happy, happy

Happy new year from all of your friends at Evite! We wish you good health, great parties and all the best in 2009.

take two: champagne primer

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Planning on picking up a bottle of bubbly for New Year's Eve? If you're somewhat of a novice in the world of sparkling wine (like me), you must read Eva's champagne primer after the jump. For instance, did you know that extra-dry is sweeter than brut? (Seriously!) So study up before party time, and you'll have the added bonus of getting to wow some guests with a little wine wisdom.

get calculated

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Picture this: You're having a big party. (A New Year's Eve party, perhaps?) You're standing in the liquor store with a basket full of bottles, but you have no idea how much will actually suffice. You overbuy, fearing what would happen if you ran out mid-party. After the party, you've got enough alcohol left to supply a medium-sized happy hour. Well, meet your new best friend — the Evite Drink Calculator.

Here's how it works:

1. Plug in how many hours you're expecting your party to last.
2. Enter the number of guests who are coming. (You can divide them by how heavily they drink, or just put your total guest count in "Average Drinkers" — it usually evens out.)
3. Check off the type of drinks you're serving.

The Drink Calculator spits out an astoundingly accurate tally of how many bottles of what you should buy. Genius!

take two: christmas tree burning party

Now that Christmas is over, what will become of your tree? Some people think it's good luck to leave it up until the New Year. Others strip their trees immediately, apparently having had their fill of pine needles and the awkward rearrangement of the living room furniture. No matter when you plan to take your tree down, consider doing what Elizabeth and her friends did last year, and turn your tree disposal into a party.

Keep reading after the jump to find out exactly how she and her friends used their Christmas trees to fuel a festive bonfire, complete with bongo drums and s'mores.

question of the week: christmas plans

Christmas is here! The stockings have been emptied; the presents are all opened. Now what? It seems like every family has its own tradition for how to spend Christmas day. Some people stay at home and relax (lucky!), while others are hopping from house to house, visiting as many of their friends and family as possible.

So whether you're dreaming of a white Christmas or actually living in one, tell us what you'll be doing today. (If you have an interesting family tradition not listed below, tell us in the comments.)

twiigs.com

how to make a peppermint orange sipper

If you’re the kind of parent who doesn’t want your kid getting messy, it’s time to make an exception. Peppermint orange drinks are too painfully cute to pass up during the holidays. They’re so darn easy to make, ultra festive, and kids will get their vitamin C during prime cold season (bonus!), albeit through a candy stick. Hey, you’ve got to let 'em live a little!

All you need is a regular peppermint stick and an orange. I know, you’re skeptical, and so was I when I first tried it, but the peppermint stick really does work as a straw. I have a few tricks to get the juice flowing. And as upset as I am that I didn’t think of this concept myself, I’m just as thrilled that something so inexpensive and basic can bring so much sticky, sugar-fueled joy to little ones. 

take two: crudite christmas tree

Every year around this time, it happens ... I start to max out on all the sweet, heavy, high-calorie holiday foods. I love them all, but there's only so much I can handle before my good cheer turns sour.

Grace's tree-mendous crudité Christmas tree from last year is the perfect antidote. It's cute, clever, crunchy and easy to put together.

Serve it to guests to give them a break from all the sweet stuff, or make one for your family to enjoy on Christmas morning. Want to deck your tree with a little more decadence? Pair it with a rich, creamy dip.

take two: holiday beverage ideas

Baby, it's cold outside. And sometimes only a special holiday beverage can warm us up. On Friday we served you some nice hot toddies. Let us dampen your glasses again with some great holiday drinks Elizabeth whipped up for us last winter:

• This Sugarplum Sherry cocktail sweetened with plum wine makes visions of having more Sugarplum Sherries dance in our wee little heads.
• Wassail away with our beer-based drink, spiced up with cinnamon, cloves and apples.
• Elizabeth went nog wild last year tasting and rating store-bought eggnog to help you pick the one that's right for you.

warm up with a hot toddy

The hot toddy is one of those drinks most people have heard of but few have actually had, making it a perfect unexpected addition to your holiday soiree.

Although the origin of the term hot toddy is unclear, the drink itself has been around since the 18^th century. Since then, hot toddies have achieved legendary status as both an après-ski tipple and a cold remedy — but don’t throw out your cold medicine just yet: Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the body, which is the last thing you want when you have a cold. (If the first thing you want is a hot drink spiked with whiskey, well, who can blame you?)

As it turns out, the hot toddy isn’t just one drink, but rather any hot sweetened beverage made with water and alcohol. And because there isn’t just one recipe, you can be pretty flexible about what you put in yours, depending on what you have on hand.

Skip the lemon juice and let two teabags steep in the mixture instead ... or replace the Scotch with Canadian whiskey, bourbon, rum or brandy ... or try sugar or maple syrup instead of honey ... or add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or even a half stick of butter (hot buttered rum, anyone?) at the end.

You may not know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer — and make a few more for your guests while you’re at it.

chunky monkey bread recipe

Now for my favorite part of the holidays: the desserts! Clearly, I’m screaming out for a job at Ben & Jerry’s because despite the chilly weather, all I want to do is eat ice cream, talk ice cream, and now I’m turning my fave ice cream flavor into a gooey, chocolatey bread.

Monkey bread is a classic holiday treat because 1) you pull it apart with your hands, and that’s just plain fun, and 2) it works for everything: brunch, dessert, kids’ parties, and, frankly, as a late-night snack after one too many hot toddies. But can perfection be improved upon? In my opinion, yes!

Chunky monkey bread might just outshine the original version. To me, the combination of chocolate, bananas and walnuts is like sweet heaven. Add in brown sugar and cinnamon, and all my holiday stress just melts away.