Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  I have a new favorite site - HelloGiggles, and as I was browsing the site this morning, I found this fantastic craft idea and blog post by Charlotte Townsend and thought I'd share. 

I'm more of a New Year goal setter rather than resolution maker.  I find that I tend to rise to the challenge more of goals; resolutions seem a bit too... resolute to me.  And as Charlotte points out, I usually find that if I try to make 'resolutions' they are too often filled with negative words "stop ____ ing" or "be better at ____".  Goals, for me, encourage and inspire me to do positive and better things that I know I'm capable of.  This craft project is a great way to get into a positive and invigorated mindset, not to mention super cute!  I will definitely be trying my hand at this project this weekend and looking to it throughout the year for encouragement and inspiration - both things that I hope 2012 holds in store for you!

Guest Blog! A few favorite holiday things from my Mom

Merry Christmas!  I have another guest blogger - my mom!  As a fantastic and creative forger of making holidays bright, I asked my mom to write about a few of her favorite Christmas things, and as Christmas night comes to a close I wanted to post her blog to share with you all, to give you food for thought for this year and for the years to come!  Happy Holidays!

When my daughter asked me to write a contribution to her blog about  favorite Christmas things, I confess:  I procrastinated.  Not because I didn't want to be cooperative, but honestly, because I didn't know where to start.  There really isn't much I don't like about the holidays, except that I rarely have all the energy to do all of everything I would like to do. Having served as a pastor, I am used to writing three point sermons, it would be natural to come up with my top three favorite things but I don't think I want to go there.  I'll just start in and see where I end up.

First of all, my very most favorite part of the holidays are CHILDREN.  I love seeing the joy of little ones this time of year... their wonder, excitement and enthusiasm.  I love seeing them dressed up in their special occasion clothes: hairbows and shiny shoes, luxury fabrics we wouldn't dare dress them in any other time of year, jingle bells and reindeer sweaters and all kinds of silliness. Children are the reason for the holidays... why we pass on our traditions and beliefs and share our history and hopes for the future.

Christmas cookies are another yuletide favorite of mine, maybe because all children love cookies.  My love of cookies began with both of my wonderful grandmothers and the love of baking and cooking they shared with me.  I have accumulated a mountain of cookie cutters and cookbooks, and Christmas cookbooks and magazines are almost an obsession.  I rarely end up making all the cookies and candies I have ear-marked but, like children looking at toys in the * Wish Book, I spend hours choosing my favorites for this year.  (* OK, I know most of you will be too young to remember this but every year, Sears used to put out a Christmas catalog and the back half of the book was always devoted to TOYS.  It would arrive in the mailbox shortly after back-to-school and the cover was worn off by Thanksgiving.)

Christmas customs and traditions are another favorite of mine.  Every family has their own.  I love the ones my family has chosen as our own and am always up for trying a new one.  In our family, a tradition is anything we have done at least once and enjoyed.  Over the years we have celebrated St. Nicholas Day in the Dutch fashion, St. Lucia's Day in the Swedish fashion, Christmas Tea in the afternoon and dinner in the English style with Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and Trifle. Our Christmas Eve suppers have varied from the New England Clam Chowder to Swiss Raclette and sometimes our Mexican favorites including Ensalada de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Salad with orange slices and pomegranate seeds).  Customs and traditions are great if they are handed down from generation to generation, but they also just as much fun if they come from a friend, a magazine article or the Food Network.

There is no end to the things I love about the season but I will just close by adding one last holiday favorite of mine: Christmas Carols.  I pull out the Christmas music (sheet music and CDs) before the last of the Halloween candy is eaten.  Because I have had piano students for the last 20 years, "we" start practicing carols the first of November, and most years ended with a Christmas recital. I love introducing my students to new carols and teaching them the stories of how our favorite carols came to be.   I remember the year my daughter first played Carol of the Bells (beautifully, I might add!) and the year my son and I played a trumpet-piano duet.   And then there were many years of carols in church: The Hanging of the Greens, the Service of Lessons and Carols in the chapel of San Francisco Theological Seminary,  watching the children's choirs in the white robes and big red bows, trumpet duets performed by Son and Friend, Sunday School Pageants, caroling in the nursing homes and homes of shut-ins, and sitting with  big wooly gloves on and rubbing my fingers so they would stay warm enough to play Silent Night by candlelight  at the close of Christmas Eve Service.  Every year was different but, miraculously, every year is the same.  And I love every minute of the entire season.  

Guest Blog! Giving Ideas from Janice

Well, the countdown to the holidays has officially begun.  The malls are crazy crowded, online stores are dishing out the last minute offers, and people are in a frenzy of wrapping and crossing their fingers that mailed gifts arrive on time.  Amidst all the craziness, my good friend Janice (and author of Pretty Ponderations) has put together a handy list of ideas to help you make it through.  She shares her ideas with The Ballerina Birthday in this blog, thanks Janice!  And make sure you read all the way to the end... there's a surprise offer waiting for you!

There are many types of holiday shoppers.

•  the online shopper: who actually follows the gift guides that instruct you on what to buy for “chic celine” or the “adventurous adam”
•  the planner: who knows what they want to get people by early fall and spends three months gathering the goods
•   the suggestion-maker: who buys you a pot when you don’t know how to cook
•      the clueless: who buys you a colander, thinking it’s a pot
•    the procrastinator: who is reading this a mere four days before Christmas, wondering what to do now?!?!

I am a planner, and annoyingly so. The day before Thanksgiving all of the presents were wrapped and just awaiting a tree. But in an attempt to be less annoying I have some last-minute gift ideas that can complement a variety of people. And here they are:

• Give creatively. Specifically, make a collage because it is the easiest DIY project that there is. Feel free to steal my idea – cut up the ugly wrapping paper that is “so last year” and use elmers glue to collage it. Or to steer away from holiday, print out a bunch of facebook pictures and collage the pics in a picture frame.
• Give calories. Buy the premade cookie dough from Safeway and bake it. If you’re lazy, get the rolls that have the designs in the middle. If you’re ambitious, mix milk + powdered sugar + food coloring and make your own royal icing and decorate away!
• Give coffee. Starbucks gift cards, done.
• Give convenience. Buy someone an Amazon Prime membership. It will change their lives because they will have access to thousands of products on Amazon for two-day shipping FOR FREE.
• Give Gilt. Full disclaimer, I work for Gilt Groupe. But I feel that for the amount of shopping that I do on Gilt Groupe I am within my rights to shamelessly plug my company. If you’ve already missed the shipping deadlines, go on giltcity.com and gift an experience to your fancy friends! And just because you are Ballerina Blog fan, click this link to get 25% off your next order:  http://www.giltcity.com/sigma 

Happy Holidays! 

It's A Wrap 2.0

I forgot to include one of the cutest wrapping items in my last blog!  For my mom's birthday I found this adorable gift bag at Cost Plus and filled it with her birthday goodies.  My mom shares my love of Spanish and Flamenco dance and was my biggest supporter when I was dancing with a Flamenco dance company. So this bag was perfect for her, and a bit Christmassy and definitely fun and festive with the polka dots.

I love Cost Plus, they always have fun and interesting things, especially around the holidays.  Their gift wrap section is great as well, from chinese take out style boxes, hand painted wrapping paper and a variety of bows and bags, it's a great place to find some wrapping inspiration!

It's a Wrap!

'Tis the season for wrapping!  And I do love a nicely wrapped gift.  I've only ever met a few others with the same penchant for nice wrapping as myself (ahem... Mom and Janice).  If you're wrapping a ballerina birthday gift, a Christmas or Hanukkah gift, a well presented package is just so... fun!  So, with the season of wrapping around us, I thought I'd share a few jobs that I did with you all.

For my package to my brother and family I used a traditional ribbon and bow (love this red with white).  I'm a big fan of silver as a holiday color, and thought the red popped nicely.

You know how one acquires those leftover wrapping bits?  Bows, curly ribbon and decorative tags that you just can't bear to toss out?  Well I have those in spades, but I also have a vast amount of leftover tulle from my tutu making projects.  I thought wrapping would be a great way to put those pieces to use!  Tulle is nice and can have a nice wintery and delicate feeling as a bow.  Here is a traditional pinkish white version, and a more bold black and red one.  The picture doesn't show it, but that black tulle actually has some sparkle to it!

If you have any fun wrapping ideas I'd love to hear them!  E-mail me at: theballerinabirthday@gmail.com to share!

Nutcrackers on Parade

To say that my family has a collection of Nutcrackers may be an understatement.  'Brigade' or 'Regiment' might be more appropriate.  Like I suppose all collections do, our Nutcracker collection started as a modest appreciation for the craftsmanship and as I grew up and became more involved in dance and my own performances of The Nutcracker, our collection increased to include a Mouse King nutcracker to commemorate the year I played a mouse, or a fly fisherman Nutcracker to include my dad's love of the hobby.  One summer I spent touring Europe with my high school choir I bought a beautifully carved and pristinely white snowflake Nutcracker from the homeland of Nutcrackers, Germany.

The Magic of Nutcracker website has some interesting facts on the history of these wooden creations:

"According to German folklore, nutcrackers were given as keepsakes to bring good luck to your family and protect your home. The legend says that a nutcracker represents power and strength and serves like a trusty watch dog guarding your family from evil spirits and danger. A fierce protector, the nutcracker bares its teeth to the evil spirits and serves as the traditional messenger of good luck and goodwill."

Our collection has gotten too big to house on just one or two shelves during the holidays when we pull out our festive decor. They've invaded many nooks and crannies, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.  If you have a budding ballerina who can't get enough of The Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairies, and the like, you may find yourself in the market to start your own collection, or if not, they are always just a fun and festive decoration to deck the halls!

A selection of the brigade....

Firefighters Pirates and Soldiers, oh my!

The two on horses are two of my favorites, they're rather rare and these two keep each other good company

The Snowflake Nutcracker from Germany and one of my favorite "squatty body" Nutcrackers purchased at a Sacramento Ballet Nutcracker performance years ago.

Minis from many nations...

Decking the mantle...