven’t been feeling well. The party is open all week so no worries about getting here a bit later. I appreciate your visit and support! I do hope you are feeling yourself again very soon!
Merry Christmas from Magellan The Icicle Ornament Hunter!
Mom would send you her regards herself but she’s under the weather and exhausted from picking up all of the ornaments I keep re-gifting her with!
Thank you so much, Magellan! I can just imagine all the fun you are having with the Christmas tree! Merry Christmas to you and to your lovely Mom as well!