300 Ways to Make the Best Christmas Ever!: Decorations, Carols, Crafts & Recipes for Every Kind of Christmas Tradition (Hardcover)

300 Ways to make the Best Christmas ever is one of the best Holiday project books I’ve seen in the past couple of years. This one goes in a decidedly different direction than most other books of it’s kind in the way it’s presented. Rather than being broken up by type of project it’s segmented by region and era to present its unique projects. This 224 page book is filled with vibrant photography showing off the great ideas.

The first chapter is called the Traditional American Christmas and features a few of the Christmas carols and short stories that fit the role such as everyone’s favorite “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” All of the projects truly reflect the Traditional, old-fashioned American Christmas that we all yearn for, but seldom achieve. There are instructions for making painted egg ornaments, a variety of traditional wreaths, and, of course, gingerbread houses.

The next chapter features songs, stories, projects and recipes with a Victorian flair which utilize materials such as pine cones, cinnamon sticks, pepper grass and dried berries. A quick, easy, and elegant way to dress up the house is to adorn things like throw pillows and tables with gold and cream colored ribbons and bows. Dress up plain glass ornaments with accents of pine, small pine cones or gold cording. There are some terrific gingerbread house projects based on actual Victorian buildings such as the Avonlea Inn.

Country continues to be an extremely popular theme among crafters who want to capture that simple, yet rustic look. One such project is a pine and baby’s breath swag that would look great hung from your mantle. Jazz up your home’s country antiques by decorating them with plaid fabric or other similarly country-themed materials. A magnificent recipe for a gingerbread log cabin is featured in this chapter.

Other chapters cover themes like a Southwestern Christmas, an International Christmas and a “Not Quite Grown Up Christmas”, all featuring their own distinctive projects and recipes. There is also a wonderfully detailed appendix on the techniques of making gingerbread house that is indispensable. Truly a wonderful book!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I purchased this book eagerly anticipating new gingerbread ideas. Turns out I needn’t have because all the projects come from Making Great Gingerbread Houses by Aaron Morgan and Paige Gilchrist.

This ‘re’-presentation is inferior to the original due to editing (albeit judicious) and reduced scale photos that are smaller from the large, illustrative images featured in Morgan’s MGGH book. With the reduction in size the quality of details — so important for inspiration and the study of technique — is diminished.

Also, some of the projects featured are presented sans templates, which are offered in MGGH. Some examples: Snow-Covered Cottage, Covered Bridge Mill, and Christmas Wedding Chapel. This is not to say that MGGH has complete templates for all of the projects, but what it does offer for each of the above has been omitted from 300 Ways.

In addition, some photos have been cut from 300 Ways — such as from ‘The Recipes’ section on Pastillage, Landscaping, and Fondant. Two charming examples would be the adorable pastillage cat curled up napping in a ‘hay’ cart of shredded wheat and the ‘lunching ladies’ taking tea.

And in an editorial oversight, there are instructions for a Pretzel Cabin that is not even pictured. This inadvertent slip-up no doubt occurred while copying content for the Snow-Covered Cottage, which is on page 62 of MGGH. The Pretzel Cabin is on page 63. The text describing the cabin is there, without the accompanying photo.

To sum up: If your interest is primarily gingerbread, then I would recommend Making Great Gingerbread Houses instead of 300 Ways. MGGH has many more projects, better photos, and you get the benefit of full content rather than an edited version.