BOOK: Merry Kitschmas

Merry Kitschmas
The Ultimate Holiday Handbook
By Michael D. Conway / Photographs by Peter Medilek

Rejoice in the gaudiest gifts of the season with Merry Kitschmas, a glorious inspirational guide for Santa's hapless and hopeless little helpers. Sure to awaken fond memories of a tackier, spanglier time, the dazzling decorating ideas in these pages put the ho ho ho (or the oh, oh, oh) back into the holidays. Send tastebuds tripping on a sentimental journey with the delicious Yes You Can! straight-from-the-can-to-the-table Kitschmas feast. Dee-licious! Save a tree, and set the house aglow with a glittering aluminum White Trash Christmas Tree. And finally bring those nagging carolers that Frigging Figgy Pudding they've been yapping on about for decades. Merry Kitschmas provides a sleighful of holiday inspiration for anyone itching to craft with fruitcake, frolic in a tree skirt, and wow the neighbors with a spectacular lawn lighting fantasia. So, don you now your gay apparel -- it's beginning to look a lot like Kitschmas!

Welcome!

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. I realize it's trite, but I do believe in Santa Claus, and the magic of all things Christmassy. It's never a White Christmas where I live, but I've had some of those in my past, and you don't need snow to feel the spirit of the season. I love the lead up to Christmas of Advent, and gift selection, wrapping, shaking & unwrapping. I love the majesty of Midnight Mass (I was raised Catholic) and the silliness of mall elves dealing with crying kids.

This blog will be all Christmas, all the time. I will have a Christmas reading list; iPod playlists that are great to listen to while you're driving around in September wishing it was December; hints on where to see some killer light displays closer to the big day; recipes for everything from cookies for carolers to what to do with leftover fruitcake; and so much more!

I hope my entusiasm for this special time of year is contagious, and you fall head over heels in love with the joy of the season as much as I have!