Drink Up, Grinches!

It's not truly Christmas without a trip to Whoville and a visit from the Grinch! So City Tap Boston will be hosting their “Drink Up, Grinches” pregame this Saturday to get everyone in the holiday spirit!

What’s Christmas without carols (nothing, duh)?! Sing Along with Mel Stiller will be playing some fan favorite Christmas tunes all afternoon. Guests are encouraged to take a break from singing along so they can sip on eggnog and spiked hot chocolate. City Tap House won’t let anyone go hungry this holiday season either! Guests will be able to purchase Grinchy specials like a Roast BEAST French Dip and a Cindy Lou-Who Pudding. There will also be a Christmas card photo station so you can capture the day and reminisce on the true meaning of Christmas for years to come!

But what will we wear? An ugly sweater perhaps! Get your holiday crew, head to City Tap this Saturday, and devour the details of a holly, jolly, (How the Grinch Stole) Christmas!

Wedding Wednesdays: Four Fun Ring Bearer Gift Ideas

You give members of your wedding party gifts to thank them for participating in your nuptials, so why should others, like your ring bearer, be any different? You should most definitely consider getting ring bearer gifts as a token of gratitude for your little helpers. Ring bearer gifts can be fun, silly and playful picks. Even better, the ring bearer gifts of your choosing can act as props for your ring bearer during the ceremony, like a tiny briefcase to hold the rings or badge that signifies his or her role in the wedding, or something to keep him busy during the reception. Here are our four favorite ring bearer gifts you can consider buying for your little guys!

Personalized Donut Beach Towel

Gift this donut-shaped towel so your ring bearer has a place to lounge or dry off on family trips to the beach.

Lego Creations

Spark his imagination and keep him occupied for hours with this LEGO kit that lets you build three different dinosaur figures.

Ring Security

This gift can double as a prop for the ceremony. The ring bearer can store your wedding bands and walk with it down the aisle—how cute is that?

A Whaley Cute Bow Tie

Is there anything cuter than a kid in a bow tie? We think not. This salmon-colored one is covered in a whale print to it even more adorable.

You can't say 'I Do' without little man introducing you! Find a way to thank your ring bearer today and devour the details of having the best ring security around!

A Holiday Oldie but Goodie: LC's Ambrosia Salad

With the holidays in full swing, we’ve thought a lot about our favorite dishes that truly knock it out of the park each year. The Superstars. The Hall-of-Famers. The Fan Favorites. The dish on the table that’s the first to go and never return until next year. There’s always one dish that comes to mind for us, and that dish is…ambrosia salad.

Yes, you heard us right. Ambrosia salad is one of our favorite holiday treats. The mix of sweet and tart canned and fresh fruits and fluffy whipped cream has no comparison. As it turns out, it is also one of Lauren Conrad's favorites! Probably because it's unbelievably delicious and so easy to make, it’s almost criminal.

So today, in honor of one of our favorite dishes, we’re sharing LC's recipe for Ambrosia Salad with a twist. Check it out!

Holiday Ambrosia Salad

Ingredients:
8 oz. tub dairy-free coconut whipped cream
2 cups mini marshmallows, plus extra for garnish
1 cup Pink Lady apples, peeled and diced
1 cup no-sugar-added preserved pears, diced
1 cup Fuyu persimmons, peeled and diced
1 cup holiday grapes, sliced into halves
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup pomegranate seeds
cinnamon
nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Drain pears in a colander and pat down to remove any excess liquid. You don’t want any of the pears’ juices to break down the whipped cream too much and reduce the fluffy texture.
2. Cut and prepare all of your ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, combine the apples, holiday grapes, pomegranate seeds, persimmons, pears, and pecans with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Add the mini marshmallows to the mixed fruits and combine until just so, then add the whipped cream. Using a rubber spatula, lightly and gently fold in the fruits from the center of the bowl outward until the mixture is evenly combined. Mixing the whipped cream too harshly can make more air escape from the cream, resulting in a less fluffy and whipped texture.
5. To garnish, sprinkle extra marshmallows, pomegranate arils, cinnamon, and nutmeg on top. Serve immediately.

Yum! We can't wait to feast on this treat in just a week! Try LC's recipe and devour the details of the perfect side dish for your holiday celebrations!

Monday Mashups: Taking Movie Screenings to New Heights

Amazon Prime Video's recent promotions for its movies and television shows have including the headline-grabbing Maisel Day in Los Angeles and the interactive Museum of Modern Love in New York.

According to BizBash, its latest endeavor continues the out-of-the-box streak: The brand is currently hosting a high-flying nationwide tour to promote The Aeronauts, an upcoming feature film that follows an 1862 gas balloon that broke the world flight altitude record. The drama, starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, hits theaters tomorrow and will be released on Prime Video on December 20.

The tour, dubbed "The Aeronauts' Incredible Journey," is free and open to the public. The events kicked off in Los Angeles November 23 to 24 before traveling to San Francisco on November 26 and Phoenix on November 30. It will also make stops in Atlanta, Orlando, and Austin this month before returning to Los Angeles in late December.

In that spirit, Amazon decided to immerse fans in the film by creating a sprawling Victorian fair set in the year 1862. The weekend-long Los Angeles edition filled the Rose Bowl Stadium with more than 50 costumed performers, and guests could take hot air balloon rides in a balloon modeled after the one in the film. The balloon, created and operated by SkyCab Balloon Promotions, could accommodate four people at a time, and rides took place every six to seven minutes for eight hours a day.

In addition, the experience included on-theme food and games, plus a fortune teller, cartoonists, and even a hypnotist billed as being able to help attendees conquer their fear of heights. More than 100 staff members were deployed on-site to keep the ambitious experience going.

And speaking of ambitious: The Los Angeles event and the nationwide tour also include a screening of The Aeronauts projected on the side of a hot air balloon, in what organizers call "the world's first Fly-In Theater." Amazon worked with CSM Live on the project, which took 18 months to produce. A flexible LED screen with more than 76,000 pixels wrapped 360 degrees around the balloon, allowing the screen to be viewed from all directions even in daylight conditions. Amazon wanted to screen the film in such a large-scale format to showcase its scope and technical feats.

Due to the logistical feats, locations for the tour were carefully considered. Because of the hot air balloon rides, cities were predominately chosen based on historical climate information.When you’re ballooning, wind is everything. But part of the goal, was to make guests—many of whom arrived dressed in Victorian garb—forget they were even at an event.

Quite the immersive event! Get inspired and devour the details of an epic experience unlike any other thanks to The Aeronauts amazing movie screening!

Holiday Happenings at Bone Up Brewing

We can certainly agree -- holiday shopping is best done with a beer in hand! So we're here to share that Bone Up Brewing will be featuring some of their favorite local businesses in their taproom during the month of December. Loads of great gift ideas and BUBco merch will be on sale so come on out, enjoy a beer, and grab gifts for everyone on your list (and maybe even treat yourself)!

12/13-12/15 - Drink and Draw
Support local art and grab a print from Bone Up's Monday Mosh Monsters exhibit or get your hands on their new BUBco coloring books! Deep Cuts Deli & Brewery will be serving dinner on 12/13, and they'll have Speakeasy Donuts and Boston HotChix in the taproom on 12/14. Yum!

Bottle Release: Skeleton Key (tequila barrel aged imperial Key Lime)

12/20-12/22 - Sweet Heat
Top Shelf Cookies will have holiday cookie platters and treats available for pickup, and Bone Up is running a sale on their line of BUBco-exclusive Alex's Ugly Sauce bottles for the hot sauce lover in your life! While you're there, relax with a beer and play some old school Nintendo courtesy of Wicked Retro Night (12/20) or swing through to grab food from The Bacon Truck (12/21)!

Bottle Release: Elmo (barrel aged stout)

And because Bone Up isn't above some of their own shameless holiday self promotion...they've got a full spread of holiday merch (and bottles, lots of fancy bottles!) for the beer lovers in your life including:

• Hoodies, thermals, flannels
• Beanies
• Gift cards
• Barrel aged/limited release bottles

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Get to Bone Up this weekend and devour the details of all your holiday shopping...and beer of course. See you there!

Wedding Wednesdays: Tips to Booking Your Hotel Room as a Wedding Guest

As a wedding guest, you're spending money on lots of things—usually transportation, attire and a gift—but navigating the hotel room booking can sometimes be confusing and costly if you don't figure out your plans early on. Here are The Knot's top tips to make sure you can get the most bang for your buck and have a great weekend celebrating with your friends or family.

Book your hotel room early.
As soon as you see the hotel block information provided on the couple's wedding website or in the wedding invitation, it's smart to book right then. In most cases, the couple will have chosen a few hotels to accommodate every budget, and the hotels will be located close to the wedding ceremony and reception areas—and hopefully near an area with restaurants and things to do too. They'll start filling up quickly, so you don't want your only option to be the most expensive room, or a room with twin beds when you'll be with your significant other.

However, when the couple reserved the room blocks, the hotels either took a percentage off each room with a certain number of rooms booked, gave them a free room but didn't discount any guest rooms, or just allowed them to reserve the rooms in advance and didn't offer any discount at all. So if you do some research and see other hotels in the area with a better rate, it's fine to book there too. You just may miss out on pickups and drop-offs if the couple hired shuttles to transport guests staying at their choice hotels to and from the wedding (which also means you'll have to foot the bill on a late-night ride when the wedding's over, or may miss out on any impromptu hotel after-parties or brunches).

Look around for other lodging.
Like it's stated above, there's no rule that says you have to stay at the suggested hotels. If you know the area well and there's someplace else you'd rather stay (and know how to get around easily) or have family in the area you can stay with, feel free to make other lodging plans. You can also opt for a rental home with friends if your group would rather pool money—get a huge house for the weekend that accommodates everyone and make a vacation out of it.

See if you can get an additional discount.
Some hotel blocks won't let you use any credit card points or discounts from travel websites or AAA alongside a room block discount—but others do, so it's worth a try. If you go this route, The Knot recommends calling the front desk directly instead of using a toll-free reservations number to save yourself any miscommunication issues. Customer service reps may never have been to the hotel you're calling about, and may not have the best insight into room block booking policies.

By utilizing The Knot's tips, you're sure to save! Don't delay, devour the details of booking the right room for you today!

Charlestown's Very Own Winter Wonderland Wine & Beer Garden

According to Boston.com, The Anchor, a wine and beer garden that debuted in Charlestown in May, is reopening for six days of holiday festivities starting this Friday!

From Dec. 13–15 and Dec. 20–22, the two-story waterfront space will remake itself into a holiday destination, complete with menorah and tree lightings, music and dance performances, Santa-themed fitness classes, art exhibitions, and a holiday retail market on Saturdays and Sundays from noon–4 p.m. Holiday film classics will be shown throughout the garden’s run, and between taking photos with Santa and stopping by the professional Christmas card station, there will be plenty of opportunities to capture your own season’s greetings.

To stave off the outdoor elements, The Anchor will provide outdoor heat lamps and blankets and, in addition to their usual craft beer and wine lineup, a selection of warm holiday drinks: tea, coffee, mulled wine, and sangria, as well as a hot cocoa and hot cider bar. For sustenance, a s’mores bar and waffle bar will be on hand, along with a handful of other baked holiday goods.

For any children attending The Anchor’s holiday garden, there will be balloon twisting, cookie decorating, a “Hollidogs” costume contest, and a children’s holiday story reading by Boston Police Commissioner Willie Gross.

A complete schedule of events is still to come, so keep an eye out on The Anchor’s social media for specific activity times. Join us as we get into the holiday spirit and devour the details of Charlestown's very own winter wonderland! See you there!

Monday Mashups: Back to School with Barry's Bootcamp

To celebrate the end of its Higher Education Challenge, as well as its 21st anniversary, Barry's Bootcamp hosted the Higher Education Graduation Party on November 16 at SIR Stage37 in New York according to BizBash. For the brand’s fitness challenge, which took place from October 17 to November 16, “old school” participants could choose to take 21 classes in 30 days or 11 classes in 30 days for “new school” status.

Called the University of Barry’s, the event, which was designed and produced by Shiraz Creative and the agency's senior producer John O’Malley, featured a campus-style setting with a locker room, frat house, library, and quad, complete with a fabricated gate and stage.

Staff were also outfitted in sports jerseys, fraternity shirts, cardigans, or just a towel for an authentic locker room experience. Further playing into the school theme, the evening was broken up into two entertainment sections: homecoming and graduation. For the graduation portion, singer Darren Criss was named valedictorian and performed a set featuring songs from 1998, the year Barry’s was

founded.

More than 400 guests attended the ticketed event, which was open to the public but was targeted specifically for Barry’s members who participated in the Higher Education Challenge. A percentage of the revenue generated from ticket sales was donated to Michelle Obama’s nonprofit organization, Girls Opportunity Alliance.

One of the best ways to get people through the door is by taking a trip down memory lane. Get inspired by Barry's Bootcamp nostalgia and devour the details of your next iconic event!

The Holiday Stroll at Boston Landing

Get into the holiday spirit at Boston Landing on Saturday, December 7th from 12-5PM! Sip and stroll with us as we enjoy an afternoon of shopping, cookie decorating, sending letters to the North Pole, dreidel decorating and more! There will also be a beer and wine pop-up available for 21+ crowd!

Here’s a taste of the all-ages activities that are planned:

• Holiday Photo Booth & Pictures with Santa
• Holiday Carolers
• Dreidel Decorating & Dreidel Games
• Cookie Decorating
• Holiday Bracelet Making
• Letter to Santa & Coloring Station
• Beer & Wine Pop-up (Turtle Swamp Brewing & 90+ Cellars)
• Face Painting & Balloons

Check a few items off your holiday shopping list and enjoy dining specials from local Boston Landing retailers, including Cambridge Naturals - Boston Landing, New Balance, NB Fitness Club, Warrior Ice Arena, Mainely Burgers, Rail Stop Restaurant & Bar, KoHi Coffee Company and more. Join us on this fabulous stroll and devour the details of getting into the holiday spirit this Saturday. See you there!

Wedding Wednesdays: 5 Winter Wedding Dos & Don'ts

Weddings aren't just spring and summer affairs. Now, more couples are opting to marry during what was previously the off-season for weddings—and why not? Between the romantic ambiance of a snowy landscape and the sparse competition for vendors and sites, there's so much to love about winter weddings.

So, we're here to say that if you're planning a winter wedding, know that you're not confined to a stereotypical theme. Instead, you can personalize your chilly weather nuptials to perfectly represent you and your partner. As you get creative with details, there are a few things you shouldn't overlook during the planning process. Below at The Knot's top five dos and don'ts for planning a winter wedding. Check it out!

Do Experiment With Colors and Textures
You shouldn't feel bound to a palette of winter whites, greens and reds that traditionally surround the holiday season. Instead, one of the best winter wedding ideas is to experiment with your favorite colors to create a palette that's unique to you. If you love pastels, consider hues with frosty undertones to compliment the seasonality of your wedding date. Similarly, bold colors will create an unexpected dimension to your decor, along with rich textures such as velvet, wool or plaid. Add depth to your palette by incorporating these details into your table settings or your bridesmaids’ shawls.

Don't Feel Confined to a Winter Wonderland Theme
A winter wedding doesn't mean you have to adhere to a holiday theme, especially if it's not fit to your taste. There are a variety of ways to incorporate winter influences into your design that don't feel stereotypical or expected. Hearty, farm-to-table menu options, rich fabric textures or interactive reception stations (like a hot chocolate bar) can all complement the time of year when you choose to get married.

Don't Overlook the Possibility of Inclement Weather
Weather can be unpredictable during the winter months, so it's important to make alternate plans in case of inclement weather. Arrange transportation for your guests from the ceremony to the reception, or provide them with local car services to help them travel between venues. Be sure to touch base with your ceremony and reception venue site coordinators to discuss anything you need to know about handling poor weather on the day of your wedding.

Do Create a Cozy Reception Space
There are plenty of ways to make your reception an inviting space. With the sun setting early, candles will add a romantic glow to your party, while lush and soft textures (think: velvet ribbon around napkins or chenille pillows in the lounge) will build just the right ambiance. To play up the theme, arrange fire pits outside or have a custom hot chocolate or hot toddy bar inside.

Don't Forget a Coat Check
If you’re marrying in a place where your guests will be bundled up, offering a coat check at your ceremony and reception spaces is an important detail that shouldn't be overlooked. Given that your guests will likely be wearing jackets, they'll want a safe place to store their belongings throughout your wedding day. They'll appreciate the thought behind the gesture since they’ll be focused on you (not their extra items).

Even if temperatures are dropping, and snow may be falling, you can make your special day exactly what you want it to be! Take The Knot's advice and devour the details of a winter wedding dream come true. You'll be happy you did!

Baking Our Way to Arlington

According to Boston.com, Breadboard Bakery opened in East Arlington on November 19 in the former Commune Kitchen space, offering an expanse of goods from accomplished baker Daisy Chow. This is the first brick-and-mortar bakery Chow has owned, though she’s been a vital talent in Boston’s baking community for two decades, working in the kitchens at Ames Street Deli, Maison Robert, Via Matta, and Clear Flour Bread, the last of which she baked at for over 15 years. Chow also ran a successful pop-up at Cutty’s, a deli in Brookline Village, where locals fell for her fruit-filled kolaches — Czech pastries that are popular in Chow’s native state of Texas.

Breadboard customers can find those coveted kolaches at her new shop, along with croissants, chocolate wacky cake, chocolate chunk shortbread, buckwheat chocolate cookies, cranberry muffins, and loaves of Danish rye and sourdough bread. For Chow, who recently moved to Arlington, the bakery is a highly personal project.

The bakery aims to be a place where one can get good bread and pastry, and know the bakers making the food. Chow also wants to focus on community and development, wanting the bakery to be a place where her employees can have a venue to share their craftsmanship and feel proud of their workplace.

Breadboard will be open Tuesdays through Sundays from 7AM to 3PM. We can't wait to stop by and try all that Chow and her employees have to offer. Get your fill today and devour the details of some delicious breads and pastries!

Monday Mashups: Why Did Motorola Freeze a Bunch of Old Flip Phones?

Back in 2004, Motorola released its chic new Razr V3 phone, the first mobile phone that flipped closed. To underscore a sense of innovation and wow-factor at the time, the phone made an unconventional debut underneath a glass case inside the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen. That device would eventually sell more than 130 million units and become one of the best-selling mobile phones of all time.

But that was 15 years ago—an era that now seems almost quaintly retro. So when Motorola launched its new Razr phone, reinvented for the modern era, the brand nodded overtly to nostalgia during a futuristic relaunch party in Los Angeles according to BizBash.

Designed for an audience of press, influencers, and Motorola executives, the immersive launch event had an air of mystery and a motif that referenced the passage of time. Motorola tapped creative director Willo Perron (known for innovative work with artists such as Rihanna and Kanye West) to produce the buzzy gathering, which was held at the Container Yard in the downtown Arts District on November 13. Perron evoked the phone’s historic and cultural relevance to create an experience that transported attendees from 2004 to the present day.

Entering the party, guests found a dark, cold room filled with freezers fronted with glass doors. Inside each was a vignette frozen in ice—for instance, a collection of some early-aughts fashion, or a group of antiquated mobile phones.

After moving through the mysterious cold space—which was encircled with the kind of plastic flaps you might find in a grocery store—guests found themselves in an outdoor area set up more like a traditional party space, flanked with bars. There was a main stage outfitted with a DJ booth and backed with a huge angled screen for video projections, a two-paned setup that evoked the look of an open flip phone, you might say.

At 8 p.m., one hour into the party’s scheduled start time, the acclaimed DJ Diplo came on stage during the big reveal of the new phone. He spun as video projections on the screens behind him heralded the new product’s debut. The screens then bore a message inviting guests to an additional final room, which hadn't previously been open, to check out the product.

Inside the third party space, guests could try out the new phone, a $1,500 device available exclusively through Verizon with pre-orders beginning in December and shipping in January. The new Razr has a large screen that folds and seamlessly unfolds as the phone opens and closes—so the room looked appropriately futuristic and angular, with mirrors and beams of white light, all thematic nods to both the new phone’s differentiating features and to the remaking of a historical tech icon.

Gone but not forgotten! Sometimes it's worth it to err on the side of nostalgia in order to devour the details of an event. Get inspired and host your own retro activiation!