The Rockettes And The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Photo: The New York Times

The Radio City Rockettes have kicked off the holiday season in New York City for the last 91 years. On my walk to the Time & Life building (i.e., work) in the morning, I petted the baby camel parked outside on one of the tiny side streets of Rockefeller Plaza. Golden fur, soft and so clean! The Living Nativity and Parade of the Living Soldiers have been in the Christmas show since its beginning. The Rockettes are a precision dance company famous for their kickline and eye-high kicks.

To be a Rockette, hopefuls must measure between 5'6" and 5'10.5" tall in stocking feet. The dancers must know tap, jazz, modern, and ballet. A total of 80 Rockettes are hired for the Christmas Spectacular, with 2 casts of 40 dancers for the afternoon and evening performances. They rehearse in the basement of St. Paul the Apostle Church (located on West 59th Street beside Lincoln Center) for six hours a day, six days a week for six weeks.

Only 36 dancers appear on stage at one time. The tallest dancers line up in the middle with shorter dancers on the ends. It gives the illusion that each woman is the same height.

The dancers do their own hair and makeup. Each performer wears a French twist, red lips (the shade is MAC Red or MAC Russian Red), and eyelashes.

There are more than 1,100 costumes and pairs of shoes. Their shoes have microphones so the audience can hear the tap dancing during 12 Days of Christmas and Rag Dog.

Other fun facts include the show runs for 90 minutes with no intermission. The Rockettes do more than 160 kicks per show and can perform up to 4 shows a day during the busy season. Since the Christmas Spectacular premiered in 1932, 3,000 women have been Rockettes.

Show tickets are not cheap, but nobody goes home disappointed. Here's a link with tips on how to get a discount on tickets, however, this may be a time when paying the piper is necessary as these suggestions don't look easy. More like hope and luck.🔔

If you wish to know what it's like to auditon and be a New York City Rockette, click the entertaining video below to hear firsthand:

You may also enjoy:

Peace, Love & Joy

Christmas Decorations Are Up

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

It's Nearly Christmas: Come Travel With Me

Fine Jewelry Under $125 As Gifts

Over the next 3 weeks, I'll write a few holiday gift idea blogs. Today I'll focus on reasonably priced fine jewelry under $125 (and that is before applying promotional codes for further reductions). It means sterling silver (a precious metal) with lab-grown white sapphires. It also makes excellent travel jewelry that dazzles and looks expensive.

I'm featuring Italo jewelry since I'm happy with my own Italo purchase  (shown here) -- the sapphires sparkle like mad! Read my review on Italo jewelry to know the good and what to avoid, namely having to return the jewelry. Try to forgo the hassle of returns if possible. Italo Jewelry is an online-only Italian manufacturer whose plant is located in China. The retailer is legitimate and does stand behind its jewelry, but customers must pay for return shipping on jewelry they don't like. So take a beat so you don't order mistakes!

What I like about Italo is its enormous selection of beautiful designs from classic to unique, huge enough to suit every possible taste. I wear my Italo jewelry often and it's durable. Of the offerings, the earrings are super affordable for lovely glittering pieces, and I think they're safer than giving rings as gifts. The necklaces will have more metal and stones and therefore cost more too. Throughout the blog are several of my favorite Italo earrings, which I'd be happy to receive!

Italo Jewelry seems to have a bigger collection ... more styles than its competitors who sell similar jewelry. My only experience is with Italo, so you'll have to research their competition for legitimacy and good customer service.

I don't gift rings simply because people work with their hands and if a stone falls out, there is no brick-and-mortar Italo shop to fix it, so it's likely cheaper to rebuy the jewelry than have it repaired. Earrings are less likely to sustain mishaps as they don't get banged around.

Italo jewelry comes nicely presented in boxes and ribbons. Inside is a silver polishing cloth, policy information, cleaning tips, and a travel pouch.

With Italo Jewelry, you're not paying an arm and a leg for what is real sterling silver and lab-grown white sapphires that (if taken care of) last so why buy fashion jewelry?

You may also enjoy:

Sisi's Stars

Scottish Shortbread

5 Gifts For New York City Lovers

There'll Always Be A Christmas, An Album Review

It's Nearly Christmas: Come Travel With Me

One of the Christmas trees at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Queen Elizabeth IIs official residence in Scotland. A painting of King Charles II looks on. For more about him go here. His father, King Charles I is the portrait on the right.

For our Christmas blog let's travel around the world, as well as, back in time a bit. On my bucket list is a return to Great Britain at Christmas time. With the numbers of the Omicron variant of COVID rising, it won't be anytime soon, so let us rely on the blog for our Christmas visits this year ...

The Royal Family's trees at Windsor Castile

How beautiful are Queen Elizabeth II's 2021 trees in Scotland and Windsor? Her Majesty's trees arrived and were decorated in early December.

On to the Middle East ...

 Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

One day perhaps tourists will again spend Christmas where it all began in Bethlehem. Maybe this December the locals can enjoy Bethlehem even more without the usual crowds, although sadly when people stay away the commerce won't be there for the town either.

Our next stop is New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art on December 9, 2021:

All photos at the Met: Carolyn C.

Here on the Upper East Side at the Met, my friend Carolyn invited me to see the new Walt Disney exhibit with her. She had an extra ticket for its opening. I had not visited the museum in 2+ years, and her company was the shot in the arm (no pun intended😊) I needed to go again. As it turns out, you do need your COVID shots in the arm, as well as, to show a state ID and wear a mask to get inside. Glad to oblige to keep everybody safe! 

We very much enjoyed the magic of Walt Disney consisting of footage of its animated films, movie posters, and various artifacts from the productions. As I mentioned to Carolyn, I didn't see Disney's Snow White (1938) or The Sleeping Beauty (1959) movies, but as a child, I had the records of the fairytales which I played over and over again; and the recordings came with Disney illustrated books so you could turn the pages as you listened to actors reading the parts, classical music, and dramatic sound effects. I remember the book images vividly as if I'd seen the films in theaters. Beauty And The Beast (1991) I also missed in theaters ... but I've seen enough Disney clips over the years to know all 3 animated films well.

Photo: Carolyn C. of The 17th Century Christmas tree at the Met

Naturally, we had to visit the 17th Century Christmas tree the Met always sets up at Christmas in the Medieval-Byzantine-Early Modern chamber complete with a soft Gregorian chant in the background. Every year it's become a Christmas tradition to walk over to see it. Like many other activities, I missed doing so in 2020.

Our last blog stop is a spot in my apartment. You get music in my home too.🙂

I tried to give this Nativity Scene away as I have another one but didn't find a taker, and so I'm displaying it myself this year. Hey, maybe I do need two.:) 

"Go Tell It On the Mountain" is from my favorite Christmas album of all time recorded by the Ames Brothers (1957), which I reviewed the year I began the blog here. As a young man, my father bought the vinyl album, and it played every Christmas on my parent's {Dad's stuff always became our stuff😀} stereo during my childhood, so when I moved to Manhattan, I bought a CD of it in a record store. Thus, the tradition continues! Unfortunately, record stores are another relic of the past.

Another glance at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland with Queen Elizabeth's decorating team.

I want to thank you, my lovely readers, for stopping by ... for your continued support ... and I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday in your own faith traditions. I'm happy to include you in mine by wishing you Peace, Love and, Joy. 

We may be from multi-cultures and traditions, but everyone is accepted and valued on THE SAVVY SHOPPER. Here we are united as one human global family. Free to be a little bit serious and a little bit frivolous ... and spread kindness continuously. On these restricted days apart people need it!😘💋

Merry Christmas Everyone!

xoxo

You may also enjoy:

Have A Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Once Again

Wishing You A Merry Christmas

Christmas 2020 In New York City

Speaking Of Christmas

All images: Macy's.

The majority of the people on earth, about 69%, are not Christians. Christianity is followed by only 31% of the world's population, therefore, far from a majority. Can we not accept the world as it is? While we humans have different responses, in life we all ask the same ultimate questions* and try to arrive at the same place.

 

First aiming to live a life of greater purpose, followed by a hope for the best outcome that life doesn't end in death, but we find some ultimate good or meaning in our struggles and beyond our finite lives. Theologians spend years studying the human condition and its connection to the divine -- the world of concrete vs the world of ideas, the infinite vs finite. Believing requires a leap of faith, and for certain, time will tell. It's that simple and complicated.

We have all heard the catchphrase: Let's put Christ back into Christmas, but I like to focus on putting Christ back into Christians. As we move into the Christmas season, is it possible for us to worry less about cookie-cutter conformity and more about understanding and having a tolerance of others? Might we even leap to celebrating our cultural differences, as well as, showing generosity and hospitality to everyone as we embrace our own traditions?

I'm always honored when another culture or religion shows me warmth and goodwill. An invitation to fellowship can be an attempt to connect and share, not usually to convert. What's more, I think savvy modern people can tell the difference and navigate accordingly.

Moreover, when a clerk in a department store wishes me a "Happy Holiday" in lieu of a "Merry Christmas," it's an effort to be gracious from a stranger in society who doesn't know what tradition I practice and nothing more. Why should tolerance and good wishes from friendly strangers upset us? It's misplaced animosity perhaps based on fear and insecurity in a changing world. 

If a history buff like me, you realize the world simultaneously changes and stays the same. Everything we experience has been experienced before in another century or millennium. Times can change, but humans react the same. Life on earth is cyclical. Everything new becomes old and everything old is new again ... this time around "new" to us. Furthermore, when the world is ripe for change, it moves forward. You can't stop change forever.

I hope with the supply chain down this holiday season all people -- especially Christians -- worry less about exchanging material gifts and put their energies into showing more people benevolence, support, compassion, and collaboration. After a challenging pandemic apart, wouldn't it be a meaningful, awesome way to celebrate Christmas?! Let's dole out gifts of human acceptance and kindness beginning today!

The Nativity Scene Christmas decorations are available from Macy's the only major New York department store that seems to still sell them. {You won't find them at Saks or Bloomingdales.} I'm only a customer, and my blog isn't sponsored by the retailer. I do love Macy's however ... a must-stop for tourists and New Yorkers alike during the Christmas season! Starting on November 26th, the North Pole with SantaLand opens. Located on the 9th floor for in-person visits as well as online.

✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰✯𐫰

*The Ultimate Questions in every religion are: Where do we come from? Is human life random or created by an all-powerful God? What is the meaning and purpose of life? What happens after we die? 

In examining the human condition, all religions have a diagnosis ... what went wrong; and a prescription ... here's how to fix it to get back on the right path. All religions offer hope that life, good, bad, or ugly, has intrinsic worth and meaning.

You may also enjoy:

5 Gifts For New York City Lovers

The Beauty Advent Calendars Are Out

Last Minute Shoppers Head To T.J. Maxx

Let's Ease Into Christmas With Bette Midler

Mini Pecan Pies A/K/A Tassies

 

As a teenager, I started helping my mom make Christmas cookies. She made (and decorated) butter cookies, Russian Teacakes, coconut macaroons, and Czechoslovakian cookies. I made mini pecan pies, likely a recipe I tweaked from a cookbook. Sometimes they are called Pecan Tassies and originate in the American South. My mom loved them so much, she asked me to make them every year. Mini pecan pies or Tassies are a 2-step process, yet still easy to make. Here is the recipe for 12 cupcake-sized pies:

Mini Pecan Pies

Ingredients for the Crust:

1/2 stick of butter, room temperature 

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature 

1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions for the Crust:

1) Combine the butter, cream cheese and all-purpose flour. 

2) Refrigerate for 15 - 20 minutes to make the dough easier to work. (While chilling, you can make the filling.)

3) Form into 12 balls of dough. 

4) Press the 12 balls of dough into 12 sections of an ungreased muffin pan. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of each section. They should not stick, but you can brush the pan sections with butter and sprinkle with flour if you wish.

5) Bake at 350 degrees F in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and set aside for the filling. This extra step will stop the pies from sticking and crumbling after they are fully baked.

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Optional: A splash of Kentucky bourbon

Directions:

1) Toss the brown sugar and butter into a mixing bowl and incorporate using a fork.

2) Slightly beat the eggs and add to the mixture, along with the vanilla and salt.

3) Stir in the pecans and slash of Bourbon.

4) Fill the pecan mixture into the 12 waiting pie crusts about 3/4 full. I like to lay a few big pieces of pecans on top.

5) Return to the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 - 30 minutes.

6) Take them out of the oven, let cool down, but while the pan is still warm, remove the mini pies from the pan.

IMHO these pecan tassies are exactly the right portion of sweets and you don't need to have syrups to make them. The brown sugar, butter and pecans are delicious. Perhaps a new holiday tradition for your family. Enjoy!

You may also enjoy:

Scottish Shortbread

Have A Merry Christmas

Eggnog, An Old Holiday Tradition

Christmas Greetings To Everyone

Low Fat, Sugar Free Eggnog

Photo: free iStock

Nine years ago I shared a recipe for old fashioned eggnog here, but perhaps it's time to try to make eggnog healthier, a lower-calorie version that's still tasty. After all, we're all a decade older and food-wiser, no? In the effort, I omitted most of the fat and all of the sugar and still love the eggnog🎄. Hope you will too:

Low Fat Sugar-Free Eggnog

Ingredients:

4 eggs, separated

2 cups fat-free milk

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons stevia graduated blend 👈 what I use

(Feel free to sweeten with 1/3 cup of sugar.)

12 oz can condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: Bourbon or rum to taste (Mine is alcohol-free. I love the sweet, vanilla, nutmeg flavors which the bourbon hides from me!🙄)

Directions:

1) Whip the egg whites into stiff peaks with an electric mixer and set aside.

2) Toss into a blender the egg yolks, skim milk, cornstarch and, nutmeg. (I used fresh and dry nutmeg.) If using white sugar, here is where I'd add it. The cornstarch reduces the risk of cuddling when heating eggs and milk together. Blend until creamy.

My eggnog batch

3) Pour the mixture into a saucepan and whisk on medium heat until the start of a boil, but do not allow it to boil. Immediately lower the heat to the lowest setting and keep whisking for 5 minutes. During the 5 minutes is the step where I add the stevia blend.

4) Turn off the flame and let it sit for a few minutes, then whisk in the can of condensed milk, vanilla extract, and whipped egg whites. Add the optional alcohol if using.

5) Pour into a container with a lid and chill in the refrigerator before drinking.

According to the American Egg Board, "while it is possible for Salmonella to be in both the white and yolk of eggs, the white doesn't readily support bacterial growth," so there is a low risk in using them uncooked to make eggnog. In the USA the eggs sold at the supermarket have a low risk for bacteria because they ''are washed and sanitized" as reported in Forbes. Fresh or pasteurized raw whole eggs are also safe.

I'll continue to buy eggnog, but this much lighter, sugar-free and cheaper batch (104 calories a cup) is surprisingly thick and delicious, plus we know every ingredient in it!

You may also enjoy:

A Party At Ryan's Daughter

How To Make Kombucha Tea

Building A Cheese Platter On A Budget

Drugstore Beauty Buys To Beat The Winter Doldrums

Home Goods As Gifts For Less

The couch, pillow and throw are online offerings.

There are no better places to buy home goods than the merchant Home Goods and its sister company T.J. Maxx. Sometimes I make the trip to the bigger Home Goods store only to find my needed item at T.J. Maxx. So consider both retailers for cookery, room accent pieces, bedding, bathroom fixtures, and major pieces of furniture. You will be surprised at what comes through T.J. Maxx. Often I browse at my local T.J. Maxx, which is within walking distance, and I've adopted the mantra, "I  don't buy pretty," to avoid temptation and clutter.

However, when you truly need something for yourself or others, you find top quality for less! Although appreciating the thought, I hate getting merchandise that serves no purpose and is so unpractical I'll never use it. Better to give someone a gift certificate at Home Goods or T.J. Maxx, or wherever they like to shop so they can fill a need. If you buy a gift card at any one, you can use it at all its sister stores.

I think T.J. Maxx especially is the perfect place to do your holiday shopping to find the best merchandise without going broke. Some folks may not know you will find some of the same articles from Home Goods at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls because they all are under the TJX Company umbrella. Online or in-store, check out the clearance sales, which include home goods. You will find bargains all year round that the retailers must move quickly for new inventory. The stock is now plush for holiday shopping!

Every item featured on the blog today is online now for less! And it's only a fraction of the vast selection. There are also pet furniture, room organizer bins and baskets, as well as, holiday decorations. Go to the T.J. Maxx website to find them. If the items sell out, give your family or friends a thoughtful store gift certificate ... because something akin always rolls back around and your friends can get exactly what they want. The ever-changing inventory at these retailers makes browsing fun!🎅 And dangerous!! Don't buy pretty!👺

You may also enjoy:

Holiday Gifts For A Family

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Sweets And Treats Holiday Gifts

Gift Food Baskets For The Holidays

7 Holiday Gifts For Him

Last year I compiled a Gifts For Him blog. This year I'll begin by sharing what the editors of "Good Hunting" compiled, not their entire list, but the 3 items I like best. (The list came to me in an email):

1) Patagonia Wild Idea Work Boots - These owl brown buffalo leather boots are gorgeous and the right footwear for hiking or walking miles on city pavement. Pricey, yes ... yet well-made to last for many years so with time you get your money's worth.

2) Sam Jones' Southern Starter Kit - North Carolina barbecue pitmaster, Sam Jones, gives you (3) spice rubs for steak, pork, fish, and (1) all-purpose seasoned salt. You can't go wrong with any of his barbecue condiment pairings, so take a look and consider how much you wish to spend.

3) Billy Raid Fine Gauge Cashmere Crew - a winter wardrobe staple for men, women, or others, i.e. everybody should own one soft, warm and durable cashmere sweater. Looks great even after years of winter wear! Natural fibers rock!

Here's a look at those stylish owl brown boots in action.😍

For recommendations #4, #5 and #6 I asked Barry P., a reader of the blog, to share items on his holiday wish list. It turns out Barry has mighty fine tastes. Lucky us to have a man's point of view on what to get a man:

4) Ben Silver Royal St. George Yacht Club Tie - It is a silk tie of the highest silk material and craftsmanship. Ben Silver has a wide selection of neckties in several textures. Barry says, "Oozing with old traditions," wear one of Ben Silver's ties to be mistaken for "a member of the British regiment, an alumnus of an ivy league school, or a member of an exclusive yacht club." Barry has selected a cool theme to reflect his interest in ships and the shipping industry of which he writes about often.

5) Buffalo Trace - Kentucky Straight Bourbon with tasting notes of brown sugar and spice "that give way to oak, toffee, dark fruit, and anise." A smooth whiskey with depth and "a complex aroma of vanilla, mint and molasses." Makes even a non-bourbon drinker want a taste, doesn't it? A bottle of bourbon is useful to non-drinkers for guests, as well as, for making desserts and Hot Toddies to soothe winter sore throats. Nobody is my family drinks bourbon, but I keep a big bottle in the cupboard. It lasts for 10 years! 

6) Blanton's Straight from the Barrel - A private reserve bourbon with tasting notes of dark chocolate, caramel and undertones of walnut and hazelnut. Perhaps for a bourbon connoisseur as the Blanton's reserve is about 7 times costlier than Buffalo Trace.

🎄🐪🐑⭐

I'm adding one more item for good measure. You can find a lovely gift at every price point to fit your budget. Some of the gift ideas here are expensive, others are more affordable like the final one, starting at $29.99:

7) L.L.Bean Wrinkle-Free Pinpoint Oxford Shirt - The shirts are 100% cotton Oxford cloth. Can't beat the quality for the price. A wide selection of patterns and colors, and best of all, some of the patterns are on sale! It might be the color for your guy, the one you'd have chosen even if not on sale! If I don't know what to buy a person, male or female -- and they give me no clues -- I buy something I'd be delighted to receive ... and I'm a practical person, settling on good quality and useful like a wrinkle-free thick cotton Oxford shirt!

Well, slacker me ... it was great having help this year in curating Holiday Gifts for Him! Do you have a favorite? Or would you like to contribute more things to the list?

You may also enjoy:

The Twelve Days Of Christmas

Christmas Cactus or Poinsettia?

Modest After Christmas Goodies

Inside A Snow Globe With Santa At Bloomingdales