The Parade of Lights has ushered in the holiday season here in New Ulm! If you’re in the holiday spirit, you can find inspiration for the season with these new holiday books, available at the New Ulm Library.

The holidays are a time to get together with family and friends. If you are thinking about ideas for a festive home or bringing something delicious to share for a holiday party, you can’t go wrong with the 2018 edition of “Christmas with Southern Living: Inspired Ideas for Holiday Cooking and Decorating” (745.5941/Christm). It offers holiday party themes, complete with decorating ideas, menus, and recipes.

When hosting a holiday meal, there never seems to be enough burners on the stove or room in the oven to get everything done at the same time. That pressure cooker you’ve been using for all kinds of things lately can help you during the holidays, too! Take a look at “Instant Pot Holiday Cookbook: 100 Festive Recipes to Celebrate the Season” (641.597/Schluet). It has recipes for everything from appetizers to desserts, including drinks. How about serving your guests a Peppermint Vanilla Latte or some Apple Pie Moonshine (adults only)?

If you need a break from all the holiday planning, sit down with a cup of coffee and “100 Christmas Wishes: Vintage Holiday Cards from the New York Public Library” (745.5941/New). This book is a nostalgic look back at holiday postcards from 1887 through 1944, back to a time when the only way you received holiday greetings was through the mail!

Keep the library in mind as you plan your holiday gatherings. I know it is very convenient to just look something up on Pinterest, but we have beautiful holiday books just waiting for you at the library. Much of the time you will get a lot more detail from a book than a website. Besides, there is just something about paging through a book for ideas. Bookmark your favorites and you are all set!