On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen …. Pottery Barn’s popular line of classic, reindeer tableware is given a kid-friendly twist with these fun and fanciful Reindeer Dinner Plates. BPA and phthalate-free, melamine/bamboo reindeer dinner plates feature each member of Santa’s famous sleigh team and are top-rack dishwasher safe. Like to have the complete tablescape? Check out the reindeer runners, tablecloths, and placemats. And for those who are fans of one red-nosed reindeer in particular, Rudolph makes a solo appearance on sets of too-cute tumblers, napkins, and dessert plates.
Christmas
I’m a sucker for anything with Victorian roots during the holidays. Which is probably why I try to read A Christmas Carol every year — or at least watch a version, even if it is just the Muppet one. Everyone knows about Christmas Crackers and Wassail but have you ever heard of the Peppermint Pig?
According to legend, this tradition began in Saratoga Springs back in the early 1880s. A pig, revered as a symbol of good health, happiness, and prosperity was made from hard peppermint candy. After a holiday supper it was broken in a cloth bag and the pieces were shared by all in the hopes of good fortune for the coming year.
Doesn’t this sound like an adorable addition to your family’s holiday? I think this pink pig will definitely have to make an appearance at my home this year. We can use all the good luck we can get!
One year my mother and I made a homemade Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. After spending the good part of an afternoon creating our cake we finally finished and placed it on the porch to harden the icing. Then we proceeded to get ready to go to my grandmother’s for Christmas Eve.
Unfortunately our cat Lucy chose that exact time to wander in from a day playing in the woods surrounding our house. He (yes, Lucy, was a boy…it’s a long story) was apparently hungry so he started licking our cake with exuberant relish. And that’s just where we found him a short while later. Needless to say his frosted whiskers forever labeled him as a Christmas cake culprit.
Thanks to Ina Garten though you wont have to slave over a hot stove all day to make a special holiday dessert that the whole family will love. Brand new for the season and just waiting to be scooped into paper-lined baking tins is the Barefoot Contessa’s Red Velvet Cupcake Mix. In mere minutes you’ll have piping hot festive cupcakes fresh from the oven. You may want to keep an extra package or two on hand though just in case your favorite furry friend takes a liking to the dessert tray.
Three years ago while shopping for holiday decorations at Target I happened upon a stack of Thomas Cranberry Bagels on an end aisle display. You could smell the fruit through the wrapper! Those bagels were seriously calling my name so of course I had to buy them. I still fondly remember eating my first one for breakfast (with sensible whipped cream cheese — because these are definitely not diet food) almost every day that week, and then I promptly went back to Target and bought two more packages so that I could freeze them. I then continued to eat them throughout the holidays.
Since then I’ve made it a point to stock up on these favorite limited edition breakfast items and I advise you to do the same. Everyone needs all the help they can get on cold Monday mornings and these delicious bagels absolutely do the trick. Thomas also makes Cranberry Toasting Bread and English Muffins if that’s more your breakfast style. But hurry! These wont be on the shelves for long.
Making a list? Checking it twice? Got someone on your Christmas list that’s been not-so-nice? Give that naughty person just what they deserve! Slip a lump of “coal” in their stocking and wait for the surprise. With its clever black packaging, this box of coal bubble gum will make the recipient squirm with phrases like “because you were very bad” and “it’s all you get” stamped across the front, but inside there’s a sugary treat—2.5 oz of individually wrapped black gumballs. This is a great gift that is sure to bring the LOLs on Christmas morning, because even bad girls and boys deserve something sweet in their stocking.
