Cheers to 2013!

Send out 2012 with one final hurrah this year. Host a new year’s fete to remember with a few of our favorite tips!

Deck the Halls

Photo Credit: http://nyshowplace.com

Leave a few choice holiday decorations up for the extra week—a Christmas tree and string of lights add a festive touch, but add a little more glamour. Mini disco balls strategically strung around the party area set the proper mood. 

Maintain Culinary Simplicity

Skip the dinner hour. Kick off the festivities at 8 or 9 p.m., and make it a dessert and cocktail party. Either provide 3-4 simple desserts—cookies, brownies, trifles—or ask everyone to bring one of their favorites. Here’s an easy recipe we like for celebratory occasions:

Sparkling Glazed Apple Cider Pound Cake

Source: Chef in Training

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened                                                                    
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. butter extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sparkling cider

. GLAZE .

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup sparkling cider

Instructions

1. Cream butter, shortening and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time along with the butter extract.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, baking powder, and flour and stir to evenly combine. Add alternately with 1/2 cup sparkling cider to the wet ingredients and beat until well incorporated.
4. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk sparkling cider and powdered sugar until smooth consistency is reached. Poor over cooled pound cake.

Easy Bartending

Don’t waste the party tending bar for your guests—they can manage just fine on their own. Purchase enough wine and beer for everyone, but keep the liquors and mixers simple. Purchase soda water, tonic water, cranberry juice and ginger ale, and have a bottle of vodka, gin, and bourbon available for people to mix their own favorites.

Cue up the Countdown

Photo credit: http://www.thedailygreen.com

Turn on Dick Clark just before midnight, and get the volume cranked up so everyone can hear it. Pass out cheap noise -makers and “Happy New Year” headbands, and encourage everyone to countdown to midnight together. 

We are looking forward to enjoying some New Year’s cheer next week, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013. Happy New Year from all your friends at Hillsdale Furniture! 

Happy Holidays!!!!

Background photo credit: http://www.seoclerks.com/imagedb/2414/Christmas-Red

Banish the Holiday Blues

This time of year it is easy to get overwhelmed, over-anxious, and over stimulated.  With all of the gift wrapping, tree trimming, light viewing and party hopping, it can be difficult to find a moment to really revel in that holiday spirit. Here are a few of our favorite ways to chase away those holiday blues, and really enjoy the season:

Globe Trotting

Photo: http://avacationrentals.blogspot.com/

No better way to decompress than to skip town and holiday obligations all together. Save that cash that might have gone to fancy gifts and hosting a holiday shindig and book a weekend (or longer) getaway. Groupon and other deal sites often offer great deals on last minute plans to such places as the Riviera Maya in Mexico, the Virgin Islands, and California wine country. Or just book yourself into a plush local hotel for a night and imagine you’re farther afield.   

Take a Hike

Photo:  http://www.salzburgersportwelt.com/

We don’t always think of getting outdoors in the wintertime, but hiking somewhere scenic in the brisk air at twilight is one of life’s simple pleasures. Bundle up, load up your iPod with some of your favorite holiday tunes, and hit the local trail. Or just hit up your local tree farm, wander the rows for a bit, and revel in that iconic Christmas scent. 

Movie Night

Plan a special evening for only your nearest and dearest, and one that everyone can attend in their pajamas. Cue up everyone’s favorite holiday film—we like “Elf” since we’ll never be able to get enough Will Ferrell in our lives—pop some popcorn, maybe serve some Christmas cookies and milk, and snuggle in for a fun night at home. 

Plan Ahead

Photo: http://www.erincondren.com

Mentally skip a few months ahead, and start planning for 2013. Bust out a fresh calendar or planner (we love the Life Planners from ErinCondren.com), and start planning out how great 2013 is going to be. Book a summer vacation, start setting lunch dates and choose a date to host a non-holiday get together for your closest pals. 

Treat Yourself

Photo: http://www.erincondren.com

Your favorite shops, both of the online and brick-and-mortar sort, are full of deals and sales this time of year. In an effort to entice your gift giving dollars, cries of 20% off, BOGO and “gift with purchase” are not uncommon. Have your eye on something special that Santa may or may not know about? Have at it. Take a moment to reward yourself. 

Season's Greetings!

Tis the season. Soon your mailbox will be brimming with holiday cards and greetings from your closest family and friends (if it isn’t already). It’s not too late to mail your own, and we wanted to share a few of the most stylish, and well-designed, options gracing online stationers this year.

Holiday Wishes

Classic Christmas cards never fail. Here’s a few with some serious Santa-style.

New Year’s Cheer

The Happy New Year greeting card is one of our favorite recent inventions. It’s perfect for those who might be a little behind on getting the holidays wrapped up this year, and is appropriate well into January.

 

Custom Creations

There’s still just enough time to get a little creative and get something custom out the door. Here are a few of our favorite templates for your holiday photos and special messages.

We love holiday cards at Hillsdale Furniture, and we’d love to see what you chose this year. Share an image on our Facebook page of your 2012 edition, and we’ll show you ours. 

Happy stamping!