Here are some special ideas for gift giving, decorating, entertaining and more to help you celebrate.
Spice up a gift of coffee by creating a distinctive flavor. Mix 1 or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon or nutmeg into a pound of freshly ground coffee beans, or scrape the seeds from four vanilla beans with a paring knife, and add them to a pound of coffee. For the best flavor, use a medium-bodied coffee from Kenya or Colombia.
Scoop the mix into a coffee bag with a coated lining, available at kitchen-supply stores. Finish with a ribbon and a decorative sticker.
Candy-shop gifts
Collect peanut butter, jelly and olive jars – or buy inexpensive containers at a discount store – and fill them with treats for loved ones. Select peppermint sticks, jelly beans, chocolate straws, jawbreakers, foil-wrapped chocolates and other colorful candy. Layer them in a jar or arrange them to form patterns.
Coat metal lids with red spray paint (working in a well-ventilated area); cover plastic tops with decorative paper. Finish packages with ribbon and gift tags.
Let the garden inspire your holiday decorating: Display ornaments under a garden cloche – a bell-shape glass cover that functions as a miniature greenhouse for outdoor plants. (You can buy them at garden centers.) Filled with sparkly trimmings, each will add radiance to any tabletop.
To fill, turn a cloche upside down and balance it inside a cup. Place ornaments, then invert a plate over the open end. Carefully turn cloche and plate right side up, and display.
Garland trick
The best material for stringing cranberry or popcorn garlands is inside your medicine cabinet. Waxed dental floss is strong and slick, so cranberries and popcorn will slide on easily. Knot one end of a piece of floss, and thread a needle onto the other. Pierce through items, and slip them on.
Hanging wreaths without making holes
By suspending your holiday wreath from the top edge of the door rather than the front, you can avoid making unsightly holes in your woodwork. Cut a piece of 3-inch-wide satin ribbon that’s long enough, when doubled, to hang the wreath at the desired height. Loop ribbon around back of wreath form itself. Join ribbon ends, and fold them over 1/2 inch. Secure to top edge of door with a few thumb tacks.
Use sherry glasses to build a luminous menorah throughout the eight nights of Hanukkah. Fill each vessel with a handful of clear glass beads, and stand a dripless silver menorah candle in each glass. The ninth candle, the shammes – the one used to light all the others – should stand at the center in a slightly larger goblet. Display in a staggered line atop a white lace cloth.
The long, flexible neck of an automotive funnel, available at auto-supply stores, can give you access to a hard-to-reach tree stand. Rest the funnel’s tip in the stand, and use a measuring cup to pour water from funnel to stand. Place a kitchen towel below the funnel to protect your tree skirt from drips.
Gift bags of dreidels and chocolate gelt are even more of a treat when the bags are made from velvet and embossed with symbols of Hanukkah.
Cut a 5-by-15-inch piece of velvet. Fold it in half, right sides facing, and sew a tight zigzag stitch up both sides. Fold top edge over twice and hem.
Pick a decorative rubber stamp, such as a menorah print. With the velvet pouch still inside out, place stamp inside, against fabric. Spray pouch with water where it will be embossed. Using an iron set on high, press fabric for 30 seconds. Turn right side out.
Add a minty surprise to hot chocolate or coffee. Pulverize two or three candy canes in a food processor or spice grinder. Fold a few spoonfuls of the powder into fresh whipped cream – about 3 tablespoons of peppermint per cup of cream. Spoon dollops of the pink cream on hot beverages and desserts. You may never go back to the plain variety.
In the whirl of holiday parties, several pieces of your china may wind up in the kitchens of family and friends, after bearing your contribution to the buffet table. Help your hosts keep track of dishes by using a label maker to make an identifying adhesive tag, or tape a label to the bottom with your name and number written with waterproof marker. Be sure to make note of any accompanying flatware.
Countdown with champagne flutes
When you’re waiting for midnight on New Year’s Eve, pass champagne in glasses marked with numbers representing those final 10 seconds. Self-stick numbers, available in office- and art-supply stores, jazz up flutes for the occasion. On Jan. 2, you can either peel off the numbers (use a cotton ball and adhesive remover to wipe away residue) or save the flutes for next year.
Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036. E-mail mslletters@marthastewart.com.
2005 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
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