PUBLISHER’S NOTE
WHAT STRESSES YOU OUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS? For me, it’s my desire to make the holiday special with limited time. When I was growing up, my mom always made the holidays magical. When I complain and tell her, “I just can’t do what you did,” she always tells me, “But I didn’t work.” For some reason, even though I have a job outside of the home, her words don’t help with the pressure I feel every year to make things special for everyone. The holidays for me were filled with all kinds of Christmas cookies — divinity, Mexican wedding rings, crumkakas, rosettes, cream cheese dainties, pecan rolls, ginger creams, spritz cookies, gingersnaps, Swedish butter cookies — and my mom made every single one of them. We always had a real tree and were made to stay home for a special night of decorating. I remember picking each ornament out of the box, unwrapping the tissue to discover which one I got. Some were handmade, some super fragile, and my siblings and I loved every single one. Mom always cooked a turkey (so I have never made one) and set a beautiful table. We didn’t have a lot of money, so she made due with whatever we had to make it all look special. Thinking about how I can possibly follow in her footsteps is overwhelming. The goal in this issue of Kit is to give you ideas to make the holiday season easier and magical. No. 1 on the list: what to buy and where to buy it. Buying as much as possible from locally owned shops is the way to go, so we included two gift guides with ideas from local stores all around the Indy area. Flip ahead to pages 13 and 55 for those. For from-scratch treats, pages 21-25 showcase shops with homemade pies, pastries and candy. If you’re like me, you’ll want to place an order with them and still make one or two of your favorites at home. If you’re brave enough to prepare the main entree, our cooking expert, Kate Costello, has a stepby-step turkey recipe on pages 61-64. Kate thinks everyone should experience making a turkey and said this recipe has never failed her. Last but not least, on pages 45-48, entertaining expert Becky Freimuth provides simple tablescape tips to dazzle your guests. Here’s to a magical, not-so-stressful season. Happy holidays!
KELLY MCVEY
PUBLISHER Kelly McVey
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ashlie Hartgraves
GUEST EDITOR Casey Kenley
WRITERS Amy Lynch Brooke Reynolds Megan Neely Erica Sagon
FASHION Beth Divine STYLIST Erica Sagon STYLIST AND WRITER Mackenzie McGilvrey STYLIST
FOOD Katherine Costello FOOD FEATURE STYLIST
ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Whonsetler LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER Chandler Nehrt FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHER Wil Foster ILLUSTRATOR Michelle Thompson AD DESIGNER Julie Taylor Reed AD DESIGNER Josie Sanders SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING Gary Nickander ......... ADVERTISE WITH KIT sales@kitindy.com For a free subscription, visit kitindy.com. For customer service, info@kitindy.com. Printed by: EP Graphics, Berne, IN