Noble Pig

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Giveaway! Giveaway! Giveaway!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Because it’s Monday (I love Mondays)…

Because you are all amazing readers…

Because our wines won medals this weekend…

Because a major website listed us as one of their top five recipe sites…

Because I am always imploring you to make recipes using your stand mixer…

Today we are giving away, one Kitchenaid Professional 5 Plus 5-Quart Stand Mixer in metallic chrome.

The Rules:

Leave only ONE comment per person telling us, “the most exciting thing you are going to do this upcoming holiday season”… are you finally taking that cruise to Mexico?  Is your brother flying in from Tasmania?  Are you going to ski down the slopes in the Swiss Alps?  Are you having an intimate dinner for two at home?  We want to know so we can live vicariously through you!

Contest is open to everyone.

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org

Contest ends at 11:59 PM Pacific Time (November 15th).  Winner will be announced the next day, make sure to check back.

*This is not a sponsored contest by Kitchenaid….they are clueless as to our existence.  

Good luck and I can’t wait to hear about all your fabulous holiday plans, however big or small!

 One Year Ago:  Greek Potato and Almond Dip

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Comments

  1. I’m going to New Zealand! I will be visiting a friend that lives in the North Island, right on the beach. It’s going to be a loads of fun: beaches, winery visits, and even taking part in a Kiwi bird rescue effort. Can’t wait!

    Reply

  4. Oooh….I’ll be making a three layer chocolate espresso cake with chocolate espresso buttercream frosting…in that beautiful thing you have pictured up above. : )

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  5. Well I am not traveling to some very cool place or hosting long lost relatives…hmmm. Nothing that exciting from some but well last week I found out I am going to be a grandmother, the following day I found out my daughter and her beau are getting married next month, so they can be settled before he deploys (he is in the Navy). I guess this holiday I will be spending it for the last time with my daughter in my home as my baby…Next year she will maybe hosting it in her own home with my grandbaby? For some reason I am excited but also sad that I am saying goodbye to my little girl and hello to the wonderful woman I have raised.

    Reply

  6. This holiday season I am starting to take on the cooking duties. My grandmother is getting very old and its too much for her to do. But at 86 i cant imagine my self doing it either. I’ll be cooking with my sister and drinking some Malbec.

    Its nothing fancy but im really looking forward too it.

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  8. This holiday season I will be doing the most amazing thing in the world. I will be moving in with my boyfriend, and thus preparing my first ever holiday dinner for his amazing family. And since it will be all prepared at his house and with our student limited budget, I will be using an antique (have no idea why he even has this thing) hand-crank mixer. Plus is I will be burning so many calories making the sweets, I should be able to eat double!!

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  9. What a fab giveaway Cathy! I am going to bake till I drop this holiday season. I have a couple of projects on hand, and I know life will be amazing if I win this dream machine. It’s been on my wish-list for L O N G! Maybe I get lucky this time!

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  10. I am going to some awesome parties with my friends. then i will take my mom to my place( i started working recently. and got my own apartment) and take her out for some grand shopping! πŸ™‚ i know it doesnt sound that awesome. but for me it is gonna be great πŸ˜€

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  11. This upcoming holiday season I will make the usual pilgrimage to the beach with my entire extended family (Mom’s side). Last year there were 49 of us attempting to drink all the alcohol in South Carolina. It’s always fun.

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  12. I’m going to just be enjoying the holidays with my family in our home which I am very fortunate for. Plus, a house full of family and friends is enough excitement for me!

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  14. My daughter is flying in from Atlanta where she took a new job last spring, and I’m excited to hear about all of her adventures, and can’t wait to see her again!

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  15. I will be sticking to tradition and having a night of tasty food with my family, gambling and playing board games with my cousins, and perhaps even spending an evening with a new special lady in my life.

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  16. Me, my husband and 2 younger chilldren recently moved to Ireland, where my husband is from, leaving behind our 2 oldest boys in University in Canada so the MOST exciting thing I am going to do this Christmas is see my 2 older boys, they are coming here for Christmas and I can’t wait. I haven’t seen them since August. I plan on making all their favorite foods and treats. It will be the best 10 days ever!

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  19. I’ll be doing all the cooking this holiday season. My mom is 81 and has earned the right to sit back and enjoy the holidays and let someone else cook. So I’ll enjoy being in the kitchen cooking for my family and in early December, I’ll be cooking for our annual Christmas open house.

    Love your blog.

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  20. My only plans for the holiday thus far are for thanksgiving. Me and my dad usually spend it with my Paternal Grandmother, who doesn’t really cook so much. For the past few years we have been going out to restaurants on thanksgiving and it has never felt like a real thanksgiving to me. This year I offered to come over and cook for everyone, so I’ll be cooking all my maternal grandmother’s vintage thanksgiving recipes plus that pumpkin cheesecake you posted last week. So a nice day spent with my family with a ton of leftovers after instead of an hour or so at a restaurant and none. More food + family = better right?

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  21. I’ll be having my first Christmas where I’m not living with my parents & the first Christmas with my partner. We’ve got a tree and we’re planning on decorating it slowly. We’ve also got big families so the Festive Season is going to be a long one!

    Reply

  30. Well I think it is exciting. I will be flying and spending my vacation in a small town north of here with my future son-in-laws family. Relatives from Portugal, a huge house full of new people.

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  36. My and my boyfriend’s family will be meeting for the first time for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m hoping for many smiles, fun stories, and life-long love.

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  37. I am going to be making Chocolate Panaforte and Jolly little pudding Muffins. Sharing the goodies with Family and taking nice restful walks along the beach watching the sunsets with my wonderful husband πŸ™‚

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  38. We will be flying to South Africa for our two boys to meet their cousins again, this is the first time in two years we have done this – no big deal right? Well, my youngest is only 2.5 years old, so it is the first time they would have seen him walking and talking. It is also the first time I would have seen my mom again since her cancer was diagnosed and treated and since she had her stroke. We are really looking forward to it all – with apprehension though.

    To take some baked holiday goods along with us is standard, but to take them along made in a new kitechenaid mixer that I won . . . well, that would be something special! πŸ™‚ Double decker decadent chocolate cake with butter cream icing is my speciality!

    Thank you for your great blog, fantastic recipes and the ability to dream through your (what seems to me as an) amazing lifestyle.

    Keep going, keep blogging and remember there are many people out there who love receiving your emails and posts – me included.

    Thank you!!

    Reply

  40. I’ll be catching up with all my friends from home, enjoying my college break, and spending time with family and lots of dogs (hoorah!) at my new sister in-law’s parent’s home. Hopefully concocting something brilliant in my new mixer as well πŸ˜‰

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  41. After studying in Barcelona for the last 5 months I am going home to sit, talk and drink California wine with my family in San Jose, CA. Then I am off to Taipei, Taiwain for the next round of my graduate studies!

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  47. Our 3 children will all be coming home, and we will celebrate together with laughter, good food and wine…grateful for each other. Thank you for this blog

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  48. I’m just happy to actually have a holiday off this year AND the night before. SO nice b/c when you work nights at a hospital you usually don’t get both!

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  53. Going to visit NYC this year. We only live 1 hour away.. so we are doing the tree, ice skating, macys window, chestnuts, the whole shebang! Plus take in a show. Can NOT wait. Its been years since we’ve been able to afford that!

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  55. My son in college will be attending Thanksgiving dinner at his girlfriends house this year so I have been invited to my friends house for the holiday. I don’t mind not cooking this year but I do plan on bringing my ultimate pumpkin pie to the dinner table. I can honestly say that this will be the first Thanksgiving ever that I have not cooked. Hmmm…times change, people move, families separate…how I miss my family.

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  56. I’m going to visit my friends Great Aunt mary in the nursing home. I volunteered to sit with her a few days a week and got to hear all of her stories, wisdom, thoughts and dreams. She spoke of when she came from Italy in 1921. She’s 99 years old. I made a scrapbook for each of her 2 sons and one for my friend, documenting a lot of these stories, the laughs etc. I will give it to them on Thanksgiving because I am so thankful that I got the chance to ‘experience’ Aunt Mary!

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  60. I am going to Vienna with my husband! We went there after we got engaged. It was the most lovely vacation and now we want to repeat it. Vienna in winter is lovely… decoration, Christmas market, “maroni” and “kartofelpuffer” from street sellers… I can’t wait!

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  63. The most exciting thing I will be doing this season is going home to visit Mom. She is 90 years old. I changed jobs this year which drastically cut my leave…I haven’t seen her since May, though I do talk to her several times a week.

    The first thing I do when I get home is make Paula Deen’s Baked Garlic Cheese Grits for Mom. She doesn’t cook anymore, so these are a real treat!

    Once we’re properly gritted, we sit around and talk trash, reminisce, and tell jokes.

    I am incredibly Blessed to still have Mom with me. I cannot wait to get home to see her!

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  64. I wish that our family was skiing at beautiful Snowmass. That is our favorite thing to do. (Next year). Actually though, we will be taking care of my mother-in-law, who lost her husband this year, and try to make it a happy Christmas season for her.

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  66. I am going to fly home to Hawaii, (I live on the East coast)and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We have not shared a Thanksgiving dinner in over 40 years!!!! We will be roasting a pig, baking Butter Mochi, probably having sushi with our dinner too!!! pick me pick me!!!!!

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  68. Going back home to North America (Colorado, specifically) and touring some of the old mountain towns to get a flavor of the holiday celebrations there.

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  69. Congratulations on your accomplishments this week Cathy! And what a generous prize! We are moving in about a week, back into our old house. This house has never really felt like home so we are excited to get back HOME. πŸ™‚ While this might not seem exciting to others, we are getting a real Christmas tree this year. We have had artificial trees for so many years I can’t even remember. So this year the family voted and it was unanimous. We can’t wait to get home and get that real tree in our big picture window! Thanks for the opportunity!

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  71. I’m so excited for winter break! As a college student preparing for student teaching, I look forward to sleeping, baking, cooking, knitting, being lazy, seeing my wonderful family and awesome friends, celebrating my birthday (1/1), and bracing myself for things to come.

    (Seriously, the stress college puts on students is horrendous. I can’t wait until graduation!)

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  73. This holiday season: Halloween in Paris, France, Thanksgiving in Cairo, Egypt, pre-Christmas (Advent) in Athens, Greece (my current home), Christmas in Washington, D.C (my hometown), and New Years in New York City!

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  75. We will be joining one of our close friends for Thanksgiving and Christmas! We do not have family close by and are unable to travel this season so they have invited us to spend it with them in their home! I plan on trying to make my first souffle!!

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  78. Happy Holidays to all!

    Our daughter is coming home from college! It’s been 3 months since she’s been home. We will be doing lots of cooking (especially traditional family favorites plus some new ones like your sour cream-chocolate chip coffee cake), relaxing, making memories, reminiscing, and catching up with our extended family…really just enjoying life and appreciating all of our blessings. Isn’t that what it is all about?

    Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy holiday season!

    PS – congrats on your achievements this week. Hard work certainly pays off! Thank you for what you do!

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  83. I am going to spend the holidays with my family, my son and his girlfriend will be flying down to join us. My other son will be home from school. All my friends who are alone in town will be at my house. Can’t get better than that. Happy Holidays everyone !!

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  84. Congratulations on your recent achievements! And thanks for the opportunity to win some wonderful prizes! Other than celebrating our third child’s first Christmas it will be the usual holiday plans for us. Parties, family gatherings, baking, lots of laughs and good times!!

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  87. The most exciting thing I am going to do is spend time with family and friends…and bake lots of holiday goodies! Both are two of my absolute favorite things to do, and I can’t wait! πŸ™‚

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  91. WOW!! Congrats on your wine win!!
    Always look forward to your posts when they pop up in my mailbox.
    This year our family Christmas is the week before and we will just be happy to get everyone together in one spot and celebrate. Then Christmas Day have a day of snowshoeing and hot tubbing!!

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  96. I am going to play with my niece and nephew over Thanksgiving, which is exciting since I don’t get to see them so much. Then I’m going to take advantage of having a month of just work and not work and school, and sleep a lot! and catch up on reading.

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  99. In addition to having our first Christmas together, my boyfriend is planning a very secretive but exciting-sounding trip to NYC. I’ve only been there once before, on a school trip, and only saw two museums. I’m thrilleddddd.

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  103. This year I will be baking a ton of cookies to send to my loved ones who are far away, and then I’ll be sitting down to dinner with my amazing boyfriend and the rest of our families.

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  108. The most exciting this I am hoping to do this holiday is wake up Christmas morning at our house with just our family! We have always had to travel for Christmas and this year we don’t so as long as we don’t have any guests stay with us I will get my Christmas wish πŸ™‚

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  110. The most exciting thing I will do this holiday season is finally go on a date with the hot and perfect Marine I’ve been in love with for two years πŸ™‚ (and yes, he asked me πŸ™‚ )

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  111. Our 3 adult children (and a daughter-in-law) will all be here to visit for Thanksgiving and two of them will be back for Christmas! Being scattered across the country it’s rare that we’re able to all be together for a holiday these days so we’re really excited!

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  113. I’m going to spend Christmas with my wonderful family including my sister who is flying in from Kansas. I plan to make homemade Polish traditional food for Christmas Eve!! πŸ˜€

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  114. OMG… I want a mixer sooooo bad, but can’t bring myself to pony up the cash-o-la… We are planning to ski and snowmobile in the Black Hills of South Dakota!

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  115. My children usually arrive with pets, which has made for some memorable moments during our holidays. As far as activites, we keep it local, choosing to attend candlelight walks and home tours. Love seeing everyone’s homes decorated with love.

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  116. I am going with my mom and best friend to a Thanksgiving buffet at Little America in Salt Lake. My mom and I go every year as tradition. Then my best friend and I will come home and watch football!

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  117. Congrats Cathy and family! I might also mention- I do a podcast with another blogger and we mentioned you as one of our go to sites on our podcasts on favorite cooking blogs!
    (undercoverwithdebandbeth.blogspot.com)

    ps- Will be laying low over the holidays since will be celebrating everything over the Thanksgiving holiday,

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  118. This holiday season I’ll be going to Disney World with my friends and family. We’re going to Mickey’s Christmas Party to celebrate my sister’s graduation, birthday and another friend’s birthday on top of Christmas.

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  121. I’m moving into my new home in Greeneville, TN. looking forward to my husbands retirement from the USAF after 20 years….looking to slow down a bit and enjoy life…..:)

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  123. We’re replacing the turkey and all its trimmings with a variety of appetizers. The kids suggested this last year because they think old mom (that’s me) has to spend too much time in the kitchen. Silly kids. This may take even more time! But it will be fun. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

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  127. My daughter will return home from being in California since June. With the family all together, we are headed out to a secluded cabin in the woods, armed with our favorite Christmas movies and plenty of your recipes! πŸ™‚

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  128. Spending time with family – what could be better at Christmas? Mom (87), husband, daughters, sons in law, grandchildren, all gathering for an incredible feast!

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  131. For Thanksgiving, we are traveling to my sister-in-law’s house. Her husband was her sous-chef but he’s laid up after knee surgery. I’ll be helping out as much as I can!

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  132. We are cooking outdoors in this beautiful AZ weather. We are also encouraging our older teens to invite someone they know who won’t be with family this year. Lobster, grilled salmon, cocktail shrimp are few of the dishes we’ll be serving.

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  135. My husband and I are spending Thanksgiving in Michigan in a huge, tricked-out house we’re renting with a bunch of friends. It’s going to be couples, dogs, kids, food, and tons of laughs and love!

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  137. First, I’ll be praying for a White Christmas (since I live in TX!), second, I’ll be working ONLY 6 days in December (HURRAY for vacation!) so I can relax and enjoy the holidays without being rushed, and finally, in addition to the traditional Christmas Festivities I’ll be watching my favorite basketball team (hopefully!!) win on Christmas Day!! πŸ™‚ Oh, and after Christmas I’m going to look forward to my mom’s Turkey Croquets – that’s almost more tradition than Turkey on Thanksgiving in my family!!

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  141. I haven’t seen my family in months, and I will be flying home to California to visit them – I couldn’t be MORE excited! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  147. We will be doing a whole lot of nothing (except of course, lots of baking and eating) this holiday season, which is just how we like it. Travel with our little ones is always an adventure so we like to keep it to the grocery store as much as possible.

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  150. I’ll be spending as much time as possible with my family while eating great food, playing games, and watching lots of movies. Sounds ordinary, but it’s one of the highlights of my year.

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  151. This holiday season I will be spending time and sharing several incredible meals with my family. My Mom will be 83 this Dec. My Dad is 87.
    My Mom, a former Home Ec teacher, still enjoys cooking her once a year
    Prime Rib dinner with Yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts in browned butter and mashed potatoes served with a creamed onion sauce. She also bakes and serves Holiday Bread, a recipe from my Polish grandmother, as well as several dozen cookies. Family member will assist her, but 95% of the cooking will be hers. I would love to see her receive a Professional K.A. mixer for her Dec. 12th birthday. She would be thrilled and that would be the most exciting holiday experience for me!

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  154. this holiday season, my family and i will be moving! it’s not as exciting as it is sad; we’ve been in the house for 15 years and everyone is sorry to go. but i’m hoping and praying that this takes us on to bigger and better adventures.

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  155. Hmm…as exciting holidays go mine is on the tame side…I’m going to make homemade stuffing this year, a pie from scratch and having thanksgiving at my house on top of it.

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  156. this holiday season, my family and i will be moving! it’s not as exciting as it is sad; we’ve been in the house for 15 years and everyone is sorry to go. but i’m hoping and praying that this takes us on to bigger and better adventures.

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  157. Time! I was recently laid off from work, and I’m thrilled to have TIME this holiday season! Time to bake, time to decorate, time to spend with my family without feeling overwhelmed, time to carefully and thoughtfully shop for gifts… and time to sleep. Happy Holidays everyone!

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  161. The most exciting thing I am going to do over Christmas is bake with my new mixer and give away all the creations so I don’t have to diet in the New Year!

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  162. My husbands family has “Fall Family Fun Games” each Thanksgiving and plays icebreaker games to win ridiculous prizes (like VHS tapes from 1984). The closing event each year is launching frozen cornish hens with a giant slingshot. The closest person to the bullseye area wins…I am going to beat my husband this year!

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  166. We are suprising our boys with a trip to Hawaii! THey will get their tickets in their stocking Chirstmas morning and we will leave the next morning! I can’t wait! Hope we can keep the secret.

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  168. We will be travelling to NYC for a quick meet-up and day tour of Manhattan with our ‘Spanish daughter’, Maria and her husband Ruben … Maria was our exchange student ten years ago … so special to keep in touch and have a chance to see each other!

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  169. Hosting my OWN Thanksgiving. The family traditions are changing, so this year, I’ll be hosting. Among our guests are 2 men from Saudi Arabia, and possibly some of their friends. Fun to share our culture while we learn things about theirs!

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  170. The only exciting thing that comes to mind is the fact that I have all of my Christmas shopping done and hope to have it all wrapped by Thanksgiving! I won’t have to deal with holiday crowds at the malls like I do every year!

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  172. Well, the most exciting things I will be doing this holiday season is getting to spend Christmas morning with my fiance. This will be our fourth Christmas together, but we have never got to spend it together!

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  173. this holiday is ALL about family & friends for me. my brother & his family (including their two new & adorable twin girls) are coming home & we are all soooo excited about spending time w/ them:D nothing could be more entertaining than getting to share this time of year w/ all my loved one!!

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  178. I haven’t decided if it’s exciting or not, but I’ll be spending my first Thanksgiving in a new place with a new roommate. Here’s to new beginnings!

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  179. My fiancé and I will be hosting Thanksgiving this year, and are really stepping up our food-game. We’re making everything from scratch, and a stand mixer sure would make things easier, as I’ve been coveting one of these for about a year now!

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  180. Nothing out of the ordinary for the holiday’s – several get togethers, the big day with family, etc. Happy Holiday’s and thanks for the great giveaway!

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  181. If cooking for 20+ relatives counts as exciting I guess I’ll be living it up! πŸ™‚ Hoping to get out of town sometime this winter break, but we are saving for a year long round-the-world trip in a year so probably not!

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  183. The most exciting thing… hmmm, let’s see… I guess I’ll be opening presents. Which, in this economy, is pretty exciting!!!! Added to the excitement is that it’s my wife and I’s first Christmas being married! Woo hoo!

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  184. well for thanksgiving we are having a baby shower (ok the saturday after) we have dinner here people come in if they choose or not if they dont plenty of food here … come on over πŸ™‚
    for christmas we are having a GRANDbaby girl… she is due the 26th but the dr thinks she might come a DAY or two early I personally hope she comes christmas day… as her mother was born thanksgiving day it would be pure justice πŸ˜€
    HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND I WOULD LOVEEEEEEE TO WIN!

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  186. Oh Well.
    The plans are that finally we are taking our kids to visit their Dad’s family in Colombia! They don’t know most of the family members nor the city! Should be fun…. Good Luck to me!

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  189. Some family is coming into town from Philly, and we are all going to help cook Thanksgiving dinner, using some of the recipes from your site! But before dinner we are going to serve at a local shelter with our church, so it should be a great day! πŸ™‚ All my best to you and yours!

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  191. I will be going on a short cruise this holiday season with my boyfriend, but most importantly, I will be spending time with family and loved ones.

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  192. we are going to attempt to smoke duck breast for Thanksgiving – yes very exciting as i’ve only eaten it ONE TIME at a restaurant and LOVED IT. We have never smoked anything, so it’s first time we’ll be cooking “together” – he’s excited about smoking, i’m excited about the duck – let’s hope we do not kill each other!! πŸ˜‰

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  194. The most exciting thing I am planning to do this holiday season is get some rest. . .hopefully. We have been working really hard at work on a new project and putting in LONG hours to get it out early – I am looking forward to taking a few days off and spending some quality time with my husband and son who I have not seem much of lately. Ò˜º

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  198. My most exciting moment that I am looking forward to this holiday season, is Christmas morning with my husband and kids. I love the thrill of staying in my pj’s for hours, while sipping really good coffee, and nibbling on homemade cinnamon rolls. Its not new, its not exciting, but it is what I look forward to in every holiday season!

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  199. The most exciting thing that I’ll be doing this holiday season is going on Disney cruise with my extended family — 11 of us. We are celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Can’t wait! What a celebration this will be!

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  201. We will be hosting Christmas dinner for 33 family members. The ages will range from 2 months to 99 years. We can’t wait for the party to begin.

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  202. Doing all my usual holiday activities, starting with Thanksgiving dinner at our house, our annual holiday open house, daughter’s dance show, Christmas eve with the in-laws and a nice low key Christmas day at home!

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  203. My fiance and I will be celebrating our first Christmas in our new home!! We live in a newly contructed subdivision. The first people to move there moved in in April, so it is the whole entire neighborhoods first holiday season! We are SOO excited to cover the house in twinkling lights and get a live Christmas tree, my first ever!!

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  204. I’ll be spending my first Thanksgiving as a US resident, having finally moved here from the UK to marry my lovely wife after a wait of several years. Just the two of us and the sausage dog but our first TG as a proper family πŸ˜€

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  206. My mom is finally coming to visit me in DC after 2 years of living here. Also she will meet my boyfriend I have been with for over a year. My mom and I are really close but do not have a lot of money to see each other, so this is going to be a big Thanksgiving for me!! And my boyfriend has been gone for the past 4 months in the army and will finally be home longer than a month.

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  207. Exciting?? Well… Challenging will be taking care of Christmas on less money than last year – making do with what we have, and perhaps serving others more- Trying to have the Spirit of Christmas all around!

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  209. This year is going be a quiet family gathering somewhere. We have lost so many family members in the last 5 years. We are only left with 7 out of 13 members for the holiday gatherings. The kids have learned many of life’s lessons through the loss we’ve experienced. We’re going to take this time to just gather around and spend the time together. My 14 year old daughter has also suggested that instead of doing a gift exchange that we go as a family to volunteer at a shelter to offer to serve food to the needy families this holiday.

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  210. For years we ran around to different houses over the holidays. Now that my children are grown we stay home, watch movies , play games and just hang out. Most relaxing day of the year for me!!

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  211. That’s a fabulous give away. This Thanksgiving I’ll be hosting my childhood friend and her fiance for a visit. I’m expecting lots of fun and food and laughs. I get a lot of days off at Christmas. I’ll be cooking and maybe if I can find the right color, painting my kitchen for the 4th time. (all faux finishes) so it’s never easy, but it’s the room I’m in all the time and my mood for it keeps changing, just like recipes. Congratulations on the medals won for your wine.

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  212. Tday in Florida w immediate family in our new beach condo and Christmas at home. Sounds boring but with 3 teenagers it never is!! I’ll be cooking everything both holidays. Then we top off the year with a HUGE NY eve party!!!

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  213. Hopefully the most exciting thing will be baking my delectable Christmas cookies with my new Kitchaid mixer that I won from the kind folks at noble pig.com (my favorite recipe site!!!!!!)

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  216. Possibly the most exciting thing I’m doing for the holidays is returning home to spend Christmas & New Year’s with my amazing family. I’m in Paris as an au pair, but I miss my family so much, and I simply can’t wait to return home.

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  217. I will be spending this Thanksgiving with my father whom I havent seen in 3 years…It will be the first time cooking for him…Im both very nervous & excited!!!

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  218. We are staying in-just the four of us. No rushing to open gifts and pile in the car and rush to someone’s house for a few hours. We are staying in our jammies all day, grazing on whatever we have from Christmas Eve, watching the new movies that always end up in our stockings and ending with a game of Apples to Apples.

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  219. I am going to Bucerias, MX to visit my sweet, Mexican boyfriend. He recently rented an unfurnished house in the colonia and I am taking him some things to furnish his kitchen. He’s a great cook and we love cooking together.

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  222. I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family and my boyfriend. He hasn’t had a real Thanksgiving in 2 years because of being in the Army, and I’m so excited to finally give him a real, home cooked, family holiday!

    Reply

  223. Actually, we are leaving Las Vegas, NM for home in Central Texas today. This vacation fulfills a quest that started 16 years ago when I went thru this town with my mother (who was very ill at that time), my two very young children and a niece. My husband of 23 years and I went to another niece’s wedding in Lincoln, NE and we made the big circle to come down thru Colorado and New Mexico. We stayed at the circa 1882 Grand Hotel on the Plaza in Las Vegas on the 3rd floor (with the ghost!…didn’t see anyone), went to the hot springs on the Armand Hammer United World College campus (open to the public)…ate LOTS of food….it was a BLAST!

    Reply

  225. I will be fixing up our house, so that we can sell it and my wife can finally come and join me after living apart for more than a year. Oh, and making lots of food of course.

    Reply

  226. No exciting plans–cooking Thanksgiving dinner for family, enjoying grandkids, planning for a low-key Christmas. Not at all exciting, but familiar and cozy!

    Reply

  228. Right after Thanksgiving, I’m taking the first vacation of my adult life without children (that’s been 10 years)!!! My husband isn’t a huge fan of boats, so my mother and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas for a week to relax and rev up for the rest of an extremely busy holiday season! πŸ™‚

    Reply

  229. My trusty old Kitchenaid mixer was fatally injured in a recent move…I was, and still am, heartbroken. However, this holiday season I plan on making cookies with that gorgeous Kitchenaid mixer that you’re giving away. And, there’s no need to live vicariously through me…I will send you samples!

    Reply

  232. Leaving on a cruise the day after Christmas with my four kids, grandson and my parents! Two daughters go to BYU in Utah and the other daughter and her family live outside of New Orleans. We are so excited to all be together!!! We love your recipes!

    Reply

  233. It has been a lifetime goal born both out of a desire for physical fitness, as well as a spiritual journey thats coming to a head. After dropping off a total of almost 200 lbs myself, me and my girlfriend will be going to Machu Picchu.

    Machu Picchu, with its insane number of stairs and a mountain trek that some people hire donkeys for. We will do it all on foot, and once there (this parts completely mine) i plan on proposing atop the Peruvian Peak.

    Reply

  235. I am traveling to see my parents in Northern Michigan for Christmas and New Year’s. I haven’t seen them since I graduated college in May, so I am very excited to see them!

    Reply

  237. I am going home to see my mom and dad. I am a married college student and haven’t seen them since August ’09. I also happen to live half way across the country from them. They live in Colorado, I’m in Virginia

    Reply

  239. The most exciting thing I’ll be doing this holiday season is making my daughter’s holiday dress on the sewing machine I just got. I haven’t used a sewing machine since Jr High. I’m so psyched! Then after the holidays – marathon training. Wheeeeee!

    Reply

  240. Preping for the day after Thanksgiving when we have at least 16 people coming to dinner, as opposed to Thanksgiving where we only have 13 so far.

    We have already started cooking items that can freeze, such as Wednesday’s entree Brisket braised in cranberry sauce with portobello slices.

    Yesterday I ground 20+ pounds of sausage, this AM I stuffed the French Garlic

    Reply

  241. We are going to have the most amazing Christmas present ever… our third child is due on Dec. 13th!!! I am hoping that he/she won’t come on the actual day of Christmas just because I want to be home to spend Christmas with the other two as well, but we are so excited to have our third little surprise. We don’t find out what we are having… so our holiday surprise will be the baby and what the baby is.

    Reply

  244. Its the many small little celebrations with friends and family that I am looking forward to most. I love to bake for my teens and their (dozens of) friends, because making them special food seems to let them know how much they are worth in my eyes. They are worth my time and my energy and making something very special, even if no one but them sees it. They are worth more than a bag of chips. Just talking about it fills my heart up to overflowing. I love baking them cupcakes with cooked frosting. Its very merry. πŸ™‚

    Reply

  246. Excitement? No.
    Wonderful? Yes.
    Were having all our children and extended family home for Thanksgiving. Which means loudness, laughter, cramped conditions and allot of love πŸ™‚

    Reply

  247. I’m not doing anything too exciting this year. We celebrate Christmas Eve with my family and it’s something I look forward to every year. There’s a lot to be said for traditions.

    Reply

  250. We will be watching in awe as our son, who will be six months old marks his first Christmas. It’s the only thing that can top last year’s Christmas, our first Christmas as a married couple in our new home!

    Reply

  252. I wont be doing anything super exciting this holiday but we are taking our goddaughters to breakfast with santa this year. We will also be baking holiday cookie and goodies for the homless shelter again this year. Most of our holidays consist of cooking, baking and family!

    Reply

  256. My brother, sister-in-law and I will likely spend time at their place eating and watching Twin Peaks. Nothing major, but low key, which should be nice.

    Reply

  259. this holiday season i vow to spend less time worrying about pleasing the people who don’t like me and more time enjoying my family, who love me.

    Reply

  266. This year is my brothers & his wife’s “turn” to host Christmas, but since he’s going through treatment for lung cancer, my husband & I are hosting instead. We look forward to having the family at our house, since last time we hosted, we were snowed out!

    Reply

  269. What an awesome giveaway!! THe most exciting thing I will be doing this season is keeping a crawling baby from pulling ornaments off the tree. Come to think of it…I’ll probably be keeping a 3 year old and a 6 year old from pulling ornaments off also…

    Reply

  270. We’ve moved every year around Christmasfor the last 3 years so with a 3 year old and a 6
    month old, we’re finally staying still and starting our own traditions. I’m very much looking forward to it.

    Reply

  271. The most exciting thing that is happening for us this Christmas is that we can give back. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by friends and family that we look forward to imagining our Secret Santa gifts for the less fortunate being opened by a family in need–and that, to us, is pretty darned exciting! Happy Holidays to everyone at Noble Pig!

    Reply

  272. I will be hosting a Holiday Dinner party. Then I will be traveling home to spend time with my family, and also traveling to meet my boyfriend’s extended family!

    Reply

  278. I will be celebrating my daughters life and watching her laugh and play. She was recently given a kidney. I will be keeping the donor’s family in my thoughts and being ever so thankful that they offered this very special gift of life to our little girl and thinking about them at what be a very difficult time for them having lost a child and hoping that knowing that a life was saved is some kind of consolation to them.

    Reply

  280. Staying at home with an intimate dinner for 2… already into holiday cooking mode…. this would be soooo helpful!
    Thanks for the chance to win! Good Luck Everyone!

    Reply

  281. The most exciting thing I will be doing this holiday season is watching the excitement of Holiday season in my son’s eyes. Looking forward to EVERY moment!

    Reply

  282. I not doing anything like flying off to some wonderfully warm and exciting place. I’m gong to stay home and go over to my sisters and see family that will be coming for Seattle that we haven’t seen for years. I am also going to be making you pumpkin cheese cake for my 93 year old grand mother who loves my cheese cakes and looks forward to them every year at this time.

    Reply

  288. I am so excited about being able to help out less fortunate families this year–my daughter and I are so lucky to be surrounded by friends and family and we are planning on helping out with Secret Santa projects in our community. We will be looking forward to imagining the happy faces of children on Christmas morning that we have helped…..Happy Holidays to all!

    Reply

  292. Having Thanksgiving for 50+ relatives, recovering for a couple of weeks and baking my annual batches and batches of christmas cookies – this mixer would be a huge help!

    Reply

  293. I’ll be hosting my first big family dinner in our new home! I’m nervous and excited at the same time as I’ve never hosted one of the “big” holidays before.

    Reply

  294. This doesn’t necessarily fall under the category of amazing but qualifies as a special opportunity. Our church prepares food for the homeless on a regular basas and I participate every sixth weekend. My next turn falls on Christmas Day. So my daughter and I will meet others at the church at 3 pm on Christmas Day to prepare food for 120 people. We are trying to spruce up the menu and as part of that I have volunteered to bake holiday cookies for the entire group (normally they have oreos as their dessert). I believe it is a great opportunity on a special day to give back to others. Happy holidays to all!

    Reply

  295. I’m going to have a girls day in for all my girlfriends, featuring a yet to be determined cocktail, jazzy music, a roaring fire, and a slew of appetizers and will be checking noble pig for recipe ideas! This is also my boyfriend and I’s first Christmas together, so I have a romantic christmas dinner to plan too!

    Reply

  296. It’s not glamorous or adventurous, but it’s my very favorite part of the holidays: spending time in the kitchen with my sons, who have learned to love cooking as much as I do πŸ™‚

    Reply

  299. I’m a holiday fanatic! I’m excited to do all of the traditional family get-togethers this year which will be sure to include tons of delicious dishes and great conversation. Most exciting of all, however, is that my fiance, who is an aspiring stand-up comic, will be headlining his first show ever just a few days after Christmas! So, excited as I am to partake in all the usual holiday cheer, I cannot wait to see my man shine and finally get the recognition he deserves!

    Reply

  300. We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my husbands family this year. The family is growing larger ever since the grandchildren are getting married and so they decided to rent a beach house in our neighborhood and spend a few days here with us at the beach. Also one son is coming from Florida to be with us, and another good friend from Louisiana. So it will be quite a happy crowd, and we plan on stuffing and roasting the biggest turkey ever, with plenty of cornbread dressing Cajun style. By the way, I do not have a standing mixer, never had one, and would love to win one! Thanks for having the contest and making this week exciting!

    Reply

  302. We’ll travel for Thanksgiving, then spend Christmas at home. We’ve really tried to pare down the holidays and keep them quiet and family-centered. Nothing earth shattering, but still lovely.

    Reply

  303. My 4 brothers and I will be travelling hundreds of miles from all across the world to be at home with my parents for Christmas πŸ™‚ Luckily we all get a month holiday from our Universities, so we’ll just be enjoying being together again. I’m so excited already!

    Reply

  305. Having just moved back to my home state after ten years, I’m FINALLY going to have a holiday party with all of my family in attendance. I can’t wait! No flying and running around trying to see everyone – they’re all coming to my house! Thanks for hosting the giveaway and congratulations on all of your amazing news – well deserved.

    Reply

  306. I’m excited to travel home to see my family and friends for more than a long weekend. I also have my fingers crossed that Arkansas goes to a great bowl game (Cotton Bowl?!?!) to finish off the holiday season!

    Reply

  308. My 4 brothers and I will be travelling hundreds of miles from all across the world to be at home with my parents for Christmas πŸ™‚ Luckily we all get a month holiday from our Universities, so we’ll just be enjoying being together again. I’m so excited already!

    Reply

  310. I’m going to SLEEP over Christmas break. Being a senior in college definitely makes that the best part about break…no deadlines or exams. I’m also looking forward to spending time at home with my family and skyping my boyfriend who lives in Egypt right now. Great giveaway!

    Reply

  312. This will be my first Christmas after moving out of my parents house. So my roommates and I are going to decorate the house, make sugar cookies and enjoy being 20-somethings doing Christmas for the first time on our own:)

    Reply

  313. Hopefully, fingers crossed…we will be moving into a house of our very own!! That is most exciting to me!! This would be perfect in so many ways! GL everyone πŸ™‚

    Reply

  315. My mom is coming to visit and we are spending some good, quality family time before my youngest graduates from high school this year. As the years go by, family becomes more and more important. I am so excited to just gather together around the fire and make indoor s’mores!

    Reply

  317. My husband and I are celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary in a few weeks with dinner at a local restaurant and a hockey game–it doesn’t get any better! And just a little while later, my in-laws converge on our home, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” style. So much to do! πŸ™‚

    Reply

  322. My husband and I will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport, Oregon. It’s a book lovers hotel where each room is designed in the theme of a different author – we’ll be staying in the Colette. There is a library where one can sip tea and read books from the loft library, while watching the waves. It’s a place where you feel you’ve been transported back to the late 1800’s – no electronics of any kind including phones, clocks, computers, etc. The communal dinner is announced with the ringing of a bell at 7:00 p.m. Guests are encouraged to play “Two truths and a Lie” at the table in an effort to get to know your fellow diners a little. Believe me, everyone has a story to tell and it’s fun.

    Reply

  323. I have the most exciting holiday plans – I am expecting my first baby right in the middle of holiday season! I have the feeling that some of the holiday traditions might end up being short-changed, but I personally think it’s worth it… πŸ™‚

    Reply

  326. They say there’s no place like home for the holidays but they also say home is where the heart is, so I’m spending Thanksgiving in Chicago (where I’m from), Christmas in DC (where my parents just moved) and New Year’s in New York City with my brother, sister-in-law and her 7-month baby bump! Planning on eating lots of Thai food and shopping at H&M, neither of which are in Kansas where I currently live.

    Reply

  331. My husband and I will be moving into a house. We are busy packing now that I think Thanksgiving will not be a big deal but so excited to move into a house! We will likely be hosting Christmas dinner and excited to try out some recipes!

    Reply

  333. Our first married Christmas will have my entire family coming into town & gathering at our house. All of us together for the first time at Christmas in 5 years! Yay!

    Reply

  334. My boyfriend and I will be spending our first Christmas together, and heading to the cabin for cozy nights by the fire and fun outdoor activities. I’m really quite excited to build the first snowman of the year.

    Reply

  335. I will be going spending much needed down-time with my family who have been instrumental in getting me through what has been the most challenging year of my life. Without their unconditional love and unending support there would be no excitement for me this holiday season.

    Reply

  336. giveaway! giveaway! <3 to me!!! erica from Seoul!!! this upcoming holidayzzzz
    i’m gonna hang out with my fabulous friends in Chicago and eat tonz of good food! of course i’ll drink ur sweetest wine! NOBLE PIG ROCKS!!Γ’β„’Β₯ hope everybody has their own greatest holidayz ever!!!!

    Reply

  337. We’re spending the holidays quietly at home. We will still be doing the usual chores, including putting out hay for our small herd of cattle. The older I get, the more important quiet days without stress are becoming. I’ll cook some traditional dishes, of course, and experiment with a few new ones. If the nice weather continues, I’ll put up the outdoor Christmas lights, but we’ll skip the tree this year since we have a young cat just looking for something to take apart!

    Reply

  341. With saved vacation days my father and I are tearing out my Mom’s old kitchen and installing the modern, functional, amazing cooking space she has always deserved and never had. All the decisions have been made and the cabinets and appliances have been ordered. looking forward to spending time with family doing hard and rewarding work. She’d never buy herself one of these, so it would make the perfect present to put under the tree.

    Reply

  342. I’m taking my boy for an impromptu vacation somewhere warm. All my family is scuttling off to other locations this Christmas, the big family gathering isn’t happening, so I’ve decided what the hell, we’ll go do something totally random as well! We usually ski, but we’re going to go somewhere sunny and hot for a few days, snorkeling, hitting the beach, zipping around on jetskis.. not sure it’ll become a new tradition, but it’ll definitely be a holiday adventure to remember!

    Reply

  345. This is the first year we’re hosting Thanksgiving! Between getting married and buying a house, our parents both thought it was “our turn.” I still don’t have to make the turkey though. πŸ™‚

    Reply

  347. I know this isn’t super exciting but I’m going…home. I go to school on an island , which itself probably sounds more exciting to all of you. The students’ excitement to return home becomes palpable on the island as the time draws near.

    Reply

  348. Quiet Christmas at home this year and I’m really excited for it! I’m planning on a nice Christmas Eve dinner followed by watching A Christmas Vacation and drinking coffee with Bailey’s and just enjoying the family!

    Reply

  351. This Christmas, our family will go to spend a country Christmas at our son’s place. Lots of snow– snowmobiling. Cozy fire in the fireplace. Good food.
    Family is where it’s at.
    :o)

    Reply

  352. I am taking my girls ages 15, 16, and 18, to NYC for the traditional Christmas day there. Radio City Music Hall, ice skating in Rockefeller Center, window shopping, ect, and especially eating at Serendipity 3, something we’ve always wanted to do since watching to movie Serendipity! We’ve never done this and cant wait!

    Reply

  353. I’m excited that my mother in law and her honey are traveling from GA to CT to spend Christmas with us!! It will be so nice to have family here instead of it just being the two of us. I plan on baked french toast, a roaring fire, gifts to open, hot chocolate and a big turkey dinner.

    Reply

  355. I am going to a Philadelphia Eagles game the day after Christmas. (This is especially dangerous/thrilling because I am and always will be, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.)

    Reply

  356. I will be spending quality time with family, trying to continue some tradtions of years past, as my husband and their brothers lost both parents within the last year and a half, and establish new family traditions to continue into the future.

    Reply

  358. We had a trip planned to Daytona Beach for a Thanksgiving get away. My daughters (16 and 13) convinced my wife and I to cancel the trip as they wanted to stay home for the holiday. Since cancelling the trip, they all decided that we should be adventurous this Thanksgiving and prepare a trash can turkey, a recipe the girls ran across during an internet search. Not sure what to expect, but we’re going to give it a try. Keep your fingers crossed.

    Reply

  359. This holiday season I will be doing nothing, just relaxing, and I am soooo looking forward to it. I will be spending time with my family, and it will be the first stress-free month in a long time. I will sit by the fireplace, read books and magazines, watch movies and eat food. Not a worry in the world.

    Reply

  362. Just graduated from college and I’m moving to London this winter to search for a job. Most of my friends have moved back in with their parents, so this is a pretty exciting step.

    Reply

  365. My best baking buddy and I did not win the weekend out at the Pioneer Woman’s ranch, so we decided to have our own baking weekend right here in my kitchen!

    Reply

  366. I’m very excited for this Christmas! For the very first time in my life I”m spending the holiday away from my home and going to the home my “baby” brother and his wife just bought to celebrate with them. So, my little family (husband, 4 year old son) is traveling to Philly, along with my parents as well as my sister in law’s parents. We’ll all enjoy the holidays together and we’re so excited! (My son is concerned Santa will not get the new address for his toys, but we’re doing our best to reassure him….)

    Reply

  369. This holiday season we will be having family and friends for a feast! Unfortunately, our oldest son will be deployed with the U.S. Navy and won’t be able to be home–but, he’ll be with us in spirit.

    Reply

  373. I’m getting together with my closest girl friends and doing our annual pot luck! Every year we get together and do this since we all go to schools across Canada.

    Reply

  374. The most exciting thing I’m going to do this upcoming holiday season is make special memories and appreciate the time spent with family and friends. I don’t cook fancy or complicated dishes – just good food from fresh ingredients. Sweets are my specialty!

    Reply

  375. Christmas eve is always a intimate Turkey dinner at home with my husband and kids. Then the following moring we do Santa, then head off to visit with the inlaws for breakfast and afternoon then head to my family for a HUGE Dinner and gathering with my entire italian extended family. We have fabulous Prine Rib and Stuffed Garlic Shells with amazing cocktails while the kids have Mc D’s Burgers and fries (LOL).Its a blast for the kids and we have had the dame tradition since I was a child. Tons of cousins and pitter patter thru the house with excitement of new toys and gifts

    Reply

  376. I will be hosting a Holiday Dinner party. Then I will be traveling home to spend time with my family, and also traveling to meet my boyfriend’s extended family!

    Reply

  378. Wow, they said “by far, our favorite food blog on the web.” Good for you!! I love your recipes too. We are planning a trip to Italy (for a little after the holidays) and I am thrilled! Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  382. Every year we have a Christmas party to attend this party you must donate canned/boxed food. In return for donating I have raffle threw out the night from bottles of wine, nuts, candles, and the plates of cookies to be given away. We usually fill two large barrels with food that have been donated from our guests.

    Reply

  383. We will be spending time with all the family, which includes 8 GRANDS…last two are twins. Our daughter and her husband from Washington, DC will be here, which is great. I enjoy your blog. Have a great holiday.

    Reply

  384. This holiday season is going to be extra exciting because I won t tickets to see the Winter an NHL game played outside in Pittsburgh with a big group of my friends and family!

    Reply

  387. I’m not doing anything exotic or adventurous in the vacation sense for the holidays, but this year time of year is my absolute favorite because, well, no one does Christmas like my mom! She’s also turning 50 this year (on Dec. 22nd), so I am going to surprise her an come home early for the holidays. I hope to spend all my time making yummy cookies, drinking wine, and laughing with my momma!

    Reply

  388. We will be going home to Des Moines, Iowa for the first time in 5 years since moving to Richmond, Virginia. We will be with family as that is so important to us since we have had a death in the family last year at this time.

    Reply

  390. Take the time to breathe and work on some baking projects I have been wanting to do, sewing projects sitting in the box looking at me and putting together the family cookbook for my daughters

    Reply

  397. We are making an intimate dinner for two; a re-make of last year’s “Do Nothing Turkey”, a 12 pound Butterball, adding parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Found my Grandmother Elliott’s pumpkin pie recipe, and will make your delicious ginger cream sweet potatoes, along with all the other favorites, frozen pearl onions, Stove Top Stuffing, Costco mashed potatoes, my giblet gravy, and canned jellied cranberry sauce…I make floral turkeys with China mums, Birds of Paradise, and Palms here in sunny San Diego. We like to eat around 4:00p.m. so we get it all together and keep it warm in a 200 degree oven for an hour or so, and just keep the turkey loosely tented, leaving time for happy hour…. Thank you!

    Reply

  399. This Holiday season I have two VERY exciting events happening! I am hosting Thanksgiving for the first time (EVER!), 5 days after my wedding! Then we are traveling to Tennessee for Christmas so my daughter can spend Christmas with her grandparents for the very first time!

    Reply

  400. Traditional but exciting! For the past 15 years, I have spent Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with my “big sister,” her husband and five other guests. Teri cooks natural, organic, and wheat free gluten free. She is an intuitive cook. The exciting part is how clean-tasting the fare is! And the mix of guests. And Teri sends everybody home with leftovers. And Teri lets me help sometimes. She likes to do it all herself, usually. However, for about the last five years, she has let me serve the table. I’m a professional waitress and can get that food down fast and hot!

    Reply

  401. The most exciting thing I’m doing this holiday season is…. going home to my family! After being at college for 4 months 3000 miles from home, I can’t wait to see my family and do some holiday cooking! (There will also be sleeping, and shopping, and skiing)

    Reply

  402. I will be spending the holidays with my boyfriends family. my mom lives far away from me. being an only child, with a very small extended family, i love being surrounded by his family on christmas morning. they treat me like one of their own. the room is filled with chatter and laughter and wads and wads of wrapping paper crumbled into balls. they are the family i used to dream about. i will be bringing my famous maple bacon cupcakes along with an armload of gifts for his family, who have become my family. i love them, and christmas!!

    Reply

  403. This holiday season we will partake in our 3rd annual family night where we make meals for those in need at Feed My Starving Children. It’s an awesome night!

    Reply

  405. My husband and I are honeymooning in Honduras!! We are planning on scuba diving, laying on the beach, and scoping out a Butterfly Garden. I can’t wait!!

    Reply

  408. I will be going home to visit my family in the Netherlands! Then it is off to Spain with family friends… only after I finish my second to last round of final exams.

    Reply

  410. The most exciting thing I will be doing this holiday season is taking an entire week off work!! We are not traveling anywhere, but to me this means late nights with the family playing Wii, Rock Band, board games, etc., & then sleeping in the next morning! I love having a week of no plans & just spending time with my family!!

    Reply

  411. Nothing too exciting here, just spending some quality off time with my dear husband! It will be wonderful to be able to sleep in and cook all the fancy things I never have time for otherwise!

    Reply

  413. I plan to take my two kittens to the mountains of East Tennessee to visit with my parents, sisters, and grandparents. We’ll also be visiting with the kitties’ cousin Mowgli (a 3 yr old puppy with a lot of energy). There’s always excitement when you combine two kitties with an energetic dog.

    Reply

  417. The most exciting thing we are doing this holiday season is spending time with my twin brother. We haven’t seen each other in years, and he is finally coming home – just in time for all the holiday festivities. I cant think of a better way to make the season magical than to spend it with the people you love <3 Thanks for this contest!!

    Reply

  420. I am going to fly home to Santa Monica to surprise my family for Thanksgiving. Living in New York doesn’t allow me to see my family as much as I would like so this will be a great trip. I also will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for them… we will see how that turns our.

    Reply

  422. As you know, I’m a journalist. The most exciting thing I do every holiday season is interview and write about local residents who’ve come here from other countries and cultures — a series of “Holiday Traditions” stories that gives other readers insights into the differences and similarities that make us a community. Over the years, this series has taught me and fascinated me. I’d love to say that the second-most exciting thing is whipping up some holiday treats for my husband and friends using a KitchenAid mixer!

    Reply

  427. I’m going to be studying in Spain starting January, so the holidays will be full of planning and creating travel plans for Europe! Also equally excited about seeing family and friends soon!

    Reply

  430. My cousin is getting married and I’m so excited that all my family will be coming together for it – everyone even those of us out of state. I know it will be amazing to all be together again!

    Reply

  431. I’m spending Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in 6 years! My family is military and has been stationed overseas while I’ve been at university so I can’t wait to make a turkey with my mum and little sister!

    Reply

  433. My younger and only brother is attending college in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is unable to make it home for Thanksgiving. So, my parents will be celebrating with family here in North Dakota, and I will be flying to Florida to make Thanksgiving dinner for my brother and his friends. I’m very excited to have unpicky college men as the guinea pigs for the first Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever cooked!

    Reply

  435. My daughter and I are flying to Minnesota to spend New Years with my husband, who is living there temporarily for his job. We will be hitting the Mall of America for the after Christmas sales. πŸ™‚

    Reply

  437. I’m most excited to play in the snow with my 3 year old and 1 year old! Last year we didn’t get much snow at all, so this year will be so exciting for my 3 year old especially!

    Reply

  438. Will be spending the holidays with multiple family members in MN and then WI and creating a fun felt 25 days of christmas with gifts and candies and prizes inside for the kids. Happy Holidays!

    Reply

  439. I’m cooking and all the regulars will be here but the grandson is bringing his financee!! First time for meeting her but mom likes her, so really looking forward to Thanksgiving.

    Reply

  442. I am not going to get an ulcer, rash, hives or any other irritation resulting from stress. I am refusing to be stressed out this year. Isn’t that exciting??!!?

    Reply

  444. This holiday season the most exciting thing for me personally is our first Christmas in our new home and possibly the last Christmas as just a two person family! πŸ™‚

    Reply

  446. For thanksgiving, I am excited to host Thanksgiving for the first time in my new kitchen. And for Christmas, I will be going to NY to my mom’s house and excited to have my entire family together for the first time in a while and meet my new newphew!

    Reply

  447. Can’t wait for the holidays!! Going to the Bahamas the day after Thanksgiving and then on Christmas headed to Chicago for my brother’s wedding on New Year’s Eve!! Such an axciting way to celebrate the holidays and kick off the new year!!

    Reply

  448. My Mom and I are going to plan our very first family baking extravaganza! My Aunt, Grandma, Mom, and I are going to do all our holiday baking while enjoying a day together and each others company!

    Reply

  450. probably the most exciting thing i’m doing this xmas is putting on a studio recital for my private piano and flute students. 14 of them! we are already getting prepared. lots to do…but very fun!

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  457. This Christmas will be the first time I’ll get to spend it with my brother & dad after 22 years!!! It would be even more memorable if my mom could be with us too but I’m grateful for the Lord answering my prayer.

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  458. i will be baking up a storm.. gluten free style, my mom in law has celiac’s so i get to make yummy baked goods but tweaked, i heart a challenge!

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  459. This holiday season we’re excited for wedding planning with family! We just got engaged so it will be a busy season while everyone is home for holiday events.

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  460. My new TV and the completion of my entertainment room but surely the highlight will be the Pollaine artisan bread that I will be ordering which will serve both as the centrepiece for our family Christmas dinner and a nourishing conversation item.

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  466. I can not wait any longer to see my boyfriend. We have a long distance relationship because he is in the military. I’ll get to see him for Thanksgiving and for Christmas he will be here for almost 2 weeks! I look forward most to just hanging out and cooking him a great dinner. Hey we like it simple!

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  467. I am so excited this year to try something different than presents for my family. Instead, I am hiring babysitters for the kids and taking my parents, my siblings and their spouses out for a super nice dinner at one of the finest Italian restaurants in Salt Lake City where they can order WHATEVER they want and we can have an hour and a half to just talk as adults — something rare around Christmas time.

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  469. The most exciting thing I will be doing this Holiday season will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner for my 5 daughters, mother and husband at his Fire Station since he will be on duty this Thanksgiving. Not to mention all the other guys/firefighters (and their families) who will be on duty with him. It is a new tradition we’re starting so that we can continue to have our families all together on Thanksgiving πŸ™‚ It is my favorite Holiday & one that I am super grateful to have alongside my family (both mine & our Fire Dept one!) Happy Holidays!

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  470. The most exciting thing I’ll be doing this holiday season? Giving birth to my second child! Baby is due the day after Christmas, so we’ll see when he or she (we didn’t find out!) decides to make their grand entrance! πŸ™‚

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  471. Firstly, many congrats on the award! Awesome giveaway. The most excitement I’ll be having is to be off both Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and I can’t think of much that would make me happier!

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  472. I work in retail so my excitement will come from work this holiday season! I do plan to do lots of cooking for my friends and family b/c there isn’t anything better than a home-cooked meal after a long day!

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  474. We’re expecting our first in April, so I’m hoping by the holidays I’ll start feeling the first “kicks” from baby. That will be very exciting! We’re also getting the ultrasound the Tuesday after Thanksgiving!

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  475. My parents are flying over from Ireland next Monday, it will be their very first Thanksgiving ever. We are all very excited for them being here. They have never had Buttermilk Pie, never had Pumpkin Pie. There will be so many firsts for them, we really can’t wait.

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  479. This holiday season I will be traveling to the east coast to spend the holidays with my grandparents. They live in New Brunswick and I haven’t been there in years. I’m very excited to see them and eat lots of delicious food.

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  480. I’m spending the holidays with my boyfriends 40+ family members. We’ll get together for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Crazy fun.

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  485. Over Christmas break and New Year’s, we are going to be working on clearing some land on our little plot of paradise in the Ozarks! And if the weather cooperates, my parents will join us for a few days. Not super exciting to anyone else but we are looking forward to some manual labor of love on our land!

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  486. We will spend the holidays with my husband’s family in Vicksburg, MS. He is one of 4 children – 2 brothers live in NYC and North Carolina. It will be the first time in three years that all of us could get together to celebrate the holiday season.

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  487. While I am not doing any fun travel this holiday, my sister, who left for graduate school in Europe is coming back to visit her little brother who still attends University of Florida. I cant wait to make her some of the delicious food from NoblePig.com (Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese!!!)

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  489. Don’t know how exciting this is, but this will be the first year that I won’t be doing a big Thanksgiving meal with my siblings and all their children. We’re all doing to do our separate dinners then get together for pie and coffee at my place. Everyone wants to start their own traditions in their own homes. Should be interesting.

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  493. The most exciting thing for me about the coming holiday season is that it will be my first away from my parents, so I’ll be starting all of my own holiday traditions.

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  494. First I would like to say thank you for so many awesome recipes…this is my favorite website to visit to cook for my family. The food always comes out better than I expect and tastes wonderful. I have turned my wife on to the site and she actually has started to really enjoy cooking. The most exciting thing I will be doing this holiday season will be spending it with my wife and five daughters. We have a wonderful family and love spending the holidays together. I am also a firefighter and will be entertaining my family as well as the families of my fellow firefighter at our fire station and we will be making a beautiful smoked turkey (no pun intended)as well as all of the fixings. I should be interesting trying to cook and prepare the meal in between EMS and Fire calls. The prep work the day before will be instrumental, I’m sure. Once again, thank you for all of the wonderful recipes…we will be looking forward to your next posts. Happy Holidays to you and yours.

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  495. The most exciting thing I’m doing this holiday season is going home to Chicago to see my family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. I moved to New Orleans in June and haven’t been back since. Even though I can’t afford it and it means holiday traveling, being with my family during this time of year is so important to me.

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  499. I’m going to spend the holidays with my family, and it’s always an…. adventure to see how long it takes for someone to say something sarcastic and snarky. It’s often my mother’s mom though.

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  501. We’re hosting all the holiday events (Thanksgiving and 2x Christmas) at our house this year. Could be exciting or boring depending on how you look at it!

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  502. The most exciting thing I’m doing this holiday season is taking a break from school and catching up on sleep. Not exciting to the average person, but very exciting to a college student.

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  503. Skiing in Tahoe! Never been “out west where the winds blow tall” (Tom Waits) but we ski on Xmas (east coast) now that the children are old enough..time to fluff up some real powder! Holidays are for memories and activities for us, not stuff. North Shore!!

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  505. My husband and I will be spending Thanksgiving with his family and two of my friends who are not going home for the holiday. We’re thinking turkey and board games. πŸ™‚

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  508. I will be cooking the best turkey, using a whole stick of butter and a whole pack of bacon, just for the turkey! It will be either just my husband and me, or 8 adults 3 kids and five dogs, not sure which yet…

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  511. Taking some much needed vacation and looking after our 6 month old German Shepherd who fractured her little toe. Will be in a cast throughout the holidays. : (

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  512. I will be headed to Keystone, CO, for one last vacation with my family before I graduate college. It’ll definitely be a beautiful difference from the flat lands of Indiana!

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  519. This is my second Thanksgiving since my husband passed away and I didn’t do anything last year. I was too lonesome. Well, this year I am having Thanksgiving with a great family who has extended their love to me. They are so warm and kind and true Christian people who want to share their gifts with me. I am finally getting out and trying to enjoy life after having a wonderful marriage of 46 1/2 years. I feel so Thankful.

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  523. Our daughter, Ashleigh, 7 yrs. has been seizure free on Dec. 3rd for 1 full year. We are so excited that she is doing so well and grateful to God for answering our prayers. We are hosting our annual huge family Christmas Eve party. We haven’t done this in 4 years! I come from a family of 10 and we all have kids so that should give you some idea of the madness that I have signed up for – its all good because this will be a Christmas to remember!! Thank you Heavenly Father!

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  525. For the first time this holiday season, I will be taking on a meat course for one of our family gatherings! Along with many side dishes and desserts, I will be, for the first time ever, cooking a roast! I’m so excited πŸ™‚
    PS – used one of these Professional KitchenAids for the first time on Sunday and LOVED IT!
    You guys are fantastic! πŸ™‚

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  526. I’m just going to be enjoying a whole 5 days off work over christmas, and im not working new years day either! i get my excitement where I can πŸ™‚

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  528. My awesome Christmas is twofold. I am going to Whistler with my daughter, her husband and my twin
    7 month old grandsons. They will experience their first snow, and hopefully swim in a heated pool with snow flakes falling on their sweet heads.
    The second part of my awesome Christmas is going to Calgary with my other daughter, husband and their three wonderful children. There I always make them a special drink,(your Harry Potter Butter Beer) and we have an appy night. Christmas eve we all open new PJ’s and sing carols. I love love love it.
    Next year they all come to our home.
    I so enjoy your blog and always wonder where you get all your energy. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
    Thanks
    Sue Arabski

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  529. we wil open presents christmas morning under our own tree, going snowboarding, then fly away to spend the week before new year’s with family. a good mix of small family and big family for the holidays

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  530. First of all, Congrats!

    This Christmas is so exciting πŸ™‚ I will be spending a whole week with my 3 grandchildren who live 1100 miles away. Counting the days…

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  532. First of all, Congrats!

    This Christmas is so exciting πŸ™‚ I will be spending a whole week with my 3 grandchildren who live 1100 miles away. Counting the days…

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  533. The most exciting thing I’m going to do this holiday season is visit my Mom in Myrtle Beach with my two kids and my little sister. Great seafood, the beach, fireworks, and shopping! Oh and drinking good wine too of course!!

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  535. The most exciting thing I am doing is … NOTHING! … and I am doing it the entire week between Christmas a New Year’s Eve! I was able to save up all my vacation time this year because I couldn’t afford to go anywhere.

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  539. The most exciting thing I’ll be doing is watching home movies of my husband and his family! We’ve never seen them, but my father-in-law is getting them put on DVD for us. πŸ™‚

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  540. My husband and I are going to have a lovely Christmas at home, just the two of us. We’re planning on making fresh pasta from scratch and having that for Christmas dinner along with sauce I canned from our garden this summer, and I am still trying to decide what type of pie I’ll make for dessert.

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  541. this great granny is making 2 small turkeys so we all have crisp skin! All the cousins will be together for the first time in years; all others are bringing a side we have not tried before, and in their ovens, doing fresh pork leg and lamb leg!!! eee-hah!!! I will also bring my homemade bread.

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  542. The most exciting thing I am doing this holiday season is spending time with my daughter who has been away at college since August, and enjoying having walls and carpet back up in my house (we are in the middle of a rebuild due to water damage.) I can’t wait to have a house full of kids to cook for again! I’ve saved lots of your recipes to make too! Thank you!

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  544. For the holiday season, I’m moving in with my last boyfriend, who coincidentally enough, was my first boyfriend. It’s great to find love again and realize what the heck you did wrong the first time around. YAY!

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  545. My friend is getting Married on New Years Eve and I am so excited to share that time with her!! It will be a blast form the past seeing friends from high school that I ahve not been in contact with for years!

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  548. I’m really not doing anything exciting. I will probably end up working on a recipe for a cupcake contest and tweak things here and there. While baking is exciting to me, it isn’t really to others! Twice, however, I have flown to Germany over the New Year! I wish I could say that’s what I’m doing, but alas, I’m not.

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  549. This holiday season I am hosting Thanksgiving for the very first time ever, and I have never even cooked a turkey before! This will be an adventure. I am practicing your biscuit recipe for the holiday though. A stand mixer is on my Christmas list this year and I really hope I win! Thanks Cathy!

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  553. I’m taking my mother to my boyfriends family Thanksgiving dinner! EEEEKKK!! She’s a little clueless in social situations so I am just hoping for the best!

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  555. Since both our kids are over 2000 miles away and can’t come home, my husband and I are making this a “PJ day”. I am cooking the night before, we eat buffet style and watch football all day in our pj’s. Works for us! Just another lazy day!

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  556. The most exciting thing I am going to do this upcoming holiday season is scour the Internet looking for recipes, to make my first Thanksgiving dinner without my parents there to supervise. So basically having my first grown up Thanksgiving.

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  557. We’ll be spending the holiday with family, which might not sound terribly exciting, but I absolutely cannot wait. I haven’t seen my brothers and their kids in several months and I miss them terribly. Looking forward to delicious food and rambunctious company.

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  558. The Holiday Season is for sharing. I’ll be baking and sharing with family at two “get-togethers”. Can’t wait to see what my granddaughter (who’s in pre-pharmacy) gets for Christmas. My granddogs and grandkitties already have their socks hung awaiting many toys and treats!!!

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  560. We are hosting our first Christmas Eve in our new home for 30 family members! I have been living with my in-laws for the past 6 years politely keeping my mouth shut when my mother in law ruined meals with her awful cooking and lack luster decorations. Now I can FINALLY do things my way…w/ a little help from my favorite NP recipes!

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  562. My 2 college kids will be home and I’ll be in my element cookin’ up a storm! BUT, the MOST exciting thing I’ll be doing this holiday season is rereading The Count of Monte Cristo, my all-time favorite novel!

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  565. My brother and I (and our families) will be hosting our 3rd Thanksgiving. We take all comers, the more people the better. This year we will be cooking for 20-25. It can be challenging with just one stove, but we get creative. We loved the big family Thanksgiving celebrations as kids and wanted to continue it as adults with our families.

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  566. We are renting a house in Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving and meeting several family members there. We are going to relax and eat and hopefully enjoy some snow.

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  568. Hi Kathy,

    Although I’m Canadian; and although our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday weekend occurs in October; and although I am probably not even eligible for your fabulous give away… I’m still going to let you know what my husband and I are up to. We are going to be celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary. Our special date is the 24th of November. Inevitably our celebration aligns with the American Thanksgiving weekend so we will be celebrating the same time as you. We live at Turtle Lake in our cabin which became our home after my husband retired. We have renovated it by adding a 22’x15′ kitchen, doubled the bathroom size and added a laundry/mudroom. We are 1/2 hour away from the smallest of grocery stores – We can buy most basic fresh vegetables but we can’t even buy fresh meat very often (my freezer is filled with Costco meat (purchased in Saskatoon) and fish we catch throughout the summer or when we ice fish). I love to cook and will more than likely be making something extra special. Also, more than likely, one of the dishes I make will be one of your recipes which I have saved in my “Noble Pig” recipe folder. You are my go-to recipe source and that file in my computer just keeps getting bigger. Hopefully, our daughter and her fiancée come to visit that weekend. They live about 3 hours away in Saskatoon and quite often do come for the weekend – even if it is for only a two days/one night stay. Well worth the effort in the summer but when the roads get covered with snow and ice it has to be for a very special weekend. I continually give thanks for my husband, my children, my country and my friends. All of which contribute to the life I am privileged to enjoy.

    I know you also have many blessing to be thankful for this year, and every year for that matter.

    I thank you for sharing your life with all of us, your fans. You’ve made us all richer by knowing you, admiring what you are able to do and occasionally living vicariously through you.

    You have earned your blessings my dear and I am so happy for you for your loving family, your supportive friends, for all you have and all you have accomplished.

    HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!!!

    Gayle Leslie

    p.s. For a woman who cooks as much as I do, I ashamedly admit I do not even have a stand mixer, far less a Kitchen Aid. I have my fingers crossed.

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  571. (Wiping the drool off my face – that is one gorgeous mixer!)

    The most exciting thing we are doing for the holidays is likely only exciting for us: we are traveling to spend time with family. Thanksgiving will find us in Florida visiting Abuela’s new house. Christmas will find us in Pittsburgh and Ohio visiting family. We haven’t been home/North since last Christmas so we are excited.

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  573. I am having my first holiday season away from my family as my boyfriend and I moved from MA to TX this year. We have never done a holiday meal successfully on our own so hopefully this year will go smoothly!

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  574. This is going to be our first Christmas with our new little guy. So we’re going to start our first family traditions. (Baking cookies with my new stand mixer would be a good one to start with!)

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  581. I get to see my best friends while watching to Michigan OSU game in Columbus! I can’t wait! Also I am cooking the Thanksgiving meal for my family for the first time

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  583. We will be braving the mountain pass and heading for Moscow, ID to spend the weekend with my husband’s family. We were hoping for all 3 siblings to be able to make it as it would be the first time in 20 years that all kids were at home.

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  585. This year I will continue to help others who are less fortunate. Last year I provided home cooked meal to families of children with cancer. This year I intend to feed unemployed.

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  586. This year my family and I are traveling to Charlotte, NC to have Thanksgiving at my brother-in-law’s New home. This is his first home and we’re all very excited. My brother-in-law has a red Kitchen-Aid that he let’s me “play” with twice a year. I would love to have one of my own.

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  588. I will be doing lots of baking for family and making little bags of goodies for neighbors and friends. We would like to have a great holiday as my Dad is very ill, and we are pulling out all the stops for a memorable holiday. Thank you for your wonderful site, full of goodies and stories.

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  589. I am going up to my parents to spend Thanksgiving with them and when I get back I’ll be doing a cookie baking marathon to deliver trays to the less fortunate people in my area. Nothing terribly exciting – but it makes me feel good!

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  590. This year will be my only niece’s FIRST CHRISTMAS!!! I am so looking forward to spoiling that little girl rotten!! I am also moving out on my own for the first time this December, so that’s kinda exciting as well!

    As always, looking forward to the holiday baking season, trying some new recipes from Cathy (as well as old favorites!), and filling my new home with the smell of good cooking!

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  591. My fiance and I don’t really care for having ham on Christmas, so this year we have decided to do two Thanksgiving dinners. We have different traditions when it comes to the meal so we have divided each holiday between us. On Thanksgiving my fiance gets to make any stuffing she wants and whatever sides she wants and at Christmas I get to make whatever I want. I think it is a good idea because we usually can’t decide what to make on Thanksgiving and usually end up making two stuffings and two of every side.

    Because this is the first year we are doing this I have decided I am going away from traditional and I am going to experiment with different recipes this year. Hopefully everything comes out alright.

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  592. I think the most exciting this year is we’re finally relenting and getting the kids a Wii. We are going to go to the Columbus Zoo for opening of their wildlights exhibit, the entire zoo will be decorated for Christmas.

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  594. This may sound totally unexciting to everyone else, but, for the first time in 13 years, the whole family is getting together. And I’m hosting. We’ll be making all the good old family recipes like pierogi, mushroom soup with lechcky, sirek and babalky. It will be awesome to cook all these next to my grandmother and mother and aunts

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  598. Gonna spend some quality time w/ the family. Daughter’s been in Biloxi and son in college- bake up a storm and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation for the zillionth time- it’s my favorite movie for the holidays.

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  599. We aren’t traveling, but my brother is driving his family down from Seattle to visit. It’s my kids only cousins, so they will all have a good time being together. And my parents will be so happy having the whole family together!

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  606. Congrats on making it big! I am so excited to spend the holidays with my big family and the new babies in my family. I’m a student so being home as in my family’s house is really really awesome!!!! I help my mom cook for 2 days before the big party we throw!

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  608. The most exciting thing I will do this upcoming holiday season?? Settling in to our *first* house. We just purchased our home in Spokane, Washington and will be preparing to make it truly ours for the holidays, which we will spend there. It is the first time I have ever had a chimney and a second story and I am really excited for the infinite possibilities for holiday decorations and nights by the warm fireplace with tea, hot chocolate and homemade desserts off of the Noble Pig blog!

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  609. This is the first Christmas we will be spending in the USA that my 11 year old will remember. We lived overseas since he was small with the military. We also have a new (foster) baby in the house!

    For the first time in years we are not facing a deployment, in a deployment, days out of a deployment or in the middle of a move.

    We will all be together. Christmas this year is bound to be very special.

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  615. I’ll be holding my very first Thanksgiving at my new apartment with my boyfriend. I’ve always been at my mom’s for the holidays and this year, I’m hosting my own for friends that have no where else to be. I’m so nervous and excited, but mostly I can’t wait to cook for everyone and hope I don’t mess anything up!

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  619. Thanksgiving will find my husband and I, my four daughters and our two dogs in NC at my sister’s house cooking a few of your recipes (taking the goat cheese, pistachio & cranberries) and many of hers. HAPPY TIMES!

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  620. This holiday is my sister’s first Christmas as a wife and my brother and I’s first Christmas where we both get to celebrate with a significant other. December is also my six month anniversary with my boyfriend! We’re planning on celebrating by going ice skating and sipping hot cocoa. It may be simple but it’s simply perfect to me.

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  622. This holiday season, I have go and pick out a fake Christmas tree(Something I never never thought I would do)…Because I recently just learned that the man that I love and now live with is allergic to real ones! A small part of my Christmas heart broke, but a larger one got excited. For this is year one, of many more years we will have that tree together! Not to mention the pine scented air fresheners I am going to hang off of it! Looking forward to Christmas!! and all the cooking I will do with pine freshness in the air!

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  625. This holiday season I will be traveling to Colorado with my family and 2 other families to enjoy a relaxing winter ski/snowboard vacation. We all used to vacation frequently, however, since we have all grown up, its been difficult. This will be the first time in a long time that we get to sit by the warm fireplace in the lodge and reminisce about good times! I am currently studying for the CPA exam as well and this is my first real break since last year. yay!

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  626. This holiday weekend I am most excited to set up my little christmas tree and decorate my apartment for the holiday season πŸ™‚ a heartfelt congratulations on your recent success, you must be feeling so proud!!

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  630. My boyfriend’s brother is flying in to Portland from San Fran for Thanksgiving. We’ve decided to ditch the traditional Turkey day and, instead, make sushi! It’s my first Thanksgiving away from home, and I really wanted to make it my own. SO excited!!

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  632. We’ll be going to St. Croix, in the US Virgin Islands over Christmas break!I’m incredibly excited to escape the miserable Midwest winter and soak up some Vitamin D. The only bummer is we’re leaving at 8:30am on Christmas morning!

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  634. The same wonderful tradition of many years will occur: church service and Christmas Eve dinner with family and a grand turkey dinner and all its fixings on Christmas Day. Can’t wait!!

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  635. For the first time, in a long time, we won’t be traveling, won’t be hosting, we’ll be guesting! All we have to do is show up at my brother’s house, and plop on the couch while they cook. Now THAT is exciting!

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  636. I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere for vicarious thrills, unless spending time with the college-aged grandkids home for the holidays is more exciting than I anticipate. I’ve asked them all to pencil us in! I’ll be making creamy caramels and English toffee for gifts for friends, knitting up a storm!

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  638. Since my entire family is flying off to Hawaii this Christmas and I will be staying home (paying of student loans is a bitch!) I am taking the opportunity to do some much needed volunteer work. Since generally I relish the opportunity to spend holidays with my family, I’m not able to take advantage of volunteer opportunities on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But not spending them with my family means I get to spend them with the less-fortunate– people who can show me the value of what I have and the value of the things we can’t hold in our hands. I love Christmas-time!

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  639. The most exciting thing I am going to do this Holiday Season is be at home with my family. Just spending time with the parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends who are like family is always the most exciting part of my holiday time.

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  640. I’m spending the holidays with my family, which might be boring to some, but to me it is everything. Love them all so much and love when we are all together.

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  641. Well, I’m not sure if it’s exciting – my landlord sold his house so I have to move out by Jan 1. Not something I necessarily wanted (I LOVE where I live)….but now I get to be closer to my parents, and that is a blessing.

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  642. Spending magickal time with my 3-year-old grand daughter as we prepare for both Yule (winter solstice), and Christmas. Lots of cooking for both celebrations, which will be a challenge this year from having broken my right wrist last year and left elbow this year… mixer be mine. Blessed Be~

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  643. I will be staying home, at my own house, in my own bed, with my husband and puppy! Although I’ll miss seeing our families, I’m very much looking forward to not traveling or abiding to someone else’s schedule, but starting our own holiday traditions πŸ™‚

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  644. I will be traveling home from college and spending as much time with family before I leave for a semester in Genoa, Italy!! I am looking forward to baking lots and lots of cookies and cooking up a storm with my mom!

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  645. I’m most excited about spending time with my family. My favorite uncle and aunt are coming to Thanksgiving this year, and I’m really looking forward to spending time in their company.

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  646. We are planning our WEDDING and it’s very exciting! I love all your recipes, they’re great ways for me to test my cooking ability before I’m a wife =) I’m 25 and maybe one of your youngest daily readers (not sure) and I love everything you write! Our wedding is going to be in Vermont, very rustic, with lilacs and lilies! I hope I can win this awesome piece of kitchen equipment to help me try and conquer all your fabulous recipes!

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  647. This holiday season I will be spending time with my son and daughter…that is the most exciting thing of ANY day for me! They are my joy and my celebration and make any occasion special!!!!

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  651. I will be spending time with family and with 2 excellent cooks in the house there will be plenty of amazing eats. We are compiling/refining the menus for Thanksgiving and Xmas right now.

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  652. I will be headed to the Dominican Republic on a service trip to build a house for a family in need! Later during my break I am going to Denver to ski and spend time with family πŸ™‚

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  655. I will be spending the holiday season delivering presents around Connecticut to underprivileged kids! Best decision we’ve ever made, giving our holidays to someone else. Traveling with Santa on Christmas Eve is by far the most gratifying experience, and I can’t wait to see who we meet and greet this year!

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  657. The most exciting thing I am doing this holiday is planning on all of the fine breads, deserts, toppings and other food goodies that I can create using this awesome Kitchenaid mixer!

    Happy Holidays to all!!!

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  658. I will be spending lots of time at home with family before leaving for a semester of study in Genoa, Italy. I am looking forward to baking lots and lots of cookies and cooking up a storm with my mother and grandmother!

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  659. It might not be as exciting as the trips that some people are making, but I’m going home to Ohio for Christmas! I haven’t been back in more than a year and a half. I’m looking forward to seeing the family!

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  660. The most exciting thing I’ll be doing this holiday season will be cooking with my mother. This is a first- I’ve spent the past year cooking like a madwoman and my mother, the chef extraordinaire, is trusting me with handling a few dishes for the family and friends that will be attending our holiday parties.
    I’m nervous but so excited to show my mom what I got!

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  661. We will be headed to Tucson AZ to spend our Thanksgiving with our best friends. We started out before we had kids and our families lived far away and have continued the tradition thru job changes and moves. Now our kids are 17 & 16 and we are still sharing this special holiday with special friends.

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  664. I am absolutely most excited for an opportunity to win a Kitchen Aid mixer. Being a poor college graduate only allows me to dream of owning cooking supplies like that haha. But in all honestly I’m excited to hopefully spend time with the one I love the most.

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  667. I will be spending the holidays with my family in Chicago, the most wonderful city in the world. I also get to attend one of the best cookie exchanges in the city thrown annually by a close friend, who is waiting for me to throw the party so we can bake together!

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  671. We will be spending the holidays at my parents home in the country just outside of San Jose, CA. We will be celebrating with friends and family, and of course eating noble pig recipes.

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  674. This will be my first Christmas living with my boyfriend (as well as our anniversary being on Christmas Eve), and even though we’re both currently out of work and struggling financially, we’re going to snuggle in front of the fire and eat, drink, and be merry!!!

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  679. I will be spending the holiday for the first time with my new family (my financee, two cats and our new dog). I am looking forward to this because it requires me to get off my butt and finally attempt to make a feast instead of a meal, because either both or one of our parents are coming over.

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  681. This holiday season I’m moving to New York City! I can’t wait to move into a cute apartment and start using a brand new kitchen aid mixer to make christmas cookies πŸ™‚ (this is my first Christmas back in the United States for 3 years!)

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  685. I’m going to make Thanksgiving dinner this year for the first time. My grandma is out of town and I’ve always depended on her to make a delicious Thanksgiving spread. But this year its all up to me (and a little help from some family members).

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  687. I will be spending time with my family, baking tons of cookies, working at a spice store (best job I’ve ever had!) and studying for the MCAT… not super exciting but I’m looking forward to it πŸ™‚

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  690. I just got married last months so this will be our first Christmas as husband and wife! We will be celebrating with some family gatherings (wow now two families to juggle) and creating new Christmas traditions of our own πŸ™‚ Looking forward to introducing my hubby to my love for holiday baking πŸ™‚

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  691. Most exciting thing will be waiting for my bags of “cubed” stuffing to arrive from Amazon.com. For the life of me I can’t find cubed stuffing mix anywhere in Atlanta and I’m not too excited to make my own. I hope it arrives in time!

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  692. I am hosting my parents who, over the past five years, had not been able to make the one-hour drive to my house because my mother had been fighting stage 4 gastric cancer. I am thrilled that (1) they can finally come to my house and (2) after five years of chemo, my mother is in the clear! Yay! Much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

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  693. Tradition, tradition, tradition… cut down tree with daughters the day after thanksgiving, bake cookies and candies, white elephant gift exchange with friends (scary good fun!) send the girls to bed by midnight on christmas eve (they’re in college), then they wake us up at some ungodly hour to see what Santa has brought them. Yes, it’s a pretty ordinary scenario, but I wouldn’t change a thing!

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  695. I got a new job in the last few months and I am now currently working with children who have been abused and neglected. I am loving being with them and can’t wait to spend this holiday season with them! I can’t wait to share all my favorite holiday traditions with them, as well as make some new ones!

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  696. I am spending the holidays with my husband before he goes over to the sandbox in the spring. Next year’s holiday will be awful without him.

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  698. Every year, my boyfriend and I adopt a family for Christmas. We have such a wonderful time preparing the gifts together; it is so much more rewarding than buying for each other!

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  699. Thanksgiving – our house with Bloody Boars at 11 (delicious Bloody Mary with a twist!) for all friends and family and a meal for 9 in the afternoon. Christmas – my son, who is a Marine, gets to come home before he is deployed, so I will be a cooking fool the entire time and I absolutely cannot wait!!

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  700. I am very excited to be hosting the family Thanksgiving meal at our house for the first time. We just moved into the house in January so it’ll be our first holiday in it. Also it will be my son’s first Thanksgiving & Christmas this year!

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  702. We are taking our 2 boys for a surprise trip to Disneyworld!! We leave the day after Thanksgiving and get to go to Mickey’s Christmas Party – we can’t wait!!

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  704. My husband will be coming home after being in Saudia Arabia for two months (the longest we’ve been apart in 23 years!) and my daughters friend from Brazil will be spending the holidays with us. Other than that looking forward to lots of food, wine, and spending time with the people I love most in the world!

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  705. My parents haven’t been to visit me since I moved to Nashville 4 years ago – they’re finally coming next week and will meet my boyfriend’s entire family. It’s about time on both fronts!

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  710. We really don’t have anything planned but time with family and friends – which in all honesty, is good enough for me.
    Congrats on the wine awards and thanks as always for the excellent recipe and gift ideas!

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