Hot Chocolate! It didn't Start Out as Hot Chocolate.

Cortez, the Spanish conquistador, was the first European to taste chocolate. Montezuma, the Aztec emperor of Mexico, gave a big feast and served "chocolatl" to his guest in a golden goblet. it was really a bitter mush, served stone cold. Cacao beans had been roasted and ground, then mixed with corn meal, vanilla, peppers, spices and herbs. Cortez learned that the cacao beans were used as money among the Indians. he procured some. Soon the Dutch, Italians, Austrians and French were experimenting with these beans. in 1637, a notice to a London newspaper announced that a Frenchman in Bishopgate street was offering an excellent West Indian drink, "jacolatte." Chocolate houses sprang up where society gathered afternoon to gossip and drink the new delicacy. Soon chocolate was being served by English colonist in America. (Betty Crocker picture cookbook, 1950)

Type of Cocoa and Chocolate Available Today (Betty Crocker, 1950)

Unsweetened Chocolate: Made from cocoa beans with no fat removed.

Semi-Sweet Chocolate: just enough sweetening added to give a partially sweet flavor. More cocoa butter is also added.

Cocoa: Made for cocoa beans with varying amount of cocoa butter removed.

Breakfast Cocoa: Has a minimum of 22% cocoa fat.

Dutch Process Cocoa: Made from special cocoa beans processed to make the more soluble.

Ready to Serve Cocoa: Needs only addition of hot or cold water or milk to be ready to serve.

Hot Cocoa: For each cup of cocoa, mix together 1 tsp. sugar, 2 tsp. cocoa and 1/4 cup cold water. Cook over low heat (boil about 4 minutes). Add 1 cup of milk. Heat until scalded, but do not boil. Add a pinch of salt (a drop of vanilla, too, if desired.) Just before serving, stir until smooth. Serve hot. Pour over a marshmallow in each cup.

Hot Chocolate: For 6 servings, heat over low heat 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces) and 1 cup of water, stirring until chocolate melts. Add a pinch of salt and 3 to 4 tablespoons of sugar. Boil 4 min., stirring. Then slowly stir in 3 cups of milk. heat until scalded. Do not boil. Just before serving, beat with rotary beater until smooth. Top with whipped cream. Serve hot.

Iced Chocolate: Make cocoa or chocolate your favorite way. Cool. Serve in glasses with chopped ice. Top with sweetened whipped cream.

(recipes from Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, 1950 - my mothers cookbook)

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Black and Gold - Collegiate, Spirit or School Colors

Several college football teams have black and gold as their team colors, as do many, many high schools. Here are a few poly mesh ribbon ideas along with some ornaments perfect for creating team color arrangements.

Black - Gold - Black poly mesh netting style ribbon on rolls of 30 feet and 21" wide are great for wreath making, draping around tables, making swags for corners of tables etc. Some other styles of ribbon to go with this include solid black mesh ribbon and gold; Poly Deco Flex Tubing in gold or black color.

Typically, one roll of the 21" by 10 yd mesh netting will create one 24" wreath, but it all depends on the size of your "poofs" bunches that you use. Sometimes it good to start with a roll of one color and do your basic wreath; then go back and add a different color, size or texture to give it more dimension or a pop of color. Wreaths can be created started with two different colors and going around the wreath form at one time, or go around with one color and when you're finished with that, go back with the second color.

We have listings for several different video that explain how to create a wreath using the Work Wreath and mesh netting style ribbon. Just browse through our "Instructional Videos" section. I have previewed each one of the videos and selected the ones I thought were the best before adding their links. Work Wreaths we have in stock are the ones that give you a finished 24" width typically. The actual wreath measures 15" in width, but when you're finished, will typically measure 24" They are available in many colors.

Christmas ornaments make great embellishments for your wreath or other project. Black and gold just happen to also be the school colors of our local Pontotoc High School. Go Warriors! Browse through our selection of Collegiate Football ornaments from Merck Family's Old World Christmas. We also have several different colors of a Megaphone ornament from Inge-Glas of Germany.

The Purdue University Boilermakers Football Christmas ornament from Old World Christmas has black and gold on the front of the ornament. The Mizzou Tigers of the University of Missouri have a tiger on the front of that football ornament.

The Colorado Buffaloes from the University of Colorado team colors also are black and gold. The Football Christmas ornament has a picture of a black, outlined in gold buffalo with CU on the front.

I'm sure there are many more colleges with black and gold as their colors. These are just a quick few listings to give you ideas. If you're ever looking for a particular college ornament, just drop us an email and we'll be glad to help you find it if we have it. We continually growing our collegiate collection from Old World Christmas.

 Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our large collection of Collegiate Christmas ornaments from Old World Christmas!

Old World Christmas Boxes ...They're Not Just for Ornaments!

Nothing like a big box to entertain children! And, a "Pop" who will do anything he is asked)))

Christmas Ornaments for Cake Toppers

We have a customer who is using the Country Church ornament as a cake topper for her wedding cake. Such a great idea and a beautiful keepsake for many years ahead.

The choices in Christmas ornaments are so vast, especially when doing a groom's cake....you could find an ornament for just about any sort of profession, hobby or any little quirk!

Children's birthday or party event cakes. This would be a great opportunity to use special keepsake Christmas ornaments for decoration and wipe off the frosting and put away until Christmas. How many times have we all used little plastic animals on top of a cake for a child. How much nicer some Old World Christmas cows, pigs, barn, horses etc. would look!

Our grandson Matt is into the "cowboy" thing right now and we may design his birthday cake in a fashion to use horses, saddles, cowboy boots, anything Western. I'll post pics!

Old World Christmas Ornament Stand

Ornament stand with metal hanger, wooden base. Measures approximately 8" from base to hook; 9 1/2" overall ht. Shipped flat, easily assembled.

 On Sale now at Trendy Tree!

Father Christmas - Origins and Legends Book on Sale!

Father Christmas” is a small hardcover book from Merck Family’s Old World Christmas. A collection of much-loved traditions and stories.

“Father Christmas” preserves the magic of the holiday season for children and adults around the world. His kind, gentle spirit personifies the love and generosity that makes Christmas so special. people from many distinct cultures share their abundance of cherished stories in the hope of enriching Christmas celebrations for us all. These age old legends and rich traditions surrounding Father Christmas continue to create deep seated enjoyment and excitement in our hearts.

On sale now! Only a few left so order soon.

Get Your Kicks.....On Route 66!

History Road Sign Christmas Ornament

36136 Introduced 2011

Established in 1926, Route 66 was one of the original U. S. highways. It's 2,400 mile route from Chicago to Los Angeles travels through some of the most celebrated portions of the American West. It became known as the "Main Street of America." It symbolizes American's love of the automobile and wide open spaces.

Wikipedia:
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America. The show ran weekly on CBS from 1960 to 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with him until the end of the fourth and final season.

The series is best remembered for its Corvette convertible and its instrumental theme song (composed and performed by Nelson Riddle), which became a major pop hit.

The Route 66 Sign ornament makes a great gift for any Baby Boomer! Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more new ornaments from Old World Christmas.

The Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole Clip on Bird Ornament 18059

Birds are symbols of joy and happiness so they are regarded as a necessity on the Christmas tree. With its striking orange and black plumage, the Oriole, is a favorite among bird watchers and is eagerly awaited each spring migration.

Wikipedia: Adults have a pointed bill and white bars on the wings. The adult male is orange on the underparts, shoulder patch and rump. All of the rest of the male is black. The adult female is yellow-brown on the upper parts with darker wings, and dull orange on the breast and belly.

Baltimore Orioles forage in trees and shrubs, also making short flights to catch insects. They mainly eat insects, berries and nectar, and are often seen sipping at hummingbird feeders. . Baltimore Orioles are also fond of halved oranges, grape jelly.

The male sings a loud flutey whistle that often gives away the bird's location before any sighting can be made.

Wikipedia Image

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our huge collection of hand painted bird Christmas ornaments.

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie is named after the small, tart limes from the Florida Keys. Since no refrigeration, fresh milk, or ice was available in the Keys till the 1930′s, sweetened condensed milk was used to give the pie its smooth creamy texture. It is the official state pie of Florida and absolutely delicious!
Here’s a great recipe for Key Lime Pie from Emeril and the Food Network:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter) melted
• 2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
• 1 cup key lime or regular lime juice
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.
Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

Gift Idea!

Serve a Key Lime Pie at your next dinner or party function and present each guest an Old World Christmas Key Lime Pie Ornament. Makes a great table favor!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more of the new 2011 Christmas Ornaments from Merck Family's Old World Christmas.

The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

 Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich 3257 New for 2011

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is made with a layer of peanut butter and a layer of jelly or jam, usually between two slices of bread, sometimes eaten "open faced."

Wikipedia: A 2002 survey showed the average American will have eaten 1,500 of these sandwiches before graduating from high school.

Some variants add honey, chocolate or maple syrup, normal chocolate, the hazelnut-chocolate spread Nutella, marshmallows, raisins, bananas, butter, marshmallow fluff, potato chips (UK: crisps), cheese, other dried fruit, or another slice of bread. Other less common variations include slices of fresh fruit besides bananas such as apples or strawberries.

In the Pence household.....it's Peter Pan Peanut Butter with Welch's Grape Jelly.....two slices of bread, nothing more, nothing less.

Wikipedia Image - Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

The Real Thing!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see the new styles coming in for 2011! Huge inventory of over 800 styles of Old World Christmas ornaments!

$50 Shopping Spree on Trendy Tree!

Get your name in the hat for a drawing on Trendy Tree for a $50 shopping spree!

Just visit our Trendy Tree Facebook page and click on the "like" at the top of the page. Once we reach 500 "likes" we'll draw a winner from the list!

Count is at 451 today......not much further to go! Visit the Trendy Tree Facebook page today!

Packaging Ornaments for Valentine's Day

What better way to package Shiny Red Hearts, Conversation Hearts, I Love You Hearts and anything else for Valentine's Day than crisp, shiny cellophane.

Just cut a large square off the roll and position your treasure in a bed of paper shred. Gather up the cellophane and tie with pretty ribbon. Perfect and easy gift wrapping. Cello on 100 ft rolls will do A LOT of ornaments)) I've been using a roll of clear in the shop for months for birthdays, etc and I'm still using on the first roll!

We have paper shred too in a white/silver mix that's perfect for Valentine Day.




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The Three Bears

No...this post isn't about the fairy tale The Three Bears, but it is about three NEW bear Christmas ornaments from Old World Christmas for 2011.

The Honey Bear Cub 12364

The Panda Cub 12357

Koala Bear 12356

But, come to think of it. Any one or ALL of these ornaments would make great keepsake gifts to go along with gifting a copy of the beloved fairy tale "The Three Bears" or "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

The history of the famous tale is very interesting and can be read on Wikipedia. It actually dates back into the 1800's.

Flopsy Bunny Christmas Ornament

Who doesn't remember the tales about Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter Rabbit! As a little girl, in addition to the Beatrix Potter book, I had the 45 record of the Peter in Mr. McGregor's garden. I must have played it a thousand times on my portable record player that folded up as a little case.

This new Flopsy Christmas ornament from Old World Christmas would make a great keepsake for Easter. Just package it in an Easter basket with one of the Beatrix Potter books sure to delight any small child. Also would make a perfect baby shower gift accompanied by a book.

 Flopsy 12350

According to Wikipedia: In The Flopsy Bunnies, Benjamin Bunny and his cousins Peter and Flopsy are adult rabbits. Benjamin and Flopsy are married, and the parents of six children called simply The Flopsy Bunnies. Food is not always readily available to the large family and they are forced to resort to Mr. McGregor's rubbish heap of rotten vegetables for sustenance. Mr. McGregor catches the six Flopsy Bunnies after they fall asleep in the rubbish heap and puts them in a sack, intending to sell them for tobacco. When McGregor is distracted for a moment, the sextet is freed by Thomasina Tittlemouse, a woodmouse, and the sack filled with rotten vegetables by Benjamin and Flopsy. At home, Mr. McGregor receives a sharp scolding from his wife when she discovers the vegetables and believes her husband is playing a trick on her.

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more great ornaments that are perfect as Easter basket treats!

Pet Rat

Well I don't think his name is Ben, but he's a Pet Rat! New from Old World Christmas 2011.

 

Pet Rat 12349

Wikipedia: The fancy rat is a domesticated brown rat, which is the most common type of pet rat.  
 Fancy rats are commonly sold as pets in stores and by breeders. In fiction, pet brown rats tend to be depicted as tamed rather than domesticated, akin to when a character befriends a wolf. As tamed pets, they have played roles that vary from evil, to ambiguous, to lovable.

Cobra Snake Christmas Ornament

Cobra Snake 12339 - New for 2011

Wikipedia: Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra de capelo or cobra-de-capelo, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake".When disturbed, most of these snakes can rear up and spread their neck (or hood) in a characteristic threat display.

Wikipedia Image

Three Billy Goats Gruff

Billy Goat Christmas Ornament - New for 2011

ONCE upon a time there were three billy goats, who were to go up to the hillside to eat grass and make themselves fat. The name of each one of them was “Gruff”.

On the way up was a bridge over a cascading stream they had to cross; and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll, with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

“Trip, trap! trip, trap!” went the bridge as he trotted across.

“Who’s that tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“Oh, it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff, and I’m going up to the hillside to make myself fat,” said the billy goat, with such a small voice.

“Now, I’m coming to gobble you up,” said the troll.

“Oh, no! pray don’t take me. I’m too little, that I am,” said the billy goat. “Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He’s much bigger.”

“Well, be off with you,” said the troll.

A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.
“TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!” went the bridge.

“Who’s that tripping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“Oh, it’s the second Billy Goat Gruff, and I’m going up to the hillside to make myself fat,” said the billy goat, who hadn’t such a small voice.

“Now I’m coming to gobble you up,” said the troll.
“Oh, no! Don’t take me. Wait a little till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He’s much bigger.”
“Very well! Be off with you,” said the troll.

But just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff.
“TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!” went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

“Who’s that tramping over my bridge?” roared the troll.
“It’s I! The big Billy Goat Gruff,” said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.
“Now I ‘m coming to gobble you up,” roared the troll.

Well, come along! I’ve got two spears,
And I’ll poke your eyeballs out at your ears;
I’ve got besides two curling-stones,
And I’ll crush you to bits, body and bones.

That was what the big billy goat said. And then he flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the ravine and after that he went up to the hillside.

There the billy goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again. And if the fat hasn’t fallen off them, why, they’re still fat; and so,

Snip Snap Snout

This Tale is out!

Raining Cats and Dogs!

It's raining Cats and Dogs at Trendy Tree! Old World Christmas cats and dogs that is.

We have over 127 new styles of ornaments from Old World Christmas arriving to Trendy Tree within the next few weeks. Most of these are new 2011 styles, some are ornaments that we haven't carried before.
Twelve of these new selections are cat and dog ornaments.

Boxer 12304

Boston Terrier 12290

Bichon Frise 12298

Holiday Kitten 12223

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see all the new cat and dog styles we have coming in from Old World Christmas!

Old World Christmas Ornaments - Uniquely Different!

I mean really.....how often do you find an exquisite glass ornament in the form of a Llama in your favorite department store! Old World Christmas just never ceases to surprise me with the new styles from year to year. The Llama is one of those ornaments))

 Llama 12284

A traditionally dressed Quechua girl with a llama in Cuzco
Wikipedia Image

According to Wikipedia: Llamas are very social animals and like to live with other llamas as a herd. Overall, the fiber produced by a llama is very soft and is naturally lanolin free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25% to 30% of their body weight for several miles.


Llamas which are well-socialized and trained to halter and lead after weaning are very friendly and pleasant to be around. They are extremely curious and most will approach people easily.

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more unique offerings from Old World Christmas for 2011!

Cash Cow Christmas Ornament

The Cash Cow

Cash Cow Christmas Ornament
12265 Merck Family's Old World Christmas
Introduced 2011
Made of mouth blown, hand painted glass. Measures approximately 4"

According to Wikipedia: In business, a cash cow is a product or a business unit that generates unusually high profit margins: so high that it is responsible for a large amount of a company's operating profit. This profit far exceeds the amount necessary to maintain the cash cow business, and the excess is used by the business for other purposes.

"Cash cow" is also used sarcastically by sales & business people to describe a customer or organization that has no control over its spending. Quite often used to describe government departments like: Foreign Aid; Highways & Social Security, where the spending is out of proportion to the services or goods received

Arriving soon to Trendy Tree!