Food for an Open House

An open house is a great way to celebrate the holidays with family and friends without a lot of the hassle of trying to fit things into a schedule. Basically, you have a set number of hours in which your home is open to guests. Friends and family can drop by any time during these hours and stay as long as they like. With an open house, your home will never get over crowded, and you will have more quality time to spend with each guest as they arrive. When hosting an open house, you’ll want to have plenty of … Continue reading

Festive Food Garlands

The idea of making festive Christmas garlands out of food is nothing new. In the Victorian era, when the Christmas tree first came into fashion, folks hung all sorts of things on the tree and around the home to celebrate Christmas, and food was no exception. Today, though, we have a wealth of new “materials” available to us for festive food garlands. I’ll share some of the basic traditional food garland ideas, along with some new more modern takes. Orange and Apple Garland This garland not only looks good, it smells good too! The orange and apple garland gives you … Continue reading

Holiday-Themed Sanity Savers

Whether you are hosting a Christmas party, a Hanukkah get-together or you simply need ways to keep your kids busy while they are home from school during the holiday break, the following ideas will go a long way to preserving your sanity: Games:  Get into the holiday spirit by modifying traditional kids’ games, such as “Duck, Duck, Goose.”  A holiday version could be “Reindeer, Reindeer Rudolph” or “Elf, Elf, Buddy” (Will Ferrell’s name in the movie “Elf”). Another option is to turn “Simon Says” into “Santa Says.”  These types of interactive games are great ways for kids to burn off … Continue reading

Christmas Cookie Alternatives

Somewhere around now, I start getting a little “cookied” out. The mixing, the rolling, the baking, the decorating start to become more of a chore than an enjoyment. Still, there are cookie exchanges, cookie gifts, holiday parties, etc., when cookies are required. or, are they? If you are getting fed up with cookies, try one of these alternatives. Mini muffins Get a few mini muffin pans and bake up some goodness. These tiny muffin bites are just the thing to take the place of cookies. They can still be popped in the mouth and enjoyed, and a multitude of varieties … Continue reading

Health and Fitness Tips During the Holiday Season

With so much to do over the holiday season finding time for fitness is even more difficult than it usually is, but very necessary. With the extra chores that we must do during this time of the year there is increased calorie burning, but not enough to conquer all of the good food calories that we will most likely be indulging in. As always and now more than ever use those sneaky ways to give your fitness a boost. Shopping is crazy hectic at this time of the year. Remember not to dive in to the closet parking spot to … Continue reading