Who’s totally in a panic that the holidays are here?! I’m pretty sure there are plenty of people running around like crazy people getting it all together super last minute like I am but if you’re hosting guests for the holidays, it can be stressful and overwhelming…even for the most seasoned hosts!
For that reason, Hampton has partnered with entertaining expert, Jenny Steffens Hobick, to celebrate little holiday moment makers by providing “Hamptonality” to travelers this holiday season. Whether staying at the local Hampton or with family and friends, Hampton and Jenny are here to help hosts create those lasting moments that everyone looks forward to around the holidays – reuniting with family, reminiscing about the past, and partaking in general holiday merriment!
Here are just a few of Jenny’s holiday hosting tips for this holiday season, which will help hosts create lasting memories for their guests and celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.
Keeps your eyes on dada rock’s facebook page for a fun 1 day giveaway for a one night stay – cause there are 1,900 Hampton locations that serve free, hot breakfast with our fresh-baked waffles. Best yet free wired or wireless high-speed internet access in all guest rooms.
Tip 1: Be the best OFF-SITE host ever…
Let’s be honest. You love your friends and family, but cramming everyone into your house for days at a time can be stressful and add to your already lengthy holiday host to-do list! If you simply don’t have enough room to host all of your holiday guests or you just think everyone would be happier with their own, comfortable space, consider booking them at your local Hampton. With more than 1,900 locations, Hampton is the perfect place to stay no matter where your guests may be traveling from.
Tip 2: Surprise your guests with welcome treats
I always like to make sure my guests know how excited we are to have them for a visit by surprising them with a little treat when they arrive. One of my favorite ways to greet them is with something personalized with their name on it, like a decorated sugar cookie or a festive welcome sign. I love staying at Hampton Hotels because they take a similar approach. They often add a personal touch for a guest’s stay by offering a favorite local snack or fun local item when guests check in.
Tip 3:Be prepared with lots of snacks
We all get a little grouchy when we’re hungry – adults and kids alike! Anticipate those moments by having snacks planned for afternoons and before dinner to keep everyone happy. Be sure to include fresh options like fruit and crunchy veggies, along with filling cheeses and more decadent treats so you have something for everyone!
Tip 4: Post the plan
I post a schedule for everyone to see so they’ll know what to expect during their stay. Don’t overbook your guests, schedule plenty of free time for them to do their own exploring or relaxing. Channel your local Hampton front desk concierges and be your guest’s hometown concierge by providing them with a list of activities to do in the area.
Tip 5: Make time for exercise and fresh air
We all feel better with some fresh air in our lungs. I’d be lost without my daily exercise to clear my head and invigorate my spirit. Invite your guests on a walk with hot coffee (or hot cocoa!) and everyone will feel refreshed! Suggest an evening stroll through your local neighborhood to check out the holiday decorations. Guests at Hampton can also get energized and make time for a workout as most locations boast fitness centers and swimming pools.
Tip 6: Make time for resting
The holidays can be very exhausting – especially for your guests who have traveled near and far. Make sure to schedule down time for resting in the afternoons or early evenings. An afternoon nap can feel like an indulgent treat for exhausted guests.
Tip 7: Plan a daily ritual
I like our guests to feel like they’re on vacation, so after our big breakfast, I let them explore during the day, then invite everyone to meet up for an “at home happy hour.” I play holiday music, have a game for the kids, and the adults can enjoy some nice wine and cheese while everyone swaps stories from the day.
Tip 8: Plan one special night for the adults
The holidays are really all about the kids, but it can be really nice for the adults to get some time for themselves, too. Hire a babysitter for the night for the children (or let the grandparents take over), so the parents can enjoy a special night out on the town. Everyone (even the kids!) will appreciate a night of freedom.
Tip 9: Big breakfasts
Serving a big breakfast in the morning seems to make everyone happy! When we host guests, I prepare big bowls of fresh fruit for nibbling on in the morning, and then make some fresh waffles because really, who doesn’t love waffles?!? Hampton offers a free, hot breakfast every morning with fresh-baked waffles – the perfect thing to get your day started!
Tip 10: Stock up on extras
Don’t forget to stock up on extra necessities like shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, contact solution, and other toiletries that guests tend to forget! Take a cue from your local Hampton and anticipate everything that your guests may need and put a basket chock full of products right in their bathroom or bedroom.
Tip 11: Make your home “help yourself” friendly
Guests oftentimes feel like they are “in the way,” so make sure that your home is “guest-friendly” before they arrive. Set up a refreshment center that is available to them daily – coffee in the mornings, bottles of water to take for the day, portable snacks to have at home or on the road, etc. Make a list of local area “hot spots” with their phone numbers and websites that they can easily reference and tack it on the refrigerator. Make a few sets of spare keys, so that people can easily come and go as they please. Basically, be their “at home” concierge.
Tip 12: Plan fun games
The best memories over the holidays are when everyone is relaxing, laughing and having a great time. You can help orchestrate these moments by planning fun games in which everyone can participate. You can host an Ugly Sweater Contest, A Christmas Carol Sing-Off, or Gingerbread House Competition during one of your “at home happy hours.”
Disclaimer: Compensation was provided by Hampton Hotel via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Hampton or Momtrends.
Embraced by generations of fans, Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!will present their first ever holiday show, which will feature everyone’s favorite cast of colorful characters, dance numbers that will make you “razzle dazzle” and special effects that will transform the stage into a glistening holiday wonderland. The first edition of the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! holiday show will create lasting memories for a new generation of fans and for families that have made going to see Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE! a cherished tradition.
Fri, Dec 20
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
5pm
Sat, Dec 21
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
11am, 2pm & 5pm
Sun, Dec 22
New York, NY
Beacon Theatre
11am & 2pm
There are still tickets on ticketmaster and having seen the last few versions of the live show – I highly recommend it for any fan!
Also if you run over to the DaDa Rocks’s facebook page you can enter to win a 4 pack of tickets to Saturday’s 5pm show!
Chrismukkah is a pop-culture referring to the merging of the holidays of Christianity’s Christmas and Judaism’s Hanukkah. In my house thats just how we roll… I’m a beyond reformed jew (love bacon cheese burgers) and my wife grew up with the WWJD crowd. Its always made for interesting discussions and of course some mutual agreed discussion about what we’re doing with our family.
My answer has always been we’ll give them the best of both worlds… but I still wanted a bris for my son (and hopefully a bar mitzvah) we’ll see plenty of time for that in the future. But this year Hanukkah came early like once in every 70,000 years early but most of the time it falls right around the holidays of christmas.
I’ve always loved the idea of having a tree and that was one of the first hanukkah gifts I ever got my wife when we started our life together. Over the years we’ve gone to hallmark stores and collected our yearly ornaments but never found the right tree topper. But this year I think we finally nailed it! MyTreeTopper has made the perfect top to our tree a star of david. How perfect is that her tree and a topper that represents me.
When you celebrate both holidays the kids are going to get spoiled – thats bound to happen each side of the extended family celebrates their holidays (and sometimes my family celebrates both) so while my son just keeps unwrapping gifts – I try to take a second and remind him about how lucky he is that he gets what he gets and more importantly he gets to spend time with his family and his extended family – which usually includes grandparents sometimes great-grandparents.
Of course the older he gets the more he’ll be able to look back and really see how lucky he is… I certainly look at my son and daughter and know how lucky they are to have two amazing celebrations of faith all giving thanks in some way or another.
Oh and seeing another combination of passions – My Tree Topper will be on Shark Tank (and I love shark tank) plus we’ll be having a twitter party too..
Join@MyTreeTopper for a twitter party leading up to Shark Tank on Friday, December 13. The twitter party will be hosted from 8-9 EST (Shark Tank begins at 9) using hashtags #MyTreeTopper and #SharkTank. Prizes include a $100 Master Card Gift Card.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Hanukkah Tree Topper, in association with Katadhin.
Releasing from the Disney Vault in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, creative visionary Walt Disney’s classic shines for the first time on Blu-ray. Starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in her Academy-Award winning role, and featuring iconic toe-tapping songs including “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Mary Poppins is a movie experience your family will enjoy again and again. An all-new digital restoration adds even more magic – helping bring the award-winning songs and amazing picture to life like never before. Share the music; share the magic; share the joy of Mary Poppins this holiday on Blu-ray Combo Pack & HD Digital December 10.
BLU-RAY & HD DIGITAL:
Mary-OKE’s – New piece highlights popular music from the film, specifically “Spoon Full of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Step In Time,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and allows viewer to sing-along to animated words that display onscreen in unique ways.
Becoming Mr. Sherman (TBC by theatrical team): Join actor Jason Schwartzman as he sits down for a fun and musical-filled afternoon with Richard Sherman. In the new film, SAVING MR BANKS, Schwartzman portrays the Disney Legend… half of the famous composing team, the Sherman Brothers who wrote all the classic songs from MARY POPPINS, as well as many other favorites. Hear heartwarming, revealing stories about the making of this beloved musical, get more insight on working with Walt Disney, and get a unique sneak peek into SAVING MR BANKS, starring Tom Hanks, and Emma Thompson.
Gru, his adorable girls, and the mischievous Minions are back with a cast of unforgettable new characters in the blockbuster sequel to the worldwide phenomenon. Just as Gru has given up being super-bad to be a super-dad, the Anti-Villain League recruits him to track down a new criminal mastermind and save the world. Partnered with secret agent Lucy Wilde, Gru, along with the wildly unpredictable Minions, must figure out how to keep his cover while also keeping up with his duties as a father.
The holiday season just got even brighter with the news that Despicable Me 2,the $872 million worldwide box office phenomenon and the year’s #1 comedy, arrives on Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Combo Packs, DVD and Digital HD including UltraViolet on December 10, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film will also be available on Digital HD November 26, 2013, just in time for families to watch on the go as they gear up for holiday travel. In addition to more than 45 minutes of hilarious and insightful bonus features, Blu-ray Combo Packs will include, from the makers of Despicable Me, three all-new mini-movies starring the film series’ breakout stars, the mischievous but lovable Minions. For a sneak peek of these mini-movies, and other great weekly offers from Despicable Me 2, call Gru at **DM2 (**362) from your mobile phone
This past Thanksgiving since I’m based in Manhattan I was there when a brand new Despicable Me 2 float joins the 87th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Paradein celebration of the home entertainment release. Despicable Me 2 rolled out a deliciously decorated cupcake parlor inspired by the hilarious and heartwarming film and featuring Gru, the reformed master criminal turned devoted dad, and a gaggle of his unpredictable helpers, the Minions.
Bonus Features Exclusive to Blu-ray Combo Pack & Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack.
Three All-New Mini-Movies Starring the Minions—Introduced by Gru
Puppy
Panic in the Mailroom
Training Wheels
The Making of the Mini-Movies—A fun-filled take on the making of the mini-movies through the eyes of the artists who made them.
Deleted Scene
The Minions—A visit to Illumination Entertainment in Paris and Los Angeles to hear what it’s really like to work with the Minions.
Evil Minions—Bigger, badder and more purple than ever, the newest and fiercest addition to the Minion species can chew through metal and swallow a car. Find out more about the process that led to their creation and design.
A Gru-Some Transformation—A sit-down with Steve Carell as he discusses the transformation of Gru from the ultimate super-villain to super-dad and international spy.
El Hombre Malo: The Villainy Of El Macho—Every great story needs a good villain, and Despicable Me 2 brings on the diabolico in the form of El Macho! Learn about the creation of this character and the actor who brought him to life—Benjamin Bratt.
A Very Furry Christmas, a festive family-friendly celebration with everyone’s favorite furry friends. Going on now has the park transformed into a one-of-a-kind holiday winter wonderland where visitors can enjoy cheerful Christmas music, twinkling lights and spectacular seasonal entertainment.
This year, the park is enhancing their holiday festivities by adding a second trackless Furry Express train as well as adding new features to the Gingerbread Cookie Factory tour where guests can experience how Twiddlebugs bake their famous chocolate gingerbread cookies.
At A Very Furry Christmas, guests can enjoy the park’s mechanical rides, a larger-than-life Christmas tree and light show, a nightly parade set to festive music and one-of-a-kind fun-filled shopping in the park’s gift shops. There will be three Christmas shows, as well as an opportunity to share a holiday-themed meal with Elmo & friends and a visit with Santa Claus during special character dining experiences that are sure to please everyone in the family.
On Saturday, December 7th and Sunday, December 8th, guests can catch multiple performances of CHOO-CHOO SOUL as they entertain children with their soulful renditions of seasonal favorites.
And finally, to conclude the holiday season and ring in the year 2014, guests are invited to celebrate New Year’s Eve with Sesame Street characters on December 31st with an impressive fireworks show set to exciting and fun music.
General admission tickets for A Very Furry Christmas are on sale now for $24.99, which includes a free second day throughout the event. 2014 Season Pass Members can enjoy unlimited admittance to A Very Furry Christmas. For a complete operating schedule and list of events, please visit sesameplace.com.
Having just seen the Furry event myself for the first time I was BLOWN AWAY! If you have kids that love the holidays and Sesame Street – this is a MUST! They have these great backdrops setup in the park for you to just jump on and grab a picture and everyone is happy to take your camera and snap a picture of you while you snap a picture of them. And its not just about Christmas in the Elmo’s World show they deal with all the holidays which was very surprising and really nice for those interface couples.
Maybe you dont remember… Or maybe you don’t really know me… or you didnt follow me back in 2010 but I woke up thanksgiving morning and wasnt feeling great. Actually I felt really horrible. But we live in NYC and we wanted to take Marc to the parade — Suzanne rushed me to get ready (saying its just stomach issues from our late night sushi and drinks) and we flew out the door to head to our special spot – a bar that was along the route that no one knew was open (its no longer on the route)… I was tweeting the parade with my son on my back… I’m not a complainer (at least I dont think I am maybe my wife would tell you otherwise but when it comes to pain I rarely speak up)… here I was with the world spinning feeling awful with a crushing pain in my chest. If you’re sitting there saying oh no – you’re totally right – I was in the middle of having a heart attack. Needless to say the next few hours were scary for everyone. My wife paced in the hospital ER while they hooked up every monitor you could think of and rushed me into surgery.
It was weird to say the least…. its still been weird but its now been years later and I have lots to be thankful for… in that span of time my wife and I have watched my then toddler son become a totally awesome little kid – playing video games, learning to read & write, watching him sleep at night is heart melting. I changed jobs, built brands, and even tried my hand at being a stay at home dad. We’ve welcomed a little girl into our family this year – Harper is now 8 months old tomorrow (WOW) time flies. Its been an amazing ride. I have a great family, I have an amazing extended family, my kids are getting to know their great grandparents (my grandparents), we still live in Manhattan (but I’m not sure for how much longer)… As I reflect back on these years gone by its hard to imagine what could have been if I ignored that pain a little longer.
Every thanksgiving since 2010 has always brought back a flood of feelings and memories some good and some I dread to think about. In the end I know all too well that I have A LOT to be thankful for… Just remember that has you celebrate this holiday – take stock in how blessed you are and how lucky we are to being living this life. No matter the little troubles – just remember the big picture.
Tis the night before Thanksgiving and everyone is asleep but you just noticed your heading to a family/friends place for Thanksgiving and bringing flowers or wine isnt enough… so I’m here to help you (well really Campbell’s soup is helping me help you but no matter) The Wisest Kid is here to help.
You can get Campbell’s soup pretty much anywhere — food markets (they might be crazy with last minute shoppers), drug stores (I love these places for quick supplies that you’ll need) and gas stations (only if your really lazy or desperate). Pretty much you can get all the supplies at the drug store (like CVS or Duane Reade) other then the green beans those you really might need to run into the market for…
I’ve got you covered with a dish that takes only 40 minutes to make… SWEET!
Green Bean Casserole
What You’ll Need
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups cooked cut green beans
2 2/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions
How to Make It
1 – Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in a 3-quart casserole.
2 – Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
3 – Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown
OK pretty sweet right? You can get plenty more idea overs at the Wisest Kid in the Whole World or connect with him directly, visit him on Facebook, @TheWisestKid #AskWisestKid and on www.WisestKid.com.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol Celebrates its 30th Anniversary and comes to Blu-ray
Ring in the holidays with a new 30th Anniversary Special Edition of Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Disney’s timeless tale sparkles like never before on Blu-ray and Digital Copy, with fully-restored classic holiday shorts, plus all-new bonus features!
Make the season merry as Mickey, Goofy, Donald and all their pals star in a heartwarming retelling of Dickens’ unforgettable holiday tale. Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) is far too greedy to understand that Christmas is a time for kindness and generosity. But with the guidance of some wise ghosts (Goofy and Jiminy Cricket) and a bunch of newfound friends, Scrooge learns to embrace the spirit of the season. Share this wonderful holiday treat with the whole family!
Winnie the Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year on Blu-ray
Get ready to ring in the season with a full-length adventure straight from the heart of the Hundred Acre Wood! Join Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Roo and the whole gang in Winnie The Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year – now on Blu-ray™ and Digital Copy for the very first time. Newly re-mastered in digital high definition, this sparkling holiday classic is an inspiring celebration of friendship.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but Rabbit will only discover the true spirit of the season after his pals make misguided New Year’s resolutions to change – with hilarious and heartfelt results! Featuring beloved characters, delightful songs and fun-filled bonus goodies, this special “Gift of Friendship Edition” is sure to become a shared family tradition for generations to come!
You‘re totally ready for halloween?maybe not well our friends at Campbell’s has a great beard print out for those that want to go as the wisest kid. I also got the scoop from the Campbell’s Kitchen website on some great “Spooky” treats.
![GuestRoom_HR[1]](https://dadarocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/GuestRoom_HR1.jpg)
Who’s totally in a panic that the holidays are here?! I’m pretty sure there are plenty of people running around like crazy people getting it all together super last minute like I am but if you’re hosting guests for the holidays, it can be stressful and overwhelming…even for the most seasoned hosts!
![MickeysChristmasCarol30thBlurayComboDigitalCopy[1]](https://dadarocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MickeysChristmasCarol30thBlurayComboDigitalCopy1.png)
