Christmas is around the corner

This is a sponsored post from BlogHer and Welch's.

The holidays are upon us. If you're like me, that means your mind is flooded with memories of past Christmases. Something about Christmas brings out the nostalgia in me.

I remember the time my little sister and I each received a pair of white roller skates for Christmas and skated around the dining room table all day long. Keep in mind, we did this while wearing our new Holly Hobby painted denim shirts. Nothing says "I was a child of the 70's" quite like that, right?

I also remember the time my Grandfather carried a huge box with a big bow up the back steps. It was a Christmas present he had bought for my mother. We all gathered round to see what was inside. It was a new-fangled appliance called a microwave. Very exciting for all of us. But we only cooked bacon in it and used it as a place to store our bread. We weren't quite sure what to do with it back then.

One thing that was always constant on Christmas while growing up was family. We were always together with extended family that day. But, as I grew older, moved away and got married, then started having children of my own, we weren't able to always go back to my family's house for Christmas. So I found a new way to celebrate my extended family on this special day.

I found a gorgeous gold Christmas tree where I could hang pictures of the entire family. I also included pictures of those precious family members who had passed away.



Every year, right after Thanksgiving, I bring out the gold tree. We all look at all the family pictures and talk about special memories we had with each other. I love it. And I think my kids do too. It also makes a gorgeous Christmas decoration. Maybe now that I'm in a tiny NYC apartment this Christmas, I should just use this for my tree!

But even if I'm short on space this year, I can still have great food and drink on this special day. I'm sure I'll add some favorites from Christmas pasts. I've always incorporated Welch's Sparkling juices into our Christmas celebrations too. It's something kids and adults always enjoy. This year, I was excited to see that Welch's incorporated some great recipes for drinks on their website. One that I'm going to try this year is the

Sparking Holiday Punch:

Ingredients
3 cups of cold water
3/4 cups sugar
5 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle Welch's Sparkling Red or Sparkling White Grape Juice Cocktail, chilled
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 bottles (16 oz. each) lemon-lime soda, chilled
Ice cubes made with Welch's Sparkling Red or Sparkling White Grape Juice Cocktail
Preparation
In medium saucepan, combine water, sugar and cinnamon sticks to make cinnamon syrup. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks, cover and refrigerate two hours.
In a large punch bowl, combine cinnamon syrup, Sparkling Red or Sparkling White Grape Juice Cocktail, orange juice, lemon juice and soda. Add ice cubes. If desired, garnish punch with additional cinnamon sticks or float fruit-filled ice cubes, orange, lemon or lime slices. Makes about 30 1/2-cup servings.

Doesn't that sound delicious?

Go here for some more great ideas on how to incorporate Welch's sparkling juices into your holiday festivities. Then come back and tell me which one you're going to try. One lucky commenter will receive a $100 Visa gift card (from Blogher.)

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carrie, samantha, miranda, charlotte - who are you?

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Sex and the City 2.

I just had an extremely important phone call with my little sister, Jennie. We talk several times a week and discuss all manner of things. No topic is ever off limits between us. What we think of Obama and his health care plan. The importance of getting a good eyebrow wax. The sad demise of Sandra Bullock's marriage. And the delicate question of who our mother will live with one day. The jury is still out on that one, by the way.

But this time I wanted to know which Sex & the City character I was most like.

Me: Which one am I?... I'd like to be Carrie.

Jennie: Honey, you're not Carrie.

Me: OK then, am I Charlotte? I can handle being Charlotte.

Jennie: Oh my gosh. You're SO not Charlotte, either.

Me: But I adopted a little girl from China, doesn't that make me a little like Charlotte?

Jennie: Not really.

Me: Then, who am I?

Jennie: long pause......You want to be Carrie, but in reality...you're Miranda.


And there it was. My lifelong identity struggle summed up in a single sentence. I want to be a Carrie, but I'm really a Miranda. I've never even had a therapist wrap it up that tightly. But I think it might be true.

I'd like to be the happy-go-lucky, fabulous style, trend-setter Carrie. But in reality, I am the practical, all-business Miranda.

I'd like to be the girl embracing life with reckless abandon, but I am the smart,no-nonsense one embracing life with a tad of cynicism.

I'd like to be fun and flirty all the time. But in reality I'm a little tightly wound.

I'd like to constantly switch between brunette and blonde, but I'm a redhead. Wait. That's not true. Maybe I just found the one way I am like Carrie.

I decided to watch a few SATC reruns to see if I really was more like Miranda than the others. That's when I heard Miranda say this: "I have low self-esteem but I express it the healthy way, by eating a box of double stuff Oreos."

Yes.I.Am.Definitely.A.Miranda.

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Now it's your turn:

Who are you most like from SATC?

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