No Drunk Santas!

As an add on to my other Santa post, there's a great event in SF called SantaCon which is essentially a bar crawl during the day where people dress up like Santas.

I have been to a restaurant where there was a wedding going on and these Santas would just enter the bar and take it over! Even if the bar is not on the bar crawl! The poor bride and groom had no idea what to do!

So if there's a SantaCon in your neighborhood and you want them out, Eater.com has made signs for you.

The issue with Santa...

This pic is travelling around the internet today. The image is very sweet and when this child is three years old, he will have no doubts of the validity of Santa. But even better than the image is the story:

“My mother and I had braved the mall (on a Saturday in December of all days) in hopes of capturing a picture of my 8 month old son, Kiptyn “meeting” Santa. We stood in line for over 30 minutes waiting for our turn. Of course, 5 mins before our turn to meet Santa, Kiptyn fell asleep!!

“Part of me thought we should just get out of line & avoid wasting anyone else’s time that busy Saturday, but as we went to leave Santa gestured us over. I handed Kiptyn to my Mom & grabbed my camera. I was escorted outside of the fenced area in order to snap my own shots. What happened next will be one of my all time favorite memories of Christmas…

“Santa grabbed his book & slowly laid back into his oversized chair. He then silently motioned for my Mom to lay Kiptyn on his stomach. Kiptyn stirred for a moment and I thought he’d wake for sure. Santa hushed him & Kiptyn’s little arms fell into such a peaceful position. After we finished taking pictures we heard a round of applause from the crowd that had gathered around below & above in the rotunda.

“I just wish this jolly ol’ man could know how truly special he is. I can honestly say that I believe in Santa and the magic of the holiday season again. I’d just like for everyone to see how special the Santa at the Boise Towne Square mall really is. Happy Holidays to all!”

How can you not love a man that has the christmas spirit in his blood.

We have been hearing a ton of stories about Santa this year. Our friend's child is DEATHLY afraid of Santa. To the point where the parents have to tell them that Santa leaves the presents out on the porch and they bring it in on christmas morning. The child is also upset about the idea of a stranger entering his home. Which is true. We teach our children to distrust strangers especially those offering candy - except the large man in a red suit giving gifts.

There was another story of a friend that has an actor Santa come to their home! But they were the last home on this actor's night and he was getting drinks at every home in front of theirs. So by the time the actor came to their home, he was drunk. One: this would really scare me to the stranger visiting our home. Two: it might re-define the word jolly to me.

What is your favorite Santa story?

Whiskey - Our first Pappy Van Winkle

My husband and I enjoy a good glass of whiskey. We will always have a bottle of basil hayden, bulleits and maybe an oban. Our house whiskey is maker's which we use in our more common drinks or with mixers.

I enjoy whiskey almost as much as I enjoy wine because of both have a flavor element that changes with the manufacturing process. I find it almost a challenge to try different varieties in order to test my palate and see what flavors I find vs my husband.

We first heard about Pappy Van Winkle from another good friend who is also a whiskey fan. He had a taste and highly enjoyed it. But it was rare to find. So when we went to a new restaurant and noticed that they had Pappy, we decided to have a taste. Our two ounces cost $25 for the cheapest variety which is the rye. The 20 year was a $50 taste (which we plan to get on a different occasion, by the time we noticed that they served Pappy, we were already two drinks in).

Though dry, it was a very smooth whiskey. It has a high alcohol concentration (95+ proof) so it was an amazing whiskey to allow to evaporate on your tongue while the flavors mix on your tongue. I also encourage you to bloom the whiskey after your first few tastes. It changed the elements to an almost sweet flavor. Very cool.

I can't wait to taste the 20 year!