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Welcome to Our New Holiday | Seasonal Newsletter!

Featuring the latest news and holiday trends from the best sources, our friends in Galena.

3 Ways to Take the Stress Out of Holiday Hosting

(StatePoint) The holiday season is one of the best times of the year! Between cooking, cleaning and keeping guests entertained, it can also be pretty demanding on your time and energy.

In fact, during the holiday season, adults are five times more likely to say the level of stress in their life increases rather than decreases, according to the American Psychiatric Institute.

This year, make life easier for yourself with these stress-reducing holiday entertaining tips:

Meal Prep

Getting ahead on meal prep can mean more time spent with friends and family. If you’re tasked with serving a big holiday meal, prep the main dishes a day or two ahead of time so you can just pop them into the oven the day of your holiday feast. You can also brine and season turkey, prepare your glaze and score the ham, chop veggies and pre-mix salad dressings the night before. Festive beverages can be batched in advance so guests can easily serve themselves, helping you stay calm and collected during your party. And of course, don’t feel shy about asking friends and family to contribute a dish.

Have Dessert Ready

Whether you’re throwing a holiday bash or expecting overnight guests, you’ll be the host with the most if you have delicious desserts on hand. Fortunately, serving baked goods made with care and quality ingredients is easier than you think! Stick with the classics like Entenmann’s – a 125-year-old brand with many delicious options to choose from. Powdered Pop’ettes will satisfy your guests’ sweet cravings, Pop’ems Glazed Donut Holes are great for bite-sized snacking, and Baker’s Delights Mini Crumb Cake has a rich and delicious homemade taste. Convenient choices such as these can keep you prepared for the night ahead should the doorbell surprise you with carolers or other visitors. They can also round out a buffet spread, help you end a multi-course feast on a sweet note or simplify breakfast for overnight guests. All you’ll need to do is put the coffee on!

Plan a Game Night

If your overnight guests will be spending more than a night or two at your home, you can keep them happy and entertained with some activities that require very little planning but are a lot of fun. For example, you can organize a game night, which is a nice way to maximize your time together. Pick a few games that are well-suited for the size of the crowd and the age of the players. Remember, the best choices for a party are games that inspire conversations, teamwork and creativity. Or plan a movie marathon, picking some holiday themed crowd favorites in advance. You can simplify feeding your guests during these low-key activities by putting out some finger foods like crudité, popcorn, pretzels and donut holes.

With a few tips and strategies, you can ensure holiday entertaining goes as smoothly as possible.

Design Recipes: Decorating with white

Putting together a holiday feast is no easy feat. Anyone who has prepared a multi-course meal knows just how difficult it can be to time everything properly, and to find storage and cooking space for each component of the meal. However, with the following kitchen update ideas, your preparations can be seamless and stress-free.

A Two-Zone Air Fryer

Love your air fryer? There’s good news. New innovative two-zone air fryer models offer twice the functionality, versatility and convenience of traditional air fryers within a small footprint.

Handcrafted for the Holidays: Unique DIY gift ideas to celebrate the season

If spending hours scouring store shelves or browsing countless websites for the perfect gift for everyone on your list seems like a daunting task, opt for a more personalized approach: a handmade gift.

DIY mason jar gifts can be easy and affordable solutions when gift lists are running long but time is running short. Plus, crafting something for loved ones this holiday season can show them just how much you care.

From canning and crafting to storage, drinkware and even gardening, Ball Honeybee Keepsake Jars can be used in a myriad of ways, including creating simple yet endearing homemade gifts. Designed to honor the unsung hero of the garden, the honeybee, the collector’s edition canning jars feature a unique bee and honeycomb design and highlight the important role these pollinators play in growing foods people love to preserve and enjoy.

Best New Tech Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything

(StatePoint) Most of us have at least one loved one who’s hard to shop for. Maybe it’s because they insist that they have everything they need already or perhaps they simply have discerning taste. To get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping, consider these five, functional and fun gift ideas that promise to impress even the most challenging gift recipients:

1. Portable power: Whether your loved one is a world traveler, tailgater, beach bum, remote worker or hot desker, the new M150 Portable Power Station from Duracell will be a game changer. Unlocking portable power so they can work and have fun from anywhere, it offers 150 watts of power and multiple USB ports for laptops, phones, tablets or other small electronics. Its chic, sleek design features a dimmable ring light and tiltable device holder with wireless charging capabilities. With the tiltable lid, users can position their phones at an ideal and flattering angle for taking video conference calls and watching or recording videos.

It also features an integrated compartment that can safely store accessories like earbuds, adaptors and dongles, and its ultramodern charging dock has a low enough profile to stylishly live on a bedside table or kitchen counter. Best of all, it weighs under 2 pounds, making it a convenient essential to toss into an everyday bag, pack into a carry-on, take in the car, or use in and around the house.

2. Intelligence, on one’s finger: Tracking biometrics doesn’t need to be clunky or come at the cost of fashion. Consider gifting your wellness-seeking loved one a smart ring. Worn just like any regular decorative ring, these compact devices provide valuable insights into the user’s health, tracking measures like temperature, heart rate, daily activity and recovery, sleep quality, menstrual cycles and even stress. Look for a water-resistant, durable option that’s built to withstand the elements, especially if your gift recipient runs, bikes or hikes. If they’re a fashionista, that’s no problem, as many of these models are designed to be as sleek as wedding bands.

3. A better read: While not technically tech, blue light-blocking glasses are a tech-adjacent gift that will help your recipient enjoy their devices without experiencing disrupted sleep cycles and damage to the eyes. And fortunately, hip brands have horned in on the market, creating options that are as stylish as they are functional. The best models have scratch-resistant and shatter-proof lenses, and offer both UV and blue light protection.

4. A brighter smile: Some of today’s electric toothbrushes connect to apps to provide real-time feedback for optimal brushing time and pressure, and have the ability to be customized based on a user’s specific dental care needs. To make your gift truly stand out, consider a model that features LED whitening technology for a two-in-one gift that promotes great dental health and a brighter smile at the same time.

5. A gift that keeps on giving: Undecided? A tech gadget subscription service will deliver a box of fun new gifts monthly or quarterly for as long as you choose and might include anything from a drone to a digital photo frame.

For a person who seemingly has everything, gift shopping can be a puzzle. Fortunately, great tech now on store shelves can help you crack the code.

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