Christmas gift guide 2014

Page 8 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Advertising Supplement November 16, 2014 Muskogee Phoenix

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

Page 2 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday Gift Guide

No holiday celebration complete without eggnog Traditional drink a staple at holiday parties Metro Creative

The holiday season is rife with tradition, from Christmas trees to lighting displays to visits with Santa Claus at the local mall.

Families reunite come the holiday season to exchange gifts, enjoy meals together and do a little catching up along the way.

But the holiday season also is synonymous with parties.

Whether it’s to enjoy an office holiday party, a gathering with family and friends or a more intimate gathering at home, such celebrations are a big part of the holiday season and a main reason why this is such a festive and beloved time of

year.

As this is a season of celebrating, it’s good to remember that no holiday party is truly complete until eggnog has been served. Enjoyed almost exclusively during the holiday season, eggnog is as much a staple of holiday celebrations as stockings hung by the chimney with care. This year, impress your holiday guests with the following recipe for “Excellent Eggnog” from A.J. Rathbun’s “Good Spirits” (Harvard Common Press).

EXCELLENT EGGNOG Serves 8 8 large eggs, preferably organic 2 1/4 cups superfine sugar 8 ounces brandy 8 ounces rum 4 ounces bourbon 1 quart milk Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish

Metro Creative

Metro Creative

Topping mugs filled of eggnog with a sprinkle of nutmeg to impress your holiday party guests

Friendly fun for everyone Metro Creative

Chanukah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are right around the corner.

That means neighborhoods, buildings and stores will soon be awash in holiday splendor. Social schedules will be full. Men and women everywhere will shuffle to complete their holiday shopping.

Grab bags are a staple of this season of giving. The following are a few do’s and don’ts to ensure participation in gift exchanges is fun and friendly for all involved.

DO set a gift amount limit. Holiday grab bags are more about having fun

and exchanging a little something with friends and family members than walking away with amazing prizes. Establish a spending limit so everyone receives a gift of roughly the same value and no one feels slighted or left out.

DON’T exceed the spending limit. It can be tempting to spend more to make your gift appear more impressive. But overspending defeats the purpose of the gift exchange.

Grab bags typically are anonymous, so being overly generous will not win you any style points.

DO make it a game.

Tossing gifts in a bag only to have others reach in and grab one is certainly effective. But the concept can be even more fun if you make a game out of it. Try passing wrapped gifts around in a circle to a holiday song.

When the music stops, the

gift you are holding is the one you open. Experiment with variations to make gift exchanges more fun.

DON’T let anyone see the gift you bring. The idea is to keep things as secretive as possible so as not to sway the selection of presents.

DO ensure your gift is unisex. Unless you know specifically that only men or women will be opening the presents, select items that will appeal to both genders. Food, gift cards, music, or home staples make great grab bag gifts.

DON’T forget to consider ages as well.

Gift exchanges may include both children and adults, so include gifts that appeal to all ages when necessary.

When the exchange has ended, allow participants to swap gifts if they want (See GIFTS, Page 7)

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 — Page 7

Try something new for toast Exchange martini for midnight glass of champagne

1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, setting the whites aside for a moment.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the yolks with a hand mixer until completely combined. Add the sugar and beat until it reaches a creamy consistency.

3. Add the brandy, rum and bourbon, and then the milk, beating well.

4. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form (be sure before beating the whites that you have cleaned and thoroughly dried the beaters).

5. Fold the egg whites into the yolk-sugar-alcohol mixture. Refrigerate the mix until well chilled (at least 3 hours).

6. Stir to recombine as needed. Serve the eggnog in mugs, topping each serving with some nutmeg.

Some do’s and don’ts for grab bag gift exchanges

Muskogee Phoenix

New Year’s Eve is a festive occasion, full of lavish parties or more intimate gatherings at home where food and drink are important components of the celebration. Many people toast the new year with a glass of champagne, but those who would like to buck tradition can raise a glass of any cocktail, including martinis.

Though martinis have many incarnations, traditional martinis are made with gin and vermouth Metro Creative and garnished with an Buck tradition by raising a martini glass to ring in the olive or lemon twist.

Gin is an astringentnew year.

tasting liquor made from the juniper berry.

Vermouth is a sweet wine that is added to counteract the tartness of the gin. Dry martinis are those that use a minimal amount of vermouth.

Because martinis can be an acquired taste, mixologists have breathed life into newer, flavored martinis that use vodka as a base instead of gin. These flavored cocktails have little to do with the traditional martinis but are served in martini glasses and have become quite popular.

Serving a nontraditional martini at a party is quite easy to do. Hosts can create a signature flavor to go along with the theme of the event. This way only one selection of ingredi-

Grab bags Continued from Page 2

to.

DO expect some grab bag gifts to be gag gifts.

Such gifts are entertaining and may make up the majority of the grab bag gifts. Keep your sense of humor and you’re likely to enjoy grab bags a lot more.

DON’T regift items to use as grab bag picks.

Should the person who gave you the gift participate in the grab bag, he or she can trace that gift back to you and may be offended.

DO make sure everyone is aware that there will be a grab bag gift exchange, as there needs to be an equal number of gifts to participants so everyone gets a treat. Hosts may want to Metro Creative have a few extra wrapped Gift exchanges in the form of grab bags, auctions, swaps, and other games gifts around just in case someone forgets to bring make for fun additions to holiday festivities. They also can be a part of any family or friends gathering to add excitement and entertainment to the occasion. their contribution.

ents is needed, rather than assembling spirits for a multitude of different martini recipes.

Many different martini recipes are available; hosts may find it difficult to settle on one. Here are three recipes that could fit in with a winter or New Year’s Eve theme.

POMEGRANATE MARTINI 1 ounce citrus vodka 1/2 ounce orange liqueur 3 ounces pomegranate juice WHITE CHOCOLATE MARTINI 2 ounces vanilla vodka 1 ounce White Creme de Cocoa 1 ounce white chocolate liqueur, like Godiva 1 White chocolate bar Pour ingredients into a shaker and shake thor-

oughly. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with white chocolate shavings on top.

CHOPPED ICE 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice Lemon slice for garnish Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice so that the shaker is about one-third full. Shake for several seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with the lemon slice.

SPICED CAKE MARTINI 2 ounces hazelnut flavor liqueur, like Baileys 1/2 ounce cake flavored vodka Sprinkle of nutmeg powder Shake all ingredients together and strain into a martini glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

Page 6 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Shopping local benefits your community Metro Creative

Shopping is a big part of the holiday season, when families and friends gather to reconnect and exchange gifts.

While the popularity of shopping online has grown, such practices are not always eco-friendly or timely, as gifts bought online must be packaged and shipped, wasting valuable resources and time that last-minute shoppers may not have.

The benefits of shopping locally go beyond convenience and the chance to reduce your carbon footprint.

The following are a few ways that shopping locally this holiday season can directly benefit your community.

Local economy When men and women

shop locally, they are putting money back into their local communities.

Local small businesses may be owned by your neighbors, and it can be comforting to know that your holiday shopping dollars are going to support a neighbor instead of a large corporation.

Local businesses also employ your neighbors, so shopping local can strengthen the local economy by creating jobs that may not exist if you and members of your community fail to support local small businesses.

Community identity Local small businesses go a long way toward creating a neighborhood identity. That identity can create a stronger sense of community among you and your neighbors. In addition, a unique community identity

can make your town more attractive to outsiders, and that appeal can improve the value of local real estate while attracting people to local businesses.

Uniqueness of gifts Gifts purchased from small local businesses tend to be more unique than items bought from national chains, as smaller retailers tend to sell more homemade items than their national competitors.

Recipients of such items may find such gifts more thoughtful than mass produced items bought from national chains.

The uniqueness of homemade gifts may encourage the gifts’ recipients to visit your community and do some shopping, further benefitting your local economy.

Customer service The accessibility of cus-

tomer service is another oft-overlooked benefit of shopping locally. When buying from national chains, especially during the holiday season when such businesses may be overwhelmed with orders, making contact with customer service departments can be a trying exercise in patience. Long wait times on the phone or online can make the process of contacting customer service extremely frustrating. But such frustration is rare when buying from local businesses, as consumers can simply take their products into the store, where employees can immediately address their concerns.

In addition, buying locally makes it more convenient for friends and family members who also live in your community to return their gifts.

Holiday Gift Guide

Muskogee Phoenix

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 — Page 3

Holiday season doesn’t always have to be hectic Make the season more enjoyable with these clever tips

Year’s Day, the holiday season can be hectic.

Fortunately, there are many ways to save time and make the holiday season more manageable.

Metro Creative • If you don’t have plastic clips to hang lights With so much on our around windows and to the plates between eaves of your home, inexThanksgiving and New pensive clothespins will

work just as well. If you’re concerned about the color of the wooden clips, paint them holiday hues before stringing the lights.

• Put a bath mat, rugside down and rubber-side up, beneath your Christmas tree stand. This allows you to spin the tree as you hang lights and

ornaments without damaging the floor underneath. It also makes it simple to undress the tree once the season is over. Use a tree skirt to hide the mat.

• Squeeze artificial tree portions into concrete form tubes. First wrap the tree portions in twine and then slip them into the concrete sleeves. Each tube can be stowed in attic or garage rafters, freeing up precious space.

• Use empty squirt bottles to make baking and cooking easier. Pancake and cookie batters can be squirted from the containers for less mess.

• Store one or two strings of lights in a plastic shopping bag to keep the strands from getting tangled. Hang the bags from a hook in a garage or stack them in a storage bin.

• Use plastic zip ties to attach garland and lights

to banisters. They’re easy to assemble and will not damage the banisters.

• A paper towel holder can be screwed to the wall in a craft room to neatly hold spools of ribbon.

Simply pull the length you need from the spool and cut for easy decorating.

• Mount a tree stand to a piece of wood with screws or glue. This prevents spills from reaching the floor while stabilizing the tree.

• Old maps make interesting gift wrap and are a nice change of pace from commercially produced paper or newsprint.

• Wrap duct tape or another type of sticky tape around your hand. Pat over fallen pine needles that accumulate around the tree. In hard-to-reach areas, wrap the tape around a broom or a floor sweeper.

• When traveling for the

holidays, use a brightly colored suitcase or flashy tape to make your suitcase stand out from others at the airport.

• Place hardened brown sugar in a baking dish, cover it with a moist paper towel and either microwave it on high for 20-second intervals or place it in a 300 F oven for five minutes.

This will soften the sugar, making it easier to use the sugar to prepare your favorite holiday cookie recipes.

• Save plastic bread ties, which can be used to make tags for the wires on certain devices. Such ties also can be used to organize decorating components and to keep your place on a roll of tape.

• Measure the inside of your picture window and construct a wooden frame to its dimensions. Staple holiday lights to the frame and then easily slip the frame in and out of place each year.

• Hang a live wreath or some boughs of evergreen in your home to give it that fresh pine scent if you have an artificial tree.

• Pack for a holiday excursion using a collapsible clothing storage hanger for closets. Fold clothes on each fabric shelf and then collapse it into your suitcase. When you get to your destination, unfold and hang it in a closet so all of your clothes will be at the ready.

Page 4 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Page 5 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Gift ideas for the food fanatics on your list Make a loved one’s holiday season even more special.

Metro Creative

Some people are a cinch to shop for come the holiday season, while others can be more of an enigma.

When it comes to the latter, shoppers should determine what tickles their mysterious friend or family member’s fancy, such as a favorite hobby or even something to do with his or her profession.

Food is a passion for many people and provides holiday shoppers with a great opportunity to make a loved one’s holiday season even more special.

Perhaps thanks to the increase in cable networks focusing on food, foodies, those people with an appreciation and passion for cuisine, have grown in number in recent years, and holiday shoppers with foodies on their lists have a host of potential gift options at their disposal.

• Cooking class: Many foodies don’t just like eating food but cooking their favorite cuisine as well.

For those who like to get their hands dirty before filling their bellies, consider paying for a cooking class. Many communities have cooking classes for various types of cuisine, so consult your friend or family member, asking them which cuisine they’d like to learn and when they’re available. Or let them find their own class and then pay for the class. This can be a great way for foodies to learn something new and meet fellow food afficionados along the way.

• Specialty spices: Spices can make the difference between an ordi-

LG curved screen OLED TV, screen is only 1/4” thick from Hamby’s TV & Appliance.

GIFT

Find unique furniture such as this painted animal print chest, eclectic and affordable, with a high end look at Cooper’s Furniture.

guide

Fashionable and versatile eternity scarves in a beautiful array of colors, fabrics and styles including plaid, fringe and appliqués from Bella Mea’s.

A selection of festive favorites sure to bring happiness to your loved ones’ holidays.

Metro Creative

Gift the foodie on your holiday shopping list with something that encourages their love of cuisine.

nary meal that’s void of flavor and a meal that’s so flavorful it won’t soon be forgotten. When spicing things up for a foodie this holiday season, don’t just buy regular spices at the grocery store. For example, instead of standard cinnamon, buy a specialty spice like Mexican or Vietnamese cinnamon.

Such specialty spices can add extra flavor to a meal while becoming the go-to spice for the home chef among your friends and

family members.

• Pressure cooker: Many foodies are fawning over pressure cooking, which can cut down on cooking times without sacrificing nutrition. Some recipes may take half the time to prepare with a pressure cooker as they might with a more traditional cooking method, an important time saving element that’s attractive to foodies who want to enjoy their favorite foods but feel pressed for time on

weeknights. And while pressure cookers employ steam to cook foods quickly, that steam also traps flavor, whereas boiling can wash flavor out.

Many foodies also laud pressure cookers for their nutritional benefits.

Steaming certain foods can intensify their flavor, which allows cooks to rely less on potentially unhealthy additions like salt or butter to ensure a meal is flavorful.

• Serving dishes: Of

course, many foodies want to share the fruits of their labors with friends and family. For the person who loves throwing dinner parties, consider some serving dishes this holiday season.

Serving dishes can range from casual (for the foodie who can’t wait to fire up the grill) to formal (for the gourmet foodie), so get a feel of your friend or family member’s preferences before purchasing a set of serving dishes.

• Cookbook: The ideal

fallback item for holiday shoppers who can’t seem to find anything for their favorite foodies, cookbooks filled with recipes for dishes from their favorite type of cuisine (i.e., Italian, Thai, Cajun, etc.) are sure to please. When gifting with a cookbook, peruse a few of its recipes to determine if there are any special ingredients that appear throughout. If there are, purchase these ingredients and gift them as well.

Camouflaged spring steel blind, 2-person “doghouse” that’s quick and easy set up and takedown.

Perfect for your hunter from Hughes Lumber.

Roasted pecans, and different varieties and flavor of peanuts (like hot & spicy or honey roasted) make a great Christmas gift from the Peach Barn.

Everyone will love jewelry from Haley & Loyd, like this white gold necklace with a 1 carat black diamond center and 1/2 carat of white diamonds.

Page 4 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Page 5 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Gift ideas for the food fanatics on your list Make a loved one’s holiday season even more special.

Metro Creative

Some people are a cinch to shop for come the holiday season, while others can be more of an enigma.

When it comes to the latter, shoppers should determine what tickles their mysterious friend or family member’s fancy, such as a favorite hobby or even something to do with his or her profession.

Food is a passion for many people and provides holiday shoppers with a great opportunity to make a loved one’s holiday season even more special.

Perhaps thanks to the increase in cable networks focusing on food, foodies, those people with an appreciation and passion for cuisine, have grown in number in recent years, and holiday shoppers with foodies on their lists have a host of potential gift options at their disposal.

• Cooking class: Many foodies don’t just like eating food but cooking their favorite cuisine as well.

For those who like to get their hands dirty before filling their bellies, consider paying for a cooking class. Many communities have cooking classes for various types of cuisine, so consult your friend or family member, asking them which cuisine they’d like to learn and when they’re available. Or let them find their own class and then pay for the class. This can be a great way for foodies to learn something new and meet fellow food afficionados along the way.

• Specialty spices: Spices can make the difference between an ordi-

LG curved screen OLED TV, screen is only 1/4” thick from Hamby’s TV & Appliance.

GIFT

Find unique furniture such as this painted animal print chest, eclectic and affordable, with a high end look at Cooper’s Furniture.

guide

Fashionable and versatile eternity scarves in a beautiful array of colors, fabrics and styles including plaid, fringe and appliqués from Bella Mea’s.

A selection of festive favorites sure to bring happiness to your loved ones’ holidays.

Metro Creative

Gift the foodie on your holiday shopping list with something that encourages their love of cuisine.

nary meal that’s void of flavor and a meal that’s so flavorful it won’t soon be forgotten. When spicing things up for a foodie this holiday season, don’t just buy regular spices at the grocery store. For example, instead of standard cinnamon, buy a specialty spice like Mexican or Vietnamese cinnamon.

Such specialty spices can add extra flavor to a meal while becoming the go-to spice for the home chef among your friends and

family members.

• Pressure cooker: Many foodies are fawning over pressure cooking, which can cut down on cooking times without sacrificing nutrition. Some recipes may take half the time to prepare with a pressure cooker as they might with a more traditional cooking method, an important time saving element that’s attractive to foodies who want to enjoy their favorite foods but feel pressed for time on

weeknights. And while pressure cookers employ steam to cook foods quickly, that steam also traps flavor, whereas boiling can wash flavor out.

Many foodies also laud pressure cookers for their nutritional benefits.

Steaming certain foods can intensify their flavor, which allows cooks to rely less on potentially unhealthy additions like salt or butter to ensure a meal is flavorful.

• Serving dishes: Of

course, many foodies want to share the fruits of their labors with friends and family. For the person who loves throwing dinner parties, consider some serving dishes this holiday season.

Serving dishes can range from casual (for the foodie who can’t wait to fire up the grill) to formal (for the gourmet foodie), so get a feel of your friend or family member’s preferences before purchasing a set of serving dishes.

• Cookbook: The ideal

fallback item for holiday shoppers who can’t seem to find anything for their favorite foodies, cookbooks filled with recipes for dishes from their favorite type of cuisine (i.e., Italian, Thai, Cajun, etc.) are sure to please. When gifting with a cookbook, peruse a few of its recipes to determine if there are any special ingredients that appear throughout. If there are, purchase these ingredients and gift them as well.

Camouflaged spring steel blind, 2-person “doghouse” that’s quick and easy set up and takedown.

Perfect for your hunter from Hughes Lumber.

Roasted pecans, and different varieties and flavor of peanuts (like hot & spicy or honey roasted) make a great Christmas gift from the Peach Barn.

Everyone will love jewelry from Haley & Loyd, like this white gold necklace with a 1 carat black diamond center and 1/2 carat of white diamonds.

Page 6 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Shopping local benefits your community Metro Creative

Shopping is a big part of the holiday season, when families and friends gather to reconnect and exchange gifts.

While the popularity of shopping online has grown, such practices are not always eco-friendly or timely, as gifts bought online must be packaged and shipped, wasting valuable resources and time that last-minute shoppers may not have.

The benefits of shopping locally go beyond convenience and the chance to reduce your carbon footprint.

The following are a few ways that shopping locally this holiday season can directly benefit your community.

Local economy When men and women

shop locally, they are putting money back into their local communities.

Local small businesses may be owned by your neighbors, and it can be comforting to know that your holiday shopping dollars are going to support a neighbor instead of a large corporation.

Local businesses also employ your neighbors, so shopping local can strengthen the local economy by creating jobs that may not exist if you and members of your community fail to support local small businesses.

Community identity Local small businesses go a long way toward creating a neighborhood identity. That identity can create a stronger sense of community among you and your neighbors. In addition, a unique community identity

can make your town more attractive to outsiders, and that appeal can improve the value of local real estate while attracting people to local businesses.

Uniqueness of gifts Gifts purchased from small local businesses tend to be more unique than items bought from national chains, as smaller retailers tend to sell more homemade items than their national competitors.

Recipients of such items may find such gifts more thoughtful than mass produced items bought from national chains.

The uniqueness of homemade gifts may encourage the gifts’ recipients to visit your community and do some shopping, further benefitting your local economy.

Customer service The accessibility of cus-

tomer service is another oft-overlooked benefit of shopping locally. When buying from national chains, especially during the holiday season when such businesses may be overwhelmed with orders, making contact with customer service departments can be a trying exercise in patience. Long wait times on the phone or online can make the process of contacting customer service extremely frustrating. But such frustration is rare when buying from local businesses, as consumers can simply take their products into the store, where employees can immediately address their concerns.

In addition, buying locally makes it more convenient for friends and family members who also live in your community to return their gifts.

Holiday Gift Guide

Muskogee Phoenix

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 — Page 3

Holiday season doesn’t always have to be hectic Make the season more enjoyable with these clever tips

Year’s Day, the holiday season can be hectic.

Fortunately, there are many ways to save time and make the holiday season more manageable.

Metro Creative • If you don’t have plastic clips to hang lights With so much on our around windows and to the plates between eaves of your home, inexThanksgiving and New pensive clothespins will

work just as well. If you’re concerned about the color of the wooden clips, paint them holiday hues before stringing the lights.

• Put a bath mat, rugside down and rubber-side up, beneath your Christmas tree stand. This allows you to spin the tree as you hang lights and

ornaments without damaging the floor underneath. It also makes it simple to undress the tree once the season is over. Use a tree skirt to hide the mat.

• Squeeze artificial tree portions into concrete form tubes. First wrap the tree portions in twine and then slip them into the concrete sleeves. Each tube can be stowed in attic or garage rafters, freeing up precious space.

• Use empty squirt bottles to make baking and cooking easier. Pancake and cookie batters can be squirted from the containers for less mess.

• Store one or two strings of lights in a plastic shopping bag to keep the strands from getting tangled. Hang the bags from a hook in a garage or stack them in a storage bin.

• Use plastic zip ties to attach garland and lights

to banisters. They’re easy to assemble and will not damage the banisters.

• A paper towel holder can be screwed to the wall in a craft room to neatly hold spools of ribbon.

Simply pull the length you need from the spool and cut for easy decorating.

• Mount a tree stand to a piece of wood with screws or glue. This prevents spills from reaching the floor while stabilizing the tree.

• Old maps make interesting gift wrap and are a nice change of pace from commercially produced paper or newsprint.

• Wrap duct tape or another type of sticky tape around your hand. Pat over fallen pine needles that accumulate around the tree. In hard-to-reach areas, wrap the tape around a broom or a floor sweeper.

• When traveling for the

holidays, use a brightly colored suitcase or flashy tape to make your suitcase stand out from others at the airport.

• Place hardened brown sugar in a baking dish, cover it with a moist paper towel and either microwave it on high for 20-second intervals or place it in a 300 F oven for five minutes.

This will soften the sugar, making it easier to use the sugar to prepare your favorite holiday cookie recipes.

• Save plastic bread ties, which can be used to make tags for the wires on certain devices. Such ties also can be used to organize decorating components and to keep your place on a roll of tape.

• Measure the inside of your picture window and construct a wooden frame to its dimensions. Staple holiday lights to the frame and then easily slip the frame in and out of place each year.

• Hang a live wreath or some boughs of evergreen in your home to give it that fresh pine scent if you have an artificial tree.

• Pack for a holiday excursion using a collapsible clothing storage hanger for closets. Fold clothes on each fabric shelf and then collapse it into your suitcase. When you get to your destination, unfold and hang it in a closet so all of your clothes will be at the ready.

Page 2 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday Gift Guide

No holiday celebration complete without eggnog Traditional drink a staple at holiday parties Metro Creative

The holiday season is rife with tradition, from Christmas trees to lighting displays to visits with Santa Claus at the local mall.

Families reunite come the holiday season to exchange gifts, enjoy meals together and do a little catching up along the way.

But the holiday season also is synonymous with parties.

Whether it’s to enjoy an office holiday party, a gathering with family and friends or a more intimate gathering at home, such celebrations are a big part of the holiday season and a main reason why this is such a festive and beloved time of

year.

As this is a season of celebrating, it’s good to remember that no holiday party is truly complete until eggnog has been served. Enjoyed almost exclusively during the holiday season, eggnog is as much a staple of holiday celebrations as stockings hung by the chimney with care. This year, impress your holiday guests with the following recipe for “Excellent Eggnog” from A.J. Rathbun’s “Good Spirits” (Harvard Common Press).

EXCELLENT EGGNOG Serves 8 8 large eggs, preferably organic 2 1/4 cups superfine sugar 8 ounces brandy 8 ounces rum 4 ounces bourbon 1 quart milk Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish

Metro Creative

Metro Creative

Topping mugs filled of eggnog with a sprinkle of nutmeg to impress your holiday party guests

Friendly fun for everyone Metro Creative

Chanukah, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are right around the corner.

That means neighborhoods, buildings and stores will soon be awash in holiday splendor. Social schedules will be full. Men and women everywhere will shuffle to complete their holiday shopping.

Grab bags are a staple of this season of giving. The following are a few do’s and don’ts to ensure participation in gift exchanges is fun and friendly for all involved.

DO set a gift amount limit. Holiday grab bags are more about having fun

and exchanging a little something with friends and family members than walking away with amazing prizes. Establish a spending limit so everyone receives a gift of roughly the same value and no one feels slighted or left out.

DON’T exceed the spending limit. It can be tempting to spend more to make your gift appear more impressive. But overspending defeats the purpose of the gift exchange.

Grab bags typically are anonymous, so being overly generous will not win you any style points.

DO make it a game.

Tossing gifts in a bag only to have others reach in and grab one is certainly effective. But the concept can be even more fun if you make a game out of it. Try passing wrapped gifts around in a circle to a holiday song.

When the music stops, the

gift you are holding is the one you open. Experiment with variations to make gift exchanges more fun.

DON’T let anyone see the gift you bring. The idea is to keep things as secretive as possible so as not to sway the selection of presents.

DO ensure your gift is unisex. Unless you know specifically that only men or women will be opening the presents, select items that will appeal to both genders. Food, gift cards, music, or home staples make great grab bag gifts.

DON’T forget to consider ages as well.

Gift exchanges may include both children and adults, so include gifts that appeal to all ages when necessary.

When the exchange has ended, allow participants to swap gifts if they want (See GIFTS, Page 7)

Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014 — Page 7

Try something new for toast Exchange martini for midnight glass of champagne

1. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, setting the whites aside for a moment.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the yolks with a hand mixer until completely combined. Add the sugar and beat until it reaches a creamy consistency.

3. Add the brandy, rum and bourbon, and then the milk, beating well.

4. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form (be sure before beating the whites that you have cleaned and thoroughly dried the beaters).

5. Fold the egg whites into the yolk-sugar-alcohol mixture. Refrigerate the mix until well chilled (at least 3 hours).

6. Stir to recombine as needed. Serve the eggnog in mugs, topping each serving with some nutmeg.

Some do’s and don’ts for grab bag gift exchanges

Muskogee Phoenix

New Year’s Eve is a festive occasion, full of lavish parties or more intimate gatherings at home where food and drink are important components of the celebration. Many people toast the new year with a glass of champagne, but those who would like to buck tradition can raise a glass of any cocktail, including martinis.

Though martinis have many incarnations, traditional martinis are made with gin and vermouth Metro Creative and garnished with an Buck tradition by raising a martini glass to ring in the olive or lemon twist.

Gin is an astringentnew year.

tasting liquor made from the juniper berry.

Vermouth is a sweet wine that is added to counteract the tartness of the gin. Dry martinis are those that use a minimal amount of vermouth.

Because martinis can be an acquired taste, mixologists have breathed life into newer, flavored martinis that use vodka as a base instead of gin. These flavored cocktails have little to do with the traditional martinis but are served in martini glasses and have become quite popular.

Serving a nontraditional martini at a party is quite easy to do. Hosts can create a signature flavor to go along with the theme of the event. This way only one selection of ingredi-

Grab bags Continued from Page 2

to.

DO expect some grab bag gifts to be gag gifts.

Such gifts are entertaining and may make up the majority of the grab bag gifts. Keep your sense of humor and you’re likely to enjoy grab bags a lot more.

DON’T regift items to use as grab bag picks.

Should the person who gave you the gift participate in the grab bag, he or she can trace that gift back to you and may be offended.

DO make sure everyone is aware that there will be a grab bag gift exchange, as there needs to be an equal number of gifts to participants so everyone gets a treat. Hosts may want to Metro Creative have a few extra wrapped Gift exchanges in the form of grab bags, auctions, swaps, and other games gifts around just in case someone forgets to bring make for fun additions to holiday festivities. They also can be a part of any family or friends gathering to add excitement and entertainment to the occasion. their contribution.

ents is needed, rather than assembling spirits for a multitude of different martini recipes.

Many different martini recipes are available; hosts may find it difficult to settle on one. Here are three recipes that could fit in with a winter or New Year’s Eve theme.

POMEGRANATE MARTINI 1 ounce citrus vodka 1/2 ounce orange liqueur 3 ounces pomegranate juice WHITE CHOCOLATE MARTINI 2 ounces vanilla vodka 1 ounce White Creme de Cocoa 1 ounce white chocolate liqueur, like Godiva 1 White chocolate bar Pour ingredients into a shaker and shake thor-

oughly. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with white chocolate shavings on top.

CHOPPED ICE 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice Lemon slice for garnish Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice so that the shaker is about one-third full. Shake for several seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with the lemon slice.

SPICED CAKE MARTINI 2 ounces hazelnut flavor liqueur, like Baileys 1/2 ounce cake flavored vodka Sprinkle of nutmeg powder Shake all ingredients together and strain into a martini glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

Page 8 — Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014

Muskogee Phoenix

Holiday Gift Guide

Advertising Supplement November 16, 2014 Muskogee Phoenix

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE