The holidays may be the most exciting time of the year with all of the countless parties and cheerful decorations lighting up our streets, but it is also the most stressful time of the year. After all of the sugary cocktails and sweet treats we've enjoyed these past few weeks, it's no surprise that January is the month of dieting and relaxation. It's the perfect time to give our bodies a break from all that salt and sugar that we've been stuffing into it, and most importantly - take a break from our hectic, stress-filled lives. That's why I was so thrilled to find that so many busy bloggers have taken the time to provide us with some great DIY ideas for the perfect Spa day at home!
Celebrate This: Jersey Shore Season Premier
All you guidos and guidettes out there get ready because tonight the whole crew returns for Season 5 of the Jersey Shore. Everyone at Celebrations is evening out their spray tan, and perfecting their poufs in preparation for tonight's season premier. How do we plan to celebrate, you ask? How does a big, saucy Italian dinner sound? Dine Joisey style with recipes that are so good they have to be bad, unlike the hit show that's so bad it's good!
Quiz time: what fruity concoction does Ronnie "Ron-Ron" Ortiz-Magro mix up before hitting the club for a night of fist-pumping and Red Bull pounding? Answer: Ron-Ron Juice. Get the party started early with this pre-game cocktail recipe from Kaysie Norman. Abuelo's Ron-Ron Juice is equal parts Ron Abuelo Aejo and cranberry juice with a whole lot of Joisey juice mixed in.
The ladies of the Shore may have 'meatball problems', but this right here is a meaty solution to a hungry crowd. Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce is a tangy, rich dish that treats the taste buds to authentic Italian, even if the famed television show can't promise the same!
Unfortunately for those new to the Shore they've yet to come out with a subtitles setting for translating Shore-Speak. Luckily, honorary guidette Kaysie Norman has prepared this go-to Vocab Guide to keep us all fluent in the language of the Jersey Shore.
Celebrate This: To Your Health
It's no coincidence that Stay Healthy Month just happens to be the same month where we find ourselves holding one hand to heart while the other clutches an empty champagne bottle, resolving to never pick up another cheese danish again or to quit smoking, etc., etc. This month-wide holiday serves to promote mental and physical health while also gingerly reminding us of our New Year's resolutions. Here at Celebrations we are supportive of you and your goals, whether they are to run a 10k every other day or to finally crack open one of the many vegan cookbooks you're hoarding on your shelf. Here we have some fab ways to keep yourself motivated to think, act and eat healthy in 2012.
Celebrate This: The Great Fruitcake Toss
Got a rock-hard, flavorless fruitcake sitting on your kitchen counter 'cause your next door neighbor was a little too neighborly this holiday? Toss it! Got a too-tiny knit sweater that your Aunt Alma made especially for you because she's convinced you're still in the third grade? Toss it! Okay, so the cake might get more air, but it might make you feel just as good to fling the sweater through the air like you jus' don't care. The Great Fruitcake Toss is Generation Y holiday formed in rebellion of our parents and grandparents' love for the Christmas letdown that masquerades as cake. There is something so satisfying about tossing, catapulting, hurling or kicking the fruity brick of a cake, so much so that there is now a holiday institutionalizing it.
Celebrate This: National Buffet Day
Okay, okay, I know when prompted with the word "buffet" many of you, myself included, don't hesitate to travel to a lurid place, filled with all you can eat General Tso's chick and the saddest jell-o one's ever seen. In the world of party planning "all you can eat" or "help yourself" don't have to be red flags for low quality and lackluster dining experiences. Mainstream hostesses like Martha Stewart have made buffets an easy, yet elegant way to feed the masses and ensure that there really is something for everyone. From candy displays to all-you-can-eat appetizers, we've got some brilliant buffet ideas that won't leave your with raging indigestion.
Celebrations Circle: A Toast to the New Year!
As you may have already guests, New Years Eve is one of our favorite holidays at Celebrations. And why wouldn't it be? It gives us a reason to get together with our closest friends, while eating tasty desserts and sipping on some fabulous cocktails! Plus, we'll take any excuse to get all dressed up! And of course, any New Years celebrations requires some serious preparation. I've rounded up some of favorite New Years Eve ideas from some fantastic blogs this week to help make your party planning a cinch!
Celebrate This: The Final Countdown
Some say how you ring in the new year is telling of days to come— superstitious or not, it never hurts to kick of the year with a little style and pizazz, and lucky for you we have just thing to get twenty-twelve off on the right, well-grounded foot.
Celebrate This: National Chocolate Candy Day
Today's the day when you finally get to sit back, relax and enjoy the contents of your stocking. Whether it's Lindor truffles or edible coal you find wedged between that new nail polish you've been coveting and a Sephora giftcard, what day better than National Chocolate Candy Day to get to nibbling on the even sweeter stocking stuffers. If you've already devoured your holiday candy stash, but need some sweet ideas for your upcoming New Year's Eve bash, then look no further than these candy-coated ideas from yours truly and the Celebrations team.
Send off 2011 with style and grace by hosting a Wine and Chocolate Party. Celebrations contributor and chocoholic, Mindy Corbin has prepared this helpful guide for pairing your favorite chocolate treats with wines that will compliment their unique flavors and send endorphins on a wild ride.
Celebrate This: Holidays with the Stars
If you peeked in the windows of celeb estates what would you see? Bedazzled trees? Fabulous feasts? Find out how the stars celebrated the holidays this year.
