Monday, February 28, 2011

Christmas Stocking Holders

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there..

Hanging Christmas stockings over the fireplace has been a holiday tradition for hundreds of years. My Christmas as a child, included hanging stockings on the mantel, but not the kind of Christmas stockings my grandchildren have today)))

We didn't have ready made or even hand made Christmas stockings, I can't recall any of our friends having them either. We literally hung the biggest, longest socks we could find. Knee socks worked, but the best choices were to dig around in daddy's sock drawer for a long wool sock that he wore with his work boots. Whatever sock you chose, you would pull and stretch to make it as large as you could so it would hold more goodies. It was typically hung off a nail driven into the mantel.

Today's stockings have come a long way. They can be beautifully elegant, simple red felt with white plush fur or whimsical curly toes with all the bells and whistles. Name embroidered on the cuffs so there is no mistaking who the stocking belongs too. Stockings may match the decorating theme of the tree.

So much for hammering a nail into the mantel and hanging a sock on it......try putting a nail in your mantel today.....no, I don't think so either. I do have some small screws in mine that are strategically placed to hold garland and corner drops, but stockings are usually hung from a stocking holder. So now the stocking holder itself has become a real part of the Christmas decorations.

Stocking holders come in all sorts, shapes and sizes. We have several available from the different RAZ themes this year.

A trio of whimsical stacked packages from the Gumdrops and Jellybeans Collection.


rax stocking holder whimsical packages

raz stocking holder
Tall metal Christmas packages with open tops and peppermint candies spilling out. These stocking holders are also from the Gumdrops and Jellybeans collection. They blend well with items from the No Peeking collection also.
gold nutcracker stocking holder raz imports

These stately gold nutcrackers are from the Winter Palace collection and will stand guard over your stocking treasures.


christmas stocking holders

Generally, I would have described these stocking holders as whimsical from the "Santa Approved" Collection. But after seeing some of the new styles for this year, I have to say these are a more classic style. Lime green and red with gold. The curly glittered metal bows on top add extra height to the stocking holders. They also come in a taller size, but the chunky box style has been the most popular so it was restocked for this year.

The chunky box style of holders from the "No Peeking" collection have a bit of a paisley look with their swirls, circles and flower design. Lime green, red, pink and white have been the predominant colors in the "No Peeking" collection.

christmas stocking holders

The taller present version - also very whimsical and cheery. Any of these Christmas stocking holders would look great on your mantle. Don't have a fireplace, no worry. Stocking holders can be placed on the edge of a table, bookcase, bar, window sills. Just look around and use your imagination.
Last year we added a few Christmas stocking from Burton and Burton and they really sold well. This year we'll be adding more from them a little later on, but we're very happy to have some from RAZ for this year. They're not posted on the website yet, I'm still working on it.
Seeing these beautiful Christmas stocking holders.....doesn't make me pine for the old days and a nail in the mantel!

GUND 50% Off!

Continuing the GUND 50% off special through March! Great time to stock up on some Easter bunnies, baby toys and Christmas musicals!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

15% Discount on Santa Klaus & Company Christmas Ornaments!


15 Percent discount on all Christmas ornaments from Santa Klaus and Company. These ornaments are now retired. Santa Klaus & Company was a division of Inge-Glas of Germany. Visit Trendy Tree for some great discount prices on unique Christmas ornaments. Discount good through February. You must put item in the shopping cart to see the discount price.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Candy Apples for Valentine's Day

With 3 grandchildren….who all love candy, I decided this year to try to give them their beloved sweets with at least some fruit to decrease the sugar load just a bit))

I decided on chocolate dipped apples, decorated with Valentine sprinkles. What child doesn’t love sprinkles…..They were very easy to make, here’s the steps.

Small apples (washed and dried completely)
Chocolate Candy Coating Bars
1/4″ Wooden Dowels
Sprinkles


The apples have to be complete dry and stems removed. I purchased small wooden dowels (about 1/4″) in the craft section at Wal-Mart. I like to use these better than the craft sticks. They look better and they are cheaper. Just cut them in half and use 1/2 stick per apple. You can score them at the half way mark with scissors and they’ll break off evenly. Insert the broken end into the apple.

Set the apple on the counter top and use a mallet or meat tenderizer in my case to gently tap the stick into the apple. The sticks will go in straighter and the apple sits up better. Be careful not to go all the way through the apple.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. If you don’t have one, fill a shallow pan or skillet about 3/4 full of water. Place your chocolate in a small pan or heat proof bowl in the pan of water and slowly melt. Be careful once you’ve reached the melting point to work quickly and don’t let the chocolate get to hot. You can also melt in the microwave, but you need to keep the chocolate at a constant temperature while you’re dipping so I’ve found that’s easier to do over low heat using the double boiler method. Be careful not to get any water in the melted chocolate. If the chocolate is too thick, you can add about 1 tablespoon of shortening or oil, no water or milk.

Have your waxed paper spread out on the counter and sprinkles ready. They  have to be sprinkled on just as soon as you finish dipping the apples. Dip the apple in the chocolate being careful to cover it all over. To tap off the excess, hold the apple by it’s stick in one hand and gently tap your wrist with the other hand. This allows you to shake off the excess with less a chance of the stick becoming loose.

Hold the apple over the waxed paper and cover in sprinkles. Place on waxed paper to cool
.

Once the apples have completely dried, cut squares of cellophane and ribbon to tie around the apples. And I sweetened the pot since it was Valentine’s Day and tied in some cash into the ribbon.

The crisp cellophane and ribbon just adds a festive finish to your handiwork! Simple and easy!


Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Valentine's Day - Just Around the Corner!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Everyone loves getting Valentine gifts......and haven't we all said....."don't get me any candy, I don't need it!" Well....most of us really don't.

The new glass platters from Sullivans are a great way to still have your chocolate for Valentine's Day!
chocolate glass platter

This platter is a great serving piece for Valentine's or wrap it up for a great Valentine gift. There is also an oblong style that coordinates.
valentine platter
Check all the new glass platters.....they're coming in tomorrow!
Other great Valentine gifts are our GUND plush musical toys.......50% off right now!
Note: Sale price doesn't show until you put the item in your cart.
Garstang sings "Can't Get Enough of Your Love."
Other great Valentine gifts of heart ornaments. Shiny red hearts in tiny to large, some say I love You. Candy ornaments are also great. We have several sets of Chocolates from Old World Christmas and Inge-Glas. These make great keepsake for those special Valentine Days.
Chocolate to Die For - even heart shaped candy ornaments. Perfect for Valentines!

Visit us at Trendy Tree for great Valentine Gifts!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Trendy Tree February Newsletter

February Newsletter


  GUND Sale!
rocking reynold
  All GUND Plush Toys 50% Off! - While Supplies last!
Good Feb 1 thru 28, 2011

 

New Styles of Mesh Netting in Stock!

pink green mesh netting
Several new stripes in pink, green, yellow, raspberry. School spirit colors too!

Inge-Glas Christmas Ornaments Just Ordered!
75 New styles will be arriving from Germany in April/May.These new ornaments will be listed soon!
We've added a link just as you requested to the side navigation bar to make finding the Inge-Glas ornaments easier.


200 New Styles arriving any day now! This brings our OWC inventory to over 800 styles!
Many of these new styles are already listed on the website and we're working on listing more everyday.


New Mardi Gras Category!
Category is small right now, but we're adding more! The glass tray above is also a group of new products coming in real soon!


 "January Clearance" Category still in effect. Hundreds of sale items! Many discounted up to 50% off!