Monday, December 24, 2012
The Christmas Countdown is now complete. All that is left is double and triple checking our to-do lists and waiting for the jolly old elf to finish his rounds.
And now, the complete 12 Days of Christmas – Patch style. On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, news that Santa's coming, a checklist for safekeeping, silver to be shining, chances for romancing, stockings for stuffing, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. With the gifts wrapped, silver polished, seasonal charity donation made and house decorated, all that is left to do is wait for the man of hour – Santa Claus. At some distant point on the globe jolly old St. Nick has already started his Christmas Eve journey. He'll be expecting his traditional snack of cookies and milk beside the…
Sunday, December 23, 2012
T-minus two days to Christmas, and our list of pre-Christmas chores is almost complete. Today, we're checking our grocery and gift lists twice before stores close for the holidays!
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a checklist for safekeeping, silver to be shining, chances for romancing, stockings for stuffing, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. There are few things worse than the realization on Christmas Day that you have forgotten a vital ingredient for your holiday feast. Somehow, with all the hustle and bustle of pre-holiday preparations, the whipped cream, black olives, extra case of butter, or rolls for dinner never seem to make it into your shopping cart. Hopefully, this article catches you in time to double check your grocery and gift lists and…
Saturday, December 22, 2012
We're in the final stretch now, and pretty close to finishing up our list of pre-Christmas chores. Today, we're making that holiday silver shine.
On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, silver to be shining, chances for romancing, stockings for stuffing, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. In my house, the good china and silver is brought out exactly 2.5 times a year – Thanksgiving, Christmas and on the rare occasion when every other fork and bowl seems to be in the dishwasher. Whether the set of fine china was a wedding present, or the silver a family heirloom, these items are pretty special and need extra special care to preserve their gleam for years to come. Sterling Silver Now, if you don't have silver polish on hand, you…
Friday, December 21, 2012
We're almost there, so stay tuned as we continue to double check our list of pre-Christmas chores to keep the holiday on track. Today, we turn our focus from decorating with mistletoe, to what goes on underneath it.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, chances for romancing, stockings for stuffing, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. Ask any parent why they go all out for the holidays and they'll more than likely tell you it's for the kids. The credit card debt, sugar comas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer marathons are all willing sacrifices made for those cherub-cheeked youngsters. But somewhere between assembling the new toys and sitting through that movie about chipmunks for the third time, mom and dad need to carve out a little time for themselves ... a little time for romance. While …
42.628542
-82.938876
Biggby Coffee
18309 Hall Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-9
1652980
/locations/8429332
42.62897
-82.91903
Aspen Restaurant
20333 Hall Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-9
1652352
/locations/8429333
Thursday, December 20, 2012
We're halfway there, so stay tuned as we continue to double check our list of pre-Christmas chores to keep the holiday on track. Today, stocking stuffers.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, stockings for stuffing, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. If your family is anything like mine, most of the gifts go under the tree and the stockings are simply an afterthought. Hand-knitted by relatives I don't really remember, our stockings are more for show, hanging off our mantle on the strength of thumbtacks. But not this year. This year I will see those stockings stuffed if it's the last thing I do. While tradition dictates St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, fill the stockings. I don't think he'll be too upset if we help him distribute the…
42.67316
-82.89715
Walgreens Pharmacies
21828 23 Mile Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-8-51198350
1652367
/locations/8417830
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
We're past the halfway point, so stay tuned as we continue to double check our list of pre-Christmas chores to keep the holiday on track. Today, we trim.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, greens for the trimming, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules ... "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. It wasn’t until Christmas break from my first year of college that I realized the importance of trimming – and no, I’m not referring to losing my freshman 15. With the first semester of classes over, and my eyesight slightly worse for wear, I was planning to spend the first half of my break sleeping. Sure I wanted to decorate the tree and bake a few dozen cookies, but was I in the “Christmas mood”? Not really. Call it a Christmas miracle, but I found the spirit of the season somewhere between dragging my …
42.64727
-82.93665
Ray Wiegand's Nursery
47747 Romeo Plank Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-7
1652479
/locations/8410138
42.671932
-82.940609
CVS
51000 Romeo Plank Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-7
1652913
/locations/8410139
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
We're halfway there, so stay tuned as we continue to double check our list of pre-Christmas chores to keep the holiday on track. Today, it's those bite-size holiday favorites – cookies!
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, cookies a-baking ... five golden rules, "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. There's just something about this season that lends itself to baking. Maybe it's the holiday memories and traditions associated with the kitchen. In my house, the week before Christmas is cookie time. We don't have the time to make dozens of different cookies on Christmas Eve and there wouldn't be any left if we made them too far in advance, so the week before it is. While everyone has their own family recipes and dietary restrictions, there is really only one secret to amazing cookies. It's butter. Not margarine, not shortening ... …
Monday, December 17, 2012
We're counting down the days and double checking our list of chores pre-Christmas. Follow along and add your own tricks to keep this holiday on track. Today it's '5 Golden Rules!'
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five golden rules, "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. For those of you thinking, "There's more than one golden rule?" thank goodness we've reached you in time. If you're familiar with Hall Road, you've probably realized that the treat-others-as-you-would-wish-to-be-treated sentiment is not often applied on a day-to-day basis and almost never during the holiday season. Somehow amid the sales, wrapping paper, snow and overeating, the everyday niceties – also known as manners – disappear. If only during the holiday season, try to use a few of these "golden rules." You never know, it might become a habit and you'…
Sunday, December 16, 2012
We're counting down the days and double checking our list of chores pre-Christmas. Follow along and add your own tricks to keep this holiday on track. Today we plan the Christmas bash.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jenny Whalen
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Sunday, December 16, 2012
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, "You're Invited!" cards, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. The wonderful thing about the holiday season is that while everybody claims to not have a minute to spare, hardly anyone turns down an invite to see your tree and splurge on a little free wine and cheese. Let's face it, even Scrooge ended up attending his family's party. While it probaby won't take the spirits of Christmas past, present and future to bring guests to your soiree, advanced notice will. Invites Christmas tends to bring out the old-fashioned bit in all of us, be it with snail mailed Christmas cards or hand-written invitations. Although an e-invite or phone …
42.643624
-82.901306
Werner's Hallmark Card Shop
21509 21 Mile Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-4
1652750
/locations/8393114
Saturday, December 15, 2012
We're counting down the days and double checking our list of chores pre-Christmas. Follow along and add your own tricks to keep this holiday on track. Today, we peruse a few inexpensive, but thoughtful gifts for friends.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, gifts for my friends, ways to spread the love and a little time reserved just for me. According to a wise man by the name of Elbert Hubard, "Your friend is the (one) who knows all about you, and still likes you." That in itself is reason enough to make a select few worthy of some holiday trinket. Whether it's a Secret Santa exchange, or simply a price limit to keep the giving fair and friendly, a gift swap among friends doesn't have to be an expensive, arduous process. A little creativity and the know-how of where to look are all you need. Believe it or not, stores like ACO Hardware, Walgreens and Target are great stops to shop these trinket treasures. Carrying a variety of candles…
42.643642
-82.900575
Kroger Food and Pharmacy
21555 21 Mile Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-3
1652775
/locations/8386330
42.642231
-82.95483
ACO Hardware
16752 21 Mile Rd, Macomb, MI
/articles/the-12-days-of-christmas-countdown-day-3
1652216
/locations/8386331
Jenny Whalen
4:17 pm on Sunday, December 18, 2011
You threw me with the potato chips, but I can definitely see that working with the sweetness of the chocolate, and of course, anytime PB and chocolate are combined it's good. Thanks! more ›