A Cowboy Christmas: Western Celebrations, Recipes, and Traditions

by Shanna Hatfield

Through photos, interviews, how-tos, and recipes, this book offers a guide to creating your own Cowboy Christmas and a celebration of the style, traditions, food, and family celebrations unique to the lifestyles of American cowboys. Featuring ranch families, rodeo cowboys, and communities with western-style Christmas celebrations, this book will highlight the things that make a Cowboy Christmas special. Each chapter will feature traditions, recipes, decorations, and stories from the interviewees.

• ISBN10: 1493042343
• ISBN13: 9781493042340
• Publish Date: 2 December 2019 (first published 17 September 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Imprint: TwoDot Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[phyllish]

A great book on making Christmas special

I have loved Shanna Hatfield's fiction and now I am glad to say that she also writes great non-fiction.

A Cowboy Christmas will appeal to a number of different tastes.

First, those who want to entertain but don't feel they are very good at it. Not only will you get tips for how to successfully host a gathering, you will also get encouragement about the point of entertaining - as a hint, it isn't about you! With oodles of ideas on how to make your guests comfortable and how to make your tables look great with a minimal effort, these tips alone make it worth the purchase.

If you want ideas for recipes, there are many in here and not just the traditional ones you would expect. While some use mixes, most do not. I was surprised to find a recipe for meatloaf that doesn't use tomato products and am very excited to give it a try. Those who need to avoid gluten will find some you can make as well.

The craft ideas are also great. Some look simple to make;p all are creative.

One of my favorite sections is the gift giving one. Not only are there hints on how to wrap a package beautifully, there are also many gift ideas for those more difficult-to-shop-for people on your list.

I really enjoyed the stories in there as well. Several families shared their Christmas traditions. It was interesting to see their involvement with the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, which is no surprise considering the author's love for this foundation. The fact that they had been helped by the JCCF was simply part of their story and it was not mentioned in a way to make you think they are soliciting funds. Given that a portion of the proceeds of this book (and all others by Shanna Hatfield) will go to the charity from now through December, it is appropriately mentioned and subtle.

I plan to purchase a copy soon because I find a hardback book much easier to use than an ebook for this type of resource.

Read my full review at Among the Reads


I was given a copy of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.