Review
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Title: Celebrate Every Season With Six Sisters Stuff
Authors: The Six Sisters
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Genre: Non-Fiction
Year Published: 2017
Number of Pages: 244
Binding: Paperback
ISBN13: 978-1-62972-328-0
Price: $16.99
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson for the Association for Mormon Letters
2010 was a hard year for the six sisters. Their Dad had been very ill and was recovering. One of the sisters had just lost a baby, another sister had moved across the country with her family for medical school, another had moved with her family for a job, and the youngest had moved away to go to college.
Having grown up in a close-knit family, the separated sisters sought ways to stay in touch. Talking on the phone became a challenge because of the different time zones they lived in. One of them suggested they start a blog where they could share recipes, what they were up to, how they were decorating their homes etc. They soon discovered that people outside of their families were finding, and reading, their blog.!
From those humble beginnings, their world changed dramatically, from their blog to appearances on TV, radio, and at conferences. They were invited to create their first cookbook, and now have seven books in print. Along with expanding the scope and reach of their blog, which now reaches millions of visitors every month, they also created an annual conference to teach others how to create, expand and make money from their blogs.
Everything in my world stops when I get my hands on a new Six Sisters book. I love to pore over the recipes, seasonal traditions, and unique ideas for families in their books.
Their latest book is subtitled “150+ Recipes, Traditions, and Fun Ideas for Each Month of the Year.” It is an absolute delight!
The book is divided into sections by months of the year, with a theme given to each month. For instance, January reflects recipes and activities for a New Year’s Eve Family Countdown. I immediately spotted the recipe for a pineapple cheese ball. It turned out to be a delicious blend of cream cheese, crushed pineapple, bell pepper, green onion and seasoning salt. My husband said it was the best cheese ball he’d ever had.
I loved the idea they gave me for a midnight pizza to celebrate New Year’s Eve. You top pizza dough with sauce and cheese, then line the outside of the pizza with twelve pepperoni slices, placed where the numbers on a clock would be. Then you place one more pepperoni slice in the middle and use thinly sliced black olives to create the “hands” of the clock-which you point towards the number twelve. My four grandchildren would love this!
Other clever ideas include making Rice Krispy apples by adding red food coloring to the usual blend of cereal, butter and marshmallows, then forming the mixture into apple shapes. You use a small pretzel stick as the stem and either green Laffy Taffy or a green fruit roll-up cut into leaf shapes to decorate the “apples.” This child friendly treat is for the month of September. This chapter also includes many healthy after-school snack ideas, which are quick and tasty.
I can’t wait to try some of their Halloween ideas: Mummy donut holes, candy corn cupcakes, melted witch cupcakes, mini donut scary eyes, and more. I am trying to decide on which of their nine different party activities for Halloween my grand-children would enjoy most!
Their Christmas section is equally delightful. Imagine serving your family Gingerbread Cheesecake Cookie Cups, Egg Nog French Toast, Pecan Shortbread Bars and more. They give ideas for 12 Days of Hot Cocoa in this chapter. By taking a basic cup of hot chocolate and adding an extra ingredient or two, they have created unique blends for the tastebuds.
Each chapter has multiple recipes for main dishes, sides and desserts. There are beautiful photos and illustrations of recipes, activities and games to enjoy.
With the holidays just around the corner, you will want to check out this book as the perfect gift for a hostess, a Christmas gift, neighbor present, friendship gift, teacher gift etc. You can’t go wrong with this unique, fun, colorful and entertaining new book!
It is my favorite Six Sister book so far, and I can’t wait to have fun with my grandchildren, making, baking, and creating all these wonderful recipes and activities.