Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Lord Byron’s Kitchen! We had a great holiday so far, Dear Reader! We are continuing our festivities with more relaxing, snacking, reading, and watching movies. That’s how we spend the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Before I return to my recliner, let me share Christmas at Byron’s & John’s – 2024 with you!

It’s the day after Christmas now, but as I write up this particular part of this post, it’s October 26th. I’m sitting at my daughter’s dining room table in Toronto while she’s at work. It’s cold and windy, but the sun is shining brightly. Contrary to popular belief, Toronto is very quiet right now and sipping on hot coffee while staring out her dining room window at the billowing maples has put me in a writing mood. I’ve loaded up a 50s holiday playlist on Spotify and started in on this annual holiday post. This is the 11th year of these annual Christmas posts. You can read more of them here.
I can’t believe this is the 11th year in a row sharing our little family Christmas with you here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen! I used to question whether or not I should continue with these types of posts. They most certainly do not get much traffic, but that’s not really why I do it. I imagine that one day, when I’m old and grey(er!) and McKenna has me locked away in some run-down retirement home, like Shady Pines, I’ll enjoy reading these old Christmas posts.

Can you just picture it? I’ll dig the old library card that John.e forced me to sign up for in my 60s out of my wallet and ask the librarian if I can use the internet. I’ll fetch my bifocals and key in the URL for my blog. Then, I’ll read through these old Christmas posts and recall all of the good times. At least, that’s what I hope will happen – not the Shady Pines part though!
2024 has been another wonderful year for us. Despite some tiresome medical issues for John.e and my dad, it was still a great year. Both John.e and Dad are doing well now, so I can focus on Christmas! As of the time I’m writing this, I have already shared a couple of my mini holiday confection series. I have two more mini series to share, and then, of course, will come my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas series. All of that baking really puts me in the mood for Christmas, which is a problem, because I start working on Christmas recipes in July or August, so basically, I have Christmas spirit for about 5 months! I’m not complaining though, because I love it!
So, where do I start? If you have read any of these posts in previous years, you know I like to share photos of my Christmas decorations. Most years, I have at least four of five Christmas trees, but rather than start with those, let’s start outside! Looking back, I don’t think we had any work done on the inside of the house this year! Well, other than a coat of paint! Our cats hate it when we do renos inside, so they must have loved 2024 too!

GARDENING AND OUR GARDEN
These past few summers, I’ve put my hand to gardening. I’ve read a lot and I’ve watched many tutorials and how-tos on YouTube. Every summer I tried growing something new and improving on something that didn’t grow so well in previous years. At the end of the growing season in 2022, I was confident enough to build a better gardening area. We purchased raised garden beds and hired a local landscaping company to build the pad and fill in the crushed stone. I was hoping to extend that garden bed this fall, but time just got away from me. Maybe it will be a spring 2025 project!

This past summer, I grew various hot peppers like jalapenos, durangos, cherry bombs, lemon drops, quick fires, and both red and yellow cayennes. I grew Hungarian peppers, bell peppers, and doehill peppers. There were lots of tomatoes, of course, some kale, arugula, mixed lettuce, peas, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, beets, carrots, radishes, daikon, and turnip. There was a large variety of fresh herbs too. Just recently, I started to work on my plan for 2025. I have a goal of getting a greenhouse, but I think a new garden shed has to come first.

Unlike our veggies, our fruit options didn’t do so well this year. At the end of summer we had to remove two of our apple trees. They did very poorly this past summer and became diseased. We had to cut our cherry bushes way back because they had somehow become diseased too. My blueberry and gooseberry bushes did quite well though. We may add more blueberry bushes in the spring.








I have this really bad habit of taking photos of the baskets of veggies I pick every couple of days or so. I share those photos on my Facebook feed because I’m so proud of them. Why shouldn’t I be? Look at the abundance of freshness here!



I guess this is a good section to add that after years of hinting that he wanted a truck, John.e finally got himself one! Here he is in his new Ford Maverick. It’s a hybrid and he loves it.

OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
Two years ago, I decorated our main tree with a peppermint candy cane theme. I don’t like to decorate that particular tree the same way two years in a row, so the candy cane decorations sat in storage all last Christmas. When I decided that I wouldn’t use them again this year, I thought we could put them to use outside, which led to a candy cane-themed front porch. It also meant that John.e had to change all of the lights on the sheds to red and white.






He even painted that old black rocking chair that sat on our back deck for the past two years. I love how it looks painted red, but I have no idea what I will do with it later. Maybe it will fit in my Christmas shed until next Christmas!


The one major thing we did this year was have our septic drainage system replaced. We had no idea how old the previous one was, but the mound for it was quite large. Replacing it meant that we were able to reduce that mound footprint to a third of what it was before. Do you know what that means? More room for gardening this coming summer! The area I’m talking about can be seen here right behind that very fat cedar tree.


The following three photos are some of my personal favourites. When we first bought our old house, I noticed a small spruce tree in the backyard. John.e threw some coloured lights on it, and we continued to do it every year. I love to see how far this little tree has come in only 5 years! The first picture was taken in 2019 and the third photo just a few weeks ago.



LET’S TAKE A LOOK INSIDE!
THE ENTRANCE
Last year I struggled with our vintage-inspired tree. Sometimes I make hasty, no-so-well thought-out decisions, like when I decided that we no longer needed one of our Christmas trees, for example. Later, I realized how great that tree was and replacing it was a nightmare. I wasn’t able to find a tree that worked for the vintage look I wanted. This year though, I found the perfect tree!



At the beginning of summer, I found some vintage ornaments for sale online. I reached out to the seller and they told me that they had much more in storage. Long story short, she had a booth at a local flea market and was closing it down to move to Ireland. She offered me the lot for a great price and I was happy to take them off her hands. There were so many ornaments that only half of them went on this tree! Maybe that means I should do two vintage trees next year! 😉

OUR DINING ROOM
The dining room used to be my least favourite room in the house, but it has been improved greatly this year! If you know me personally, it is no big secret that I love to move furniture around. Not only does it mean that I can clean where I once couldn’t, it also makes a room feel new and fresh. The two blue cabinets you see here used to be in our living room. We moved them into the dining room and our friends, Eileen and Shawn, took our white china cabinet off our hands. It was perfect timing too, because our friends Andy and Janet found this lovely sideboard and she painted it to match the two blue cabinets she had previously worked on.



We bought a printed blue rug, added in some gold and Marie Antoinette-inspired decor and it all came together quite nicely. I’m so very pleased with it and whenever I’m in this room, I feel like I’ve stepped back in time.


As you know, I like to add a new collection every year. This year, I fell in love with the gingerbread collection from Pottery Barn. All of the pieces in this cabinet here are from Pottery Barn. And to be perfectly honest, I think I might just leave them there all year because they are heavy and ceramic, so I don’t want to be packing them up and moving them about too much.


THE LIVING ROOM
There is very little change in the living room this year. I had grown quite tired of the curtains in this room, so we replaced them with these tasselled curtains. And, because I wanted to carry some of the Victorian look into this room too, I added the tiebacks, which I have not ever had in my whole adult life! We did get rid of some of the country farmhouse decor and replaced them with ornate mirrors.

Every year I take so much pride in my coffee table decor, but this year I was stumped. Because the living room tree had a green theme, and I had carried that throughout the room, the coffee table was the last thing I did. Eventually, I piled a collection of gold and wooden trees together. I set them onto a doily I crocheted a few years ago and for me, it works!

Speaking of that green Christmas tree, what do you think? I love it! I started out buying green ornaments in late 2023 from At Home, but didn’t use many of them in the end. I was able to find some lovely green ornaments at HomeSense, but the best find was at one of our local garden centers called Gemmells. We happened to be driving into town to get groceries and saw a sign for a Christmas open house the following day. We decided to stop in even though it was a day early and thankfully we did, because we were able to shop without crowds. The ornaments we found there was just gorgeous!


While I was at the cash, John.e brings over one of those green lanterns you see at the bottom of the tree and says, “Hey, did you see these?” They came in two sizes, so they came home with me. Later, we found that rocking horse at Winners. It had a poorly made wreath around its neck which we removed. John.e gave it a coat of fusion cashmere paint, and I tied an overside ribbon around its neck. I think it looks lovely!




The one thing I did treat myself to this year was framing some of my cross-stitch patterns. I started to do cross stitch a few years ago when I quit smoking. It kept my mind busy and occupied which greatly contributed to me being able to quit. These take months to complete and now that they’re framed, I cannot guarantee that they will be put away after Christmas!



LET’S GO UPSTAIRS!
OUR BEDROOMS
Our home has three bedrooms. We each have our own bedroom – even McKenna, even though she does not live with us still. John and I shared a room for years, but a couple of years ago, he moved into the spare room. He says that I snore, but that’s a lie. I like lots of heavy blankets and flannel sheets, but he doesn’t. He likes to read on his iPad at night, but the light disturbs me. I can’t sleep without a fan on, but it keeps him awake. It was just easier to sleep in separate rooms! At first, I hated the idea of it. I thought, oh, this is the beginning of the end. But, to be honest, I don’t think I could back! Years ago, it was quite common for couples to have separate bedrooms, and let me tell you, Dear Reader, they were onto something!
This first room is mine with a photo of my personal Christmas tree. (As you can see, I’m obsessed with bright, white walls!)


This is John.e’s room. It used to be McKenna’s old room, and like her, he too did not want to remove that one wall of wallpaper from we bought the house. You can probably tell from my word choice that I don’t care for the wallpaper. But, I can’t win every battle! The second photo is his personal tree. He usually uses ornaments that he inherited from his mom, but his year he used ornaments that he made on his lathe or ones he made with a wood burner.


Lastly, we have McKenna’s room. I did not put a tree in her room for two reasons. Initially, she was going to bring her cat with her. Our two cats and her cat do not get along at all so we keep them separated. If I put a tree in her room he would have demolished it. Fang is not an angel like our Jake and Maggie. 😉 The second reason is that her room is quite small and it can get a little tight in there.


THE LANDING
So, you might not be aware of this, but we are very big fans of Lego. We have a collection of Christmas Lego sets that we build and store in their very own cabinet which we leave displayed all year round. It would be too much work to store and then re-build every year. We decided to put our Lego modular buildings into cases too and leave them on permanent display. It’s a hobby that we both love and can share together, so why not put it out there!?



Our cats, Jake and Maggie, also have their own tree every year. Their tree always lives up here on the landing, which is where their food and water bowls are. I add a new personalized ornament to their tree every year. And, because we feed stray and feral cats, we become close with them and name them. They get an ornament too even though they will always be outdoor cats who frequent our deck for warmth, food, and water.

In the photo above, you can see a few smaller trees sitting on that round table. I made those trees a couple years ago. I used brooches and other jewelry to fashion the trees. The jewelry is affixed to foam crafting cones that I purchased at Michaels. Numerous pieces of jewelry on these trees were my mom’s.
Last year, I had a small tabletop tree with my Newfoundland-themed ornaments on it. Well, some of my family and friends from back home caught wind of it and started sending me ornaments. Needless to say, I had to get a bigger tree this year. I found this 4.5-foot tree that was meant for the floor, but I sat it right up here on this old dresser.










Two summers back during a local, small-town summer fair, I was in Toronto taking care of McKenna’s cat while she was away on vacation. John.e went to the fair alone and bought me one of these Santas. A local vendor carves them and paints them. Last summer, I got to go to the fair, and John.e pointed out the vendor. I bought two more from the gentlemen. This past summer he did not have a booth at the fair, but we were able to track him down. His name is Bryan Taylor and he invited us into his home to look at all the carvings he had available. I added two more Santas to my collection.

CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas Eve is my absolute favourite day of the year. All of the days leading up to Christmas are great, however, it’s that one last day before the big day that is the best. On the 24th, we get all of our last-minute things done and out of the way as soon as possible. It gets dark here around 4 pm, so we get a jump start on our regular Christmas Eve traditions by getting changed into our Christmas pyjamas.

Every year, we have matching pyjamas. I usually pick up flannel pyjama pants from Old Navy and John.e designs a t-shirt. But, I had to put an end to the matching pyjama bottoms because we tend to wear them only at Christmastime. They go in the wash and then get packed away in our respective drawers. I’m not lying when I tell you I have about 10 pairs of holiday-themed pyjama bottoms that never get worn! Now, we all wear whatever we want for pyjama bottoms and stick to the matching t-shirt only!

Every year John.e designs a Christmas Eve t-shirt for all of us to wear. This year rather than designing the image and sending it off to Vistaprint, he used a Cricut to cut out the design and ironed it onto the shirts himself. If it’s not clear, this shirt has silhouettes of the characters in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.
Once we take a few family pictures and selfies, we turn on a Christmas movie and dig in. Our Christmas Eve night is fueled by a charcuterie spread.



Finally, I always hide a pickle ornament in one of our trees and wait for John.e or McKenna to find it. The person to find the pickle first gets to open a present of their choosing. This year, I hid it on the old fashioned tree in our entrance. I thought a green pickle ornament in a sea of colours would be very hard to find, but John.e spotted it quite quickly.

CAN WE TALK ABOUT FOOD NOW? PLEASE!!
Oh, sweet Lord! The amount of food that came out of my kitchen this year was incredible. Starting out on the blog this holiday season was my 12 Holiday Trifles series. I followed that up with my 12 Christmas Breads & Loaves series and then my 12 Bars & Squares of Christmas – Volume 2 series. Next came my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7. And, finally, I ended the holiday recipes with my 12 Homemade Holiday Gifts series.
A couple of days before Christmas, we did our annual cookie delivery to our neighbours. And, as you know, when I say we did our annual cookie delivery. Usually John.e will deliver the cookies, but this year we took the truck out because a few of the recipients were not within walking distance. Here’s a photo of the boxes being prepared.

CHRISTMAS DINNER
I prepared an entire dinner, including a real turkey and a tofurkey for my favourite vegetarian. I also prepared mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and gravy. Every year I take a photo of a plated Christmas dinner, but this year I completely forgot. I guess I was too hungry and just wanted to eat! I did manage to get a photo of our table setting.


In true Christmas Day fashion, both John.e and McKenna washed up all of the dishes – because I did the cooking – and we settled back into the dining room and spent the evening eating cookies and chocolates while watching more Christmas movies.
AND THAT’S A WRAP!
Over the next few days, things will slowly go back to our normal. We will slowly put away our presents, lounge around the house with the cats, and grow tired of eating too much. Here are some festive photos of our two cats, Jake and Maggie.



And here, I caught Jake trying to sneak a look in his stocking!

And, just like everyone else, we will struggle to remember what day it is! (The days between Christmas Day and New Year are always so confusing, aren’t they!?) Finally, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that your New Year is filled with joy and happiness, prosperity and health. Lord Byron’s Kitchen will return to regularly scheduled recipe posts early in January. Stay tuned! XOXO


Jeanne says
Thank you for sharing! Beautiful decorations and home (and pet friends!)
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Jeanne. Happy New Year to you too!
Jane says
This annual post might not get a lot of traffic, but I do hope you’ll keep at it every year– it’s my favorite! And what I wouldn’t give for one of those gorgeous cookie trays! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year ❤️💚
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Jane. I’ll add you to next year’s cookie tray list. 😉 Happy New Year to you too!
Wendy Belfry says
Thank you for your lovely post. I wasn’t feeling festive this year so sharing your Christmas vicarious ly has kicked me up a notch. As a new follower, I made the Brownie Candy Cane trifle and it is amazing! I’m going to try to copy and paste mine for you to see.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Wendy. So glad you liked that trifle. It was one of my favourites. Happy New Year to you too!
Wendy Rymal says
Your house is absolutely gorgeous! I would want to keep it up for a few months anyway! I love that wall of original wallpaper…glad you kept it. I’m curious as to how you added the brooches to your tree…with a cone? Enjoy your week of indulgence and family. ❤️
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Wendy! I don’t like the wallpaper at all. It’s John and McKenna who begged for it to stay. 🙂 I used a combination of long and short hat pins to attach the brooches to a foam cone.
Terry says
Love ALL your posts and recipes. You are so creative and I’m not, but I can follow a recipe and my family is convinced that I’m a great cook! 😂
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Terry. 🙂 I’m so glad your family likes my recipes.
Kimberly Abbey says
Absolutely gorgeous! Every room and every turn a decorators dream. The vintage tree is amazing.
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Kimberly. Happy New Year to you too!
Wendy Whyte says
Lovely Christmas Decor and Family Pics!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Wendy. Happy New Year to you too! Looking forward to another summer of gardening folly. 🙂
SAM/MARY says
MOST BEAUTIFUL
ALL OF IT, FROM THE GARDEN THROUGHOUT YOUR HOME TO YOUR WONDERFUL LETTER, ALSO THE WONDERFUL RECIPES.
THANK YOU AND HAVES A GREAT NEW YEAR
MARY
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Mary. Happy New Year to you too!
SHARON MCCLURG (aka Cousin) says
Ok that’s it! Next year I’m coming to your house for Christmas and I can stay in the little shed for the rest of the year, ok? I love you guys and I will continue to spread the Lord Byron’s Kitchen news in 2025! Happy new year and everything good and yummy next year!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Oh my! I hope we don’t have to wait an entire year to see you guys! 🙂 I’ll work on getting that shed insulated if you plan on staying in it. LOL Happy New Year to you both! Cheers!
suzanne bussiere says
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year . Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas decorations and photos . really enjoyed them.
Everythng is so beautiful , the house the garden I love your red rocking chair , and the cats . everything is breathtaking.
Many thanks
Have a great year.
with heartfelt thanks
Suzanne
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Suzanne! Happy New Year! 🙂
Meg says
I thourally enjoyed seeing your Christmas post. You have a beautiful home and family. Wishing you many blessings in the new year.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Meg! Happy New Year!!!
Sherri says
I always enjoy your Christmas post. Everything is beautiful. Your garden beds look fantastic and your baskets of fresh veggies look so good. Nice truck! Love the porch and the red rocker. Your trees are so nicely decorated each year. I’m so glad that you take the time to write this post and add all the pictures, and I hope you continue to do so.
Happy 2025 you and your family.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Sherri. To be honest, I was thinking that this would be my last year writing up an annual Christmas post, but the response to this year’s post has been so warm and kind. I’ll do my best to continue posting each holiday season. Happy New Year to you and your family as well! 🙂
Barbara says
Hi Byron,
I love your Christmas post and would be sad to see it end. What a beautiful home you and your family have. It is stunning!
Your garden is also very impressive. I made your Oatmeal Caramilk Bars and they are delicious. Had to freeze them but discovered they are also wonderful frozen too. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and sharing your home with all of us. Happy New Year to you and yours!!!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Barbara! Happy New Year to you and your loved one as well!
Pam says
I am so thrilled to have discovered Lord Byron’s Kitchen! (And gardens and holiday decorations and home design ideas) I have always threatened to decorate our garden shed, and after seeing the photos of yours — I am definitely doing it next year! Thank you for opening your home and sharing these beautiful pics. Cheers!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
I’m glad you’ve discovered Lord Byron’s Kitchen too, Pam! 🙂 Yes, decorate that shed! Life is short; why not? 🙂
Carrie says
I so look forward to your annual Christmas post! I grab a cuppa and make sure I’m somewhere I can’t be disturbed so I can take it all in. This year’s was as good as ever! I absolutely loved all the decor, I have to say John.e’s star he made for the top of his bedroom tree is just marvellous!
Merry Christmas to you all.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Carrie. I’ll pass that on to him! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Connie says
Gorgeous home Byron and I love your raised garden beds. Happy new year!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Connie! Happy New Year! 🙂
Kam says
Yay! I look forward to this post every year. It leaves me in awe. Everything is just gorgeous. I love the green tree and outside lights/decorations. And I adore the carved Santas. John.e’s t-shirts are really great too! Thank you for sharing your home. It’s always an after-Christmas treat to read through this post. Happy New Year to you and your family!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Kam. I’m so glad to hear that! I will let John.e know that you liked his shirt. 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!
Nicki Ball says
This is the first time (even tho I follow you on Pinterest) that I have read your blog. I am so impressed! From the way you speak to your beautiful home and decorations, animals and friends and family. It is New Years Eve tonight and I must say thank you for sharing your breathtaking sliver of your life with us and I wish you all a Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Nicki! Happy New Year to you and your family as well. 🙂
Linda Moore says
Your home is lovely all decorated for Christmas. But I adore your garden pictures. Those veggies you grew are wonderful. I love reading your blog and learning new recipes to a West Texas baker. Thanks for sharing. I used to have a blog – Recipes and Ramblings of the Tumbleweed Contessa. Someone hacked it, COVID came along, and we never got around to getting it fixed and back up. I still have most of my posts and recipes. I enjoy reading them as I near retirement.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Linda! I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s one of my biggest fears. Hacking is everywhere these days!
Daisy says
Pls don’t stop doing these! As others mentioned they are an after Christmas treat to the rest of us 🙂
I, too, also decorate way too early and way too much (or so my family tells me) and I love that I have found someone else who does the same.
Thank you for your Christmas posts!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Daisy. 🙂 I apprecite it! Happy and Prosperous 2025 to you and your loved ones!
Mary C says
Simply love your Christmas posts. So much so that I read them throughout the year. The decor is fabulous and I’m sure it’s a time consuming task. Your refurbished furniture, sideboards, hutches and tables are absolute eye candy for me. These old pieces prove that they can have a second life.
Suddenly I noticed your tea cart being used as a side table. I have the same one! Mine is still in it’s original condition with the drop leaves. Hoping to move this year and had thought to get rid of the cart. Not any more, thanks to you.
Thank you Byron for all your hard work.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Mary! I saw the tea cart for sale in a store but it was already painted a dark grayish-blue. I repainted it with cashmere fusion paint and added some antiquing wax for finish. We still have the drop leaves, but put them away for now since I’m presently using it for my vinyl records. Good luck with your move and a very happy and blessed 2025 to you!