A Little House Christmas

YES! This was my favorite book series growing up! I'm IN! :D

Never had those books here but I love this idea so much so will research it =D

I don't know if I'll be able to get organized enough to do this swap, but it's a great idea! I hope people will post their swaps to the new Flickr group, too-- I'd love to see what everyone comes up with. :)

Hooray! So glad you've joined @SpewKnitter .

The books are truly wonderful. Laura started writing them when she was in her sixties, drawing upon her own experience as a little girl when her family helped the westward expansion of the United States. It's a really fascinating day to day look at that period in U.S. history, but beyond the incredibly detailed descriptions of life on a farm and pioneer living, the books are simply just wonderful stories of growing up, being independent and free, and finding happiness in unexpected places. I loved them as a little girl, and I love them as an adult. My favorite book is probably Farmer Boy, which is about her husband as a little boy, although I love and re-read them all repeatedly.

Wonderful idea, I just love it!

Your favorite book is Farmer Boy.... hmmm.... that gives me some ideas... hmmmm.... ;)

I love all the good eating in all of the books but particularly so in Farmer Boy. Taffy stuck in the teeth? Yes, please! Cream curling up the edges of apple filling in the bird's nest pudding? Mmm!

Looking forward to this swap! My FAVORITE idea ever!

This is a beautiful idea-so meaningful!

I love the Little House books and when we homeschooled, we did an entire year themed around the books, then went on to Laura's later writings for the paper in Mansfield.

I am always in awe of how much progress and how many changes in the country she witnessed. (electricity, phones, the western railway, automobiles, airplanes... just so much.

Farmer Boy is wonderful, but I have an especial fondness for The Long Winter. When I first read the series, I didn't like it, but the more I read it, the more I appreciated it.

@BigHillGoddess That's so funny--The Long Winter is probably my second favorite book in the series! It really is so humbling to read about the hardships the town endured, and it's also inspiring to see ingenuity and kindness in the middle of such extreme circumstances.

And @waldenpond2 the food is a big, big part of why Farmer Boy is my favorite! I love that chapter when the parents go out of town and all the kids churn ice cream and eat cake and icy cold slices of watermelon for all their suppers.

How fun... And just the excuse I needed to re-read (for the umpteenth time) Farmer Boy which I have on my grown-up book shelves... @thehappyhoneybee "But Mother, we did not eat ALL the sugar" ;)

Another fabulous and imaginative swap! I am just watching right now until closer to time so i can do other swaps ( i always hit my 20!) Going to start getting the stocking together now :-)

@Moineau .. "But, DH, I did not eat ALL the snackable sweet treats in the house and leave none for you -- there is 1/8 of an ice cream bar left for you in the freezer!"

@thehappyhoneybee oh did I need yet another reason to tell my mom why ice cream for dinner was a good idea? She did not like the Little House series for a while there...

Ohboyohboyohboy, can't wait for this swap!

You guys are amazing...I love this comment thread so much! Yay for Laura lovers everywhere.

I love these books so much - I think they were probably responsible for inspiring my wish to travel across the US! I'm just glad it's become slightly easier to do so now!! What a lovely swap idea :-)

SQUEAL!!! I am so excited about this one. I've always loved the Little House Christmases...

@hollyhox you have to read them. They are Sooo sweet.

These are my all-time favorite books, and although I'm Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas I am SO SO tempted to join...will think on it...

Okay, I hope my swappee lives where it's cold, because I just came up with a FABULOUS IDEA! :D Oh this is SO much fun!

Oh @Leahsimone ...so sad for your dilemma! :( I'm sure we'll have other Little House swaps in the future, though they'll probably be simpler ones.

I hope everyone snaps photos before mailing so to upload them to our group Flickr list--I can't wait to see what everyone sends! I just got back from a flea market with a some vintage goodies for my stocking, so I'm on a bit of a Little House high at the moment. :D

I mean, I was so excited, my last comment didn't even make sense... :x

I have the whole box set, my grandfather bought for me once after we visited one of the actual house Laura and her family lived in, as an adult. I haven't read them in a while, but have oh so many ideas for this. Currently rereading a lot of my Madeliene L'engel so maybe a Little House rereading is up next?

Friends! Our lovely little swap has been mentioned in the outside world. Have a look at this Beyond Little House post about our Christmas exchange. How wonderful!

Big thanks to new Swap-Bot member @laurajeanrose for pointing this out to me. Laura has asked to join our group, but unfortunately she's brand new to the site...so if any of you would like to help her out by doing a 1:1 swap with her to help her build her ratings up in time to join this Little House Christmas swap, she might appreciate it.

This looks so cool! I haven't read the books in a LONG time, but will do some research so that I can join in!

Thanks @thehappyhoneybee I sure would love to do a 1:1 swap. Still learning the ropes here, but learning fast and having fun!

@leahsimone I think you should join anyway! Open your stocking for Hanukkah!!

My partner might get something knitted. And please... be kind. I have never knitted before and it's kind of funny looking. But love went into it!

I am really looking forward to this swap. I love love love Little House books and Laura Ingalls Wilder and am already having fun determining what I might include in the stocking I send.

I'm so glad we have so many Laura lovers in this group! Yay.

I am really excited about this swap! I already have ideas swirling around for my partner! Maybe if she likes to sew, a needle book, some embroidery floss, thread, ahhh love it!!

Yay @GalMolly !

Sorry about those duplicate swap messages, everyone--looks like that Swap-bot system glitch still hasn't been fixed.

I was just invited to join this group and I'm saddened to see that I didn't make the deadline to join this swap. LIW is my absolute favorite author and I would have loved participating in this swap. I hope you all have fun and I look forward to upcoming swaps concerning LIW! Thank you for the invite @thehappyhoneybee ! :)

Oh my gosh, I just made the best thing to go in the stocking. :) So excited to be working on it!