We at Culinary Crafts are so honored when our events are blogged, posted, shared, and published!  Today, we are luckier still to have had Caterbuzz share the S’mores trend with some of the images and tips from Mary & Rick’s Rehearsal Dinner!!!  Check it out here.  S’mores are seriously a fun and festive (not to mention DELICIOUS) way to add a little something extra to your event! Happy weekend everyone!

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With the upcoming New Year’s Eve festivities fast approaching, we here at Culinary Crafts compiled a delicious menu inspiration board of our offerings that would be perfect!  From elegant small bites, bubbly libations, smashing hors d’oeuvres, and divine desserts, each is sure to please any crowd.  All of this plays off of our gold & champagne themed party look and decor from yesterday.  Check it out!

Because you want the party to be all about mingling and moving, (starting from the top left image and moving clockwise) some excellent ideas are our Cherries Jubilee, Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Oranges, and Toasted Walnuts, Butler-Passed Gelato Cones, Raspberry Napoleons with Bavarian Cream, Gaucho Beef Sliders with Angry Onions, Flaming Donuts with Dulce de Leche Gelato, and Thai Shrimp with Cotton Candy Pop Rocks!!!  YUM!  Also remember, in any menu you are planning, make sure everything can be made small and easily carried by your guests as they move about the party.  And, above all, make sure its DELICIOUS!  Happy planning everyone!

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New Year’s Eve is fast approaching and it’s always a fantastic excuse to get dressed to the nines, wear some serious sparkle, and have an AMAZING party!  This year, I’m loving a gold and champagne themed event, which the hostess outfit to match!  Take a look!

Love this?  Well, wait until tomorrow when we unveil our Culinary Crafts’s menu ideas for the PERFECT New Year’s Eve soiree!  Our delicious offerings complete this sparkling night and make sure that your guests will be talking about the party of the year – and years to come!  Make sure to check back tomorrow!!!

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Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!  May your days be filled with cheer, love, and joy! From our family to yours, we wish a wonderful holiday to you all!!!!

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Every year, Culinary Crafts gives out our greatly anticipated yearly treats to our vendor partners, preferred venues, and closest relationships within the Utah event world.  We love carefully crafting these gifts with beautiful packaging, creative themes, and, of course, DELICIOUS treats.  They are so fun for us to deliver every year and we love seeing everyone light up when they receive them!  This year, we went rustic, home-made, and really harnessed many of Mary’s family recipes.  Culinary Crafts’s Feed Bag was simply bursting with goodies and Christmas cheer!  Take a look!

Yum!  And the cheese!  Every March, we go to the Beehive Cheese factory and produce 800 pounds of our own signature cheeses that age for 9 months and are ready for gift giving during the holidays.  This year’s winning flavors included Apricot Almond, Smoked Jalapeno, and Chocolate Chili Rubbed White Cheddar!  So AMAZING!  Happy gifting to everyone you love in the coming days!  Happy Holidays!

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At the holidays, for many, there is a feeling of love, hope, and compassion for mankind.  It’s a time of giving gifts and love in the spirit of the season.  There are some, however, who struggle to stay warm, provide meals, or give their families gifts at Christmas.  For them, the holidays are not always the happiest of times.  I believe that one of the greatest things you can do for the holidays is donating your time, used clothing, monetary gifts, or Christmas gifts to those in need.  We are so fortunate for all that we have and helping people out just reinforces that gratitude!  Plus, in Utah, there are some pretty fantastic organizations that make it super easy to help!  One is the United Way of Utah County‘s Sub for Santa!

Sub for Santa provides gifts for children between 18 months and 14 years of age in Utah County.  You can make a financial donation or sponsor a family.  It’s a great way to provide someone with a fantastic Christmas who may have otherwise went without.  Last year, Sub for Santa provided nearly 2,000 families and more than 5,400 children with assistance.  How cool is that?!  Such an AMAZING organization and definitely one close to Culinary Crafts’s heart!  In fact, Culinary Crafts participates in Sub for Santa EVERY year!  This year, they sponsored a big family with a lot of need and they’ll be delivering their Christmas surprise tonight!!!  So EXCITING!

Another great organization is The Road Home.  Located in Salt Lake City, they provide assistance and programs to help the homeless get back on their feet and back into the workforce.  As they say, “It’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up!”  One of the really awesome programs they have during the holidays is the Candy Cane Corner.  They take donations of new, unwrapped toys (up until Friday, December 23) and put them in the Candy Cane Corner.  Then, the families at the Road Home get to “shop” for presents for their families and can take their selections and wrap them to provide a Christmas surprise for their loved ones.  Such an AMAZING program! They are also doing the Holiday Radio-a-Thon right now, which is a giant drive for in-kind donations, monetary donations, or you can volunteer your time to help with the drive.  Many corporations are doing really awesome monetary matching programs too if various radio stations meet donation amounts – which makes your donations go so much farther!

During this season, there are so many opportunities to help our communities and give the gift of goodwill towards our fellow man.  There is so much need, and we must remember, its not just at Christmas.  May this inspire more people to go out and help in any way they can all throughout the upcoming year!  Happy Holidays!

Today, we have the last edition of Mary’s Favorite Christmas Tips.  Mary was kind enough to share her top 5 last minute tips for the Christmas season and I LOVE her advice!  (Plus, take a look at a sneak peek of the Culinary Crafts Feed Bag – which we’ll be featuring later this week!)  Check it out!

Mary’s Top 5 Last Minute Christmas Tips

1. Get it done.
2. Get it done early.
3. Get it done simpler than you planned.
4. Get it done or let it go.
5. Now enjoy the rest of the week.

In other words, whatever isn’t done now maybe is something you need to let go out of your life until another year.  The most important things now revolve around people, spending time with family, and taking time for yourself to enjoy the spirit of the season.  Wrap presents (or use gift bags!) early in the week.  Deliver gifts early so Friday you can have a massage (like me and my daughter!) and Saturday is just for listening to Christmas music, having an old Christmas movie marathon, and reading all your Christmas stories.

And if you’re still stumped for Christmas gift ideas, remember cash never goes out of style or expires.    Please, please have the Merriest of Christmas’s and fill it with scrumptious food and love!  Happy Holidays!

Love, Mary

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Today, one of our newest additions, Miss Holly Fowler, has been kind enough to write a post on some of her favorite stores to finish your last minute shopping!  Such good suggestions, not to mention a delicious recipe too!  Check it out!

Holly’s Last Minute Shopping List!

We here at Culinary Crafts would like to share our favorite shops for your last minute Christmas shopping.  Here’s to making your lists and checking them twice!

For Women: Hip and Humble @ 1043 East 900 South, Salt Lake City – for great jewelry, Votivo candles (my personal favorite is the red currant), and The Good Home Pure Grass laundry fragrance.

For Men: Wasatch Running Center @ 8946 S. State St. in Sandy – for shoes, outdoor apparel, Garmins and Smartwool socks.

For Children: Blickenstaffs @ The Shops @ Riverwoods, 4801 N. University Ave. Provo – Utahs Vintage Toy and Candy Shop. Old fashioned toys for the children on your list and sweets to stuff their stockings.

For the Hostess: Cactus and Tropicals @ 2735 South 2000 East, Salt Lake City – Share a Christmas amaryllis or paper whites with your party hostess.

For the Food: Sweet Tooth Fairy, locations along the Wasatch Front – for YUMMY cupcakes, cookies and cake bites, if you just can’t find the time to bake. We would love if sometime during this Christmas season you make a memory and bake some cookies with the ones you love. Here is a family favorite sugar cookie recipe from are great bakery manager and pastry chef, Jocelyn.

Such great ideas!!!  I know where I’ll be going to catch up on my last minute purchases.  Happy holidays everyone!!!

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One of my favorite finds this week are gorgeous, artfully wrapped gifts.  Its almost like getting a present twice!  I love wrapping gifts and I love finding ways to dress up the packaging because, after all, it’s going to be sitting under your tree for awhile, so why not make it pretty?  One of my most favorite gift wrappings I’ve found is from M Stetson.  Take a look!

I love the tags, the ribbon, the patterns, just everything!  What a way to dress up plain white paper!  I hope this inspires you to add some fun to your Christmas wrappings this coming week!  I’m sure your giftees will LOVE it!  Happy Holiday-ing!

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