Holiday spirits...

I don't miss the endless rounds of holiday parties, but I do miss my bartending days!

While I wrote this article geared toward office parties, there are a lot of great recipes for any type of holiday punch.

Helpful tip for home hosts: Even if you can't afford to hire a professional bartender, it would be money well-spent to hire a local college student to be the bartender at your holiday bash if you are including mixed drinks at the bar. Be sure he's over 21, buy a jigger and require he use it to make the drinks. This isn't a high-pressure gig, he'll definitely appreciate the money and you won't have to serve the cocktails.

CHEERS!

10 Holiday Cocktails for Office Parties

The sounds of the season...

One of my favorite things about the Christmas holiday is the music.

I don't tune into the boring Christmas music channels - I fill my CD player with Trans Siberian Orchestra and Mannheim Steamroller or call up my Christmas Blues channel on Pandora.

AND - I have my own list of essential holiday songs that I have to hear several times every December.

Top 25 Songs for Holiday Parties

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