Glendora's Christmas Eve

Your favorite cousin has arrived with wine and a special Christmas gift. Hope yours is very merry!

Mocktail Monday: Eggnog Highball

It's Mocktail Monday and today's holiday highball is powered by eggnog!

Merry Christmas! Cocktails and Mocktails for the Entire Family

Merry Cocktail Monday Christmas! Today we have a festive mocktail AND cocktail - something for everyone in the family! Have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of the season! Cheers!

Christmas Home Decor, Cocktails and Appetizers Included!

Today we're throwing our doors open for a tour of our Christmas decor, cocktails and appetizers included! We're enjoying a bowl of Old Yule Wassail and an easy shrimp appetizer, so be sure to join us!

Mocktail Monday: Candy Cane Shake

It's time for another Christmas mocktail and today's is a decadent candy cane treat inspired by a vintage recipe! Grab that blender and get ready for deliciousness!

Holiday Vodka Punch Recipes & Cinnamon Syrup for Christmas Drinks

On last night's Facebook live video we made two punches from 1982's Smirnoff for the Holidays...

With a few adjustments, starting with the fact that we mixed with Bootlegger 21 vodka from Prohibition Distillery. Shhh! Don't tell Smirnoff! Here are the recipes, as promised, along with our improvements. Without further ado, let's start with Hawaiian Pleasure Punch:

Paul mixed this one (we only made 1/4 of each recipe, since there are only two of us and neither of us wants to die of alcohol poisoning). The only improvement we made to this one was to add 3 oz of gin (we stuck with Prohibition Distillery and used their Bootlegger 21 gin), so, if you were to make an entire bowl, you'd want to add 12 oz of gin. Sounds like a lot, but otherwise it tastes like pure ginger ale.

I made Bubbly Mint Punch:

"Crisp and refreshing as a winter breeze." Well, it was, anyway, after I doubled both the vodka and the mint! I used Wondermint from Death's Door Spirits instead of creme de menthe, which I think was a good move. I later added some dashes of Fee Brothers cranberry bitters, which further improved it, but also turned it red. Oh, well, it's still a good color for Christmas!

In other news, we're planning a combination Mocktail/Cocktail Monday episode for Christmas Day, which will involve cinnamon syrup. It's really easy to make, but here's the recipe ahead of time, since it takes some time to prepare. If you're planning ahead, also pick up a bottle of Italian lemon soda!

Cinnamon Syrup

Add 3 cinnamon sticks slightly broken up to 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Cover and allow to sit for several hours or overnight. Strain, add water to make sure you have two full cups, add two cups of sugar and heat just until sugar is melted (don't boil). 

Christmas Vacation: Cocktail & Easy Appetizer Inspired By The Movie!

Christmas Vacation is one of our holiday favorites and today we have recipes to enhance the viewing experience! Get that shaker ready and preheat the oven - it's movie time!

A Visit to 1979 for Holiday Hospitality

Part of the stash of vintage bar guides recently sent to us by our pal Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap was this little gem from the American Forces Network:

A bar guide at holiday time is, indeed, pretty handy and one sent with your TV-Guide? Genius! The American Forces Network, a.k.a. the Armed Forces Network, provides radio and TV to Americans serving overseas. In 1979 they were pleased to share some recipes to liven up the holidays. Even the ads had recipes! Here are some traditional Christmas beverages to start, including a couple of mocktails. I'll bet you hadn't thought of Coke, yogurt and cherry jam in your drink, but that's what this guide is for! And I like the instructions to use the "cheaper table wines" and forego your best crystal bowl. It's not underachievement - it's following directions!

How about a rum cake featuring rum and more rum, along with a cake mix and Jell-O instant pudding?

Lest you think that this booklet didn't feature actual gelatin, never fear! Here it is in an intriguing chicken dish. Today you'll find it called Heering Cherry Liqueur and it makes a lovely addition to a nice cheese fondue.

And here are some classic cocktail party appetizers, several with vegetarians in mind:

So...much...cheese. You need something to soak up all that booze! Here's to the holiday season! 

Christmas Recipes for the Impatient

Connoisseurs of fruitcake know that many such cake recipes call for being started well in advance of Christmas - in some cases up to a year in advance! If you fall into that fruitcake loving group, yet didn't get your act together to begin macerating your fruit weeks or months ago, McCall's Book of Merry Eating (1965) has a recipe especially for you! You'll probably have trouble finding an applesauce-raisin cake mix, so go ahead and use a spice cake mix and throw in some raisins. Who's going to know?

We have a YouTube playlist of Christmas cocktails that are pretty darned easy to make (more on the way!), but if you mean business and want that drink NOW, this one is traditional and has only two ingredients (three if you want to fancy it up).

Cheers!

Road Trip! Eggbert the Christmas Egg & Eggnog Recipe

Join us for a visit to the holiday wonderland that is Devitt's Nursery & Supply in New Windsor, New York, home of Eggbert, the Christmas Egg! He even has his own eggnog recipe, which we share!

Beautiful Holiday Bows Made (sort of) Easy!

Who else has the best intentions for creating beautiful holiday packages, then ends up stuffing gifts into bags at the last minute? I DID order some fabulous wrapping paper from Spoonflower this year, including this delectable Enchanted Tiki Room print from Modern Tiki Lounge, so I've got that part under control, but what about bows? I tend to save and reuse them year after year, until they're dented beyond repair, but this 1969 guide from Hallmark has me thinking I might need to up my game. Could it be time for fabulous retro ribbons and bows? Time to start knotting and tying!

Of course, those store made bows will always be there for you if you decide to park it, make a cocktail and relax instead. I have a feeling that's what I'll do. 

Oh, Spinning Tree!

Here's our "big" tree, the catch-all tree with everything from ornaments that my parents bought before I was born to reclaimed trash. If you can stick it in or hang it from the tree, we consider it fair game! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! We're so grateful for your support of the "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en!" Click here to watch the tree spin!

Oh, Various Trees!

You didn't think I was done sharing our Christmas trees, did you? Here is the vintage aluminum tree we inherited from Paul's grandmother, by way of his sister, along with a few other trees with tropical and under-the-sea ornaments. Christmas in the tropics sounds great to me right now, stuck as I am in the freezing northwest!

I'm obsessed with Grumpy Cat

That portrait is Paul, painted by his mother many years ago.

Christmas in the Tropics

That peacock is a vintage package decoration I found among my aunt's things - I save everything Christmas!

Oh, Nautical and Horror Tree!

More of our Christmas trees, this time from the Blue Grotto, a.k.a. my office/sewing room/vanity/guest room (It's a very versatile room!). Here we have the nautical tree and the horror tree. The nautical tree is very sentimental, as many of the ornaments predate me or were picked up on our travels, and many more were made by friends, some of whom are no longer with us. Many of the ornaments on the horror tree were made by yours truly, since, go figure, it's just not that easy to find a Jan in the Pan ornament! I've got a laminator and I'm not afraid to use it!

Nautical Tree

Under the Nautical Tree

Tree of Horror

I'm a laminating fool at Christmastime!

More trees soon!

Oh, Glendora and TV Tree!

Here are two more of our 47 Christmas trees, this time Glendora's tree and the TV tree. As with most of our trees, the ornaments tend to be homemade or gifts. In both cases they make me sentimental!

Glendora's Tree and the TV Tree

Glendora pays tribute to a few of her favorite things

TV Tree

This one plays the entire "Laverne & Shirley" theme

Even more trees coming soon!