Ideas To Ring In The New Year!

(Gosh, do you think I need to add window washing to my list of New Year's resolutions?  Eye yi yi.)

New Year's Eve is right around the corner!  Always in search of great treats, I thought I'd share a few fun finds today.  First off is this fantastic, delicious and inexpensive Almond Champagne at Trader Joe's.  At a mere $5.99 a bottle, I cannot say enough about this bubbling cheer!  It is a must have to toast the New Year! 

I've been thinking of doing a post on "my favorite things."  If I were to write such a post, I would have to include my Fostoria champagne glasses.  These antique cut-glass saucer glasses can make champagne look even more elegant than modern flutes.


I cannot take credit for discovering these lovely things.  When I got married sixteen years ago, I picked up a copy of Entertaining by Martha Stewart.


My eyes devoured every page, but the champagne glasses on page 31 especially raised a brow. 


I spent the next several years combing antique stores for something similar and then one day the choir sang!  I walked into Central Antiques in Phoenix, AZ and there sat a lovely set of Fostoria Champagne glasses in all their glory.  Well they, of course, came to live with me.  Since their arrival, I can honestly say that every drink taste better served in these glasses.  Even a diet Coke served up in one of these beauties along side a grilled cheese can brighten my day.
This year I plan to decorate my antique Fostoria champagne glasses with these cute Mylar Spray Cupcake Picks found at any bakery supply.

In order for them to stand at attention mid-glass, I've stabbed them into a few red grapes.  The bottom grape has been cut in half to provide a flat base for the decoration to stand.






You need 2 1/2 grapes to weight these down so they don't float in the bubbles.









Did you hear the news flash? Some fireworks are now legal in the state of Arizona!  Can I get a whoot whoot!!! That means my deprived children finally get a chance to play with SPARKLERS!!!




Growing up on a Midwestern farm, my Dad would place a large piece of plywood in the driveway, give us a bag full of fireworks and a box of strike-anywhere matches and let us go to town.  While I would never suggest that in this day and age, it is amazing what us children of the '70's survived!  Wink.

With our warm Arizona climate, January provides that perfect month for a firework display.  I'm so excited about the addition of fireworks to the celebration festivities this year that I can hardly stand it!
Commence the blackened finger tips and singed eyebrows. Grin.

As for some harmless entertainment ideas for the kids...Do you remember this movie?

 
My kids love to watch this one every New Years Eve...almost as much as I do.  Grin.

Oh, and don't forget the fun hats and noise makers.  I found these at Hobby Lobby.

I think that pretty much wraps things up for today.  For my next post, I will teach you how to make these adorable marzipan good-luck frog cookies. Served in a happy Chinese take-out container, these are sure to bring 2011 cheer!