A little variation on an old classic:

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the condo
Not a creature was sleeping…so get to bed pronto!
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
Ok, so it’s a gas fireplace, but the Whole Foods cookies were there.

The children were nestled in their Ikea bunk beds
While visions of iPhones danced in their heads
And Mamma in her La Perla and Pa in his Jockeys
Were “discussing” (again) appropriate times to watch hockey

When out on the sidewalk there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my Eames rocker to see what was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a flash
No shutters to open because we don’t have the cash

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Gave the luster of midday to the objects below
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a Fiat 500 and 8 guys chugging beer.

Merry Christmas from everyone at Vitamin Daily!

We don’t want to come across as a scrooge, but we find holiday window decorations tend to fall into three categories: Overly religious, sappily sentimental, or just plain ugly.

We love this combo by Stampin’ Up!, incorporating 27 red damask images on vinyl ($41.06) with a nice non-denominational message ($12.17).

Now we can wish everybody a happy holiday season without offending their spiritual beliefs or sense of style. —Jennifer Nachshen

www.stampinup.com

As we squeeze one more glass of champers out of 2010, here are a few things you can do before the clock strikes midnight to make 2011 the best yet. Cheers to another great year.

Animal Crackers
We’re usually in the Swiss Alps, where local tradition is to stroke a pig’s snout for good luck on New Year’s Eve. This year we’re in Toronto so maybe I’ll dress up in a ball gown and take my family out for bacon sandwiches. Ha, ha, Happy New Year.
Athena Tsavliris, Toronto editor

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the sparkliest of them all?
They say that you should always take a look in the mirror before you leave the house and remove one accessory. Since my New Year’s resolution for this year is to accessorize more (I tend to stay simple with my diamond studs), I’m going to add one. Maybe two. Watch out!
Jennifer Nachshen, Montreal editor (English edition)

Return to Sender
The Babylonians were the first to make a New Year’s resolution and this is what it was: return anything borrowed from a friend in the previous year.
Tonya Albulet, Western Sales Manager

Go With the Flow
As one of my yoga instructors often says: “You’ll never be as young as you are this very second.” So instead of resolutions that are restricting, this year is about celebrating life and all its frivolity. And if this means, shopping more, drinking more wine or eating another cookie, try to enjoy every moment, every bite and every sip because it will never be exactly like it is in that moment.
Malwina Gudowska, Calgary editor

The Three P's: Pajamas, Postcards, Positivity
Tradition: "Party Top Pajama Bottoms" party. The photos taken from the waist up make it appear everyone dressed up, but from the waist down it’s all comfort. Makes stumbling into bed that much easier at the end of the night.
Resolution: Send more postcards, for no particular reason, to the people I love.
Superstition:  The surest way to ensure a happy new year is to fix my thoughts on something positive the moment the clock strikes 12.
Joy Pecknold, Vancouver editor

Between thank you cards, birth announcements, and the holidays, you might as well be running a small publishing business from your dining room.

And the golden rule of small business? Outsource!

The gals at Vancouver's Haute Note offer new photo cards for Christmas (we love this subtly retro Collage design) with your precious family snaps ($55/25 cards).  

Because Facebook can't be propped on the mantle. 

View styles and place orders at www.hautenote.ca

Decorating the house for Halloween needn’t be a headache. Just put your heads together.

A couple of Crystal Heads that is. The premium vodka brand owned by Dan Aykroyd and made in Newfoundland multitasks. The super smooth spirit within spikes the punch and the skull-shaped glass bottle you’re left with displays your candy corn in a goth way.

It’s a graveyard smash.

$54.99, find retailers here.

Hot Cross Buns ordered?

Baskets assembled?

Husband’s bunny costume picked up from the cleaners? (Don’t laugh, Ben Affleck has one.)

Now how about dinner decor?

Cotton yarn, glue and balloons are all you need to make these jaunty decorative eggs, and, alas, there will be no need to hide them.

Okay hubby, hop to it!

For step-by-step instructions, click here.

Naughty or nice, you’ll love this recipe for our favorite holiday tipple:

Vitamin Daily Eggnog

5 cups whole milk
6 eggs
¼ cup caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split
20 fresh cherries (de-stoned and halved)
¾ cup brandy

Method

Mix milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla in medium pan and heat on low until mixture thickens. Scatter cherries at bottom of serving glasses, add brandy, pour eggnog and dust with cocoa powder.

Merry Xmas, luvvies!

Instead of the usual tired tinsel, this holiday season we’re taking a décor detour with something fab and fuzzy.

Working entirely with reclaimed objects, Montreal set designer Hélène Lemieux creates show-stopping Christmas decorations made out of salvaged fur. We love her tree ornaments ($22) adorned with buttons and pearls, but it’s the fetching furry wreathes ($60) with blue satin ribbons that really bring out our yuletide cheer. 

Ho ho ho.

Available until December 24 at Monde Ruelle, 2205 Parthenais St., #112, Montreal, 514-290-3338, www.monderuelle.com

We love a good Christmas meal as much as the next gal but we refuse to spend the holidays on KP duty.

Instead, we’ll surrender to the convenience of three-course take-out from Olivieri Librairie-Bistro (from $25/meal). Decadent starters range from shrimp with caviar and lamb to foie gras and tartars, while savoury mains main include deer, bison and vegetarian chili. 

Hot this season is the mushroom risotto with black truffle oil, and chocolate truffles made by the chef’s best friend. It’s official: we shan’t be setting foot in the kitchen until 2010. 

Holiday cheer all around!

Holiday menus until December 25, Olivieri Librairie-Bistro, 219 Côte-des-Neiges Blvd., Montreal, 514-739-3639.

We’ve overdosed on eggnog and the sugar plum fairies are giving us a headache.

Take a time-out from all the forced holiday cheer with a visit to the Centaur. Urban Tales has become a seasonal tradition for theatre-loving cynics like us. This year’s collection of eight edgy stories (by playwright Yvan Bienvenue) includes Booger Nights, about a family Christmas dinner gone wrong and Fat Thigh Noon, a twisted love story set at a Plateau McDonald’s.

Bah humbug.

Until December 19, Centaur Theatre, 453 St. François-Xavier St., Montreal, tickets from $17, www.centaurtheatre.com