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NOVEMBER 2019

Decorate with a nose toward inviting holiday aromas Tips for keeping poinsettias last longer Keep safety in mind when decorating for the holidays

Le Sueur County News | St. Peter Herald

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Celebrations

Embrace delectable holiday scents in seasonal decor.

Decorate with a nose toward inviting holiday aromas

oliday decor is as much about the sights and sounds as it is about the scents of the season. Few things evoke the holiday spirit as much as the aroma of fresh evergreen or spicy

cinnamon and cloves. Incorporating inviting aromas into holiday decor can make homes feel even more special. Filling a home with fragrant decor takes a little ingenuity and planning. Here are some

November 2019

ideas to incorporate the scents of the holiday season into your decor. • Use a real Christmas tree. An easy way to create a pine-like scent indoors is to select a real Christmas tree. Ask the tree farm which varieties are the most fragrant. If a fresh tree is not possible, fill a decorative basket with pine cones and evergreen boughs for that woodsy appeal. • Create a seasonal scented simmer. Take to the stove to make a homemade air infusion from ingredients in and around the house. Simmer pine branches, citrus peels, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and whatever else can be placed in a pot or slow cooker with water. The scents will permeate the house for hours if enough water is added to the mixture. • Make holiday sachets. Some of the same ingredients for the holiday simmer can be dried and sewn into sachets. Add ribbon and hang on real or artificial trees. Or tuck the pouches into various areas around the house. • Experiment with scented candles. Scented candles can be found at various stores during the holiday season. Select among popular holiday aromas like pine, cinnamon, apples, and Christmas cookie varieties. • Utilize essential oils. Natural

food stores and other retailers may sell essential oils, which can be diluted and sprayed on surfaces or into the air. Exercise caution around upholstery, or test for staining before use. • Spend more time in the kitchen. Add delicious scents to the home by way of freshly baked goods or holiday meals. Nothing beats the smell of cookies right out of the oven, and the scents can linger for hours. • Make beeswax ornaments. Add scented oils to melted beeswax and pour into molds. Hang these creations as ornaments on trees or in other areas of the home. • Craft some “gingerbread” ornaments. A mixture of cinnamon, applesauce and glue can be used to make ornaments or gift tags that resemble gingerbread cookies, and these ornaments have more staying power than actual cookies. • Design a pretty pomander. Stud an orange with cloves. Cut off the top of the orange and hollow out a place for a small tea light. The warmth of the flame will produce more scent. Rich and inviting aromas can fill a home with the holiday spirit.

Holiday celebrations

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November 2019

Celebrations

Tips for baking better

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Le Sueur Chamber of Commerce Presents

Holiday ligHts Parade Friday, December 6th Downtown Le Sueur Sponsored by Le Sueur Chamber of Commerce

Parade 6:00pm Tree lighting Ceremony 7:00pm

ookies and other baked treats are everywhere come the holiday season. It’s not uncommon to give cookies as gifts or arrive at holiday gatherings with cakes and other decadent desserts. Cookies are a classic holiday treat, and some families even build entire traditions around baking Christmas cookies. Novice bakers making cookies for the first time may be a little overwhelmed when perusing recipes. Baking is a science, and sometimes it takes practice to get the results just right. However, there are some tips that can help yield better, buttery bounties.

sure cookies come out right. The Cooking Channel says to spoon the flour lightly into a dry measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Do not dip the measuring cup into the flour or tap the knife against the cup. This will pack too much flour into the measuring cup and result in dry, tough cookies.

Handle butter with care

Follow recipes that call for chilling cookie dough carefully. This process is important for making sliced and shaped cookies. By chilling, the dough becomes more malleable for rolling and even slicing.

Butter can make or break a cookie recipe, as butter is often the glue that holds the cookie together. Therefore, it is key to follow the directions carefully regarding how to handle butter. Smithsonian.com says to leave butter at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes to properly soften it. This takes patience, but fiddling with butter too much can damage its delectable integrity. While purists may say butter is best, margarine may be acceptable if it has a high fat content; otherwise, cookies may spread out and flatten. When it comes time to cream the butter with sugar, be sure to do so thoroughly to incorporate air into the butter and remove the grainy texture of the sugar.

Measure flour properly Measuring flour the right way can en-

Slow down the eggs Add eggs one at a time to make sure each will emulsify properly with the fat in the butter. Adding eggs en masse may cause the emulsification to fail.

Chill out

Use a bottom rack Too much heat may compromise cookie integrity. The food experts at Delish say to try moving cookies onto a lower rack in the oven if they aren’t retaining their shape when baked. Put an empty cookie sheet on the top rack. That will block the cookies from the most intense heat that rises to the top of the oven. Mastering cookies takes a little patience and some trial and error. Once bakers get their feet wet, Christmas-cookie-baking becomes even more special.

Thanksgiving Pie

at Mother Louise Park, Sponsored by Le Sueur Rotary and City of Le Sueur. Walton Hollow Petting Zoo 5-7 sponsored by The Canopy Group and Miller Custom Floors. Located next to Miller Custom Floor.

Fireworks 7:15pm

Fireworks are provided by the Green Mill, The Bar and Le Sueur Knights of Columbus. Caroler’s from MSU sponsored by AgQuest Minnesota River Insurance Tim Lewis.

Christmas boutique Friday, December 6th Saturday, day, December 7th

5pm-8pm 9am-noon

Valleygreen Square Mall

The Le Sueur-Henderson Choir will be caroling in the mall at 10:00am Crafts and More!

You can find applications for Parade and Christmas Boutique on the Chamber Website www.lesueurchamber.org or contact the Chamber Office at 665-2501

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Celebrations

November 2019

Eco-friendly gift options

he saying “the more the merrier” certainly applies during the holiday season. But during a season of big gifts, extra food and travel, “more” can exact a heavy toll on the environment. According to Stanford University, Americans generate 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve than during the rest of the year. While no one wants to take anything away from the spirit of holiday season, everyone can take steps to make the holidays more eco-friendly. In fact, there are various eco-friendly gifts that can make great presents and benefit the environment at the same time.

Purchase experiential gifts

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When making holiday shopping lists, think of gifts that offer experiences rather than material goods. Gifts that involve experiences, such as going to a sporting event or attending a play or musical, decrease reliance on wrapping paper. Such gifts also reduce clutter in the recipient’s house and conserve the resources otherwise used to manufacture alternative items that would have been purchased. Experiential gifts that also tap into environmental pursuits, such as touring with an animal rescue group, or accommodations at a carbon-neutral hotel can be an added bonus.

Opt for locally made gifts Select gifts made by local artisans or companies that operate domestically. This cuts down on the carbon emissions from having to ship products from long distances or even overseas.

Give climate-friendly stocking stuffers Companies like Cool Effect offer gifts for those looking to offset carbon emissions through clever funding. People can buy and offer gifts that correlate to packages like Costa Rican wind power or the “poo package,” which funds biogas digesters for family farms in India that capture methane emissions from cattle dung.

Get crafty Gifts from the kitchen or ones made by the giver can be crafted from sustainable materials. They also show how you care by taking the time to customize a gift for the recipient.

Avoid gag or useless gifts Select gifts only with utility in mind. Skip purchases that are made only to beef-up the look of presents under the tree or to make it appear that gifting was more generous. Items that a person cannot or will not use will ultimately be relegated to the trash, which is wasteful.

Wrap in reusable materials Fancy wrapping paper certainly looks nice, but choose other materials that can be reused. Look for decorative tins, boxes, fancy gift bags, and other items that can be reused for years to come. Sustainability is possible during a season of excess when gift givers shop and wrap gifts with the environment in mind.

November 2019

Celebrations

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Did you know?

Help make your

last longer

courtesy of Mother Nature’s Network, watered about once a week. oinsettias are synonymous Habersham Gardens, Oregon Live, with the holiday season. • Fertilize the plant after the These colorful plants brighten and Phoenix Flower Shops, to keep blooming season with a up homes with their vibrant poinsettias thriving past the holiday balanced, all-purpose fertilizer. hues in variations of red, season. • Try placing poinsettias in or white and pink, making them a • Start with healthy plants that near a bathroom, as they prefer holiday decoration many people have full leaves, bracts and deep high humidity. cannot live without. colors. It may be possible to get While they’re most visible during • Poinsettias do best when the poinsettias to rebloom next season. the often chilly holiday season, temperature is between 65 and 75 Allow the poinsettias to dry out a poinsettias prefer warm weather. F. Temperatures below that or drafts little more in the spring. In May, cut Poinsettias are native to Central from cold windows can cause about four inches from each stem America and originally flourished leaves to drop. to produce a lush, full plant during in an area of southern Mexico. The • Position the plant in a room that the winter. The plants can be moved Aztecs used the plant for decorative gets indirect sunlight for at least six outside in June and during the and medicinal purposes. hours per day. If direct sunlight can’t summer, but keep them away from The poinsettia may have be avoided, diffuse the light with a direct sunlight. Return the poinsettias remained a regional plant if not sheer curtain. indoors beginning around October. for the efforts of Joel Roberts • Poinsettias need well-drained Make sure the plants get at least Poinsett, who was the first United soil. Overwatering or allowing roots 12 hours of darkness per day for States Ambassador to Mexico to sit in wet soil can cause the around eight weeks in October under President James Madison. leaves to fall off prematurely. Water and November. This will help them Poinsett, who would later found the thoroughly only when the pot looks Smithsonian Institution, had a love dry. In households with temperatures develop a deep hue and bloom on of botany and became enamored time for Christmas. around 70 F, the plant should be with the brilliant red plants he saw in Mexico. Eventually, Poinsett began growing the plants at home in South Carolina, and friends and others soon coveted them. Poinsettias are beautiful and the bracts (modified leaves) can be vibrantly colored. That signature vibrancy is why many people would like to preserve their poinsettias Gut en Tag Hau s new ulm, mn to last beyond the New Year, which is possible Call for holiday shopping hours with the right care. The following are some tips, 127 n. minnesota st • 507-233-4287

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“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem that was written by Robert Bur ns in 1788. Burns claimed when he wrote the words down and put them to music, and later sent them the poem to the Scots Musical Museum, that “Auld Lang Syne” was an ancient song, but he had been the first to record it on paper. According to Scotland.org, the phrase “auld lang syne” tran slates roughly to “for old times’ sake.” Others hav e translated it to mean “time goes by” or even as “once upon a time.” The song is about preserving old friendships and reminiscing about events tha t occurred during the year. Many people sing it to evo ke fellowship and nostalgia, though most cannot fully get past the first verse of the song. Its lyri cs are a challenge to the unfamiliar - even among those who grew up in the United Kingdom. Accord ing to a 2018 poll by the British supermarket cha in Sainsbury’s, just 3 percent of people who live in England know the words to “Auld Lang Syne.” Am ong Scots, only 7 percent know all the lyrics. Eve n still, people may be content to hum along when “Auld Lang Syne” is traditionally sung on New Yea r’s Eve.

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Celebrations

November 2019

Tips for successful office

exchanges

he holiday season provides plenty of opportunities to socialize. Holiday celebrations are sometimes akin to family reunions, but friends also tend to celebrate together in December. Such celebrations sometimes include different groups of friends, and that may require hosts to do a little extra to break the ice so everyone relaxes and has a good time. Secret Santa gift exchanges can make for a great ice breaker, even if guests are buying gifts for people they don’t know. If you plan to make Secret Santa part of your holiday party this year, consider these tips to ensure it goes off smoothly. • Start planning early. Hosts likely know everyone coming to their party, so they should take the lead and organize the Secret Santa exchange. Let guests know as early as possible, even including the information in the party invitations, so they have time to shop.

• Make it optional. Forcing people to mingle and exchange gifts is never a good idea. Give guests the option to participate ask them to indicate if they will or won’t when they RSVP. • Set a reasonable gift limit. Figure out a budget that works for everyone. There are plenty of gifts to be had for $20 and under. Gag gifts or “dollar store” gift themes can ensure no one goes overboard in terms of dollar value. • Consider a wish list. Asking participants to fill out wish lists ensures that their Secret Santa buddy will have an idea where to start shopping. • Enlist a digital helper. Technology can make organizing Secret Santa exchanges even easier. Elfster is an online gift exchange app that can help hosts effectively organize their Secret Santa parties. Fun is key to Secret Santa exchanges, so make sure to keep things lighthearted when planning the party and exchanging gifts.

Giving a little more this

he holiday season is a time of giving. The generosity on display during the holiday season may not have an official start date, but the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving Day may be the unofficial beginning of

the giving season. The first Tuesday following American Thanksgiving has been referred to as “Giving Tuesday” since 2012. The event was started by the 92nd Street Y in New York City, the United

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Nations Foundation and the technology website Mashable as a response to the commercialization of the holiday season and the rampant consumerism that seems to start as soon as the last bite of turkey is digested. Today, Giving Tuesday harnesses the generosity of millions of people around the world and helps millions of dollars to find its way into the coffers of organizations that need it most. Giving Tuesday inspires people to volunteer or give back to causes that are near and dear to their hearts. Thanks to technology, giving has the capacity to go viral and inspire others to engage in their own charitable efforts. Since its inception, Giving Tuesday has evolved. The event now underscores how communities can harness the power of people working together to elicit great change. Even though Giving Tuesday may be the catalyst for charitable efforts, it doesn’t need to end there. People are urged to be generous all year long,

including throughout the holiday season. Here are some seasonally specific ways to give back a little more. • Pay it forward by treating someone behind you in the checkout line to coffee, fast food, a candy bar, or whatever else suits you at the time. Perhaps he or she will do the same and keep the generosity going. • Keep extra dollars in your pocket and be generous to charities seeking donations outside of stores. A cup of coffee or hot chocolate goes a long way toward warming up the people manning the collection pots as well. • Adopt a family who is less fortunate and purchase some gifts on their wish list. Many community centers and churches have contacts for needy families who could use some support this season. Giving can be the focus of the holiday season, and in ways that are meaningful to the people on the receiving end of the generosity.

November 2019

Celebrations

safety

Keep in mind when decorating for the holidays

ecorations help make the holiday season a magical time of year. Stores are awash in color and twinkling lights, and similar imagery is on display in private homes. Designing holiday displays can be a great way for families to spend time together and kick off the celebration. In fact, according to Electrical Safety Foundation International, around 90 percent of Americans decorate their homes for the holidays. When trimming the tree and decorating this holiday season, families must keep safety in mind. A little planning and some precautionary measures can ensure displays are enjoyed all season long. Travelers Insurance offers the following holiday decorating safety tips. • Do not overload outlets. Plan displays according to the number and location of available outlets. • Never exceed the maximum number of light strands that can be attached together. • Use lights and products that have been tested for safety. Certification marks like UL, ETL and CSA are from nationally recognized laboratories. • LED lights should be used whenever possible. Such lights consume less energy and run cooler than other bulbs. • The ESFI says candles start almost 50 percent of all decoration fires. Minimize the risk by using candles only when they can be monitored. Artificial candles can

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PAGE 7 be used in place of real candles. • Check for freshness in live trees. A fresh tree will last longer and is less of a fire hazard than an old tree. • Place Christmas trees at least three feet away from all heat sources, including fireplaces and heaters. • Use decorations that are noncombustible or made from flameresistant materials. • Pay attention to the age recommendations of decorations to see if they can be used in homes with young children. Some items, however common, are choking or strangulation hazards. • Avoid putting small, “mouth-sized” decorations near the ground or on lower limbs of trees, where young children can easily reach them. • Exercise caution when hanging decorations at high heights. Make sure the ladder is secured and have a spotter who can hold the ladder and pass items up safely. • Outdoor electric lights and decorations should be plugged into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters, or GFCIs. • Exercise caution when decorating near power lines that extend to the house. • Keep hung stockings far away from open flames so they do not catch any errant embers. These are just a few suggestions for decorating a safely for the holiday season.

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Celebrations

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