Christmas Tea

Y’all I would not DREAM of skipping Thanksgiving and not giving that holiday it’s due spotlight. I mean helllloooooo… it’s one of my favorite Gossip Girl episodes! Thank goodness no one’s Thanksgiving dinner is THAT dramatic. Well, at least not that dramatic and beautifully decorated that is.

Since we are in November now I wanted to share the recipe for “Christmas Tea” which could really be called “Thanksgiving or Christmas Tea.” This is one of my favorite drinks ever and tastes like the holidays in a cup. It’s my cousin’s grandmother’s recipe from Greenwood, Mississippi – a place where they know what they’re doing when it comes to food (and holiday drinks!).

Speaking of Mississippi, these Cobalt Blue Tumblers remind me so much of Peters Pottery and McCartys Pottery which are very popular in the south. I love how these gorgeous glasses double for the perfect stemless wine glass or centerpiece arrangement! I’ve used them as both and they are gorgeous! They would pair great with a bottle of Christmas Tea for a hostess gift from now until New years or be the perfect addition to spruce up your glassware collection if you’re going to have people over soon! Magenta actually has so many great drinkware and dinnerware pieces and they are giving y’all 15% off of everything on the site with the code LSTEELE. Whoop whoop! I love a discount.These blue and white cheese markers would go great with these cups!

Magenta believes in designing beautiful and simple pieces for the home that can be enjoyed forever. THANK GOODNESS. Because nobody has time for ‘trendy’ when it comes to home pieces.

Thank you so much for reading and happy November!

Christmas Cranberry Tea Recipe

• 1 gallon water
• 2 sticks whole cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons whole cloves
• 2 large tea bags (family size, Lipton)
• 1 cup sugar (I use splenda)
• 1 3-ounce package raspberry gelatin (aka Jello)
• 1 quart (32 ounces) cranberry juice
• 1 quart (32 ounces) apple juice
• 1 cup Lemon juice
• 1 6-ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions: Bring water with cinnamon and cloves to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove spices. Add tea bags and steep for 6 minutes. Remove tea bags. Add sugar and gelatin and stir until dissolved. Add juices.

Virginia Alford, Greenwood, MS 

You can serve it hot or cold but David and I think it’s better hot! I pour out the apple juice and cranberry juice that’s left over and use those plastic bottles to store the Christmas Tea in. Keep it in the fridge and be sure to shake it up before serving 🙂