NBC New York reports that the global phenomenon that is Santacon is descending upon New York City, and other locations, today – Saturday December12th.
Since anyone and everyone is welcome to join in the mayhem, NBC was kind enough to remind all potential Santaconners of the three basic rules of all Santacon events. The first and most important of which, and the only one I’m going to talk about, . . .
» Read more: Santa Fusion
I dug out my Santa hats and other such Christmassy apparel the day after Thanksgiving. I hope you did too. What? You don’t have a Santa Hat or any such Christmas headwear? You must be kidding! There are so many opportunities and events during the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas that just demand a good Santa hat or similar.
Wearing a Santa hat just makes the whole season seem more fun, more festive. Wearing one will make you smile, make others smile, and just add a bit of cheer and there. Here 10 great uses for a Santa hat or other holiday headwear.
» Read more: Find Your Santa Hats, Everyone!
It's that time of year again!
The countdown to Thanksgiving has become. Out comes my Gobbler hat – one of my very favorite hats! It gets everyone in the mood, feeling festive and thankful. For the next 6 days, Gobbler will be out and about and I’ll be trying to capture his antics on film for you.
» Read more: Gobbler Sightings
The holidays are looming and the pressure builds. Who is coming to Thanksgiving? Who’s hosting it this year? What will I make? Will crazy Uncle Ted and Cousin Barney have another knock down drag out political debate? How will I make sure to get a piece of Grandma’s pecan pie before my sister woofs it all down?
» Read more: LULU Day
Halloween has passed and what’s the next big event on the calendar?? Well, yeah, there’s Thanksgiving, but I was actually thinking of something bigger, redder, jollier, with a little ho-ho-ho thrown in on the side.
Let’s face it, lederhosen are cool. And I’ll admit it, I’ve been coveting my neighbor’s lederhosen for years. I see the German guys in them and the Oktoberfest celebrants, but only the male ones. The girls, they get stuck in the beer girl or Alpine dresses. While those are cute and sexy and all that good stuff, they just aren’t lederhosen.
» Read more: Costume Countdown Day 8: Lovin’ My Lederhosen
The blessed month of October is just one week away and it’s time for you to get edumacated. It will make you feel so smart, so informed, and so grateful to me if you ever find yourself on Jeopardy or Who Wants to be Millionaire and have a question on this subject as the big one. Just remember to thank me when you win the big bucks, and by “thank me,” I mean “share some of the loot,” of course.
Today’s topic: Oktoberfest. Visions of glass mugs overflowing with beer and foam are dancing through your head right now, but I’ve got some shocking news for you. Oktoberfest wasn’t all about beer when it was conceived.
It began waayyyy back in 1810 to commemorate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. First it was just a big horse race. No beer. The citizens of Munich had such a good time, they decided to hold Oktoberfest every year and to organize it. A parade was added. Still no beer. Next came booths and tents for games and selling bratwurst. You guessed it, no beer.
It took until late 1880’s for beer tofinally make its appearance. The booths and tents got bigger and became beer halls, beer gardens, and were used for music and dancing as well. It was 1892 when beer was first served in glass mugs.
Now beer is the central point of Oktoberfest, with food, games, music and period costumes playing only supporting roles. Six million people head to Munich each year for Oktoberfest, making it the largest people’s fair in Europe and maybe even in the whole world. They’ve got 14 huuuuuuge tents each run by a different brewery. The biggest one holds about 12, 000 people.
Now don’t you feel so much smarter? So much more ready for Oktoberfest? Then get out there and celebrate. Travel to Germany for the original or hit up a local event. Santa Barbarians should make a point of of visiting Santa Barbara Oktoberfest on October 10. Drink up some of that special brew, consume mass quantities of traditional German food, and, by all means, do it right by wearing costumes from the 1800s.
Girls, that means finding a dirndl that suits you. What? You don’t know what a dirndl is? It’s your basic beer girl costume or what Gretel, of Hansel and Gretel, would wear.
Guys, it’s time for lederhosen or at least some Alpine wear from the 1800’s. Again, think Hansel and Gretel.
And while you are out enjoying the brew, the food and the fun, whisper a quick little word to Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese thanking them for inspiring such a great event, even though it did take 80 years to bring beer into the picture.
Fiesta is over in Santa Barbara. The confetti from cascarones has been swept up, the horse poop from the parade has been scooped and tossed, the food booths have been taken down, the sound stages dismantled, and the sombreros packed away . . . .
Don’t pack that sombrero too far away. Theme parties with a Mexican or Latino flare to them are always a good idea and are perfect several times a year. Call it a South of the Border Party, a Fiesta Party, or an Ole Party and use any of the following events as an excuse to throw one.
I love this one! Kids get to open their Christmas gifts and get candy in their shoes instead of stockings.Want even more reasons to throw a Fiesta Themed Party? Check out all of Mexico’s Holidays.
Fiesta Theme Parties are great for kids and adults. You’ve got a ton of great foods to choose from – tacos, burritos, chips and salsa,nachos, tamales, and guacamole. Mmmm, muy bueno. For the adults, Fiesta-type drinks are abundant. Just make sure you’ve got a designated driver for the burro before you hit the Tequila.
The costumes for a Fiesta Theme Party are a snap. You can go elaborate with the Sexy Senorita, Flamenco Dancer, Zorro, or as a Mariachi. You can also create a super simple costume using nothing more than a white blouse and brightly colored skirt for girls, or black pants, white shirt, with a colored sash tied around the waist for guys. Or go super-simple with just a serape, a poncho, or a sombrero.
Throw on some toe-tapping Mexican rhythms like Mariachi, Salsa, or Nortena. Decorate with serapes, sombreros, cactuses, balloons, maracas, and brightly colored streamers. For fun hit the piñata, take on the Chili-Pepper Challenge (start with mild and increase the heat level each round. You’re out when you can’t eat a whole chili), or do a little Mexican Hat Dance and show off your moves.
Ole! OIe! A Fiesta Theme Party is a sure way to score a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!
I slapped on my handy, dandy sombrero and headed downtown to watch the Santa Barbara Fiesta Parade on Friday.
First up: the cute Fiesta flower girls all dolled up in their homemade outfits, tossing flowers into the crowd. One girl seemed to think she was trying out for the Dodgers or something. There was the wind up quickly followed by her best flower fast ball. She pelted my sombrero with one pretty good.
I asked one of the girls what Viva la Fiesta meant – since that is what they kept yelling out every 10 steps, with all the gusto of a drunken party-goer. She just shrugged, rolled her eyes, and explained rather seriously that she was just told to say it.
Pedro the Burro was not nearly as cooperative or enthusiastic about the parade. He seemed determined to walk only with the big horses. He was digging in his heels, and resisting his owner’s attempts to drag him down the street until his taller, statelier, more majestic cousins approached. Once the big horses caught up to him, he fell right in line with them. I think he thought that was his rightful place.
I heard a native Santa Barbarian say, “Wow, there sure are a lot of horses in this parade.” Apparently you can live in this town for years and be entirely clueless that this is one of the biggest equestrian parades in the state.
Horses, horses and more horses. They were ridden bythe young, the old , the older still, by men, by women, all with riders in costume and looking quite fabulous. We had horses pulling carts, horses dancing, horses being ridden, high steppers, and search and rescue workers, and I even heard that one horse threw its rider and went solo for a bit.
Between all of the horses there were bands. Of course, the marching mariachis had the best look. But here’s the odd thing. One of the marching bands from Oxnard made no effort whatsoever to look the part. They showed up in standard marching band apparel.
They should have followed the example of Santa Barbara High School’s marching band and dressed with a bit of Fiesta Flavor. I mean, really how hard is it? You throw on some black pants, a white shirt, and tie a red sash around your waist and presto-magico, you look all Fiesta-ish. Heck if you add a black hat, a cowboy hat or sombrero you are really going all out.
After a few hours in the sun, watching all the horses, we headed home only to find our pup enjoying Fiesta in his own way — taking a siesta!
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