I once gave a friend a birthday card that said, “A fun party is one where you leave with your underwear on your head, but a GREAT party is when you leave with someone ELSE’S!” Ok, so this tip isn’t about underwear but it is about parties and head-wear.

This was a last minute addition to my little girls birthday decorations. It didn’t even occur to me to have a birthday hat for her until the afternoon of her birthday. Luckily I had everything on hand to whip one up!

Here’s the lowdown:

1. Cut a half circle out of 12×12 cardstock. The half circles radius should be at least 6 inches.

2. Roll into a cone and mark the front center and where the edge overlaps.

3. Use a pencil to write/draw a message on the front where you marked the center. In my case I made a big 1 and BIRTHDAY underneath. I added a little glitter to the number to make it stand out.

4. While waiting for the glitter to dry, make the topping ribbons. Two types of ribbon in various colors will add a lot of interest to the hat. Cut about 6 strips into 4 inch lengths. Tie in the middle and then tape the tails to the inside center so that it will stick out of the point.

5. Use glue or double sided tape to hold the hat together. Place a heavy object inside the hat, with the glue/taped side down to secure.

6. Punch two holes on the sides for securing the hat on the wearer. I used ribbon but think elastic would have been a better choice.  Attach the string through the holes.

7. Using double sided tape, tape a 1/2 inch width ribbon to the rim of the hat.

These would make great New Years Eve hats too!

My little ones first Christmas card photo!

My family has quite a few holiday traditions and now with my own little one I hope to continue those and start a few new ones that we can continue through the years. Last year she was only 4 weeks old so while she celebrated Christmas she didn’t get to participate in any of it. While she’s not old enough to understand Christmas I believe she does know that it’s a special time of year.

For as long as I can remember my family has had the same Christmas tradition. All morning my mom would be preparing pho (Vietnamese soup) for our after mass dinner. Before we left for mass my mom would line us up in front of the tree and take photos in the new Christmas outfits my mom had gotten for us. After mass we would head home to devour the Pho and open gifts.  We were either too impatient to wait until morning or my parents didn’t want to wake up early with us! (As a new mom, I think it’s the later one!)

After my brother was born (he’s 10 years younger then me) he started his own tradition and got to open one gift on Christmas Eve morning. After the gifts we would light a fire and play with our gifts or watch a movie. Then we would leave out the cookies and milk for santa before heading to bed.

On Christmas morning we would wake up and race out to see what Santa had left us in our stockings. To this day we still have pho and open gifts at my mom’s house after mass.

With such fond memories of my family Christmas I hope to provide the same for my kid as well as starting a few of our own traditions. Such as:

1. Buying a new ornament or adding to our snow village each year. My husband and I have been doing this since we got married.

2. Baking cookies on Christmas eve. Gingerbread cookies are one of my favorites and I love having them to munch on during the holidays.

3. Making and using an advent calendar.

4. Decorating the house and tree with home made crafts and decorations.

I love this time of year - everyone’s into the holiday spirit, and even with how busy things can get, it’s fun to be part of the hustle and bustle. But what I enjoy the most is a reason to eat whatever I want without feeling super guilty about it…it is after all the holidays, right?

Food makes the holidays more festive, and I’d like to share some of my favorites (recipes courtesy of some Food Network hosts and other well known folks you may know!). This would be my ultimate holiday feast:

Spinach artichoke dip – this is a super quick and easy dip to start any holiday party. Who can say no to a recipe that takes only 5 minutes?!

Spiced pita chips – I’m actually making this on Saturday for a little get together at the house. Will go great with the dip.

Bay and lemon brined turkey – I made this for Thanksgiving for the past four years and have not been disappointed yet! The only thing I changed this year was adding apple cider to the brine. I really do think it made it even more flavorful!

Green bean casserole – I introduced this to my husband’s family a couple of years ago and it’s one dish that they’ve requested year after year! You can’t have turkey without your green bean casserole

Pumpkin cheesecake – Although I’ve never actually made this incredibly delicious cheesecake, my sister has (she even made it for me on the day my son was born!). This has got to be #1 on my list of holiday desserts. Maybe I’ll attempt to make it next year…

Balsamic chocolate truffles – I made these as gifts last year to give to friends and neighbors…they were a big hit!

During these challenging economic times, embe would like to spread some holiday cheer. We’d like your help to find a lucky recipient of an embe gift package which includes their choice of a select embe item from our catalog, a set of homemade note cards and a choice of knitting needles or crochet hooks. It’s our way of spreading a little holiday spirit! Nominate someone today!

We will accept nominations through December 4, 2009. The recipient will be notified by email.