Can they open their own presents!? Watch Chloe Wong (aka Chewy) in action!

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While perusing our fine dining establishments for the coming holiday, we discovered an amusing opportunity for a road trip that takes us to the best local restaurants in towns with coincidental names. The trip was too enjoyable not to share with you Zvents’ 2008 dining road trip, a whirlwind, foodie tour of the United States through the most unusual of towns.

Start with an early morning wake up call in the aptly named Collins Mississippi suburb of Hot Coffee. The moon pies at this area “mini mall” may not be your idea of a healthy breakfast but you can’t argue that the coffee must be world renowned; after all, they’ve named the town after it. So skip the moon pies grab a cuppa joe as we head to Bacon, IN, Buttermilk, KS, and Two Egg, FL for something to fill that belly. I like my eggs scrabbled but at Mary’s Breakfast Nook just outside Bacon or around the corner from Two Egg at the Huddle House, you can get them any way you want. Pancakes and Eggs not your cup of Tea? (hang on… we’ll get to Tea) Sit tight for the annual Oatmeal Festival brought to you by Oatmeal, TX and Quaker Oats. Every September, thousands flock to Bertram, TX (yeah I know, why isn’t it in Oatmeal, TX?) where you are encouraged “bring your honey to Oatmeal”

From Two Egg, we’re off to Sandwich, MA just 20 miles south of Boston and Tortilla Flat, AZ for lunch. We suggest Bobby Byrne’s Sandwich in Sandwich or Sluggo’s Sports Bar near Tortilla Flats (you expected Mexican didn’t you?). With Tortilla Flat just east of Phoenix, you have an endless list of options for lunch so consider this ‘free time’ from our tight schedule and enjoy the warmth and sun.

Back in the car we’re driving through Tea, South Dakota on our way to Kaladis Coffee Legend and Bistro for that mid-day snack to tide you over till dinner. If you are good in the car, we’ll stop in Pie Town, NM and swing by The Adobe Cafe and Bakery for a treat.

For dinner, we’re torn between a Picnic in Florida, there is the little market just off (ahem) Picnic St. in Port Charlotte, or some Good food around Goodfood, MS; Ragtime in Grenada is a great choice.

From there we leave you to your own devices. Search Zvents and discover amazing places to eat like Cheesequake, NJ,   Sugarland, TX, or Ham Lake, Minnesota where we should remind you to wait 20 minutes before going swimming.

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What do you typically do to get into the holiday spirit? Isn’t it time for a break? Set aside the home decorations and holiday food preparation for a moment and get out and do some fun activities with the family!

One of the favorite holiday traditions is illuminating the neighborhood with lights! Sure, everyone can deck out their homes to look like Clark Griswold’s house from the famous holiday movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but did you know that several parks also have holiday light displays with over 500,000 lights? Vasona Park has their annual “Fantasy of Lights” and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has their “Holiday Lights Extravaganza.”

Have you ever gone on a sleigh and horse drawn carriage ride? Seems like a magical experience like the episode from Sex And The City where Carrie and Alexandr Petrovsky soar through the snow in Central Park! Why not make it a reality? Although it could be a problem if you don’t live in a climate with snow, there’s always the horse drawn carriage minus the sleigh!

For those who like culture and the arts, enjoy the famed Nutcracker Ballet, watch the symphony orchestra featuring your favorite holiday classics, or go see a wintry theater arts performance.

Find time to relax and enjoy yourself this festive holiday season!

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A couple of days ago, Amy Klein shared her holiday experiences in America on NPR’s Morning Edition. Her commentary entitled, “Hanukkah Is in the Holiday Season, Too,” describes that “despite all the politically correct inclusiveness, the bland ‘Seasons Greetings’ messages on TV, holiday means “Christmas,” and Chanukah is relegated to being Not That Holiday.” After growing up surrounded by Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn and then moving to Israel, and finally back to the U.S., Amy found that during the holiday season in America - Christmas is everywhere - radio, tv, shopping, holiday parties, etc. True, it does seem like Christmas overshadows all of the other celebrations…but don’t let that stop you from enjoying your special traditions and attending cultural events. Search Zvents for things to do on your favorite holiday:

• Hanukkah
• Kwanzaa
• Winter Solstice
• Las Posadas
  

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The holidays are here and it’s almost impossible to escape the inevitable shopping frenzy.

If you’d like to avoid the suffocation of hectic malls and prevent parking headaches…here are some very interesting shopping alternatives!

Did you know that during the holidays, the amount of trash Americans throw away goes up by 1 million tons a week? This year, you can create your very own special one-of-a-kind gift (which makes the present even more meaningful!) from recycled materials at The Crissy Field Center in San Francisco, CA. You can make something for everyone on your list: container gardens, sno-globes, digital greeting cards, and much more at the Do-It-Yourself Gift Making Extravaganza.

For those who prefer to purchase something classic, you might want to check out a place like historic Georgetown, CO. The town’s Christmas Market is a charming outdoor European marketplace with handcrafted gifts with beautiful and unique shops with intricate ornaments and decorations, Victorian items for the home, art, wine, rare books, jewelry, clothing, antiques, gifts, and award-winning food vendors (for those intense shoppers who work up an appetite while running around). The Heart of Downtown Washington DC also offers an open air Downtown Holiday Market with local artisans selling arts, crafts, textiles, photography, pottery, clothing, and high quality gift items. They’ve got live entertainment and Christmas carolers too!

The holidays are always a great time to help those in need. If you’re able to share your generosity, you can contribute to gift drives for organizations like The Home for Little Wanderers, Knight Children’s Center in Boston, MA or even adopt a pet to give orphaned critters a happy home for the holidays!

Good luck holiday shoppers!

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