There are so many great holiday events around Cincinnati that I look forward to each year. As your calendar fills up, you will want to make sure that you save these dates so that you don’t miss out! [Read more…]
Unique Holiday Themed Adventures and Destinations
I invited travelers to share some of their favorite unique holiday themed adventures and destinations. I think their recommendations will inspire you to add a lot of these places to your list.
25 Holiday Bucket List Ideas ~ Free Printables
10 Tips to Make the Most Out of Viewing Holiday Lights
Christmas Saengerfest Returns December 2 & 3
Christmas Saengerfest is back! This is the perfect event to get you in the holiday mood. I’ve enjoyed attending this 160 year old tradition over the past few years because the music and venues are absolutely gorgeous! You can read more reasons why to attend Saengerfest here.
Things to Do at Christmas at The Galt House Hotel
The Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky offers a lot for families to do around the holidays. Each year, Christmas at the Galt continues to grow with additional activities offered for families. Let’s start with the Dancing Bellman. Each evening at 5pm the bellman show off their dancing skills in the SUITE lobby. These are bellman by trade, who go through an intensive training with a choreographer 2 months prior that also helped several of the dancers shred some pounds as a result.
5 Reasons To Attend Saengerfest Dec. 4 & 5 ~ Giveaway
Saengerfest is an event that I have looked forward to for the last few years. It’s an event you don’t want to miss that helps kick off the Holiday Season.
American Legacy Tours keeps Cincinnati Singing with Christmas Saengerfest. Working with the churches in Over-The-Rhine and the best choirs in the region the group that started the started the Queen City Underground, hopes that Christmas Saengerfest will showcase Cincinnati’s Great Choral Tradition. Entering its fourth year, Christmas Saengerfest promises to be the largest choir concert in the region, with over 30 musical performances choirs! Several churches in Over-The-Rhine will play host to this amazing 2-day festival.
“The Spirit of Christmas Tour exposed a real need to get the churches in the neighborhood more exposure. We also noticed that churches throughout the city were used as venues during the World Choir Games. So four years ago we thought to ourselves, ‘Why not do this every year, in Over-The-Rhine’?” said Laura Gels, Marketing Director at American Legacy Tours.
The choral festival will feature St. Francis Seraph Church, Over-the-Rhine Community Church, First Lutheran and the Moerlein Tap Room. Choirs have been committed to performing at the event include the Cincinnati Boys Choir, Muse, Kopling Saengerchor, and numerous others.
“Many people don’t realize that Saengerfest has a long tradition in Cincinnati. It was the city’s first major festival and attracted hundreds of thousands of people to Over-The-Rhine. ” said Monica Gels, co-organizer.
1. Saengerfest gives you an opportunity to admire the outside and visit the inside of gorgeous churches and historic buildings.
2. The music at Saengerfest is A-MAZ-ING!
The combination of a beautiful church and incredible voices joined in Christmas music is uplifting and inspiring. There is also a variety of diverse choirs that you will be able to choose from to listen to. It’s like a musical “choose your own adventure.” There are different choirs at different locations each hour.
3. Saengerfest reminds you what community looks and feels like.
You see the churches that have stayed in Over the Rhine as the backbone of the community. They have continued to help serve and meet the needs of the people for generations.
4. Saengerfest is family friendly or makes a great date night.
Kids are exposed to beautiful music and have enough variety offered to help keep their attention spans.
For a date night, Saengerfest feels like something out of a movie as you hear choirs singing and you walk the streets in Over the Rhine.
5. You can also grab a beer at Christian Moerlein’s Brewery during or after the event.
Enjoy 14 choirs at 4 amazing historical venues!
FRIDAY DECEMBER 4
7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 5
7:00 to 11:00
Buy tickets online. Tickets are $25 per day or $50 for both nights!
I’m giving away 4 tickets to each night!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
One ticket allows patrons access into each venue the night of the show.
*Bus transportation is provided during the event and patrons can move freely from place to place. Patrons are recommended to park at the parking garage at Washington Park and check in there.
Disclosure: I was given tickets for review and giveaway purposes. All opinions are my own.
7 Reasons to Buy Your Holiday Meal Instead of Making It
The Holiday season goes by sooooo incredibly fast and it can feel like there is a neverending list of things to do. Each year I have a list of things that I intend to do …….and each year it feels like I run out of time.
We can get so stressed out about fitting everything in that we lose touch of WHY we are celebrating. We have last minute gifts to buy, parties to attend, Christmas themed events to enjoy, cleaning your home for guests and annual traditions that we try to make the season special.
I suggest letting the meal not be another item on your list to stress you out. I know first hand because cooking stresses me out! For a Holiday meal there is a lot of pressure for the food to be amazing and to create a memorable experience. The problem is that who has time for that when you are trying to fit everything else in.
Here are 7 reasons to purchase your Holiday Meal instead of making it.
1. The process is so much easier on every level.
Pick out your ham. Add your sides. Grab a dessert. The HoneyBaked Ham store is small enough that you won’t feel like you are overwhelmed and you can be in and out with the core of your meal covered.
2. Your kitchen stays clean.
There is a lot of work that goes into cooking because you also have a lot of prep and cleaning to do. Who wants to spend their whole day in the kitchen when you don’t have to.
3. A purchased Holiday Meal can be heated up and served with minimal dishes.
I love that HoneyBaked Hams are precooked. That means that you can warm them up or even serve them cold. The sides can be cooked in the microwave or the oven which is helpful for time and space limitations.
4. The directions are easy to follow
HoneyBaked Ham gives you instruction for how long to warm up your ham and the best way to cut and care for your ham. I purchased my meal at the HoneyBaked Ham store located in Florence, KY. The employee there was extremely helpful and made sure that I was aware of the Product Care Guide that answered popular questions.
5. The food tastes amazing
You don’t have to tell your guests that you didn’t make it from scratch if you don’t want to. Either way everyone will be happy with this meal. HoneyBaked Ham even has turkey if you want variety for your guests.
6. You still have amazing leftovers
When you go out to eat you have great food but a lot of time you don’t have enough for a few other meals. Our family loves to have leftover ham for meals. Ham sandwiches, split pea soup and ham and cheese omelets are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy leftovers.
7. It’s less stress overall which mean more fun with family doing what you love over the holidays.
In a season that is already busy, cut yourself some slack and make less stress on yourself.
You can find a HoneyBaked Ham store near you from their website.
From now until 1/11/15 you can enter to win a $25,000 HoneyBaked Kitchen Makeover when you buy a Ham and Turkey Breast bundle.
Check out this limited time coupon for $7.00 off any Sliced and Glazed Whole Turkey and 4lb Quarter Ham (Or Larger) from HoneyBaked Ham to help you make your holiday dinner easy and delicious!
(Offer Valid at Participating Retail Locations: Forestville, Silver Spring, Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fields Ertel, Beechmont, Kenwood, Colerain, Florence, Salem, Centerville, Sawmill Road, McNaughten, Louisville, Lexington, Fern Creek, Glendale, Paradise Valley, Superstition, Tucson East, Tucson North, Overland Park, Independence, Barry Road, Norristown, Parma, Willoughby, Rocky River, Strongsville, Maple Heights, Canton, Fairlawn and Chapel Hill.)
Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation with HoneyBaked brand. All opinions and experiences expressed are 100% my own and my families.
Antique Christmas at the Taft Museum of Art
The Taft Museum of Art is one of Cincinnati’s hidden gems. During the holiday season you can see an amazing collection of Christmas decorations that date all the way back to the late 1800’s in their “Antique Christmas” exhibit.
The Nutcracker by the Cincinnati Ballet ~ Giveaway
The Nutcracker is a Cincinnati classic that families have enjoyed around Christmas time for generations. Whether it’s your first time or an annual tradition, there is always something for everyone to enjoy. My boys recently attended their first ballet and their first question during intermission was if we were going to see the Nutcracker too. I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with them.
In a world where sugarplums dance, rats are kings and toys come to life, one little girl goes on the adventure of a lifetime through the Land of Sweets. But is it all a dream? There’s only one way to find out. Accompanied by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, Frisch’s Presents The Nutcracker, presented since 1974, is Cincinnati’s favorite holiday tradition. Revel in the magic as Clara and her Nutcracker Prince meet exciting characters, absorb the bright colors of the favorite divertissements and enjoy the classic adventure of The Nutcracker.
In celebration of its 40th Anniversary, Morgan has also invited four talented dancers from Elementz hip-hop studio to be featured as Mice in the battle scene of The Nutcracker. Elementz recently wowed audiences when they were invited to choreograph and perform their own piece in Cincinnati Ballet’s Kaplan New Works Series earlier this season, creating a unique juxtaposition of top ballet dancers performing on the same stage as Cincinnati’s number one hip-hop company. Morgan worked previously with Elementz resident choreographer Derrek Burbridge during the creation of King Arthur’s Camelot, to bring “fluidity and an edge” says Morgan, to the character of the villain Mordred.
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PERFORMANCE DATES AND INFORMATION
Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by Maestro Carmon DeLeone
December 19- 27
Friday, December 19 – 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 20 – 2:00 pm
Saturday, December 20 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, December 21 – 1:00 pm
Sunday, December 21 – 5:30 pm
Tuesday, December 23 –2:00 pm*
Tuesday, December 23 – 7:30pm
Friday, December 26 – 2:00pm*
Friday, December 26 – 7:30pm
Saturday, December 27 – 2:00pm
Saturday, December 27 – 7:30pm
*denotes Sugar Plum Parade
SUGAR PLUM PARADE
The Sugar Plum Parade is an exciting opportunity for Tuesday, December 23 and Friday, December 26 matinee ticket holders to experience The Nutcracker from the stage itself. Audience members are invited to walk across the stage following the performance, getting a chance to see sets, costumes and dancers up close.
Tickets start at $32
The Aronoff Center for the Arts is located at 650 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Call 513.621.5282, visit cballet.org, visit the Cincinnati Ballet Box Office at 1555 Central Parkway or the Aronoff Center box office at 650 Walnut Street
Tickets start at $32
CONNECT: READ / WATCH / LISTEN / LEARN / ENJOY at cballet.org, facebook, and twitter
*All photos except for the two of Janessa Touchet are ©Peter Mueller.
I’ve been given a Voucher for 2 Tickets to The Nutcracker by the Cincinnati Ballet to giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was given tickets for review and giveaway purposes. All opinions are my own.