A festive and nostalgic celebration of family Christmas recipes and traditions. 

From the beloved father–daughter team behind the bestseller Old Farm Country Cookbook comes a heartwarming celebration of Christmases past—when the first snowfall signaled the start of the season, neighbors gathered close, and simple joys lit up the long Midwestern winter. 

In Old Farm Country Christmas, Jerry Apps and Susan Apps-Bodilly invite readers inside the farmhouse kitchens, one-room schoolhouses, rural churches, and snow-packed fields of Wisconsin, sharing Christmas stories from the Great Depression and World War II through the 1960s. Drawing on vivid family memories, interviews, and historical research, the authors recreate a time when holiday magic was handmade, heartfelt, and shared generously. 

Readers will savor more than 80 cherished Apps family recipes, from First Snow Peppermint Butter Cookies and Lucia Buns to Spiced Cider, Krumkake, Seven Layer Bars, Cheesy Potatoes and Ham, and other festive favorites for every gathering. Paired with these culinary classics are twelve simple, old-fashioned craft projects—think paper chains, evergreen garlands, applesauce ornaments, and cozy sock snow people—along with seven timeless activities perfect for wintry afternoons with friends and family. 

With 50 vintage photographs and illustrations, this heartfelt collection captures the laughter of school Christmas programs, the excitement of long-hoped-for gifts, the aroma of butter and spices drifting from the oven, and the deep meaning of the traditions that knit rural communities together. 

More than a book, Old Farm Country Christmas is an invitation to slow down and rediscover the warmth, wonder, and shared traditions that make the season shine. 

Have you ever wondered what it was like to attend a one-room school, to be in the same classroom as your older brother or younger sister, or to have your teacher live with your family for part of the school year?

In One Room Schools, Susan Apps-Bodilly chronicles life in Wisconsin’s early country schools, detailing the experiences of the students, the role of the teacher, and examples of the curriculum, including the importance of Wisconsin School of the Air radio programs. She describes the duties children had at school besides their schoolwork, from cleaning the erasers and sweeping cobwebs out of the outhouse to carrying in wood for the stove. She also tells what led to the closing of the one room schools, which were more than just centers of learning: they also served as the gathering place for the community. 

Susan Apps-Bodilly drew from the research compiled by her father Jerry Apps for his book, One-Room Country Schools: History and Recollections. Apps-Bodilly has geared her book toward young readers who will learn what students and their teacher did on cold mornings before the wood stove warmed them up. They also will find out how to play recess games like Fox and Geese and Anti-I-Over and will learn the locations of 10 former one room schools that can be toured. Apps-Bodilly also encourages readers to ask themselves what lessons can be learned from these early schools that have application for today’s schools?

One Room Schools will transport young readers back in time and make their grandparents and others of that generation nostalgic—perhaps even  prompting them to share memories of their school days.