Holiday Barbies 2008

Admit it even the most mature, serious woman can't help but glance over at the Barbie display if she happens to find herself in that aisle...sure she was looking for toothpaste and it's in the same aisle it was in last week but hey, the holiday Barbies are out!

The first and most well known holiday barbie is the one that used to be called the Christmas Barbie. Why did they change the name? To make it easier for parents to give for Hannukkah or Diwali? Admit it she's still the Christmas Collector Barbie! Although I have to say that this year's Christmas Barbie is less than inspiring. Oh it's pretty. It has an 80s Bob Mackie sorta look to it...great if you like that but somehow it doesn't seem original enough or worth of an official 2008 collector Barbie in my humble opinion.

Holiday Kelly. These dolls are targeted as stocking stuffers. Actually they do well for that. They are small enough for most stockings. The outfits look like holiday dresses and they come with cute cups of hot cocoa. I also thought these were cute two years ago and also sometime year before that too. (Think last year the Kelly dolls wore Christmas-related costumes like Toy soldier and Reindeer.) These are still great for little girls stocking stuffers but adult collectors of the Kelly dolls will likely be disappointed that these dolls don't seem to be much different than the ones a few years ago.

Stocking Barbie comes in a old fashioned looking plastic(?) stocking. I'm suspecting that this one with the modern-yet-old-fashioned look to it is meant to have it appeal to grandparents, aunts, and those looking for a Toys for Tots doll to donate to the charity. Too bad this photo doesn't show the stocking but if you go to one of the local stores (Target in my case) then you'll be sure to see it right now. It has all the hallmarks of a great value and something that a little girl would be excited about when she opens it on Christmas morning (unless she doesn't like Barbie dolls...most girls do but can't force it on the few who don't.)

The best for last! Although I suspect that this might not be the first Christmas PJ Barbie doll...I don't hold that against Mattel. This doll's price is around $10 and very cute! It might not have the flashy bargain appeal of the stocking Barbie doll but this doll would be a great present for a little girl to open on Christmas Eve! (If you happen to follow the tradition of allowing one Christmas eve present.) She has a cute stuffed animal toy (Reindeer) and a little box with something as a gift for the child (not sure what the gift is as to me in the photo it looks more like an unpleasant item of medical equipment....but no matter.) This doll has the added benefit of being modest enough to give to the child of a relative or friend who might object to the other more skimpy Barbie dolls. If they do object then just tell them that it was between that or a Bratz doll...and you could take it back to exchange for the Bratz doll if they would like! That'll cause them to gasp in horror! That's right aunties and uncles...Barbies no longer generate as much moral outrage or concern now that Bratz have arrived on the toy store scene! It's like... Lonnie Anderson vs Paris Hilton.

My First Roast Goose

While watching A Dickens's Christmas Carol and the Muppet's Christmas Carol this year, I found myself wondering about foods of Christmas past. I might have mentioned this previously but would Roast Goose make Christmas seem more...well more like Christmas? So I decided to have Goose for Christmas dinner this year.

I personally don't have a scullery maid with a cute Cockney accent to send to the butchers for a goose and didn't remember seeing any at the local supermarket. So I decided to order off the Internet. It didn't take me long to find Schiltz Goose Farms in South Dakota. I browsed the website to ensure it was a company that I felt comfortable doing business with and to try to find out if hopefully they raised their geese as humanely as possible. They do have several geese products marked as free range available. In the end because along with not having a scullery maid I also don't have a jolly, old cook in the kitchen, I decided to go with the Pre-roasted Goose. Not being sure what size to order, I figured the smallest size would be fine since I wasn't brave enough to invite over company this year for a goose dinner.

Upon putting in my order for the 6 1/2 pound pre-roasted goose, I noticed that I had waited too close to Christmas and unless I paid extra shipping (more than the cost of the bird) it would not arrive by Christmas. So feeling a little pinched by the cost of presents this year, I decided not to pay the extra shipping. Christmas dinner would just have to wait until the weekend for us. (Besides aren't there 12 days of Christmas anyway?) The company promptly contacted me by email to ensure that I knew the goose would not arrive until after Christmas. I emailed them back and told them that wasn't a problem.

The Goose arrived as expected on Friday. The goose was wrapped in plastic and felt heavier than 6 1/2 pounds. (Found out the next day that probably due to the ice packs wrapped in.) The bird barely fit in our little freezer but luckily it did. Next began the search for a roasting pan. I was expecting to find one for around $10 and did at Target however it didn't have a rack included in it. There was a roaster on sale for $17 with a little rack in it however since this is an experiment and I'm not sure if I will ever roast something again if this goose doesn't turn out...I felt the $17 could wait. We ended up finding a disposable roasting pan for a few dollars at the local supermarket.

Saturday evening we set the oven temperature to 380 degrees (instructions said 375 degrees but I don't think our oven heats up quite as well as new ones.) We unwrapped the goose out of several layers of plastic and ice packs. At that point it looked more like a 6 1/2 pound bird although still larger than I might have originally imagined it when I ordered it. Here is a picture of it frozen:

We put a little water in the bottom of the pan and stuck it in the oven for 75 minutes. Checking every so often to ensure there was still some water in the pan. I've read about goose roasting being a messy business but this pre-roasted goose was very simple. It took the goose about 85 or 90 minutes in our oven until the timer popped up. The 6 1/2 lb goose made enough for 2 hungry adults and 2 children (who were suspicious of the goose so ate only a little.) It seems like easily enough meat for a family of 4 or 5 (as long as the kids are not teenage boys with big appetites!) We also had mashed potatoes with it. The goose meat was dark and moist but not greasy. The color of all the goose meat looked darker than dark turkey meat. It almost looked more like pork than poultry. We saved the legs for later with some leftovers so not sure yet what the legs taste like. The breast meat was my favorite. Where turkey breast meat is so dry that you need a cup of water or gravy to choke down a few bites of deserty dryness, the goose breast was very moist & flavorful! Overall goose tasted like duck to me but with less fat deposits & more meat. The goose skin turned out crispy and was delicious - a combination of crispy, yet slightly chewy, and only a little bit fatty. The skin was thicker than chicken skin.

Next came the kitty leftover test. I gave little pieces of the leftovers to our cats. Two enjoyed it and two turned their noises up to it. One cat who wouldn't touch it won't eat any human food except for fig newtons. The two cats who enjoyed it...REALLY enjoyed it. They both licked their mouths like crazy after each bite and stayed to eat every scrap I gave them (normally if I give them chicken, they would eat just one or two little pieces and then walk off.) The eldest cat after her first bite looked surprised and then started purring like a mac truck rumbling by!

So overall Roast Goose was a success. I would definitely consider ordering it again next year although I think I'd make a side sauce/gravy just to add an interesting extra flavor to the dinner. The pre-roasted goose turned out so well, I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to try to order a raw one next year and perform the whole roasting process myself...guess I have a whole year to think about it.

Merry Christmas!

Boxing Day 2007

Traditionally Boxing Day is a Canadian/English holiday that was based on putting food or small presents in the leftover Christmas boxes and giving them to servants and/or the poor as gifts. Most Americans have never heard of Boxing Day but I'd imagine that it will become a term more familiar to Americans in the upcoming years if for no other reason than for its usefulness to be exploited by marketers as an excuse for a sale. In honor of its origins I ensured that I'd made my donation to a children's charity that I support first and then decided to brave the crazy crowds to check out a few of the Boxing Day sales yesterday afternoon. I still have some friends & family who I'll be getting together with after Christmas and still don't know what to buy them so Boxing Day was a chance to hopefully take care of my final Christmas shopping. Here is my attempt to describe my Boxing Day shopping experiences.

Barnes & Noble:

This was my first stop. I know from past experience that Barnes & Noble has a pretty good selection of good holiday gifts for 50% off the day after Christmas. They didn't let me down. I picked up a nice calendar for 1/2 off, a Playmobil Christmas playset, 2 Cute Teddy Bears in snowflake sweaters, and a nice puzzle. I probably would have bought more but thought I'd better hurry up so I wouldn't miss what was on sale at Target. The store was busy but not annoyingly so and checking out was surprisingly quick. Both the Teddy Bears and Playmobil Santa Sled were great deals at about $8 each!

Party City:

Party City is a card/party store that claims to be discount (but it's not.) Most of their holidays stuff was on sale for 50% off but you had to look closely to see what was actually a deal: Christmas Candy = Not a Deal but Christmas Decorations = Deal. I picked up some snowflake hanging decorations that will be nice and festive for next year (at least they will be festive until the cats probably pull them from the ceiling and chew on them.) Also picked up a sale package of Hanukkah party Crackers. I'm very excited about the Cracker find! I've been reading posts on English blogs about these things and seeing them on some television shows so can't wait to pop open one for the first time and evaluate the "crackiness" of the pop! But do I open one now or hold off until 2008? (I know... I'll open one in order to blog about it! Wow...blogging can justify practically anything you want to do!)

Target:

In the past Target has seemed to be very lucrative as far as Boxing Day sales go...however this year it was a total bust in my opinion. Out of all the stores I went to, it was the only one completely crowded. Also many items I expected to find on sale (pajamas, gloves, scarfs, sweaters, special holiday gift packs, holiday themed toys) were not on sale! The only major sale area was the Christmas aisles. Since I didn't need an artificial tree, stockings, or ornaments...it was really a waste of time. I considered picking up some Christmas candy on sale but when I took a look at the crowds jostling around me and the likely long checkout wait for candy that my waist didn't need anyway...well I finally left the candy there and walked out.

Stein Mart:

Have you ever been to a Stein Mart? I hadn't until yesterday. It's this odd chain that I've been told sells designer, department store stuff at low prices...isn't that how TJMax or Burlington Coat Factory started out? I know I don't like those places so I've been in no rush to check out Stein Mart. However I know several friends who rave about the place. Upon first walking in the store did seem much cleaner and nicer than other discount stores I've been to. It did look just like a small department store. Although I didn't see any clothes that I personally would be caught dead wearing, I'd certainly classify the clothes as very designer looking. I didn't end up buying anything because my overall impression was that I'm about 10 to 20 years too young to be shopping there yet and haven't had enough highlights & plastic surgery to fit in as a shopper at this store. I don't mean to put the store down because I can certainly see why some of my friends love it. However for me I felt like I had somehow entered an old Twilight Zone episode...and was relieved to find that the doors did indeed open back up as I left and no undead sales clerks blocked me from leaving the store! Really if you've never been in one and there is one in your area...you've just got to go in, browse, and let me know if some unnamed....something about the store also strikes you as odd!

The Hallmark Store:

The Fancy Hallmark ornaments were 40% off. Those things make the best gifts for people you don't know, care about, or are simply really hard to buy for! Quite a few ornaments were sold out already but a decent selection remained. I'm a sucker for ornaments that look like retro toys (and Hallmark knows this!) so I picked this one up as a gift....but I think I might keep it for myself:

Too my great disappointment Hallmark didn't have any of their Hoops & YoYo talking items on sale. They said the collection arrived before the holidays so it was still considered "new".

Well that's the end of my Boxing Day adventures. I'm trying to hold myself back from the temptation of going out to see what's left at Barnes & Noble the day after Boxing Day! Did you score any amazing deals during the Boxing Day/post-holiday sales?