It’s giveaway time! It’s a massive one guys and I’m pretty excited! For the past week or so I’ve been featuring recipes using Staub, Shun, Cuttingboard.com, Finex, and Kitchen Aid and now’s the time to finally bundle everything up and give it all away. Well, not literally, because you’re actually going to win new items, so there’s no real bundling, just figurative bundling.
win this staub!
I hope you’ve been following along – so far I’ve made Slow Braised Japanese Chashu Pork, Mini Puff Pastry Roses, Caramel Corn and Rice Krispie Mix, and Mint Snowman Marshmallows, but with these giveaway items you can make pretty much anything, which is perfect for the holiday season.
win this shun knife and cuttingboard.com boo’s block!
I love food – as I’m sure you know – and one of my favorite Christmas memories is of me, my brother, and Christmas chocolates. As little kids, come the first of December, we would get chocolate advent calendars. I still see them around now: those thin cardboard drugstore boxes featuring a Christmas picture with tiny numbered windows and chocolates hiding behind them. My brother and I lived for that moment at the end of the day when we got to pry open the cardboard for our long awaited treat. Our eager fingers would melt the chocolate ever so slightly as we tried to eat our chocolates as slowly as possible.
win this finex cast iron pan!
One year, we got it in our heads that we didn’t want to wait. We snuck our calendars down to the basement – it was cold and dark down there and I didn’t like it but my brother convinced me it was the best place to hide – and ate every single chocolate. We ate the entire month of December. And the thing is, we did it in a gentle, artful way where we could close back the windows so that at a casual glance, you couldn’t tell that the calendar was ravaged.
win this kitchen aid!
Maybe it was the sugar-high making us crazy, but we totally thought we got away with it. That is, until it was time for our nightly ritual with our parents. Needless to say, there was no chocolate treat that night. Or the next night, or the next. But, it was okay, because come Christmas morning, there were still presents under the tree. Apparently, our chocolate binge didn’t leave us on Santa’s naughty list, which was a huge relief, because, presents.
These days I’m more into giving than receiving so I couldn’t resist putting together this giveaway for you! I wish I could send everyone a Christmas present but since I can’t, I thought I’d do the next best thing and giveaway some of my favorite things. So, let me know your favorite holiday memory and maybe you’ll be the lucky reader who wins! Good luck!
Giveaway: I’ve teamed up with some of my favorite brands to do a massive giveaway. One lucky reader will win:
Staub 4 Quart Round Cocotte
Shun 6-inch Dual Core Utility Knife
Cuttingboard.com Boos Block Walnut 20×15 Cutting Board
Finex 10-inch Cast Iron Pan
Kitchen Aid Artisan Design Series 5-Quart Stand Mixer w/Glass Bowl in Pearl Silver
To enter: Leave a comment on the blog with your favorite winter holiday memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and notify them through email. Open to US residents only. (Sorry international friends, only American companies agreed to this one!) If you’d like some extra entries use the widget below to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Contest ends December 21st at 12pm PST. Good luck!
The giveaway is closed! I’ll be announcing the winner in the next week or so after reading through all of the comments. Thank you everyone who entered! There are some beautiful memories here!
Update: Congrats Chelsea, you won! Look for an email from me shortly!
I’m moving and am in desperate need of kitchen supplies – I’d be building new memories with these!
I will always, always hold onto the memory of the year our budget was SUPER tight. Our daughter had asked us to help her save up for an American Girl doll. We decided to scrape up everything we could to make it happen. Knowing this, our older two boys brought us allowance money and begged us to let them pitch in. The pure anticipation and joy on their faces Christmas morning, expecting nothing themselves, was something I will always treasure. We were able to spoil them too because of answered prayers, but they didn’t know that at the time. All they knew was pure, unselfish and giddy joy at someone else’s gift, and their sacrifice was worth it to them.
My favorite holiday memory is not completely related to the holidays but always told me the holidays were near.
My dad owned a Chinese restaurant from the time I was 4 until I was 20. Every year, for the restaurants anniversary on December 8th, he held a giant party at the restaurant, which could hold close to 150 people. I always got to help put up Christmas lights around the windows. We blew up hundreds of ballons to cover the entire ceiling. There was a raffle for people to enter the few weeks before the party, where they could win prizes ranging from gift certificates for meals up to a vacation. We got to dress up for the party too.
The restaurant would be packed the entire night, with champagne and cider for everyone. All our regular favorite customers were there, and new ones joined us as the night went on. Raffle winners were drawn throughout the night, and I got to help carry the box around to let customers reach in the pick names. It was always exciting when the winner was present to scream and celebrate. I remember one year the mayor of our city was there and he drew the grand prize winner that time. The night always ended with Chinese sheet cake being cut and passed around.
There was usually pictures that my mom would put together on a poster for customers to see after the event was over, and she would place our own copies in a photo album that we still have today. They are treasured memories of some of my dad’s happiest times and oldest friends. And they are precious memories of my childhood growing up in a restaurant.
My favorite, albeit sad , holiday memory was Christmas 2007. I introduced my then fiancé( now husband of 7 years) to my lovely grandmother. We flew thousands of miles to celebrate the holidays with her. We lost her a week after. God bless her soul. It was heartbreaking but I was happy that they were able to bond and get to know each other. Happy Holidays everyone xx
those crazy spritz cookies from the old betty crocker cookie book… baking with mom
I really love my family’s annual Chanukah party. We’re not very religious, but we do a little gift exchange that involves a lot of stealing and cheating. There are friendly rivalries that have built up over the years and it’s always ridiculous. Sometimes you even end up with something good! We got a set of nice drinking glasses this year.
My dad and I cook a giant roast with yorkshire puddings every Christmas and I look forward to it all year. It’s my favorite part of the holiday season.
My favorite winter holiday memories is when my first born daughter opened her first ever Christmas presents. It was her first year Christmas spending us together us a family. She was sooo excited because there were a lot of presents for her. The second one when she was 2. Oh boy she woke up early in the morning went downstairs and opened some presents. The third one was when she was 3. She told me the night before Christmas thwt she’d put a video camera so she can record Santa when he dropped by. It was soo cute to heard that from her. Kids will be kids. Those precious memories would last for a lifetime. Simply because it carved in my heart. xo
PS: I hope i will be the the choosen one . I’ve been wishing to have like those stuff especially the mixing bowl its more easier and very useful when i bake something for my daughter Jazmine cause we love to bake and do some stuff in the kitchen.. :)
My favorite Christmas memory is caroling barefoot in California as a kid :)
we used to spend our holiday in florida (grew up in Ohio) so on christmas day, we’d take a nice long walk on the beach as a family. hours long. and we’d get back to our spot on the beach starving and beat and eat sand filled turkey sandwiches on old broken beach chairs. presents had been open. new jellies were on. it doesnt get much better than that. its just so simple.