We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
This special time of year brings holiday festivities and lots of family fun! This is a time for reminiscing about the joys of Christmas’ past, while looking forward to creating new traditions for the future. We wish you wonderful magical moments all throughout this joyous season.
At the close of another year, we want you to know that we are deeply grateful to our customers and partners for another successful year! Thank you for your confidence and loyalty and we hope this holiday season will be sweet and simple for you and your families.
Getting in the Holiday Spirit
Christmas is one of my favorite times and it seems that with each passing year, my Christmas spirit kicks in earlier than the previous year! For me, it is important to get in the spirit early because the season is just too short. So, from as early as the beginning of November, I start on my “To Do” list. Aside from indulging in the shopping, decorating, baking, flavorful foods, and yummy beverages, I look forward to spending time with family, and of course… binge-watching Christmas Movies! Too many of us get caught up in the intensity of the season and never really get to enjoy the fun stuff as we should.
Also, to help sweeten the holiday for you, I would like to offer you my favorite sweet eggnog recipe along with some suggestions for getting everything to run smoothly while having fun along the way.
Clean Up Early
Before you begin decorating, finish the cleaning. Collect and store all of the fall decor and bring out the Christmas and holiday decorations.
Begin with the Christmas Tree
Whether you choose a real tree or bring out the artificial tree from last year, you should decide on the theme and/or a color scheme. You might want to add to your decoration collection by adding some new ornaments, garland and picks to spruce things up.
Gift Shopping
I always look forward to gift shopping. Buying gifts for others gives me a feeling inside that warms the soul. It is a quick way to feel the Christmas joy especially while wrapping them and putting them under the Christmas tree.
Bake Some Cookies
An easy way to get in the mood is by baking your favorite Christmas cookies. Baking something as simple as cookies makes the spirit bright. Share the cookies you make with your friends, relatives and colleagues as a way to bring in the holiday joy.
Watch Christmas Movies
Hallmark has a great range of Christmas-themed original movies every year which you might enjoy. And, don’t forget the classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Miracle on 34th Street”, “The Santa Clause”, “Home Alone”, 1 and 2 are some classics that never get old. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to watch them.
Listen to Christmas Carols
While doing your other activities, try listening to Christmas Carols. There are so many from which to choose that I wouldn’t even begin to know what to suggest.
Decorate Your Workspace
All you need are some choices like garland, a wreath, ribbons, lights, pine cones, maybe a poinsettia and lots of good cheer. These are the basics and are accepted in most offices and public spaces.
And Now - the Eggnog Recipe We Promised!
What screams the holidays like eggnog? It is an amazingly sweet, creamy, tantalizing beverage that usually comes out of a carton to be found in your local supermarket.
Let’s face it, eggnog is probably the ultimate comfort food. But where did it originate? Roughly translated, eggnog means “egg inside a cup.” Historians believe that it evolved from an English drink called “posset”. The posset contains eggs, cream, wine or other spirits. Once it found its way to America, a new and improved version was developed. The new version contained rum (because rum was really the only spirit we had in the “New World”. The brew was later renamed “grog,” which over time turned into “egg and grog” and ultimately into today’s term, “eggnog”. It is traditionally made with milk and/or cream, sugar, beaten eggs (to give it a frothy texture), and a liquor (rum or brandy). The finished heavenly beverage is then garnished with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or nutmeg. The end result - holiday in a cup!
Traditional Eggnog
Ingredients:
12 Eggs, separated
6 c. Milk
2 c. Heavy/Thickened Cream
2 c. Rum
1 1/2 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
Directions:
In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat the egg yolks together with the sugar for approx. 10 minutes (you want the mixture to be firm and the color of butter). Very slowly add in the rum — a little at a time. Once the rum has been added, allow the mixture to cool in the fridge (for up to six hours). Thirty minutes before your guests arrive, stir milk into the chilled yolk mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 tsp. of ground nutmeg. In a separate bowl beat the cream with a mixer on high speed until the cream forms stiff peaks. In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold the cream into the egg mixture. After ladling into cups, garnish with the remainder of ground nutmeg.
Happy New Year – See You in 2019!
We are looking forward to 2019 as we have lots of new products in store and online. New bra styles and colors, accessory options, new shapewear, lingerie....and that’s just to begin with!
We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and we wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2019!