CHECK IT OUT

With the most festive season of the year now underway, it’s time to

get in gear for holiday gaiety with craft books and cookbooks from

Newport libraries.

New this year from one of America’s premier culinary publications is

“Bon Appetit, The Christmas Season,” featuring more than 125 traditional

and innovative recipes for holiday hosts and hostesses. Stunning photos,

menu suggestions and entertainment tips provide ample inspiration for

festive meals and year-end entertaining in this dazzling volume.

If children figure into your holiday plans, check out “Holiday Party

Ideas for Kids,” a collection of games, crafts and treats geared for 5-

through 11-year-olds. Find instructions for such easy projects as candy

cane reindeer and pine cone bird feeders, plus directions for seasonally

themed relays and quiet activities in Linda Sadler and Rhonda Deason’s

resource for party planners.

For Hanukkah celebrants, Jane Breskin Zalben includes several versions

of latkes, plus instructions for dreidel cookies and other traditional

favorites, in “Beni’s Family Cookbook.” Notes on the religious and

cultural importance of Jewish holidays throughout the year and amusing

tidbits about each of the dishes make this a fine cookbook for family

sharing, especially for all familiar with Zalben’s Beni the bear books.

Once you’re ready to get out of the kitchen, MaryJo McGraw’s “Making

Greeting Cards with Rubber Stamps” features myriad ways to personalize

holiday correspondence, gift-wrapping and party invitations. Included are

30 step-by-step projects that incorporate such techniques as masking,

embossing, layering and water-staining.

Keep the creative juices flowing with “Glorious Christmas Ornaments,”

Pat Richards’ lushly photographed assemblage of handcrafted decorations

for a resplendent tree. In five chapters organized by theme, find ideas

for more than 40 kinds of handmade treasures, including ornaments made

from plastic globes, recycled cards, Styrofoam balls and felt scraps.

Other ordinary household materials are the basis for packages that are

presents in themselves, featured in Amanda Knight’s “Decorating Gift

Baskets, Boxes & Bags.” From Santa baskets that can be filled with soaps

to snowman bags for cocoa and cookies, there are more than 100 stunning

gift presentations in this resource for creative gift-giving.

Once the holiday cards are out and the presents are wrapped, you may

want to prepare for the ultimate year-end affair: a slumber party for

young revelers. Get them cooking with Hallie Warshaw’s “The Sleepover

Cookbook.” Just about all your gang of 9- through 12-year-olds will need

to whip up such festive fare as “fundue” and tuna meltdowns.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Gina Moffitt. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by

accessing the catalog at https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org.