Day 4 - You Can Never Have Too Many Candy Canes

One of my favorite holiday memories is making a beaded candy cane ornament during a school holiday party. I think I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, but that ornament meant so much to me. I don’t know if I had fun making it or the the pride I felt each year hanging it on the tree when my mom would tell me how great the ornament was. Either way I love that ornament.

Each year I drag out all my beads, make my girls sit down with me and we make candy canes. This year I was lucky enough to introduce my little nephew to the fun. Not only are they charming, but they are a great finger dexterity lesson.

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Day 3 - All Things Hallmark

Christmas season starts with a good Hallmark Channel movie.

I can’t help but be a little obsessed with all things Hallmark. I anxiously await how many new movies will be coming out for the year and read each description to plan my viewing.

This year I was so excited to learn there was a companion book! Like Christmas morning all month long! This book is very fun and full of behind the scene information about the movies. fun recipes and stories. My girls and I made some fun things from the book. There is a chocolate chip cookies recipe that was very good.

If you love the movies I highly recommend this book.

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Day 2 - Christmas Scones

When the pandemic was in full swing I took up a new hobby - making scones.

Maybe it was my love of tea parties. Maybe it was a 24-hour Downton Abbey marathon on TV. I am not sure how it started, but it continued for quite a while. I have gone through many variations and they go well with a holiday breakfast.

I don’t make them to the extent I did during the spring, but we enjoy a good scone for breakfast sometimes. For the holidays I love the idea of creating a subtile color palette with food. This particular morning I baked them with dried cranberries and pistachios to give them the slight red and green look. They were a hit!

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Day 1 - 2020 Christmas Tree

When I was little decorating the Christmas tree was a big deal.

My mom would make the day a big celebration - the kick-off to Christmas in our house. She would make cookies, set out a bunch of snacks in pretty bowls, make hot chocolate and play Christmas carols. It was always so much fun having snacks, going through our ornaments and taking hours to decorate the tree.

I have continued this same tradition in our house. My girls love decorating the tree. This year I set up a hot chocolate bar. They could make their own fun hot chocolate creations and get excited for the holidays to come. Our favorite hot chocolate is the traditional one from the Hershey’s Cocoa box - super simple. Then I added different sizes of marshmallows, cookies - both made and store bought, whipped cream and candy canes. They were so excited to be able to sample everything.

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12 Days of Christmas

Earlier this year I had an idea. An idea to brand some of the event and marketing work I was doing. Life happened, then a global pandemic and now here we are…reaching the end of the year and still no launch.

So…I decided I was not going to let my idea be another casualty of 2020. Instead I was going to embrace what this year has taught me. It has been a time to reflect, a time to learn how to adapt and to keep on celebrating.

Meet THROWING A FETE! A new concept in event planning, marketing and PR. My hope is that THROWING A FETE can offer a la carte type of event planning in Pittsburgh.

Over these past months, as I sat inside with my two small children, I thought a lot about what I am thankful for in this life and why it is important to celebrate. Like most people, I spent the first few days trying to process everything.  I realized I had to be positive for my kids to help them get through this strange time. We started trying to maximize the day. It didn’t take much to take an ordinary day and turn it into something fun. We started celebrating everything – random national days, dog birthdays, Earth Day, Thursday – you name it. We would make special breakfasts, dinners or treats. These many long days taught me two very important things:

1. There is always something to celebrate

2. Enjoy simple pleasures

Until the day comes again for big events and crowds of people --- and I hope that day is soon --- I will keep on celebrating the little things.

Christmas is just 12 short days away! I am using this soft launch to share some of the fun we are having as we grow our holiday spirit and start making some new traditions. I never imagined we would still be in this position by the end of the year, but I am determined to not dwell on what we’re missing this year. We are going to make this the best holiday season ever!

Each day until Christmas I’m sharing some of the ways we are celebrating.

I hope to one day formally launch THROWING A FETE, but in the meantime please go to Facebook and Instagram – like and follow – and reach out with any events you may have one day. I would love to work with you.

Thanks for being here! Happy Holidays!

Christmas 2020

Christmas 2020