LilSugar

Let's Dish: Do You Have Holiday Dinner Traditions?

YumSugar — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:00:28 PST

In my family, the holidays mean two things are certain: we will be drinking Manhattans and fighting over who gets the last cheese diablo wafer. I find it comforting that every year, no matter what, these two things are constant. What about you guys? What are your very favorite Christmas or Hanukkah traditions? Do you try new things each year or do you have some tried-and-true recipes that you would never stray from? Share with us in the comments!

Modern Wedding Traditions: Incorporating Facebook

Kristy Korcz — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:11:06 PDT

Prince William and Kate Middleton's upcoming nuptials prove that you don't always have to stick to traditions when it comes to weddings. Of course, you don't have to live stream the event in order to move your ceremony into the 21st century. With over 650 million active users, Facebook is the worldwide unifier, so it's no wonder that the social network is being incorporated into more weddings all around the world. How can you inject a bit of Facebook flavor into your big day? Find out below!

Fan Pages - Instead of making a wedding website, couples are opting to create wedding fan pages so friends and family can keep up on their favorite social network.
Chronicling the events - It's a given that during your engagement, bachelor/bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinner, and even the day-of grooming, there will be a number of cameras around. Posting these pics on Facebook helps to keep far off friends and family involved, even if they can't make it in person. Just don't tag any pics of the bride getting ready if you're posting them live. The groom will get a sneak peek! Same goes for embarrassing mid-dressing shots; it's just poor form.

See the rest of the list after the break.

Guess the Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gift

TresSugar — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:37:55 PST

Traditionally, each year a couple celebrates an anniversary, there is a different type of gift presented. These include materials such as wood, copper, and leather that may sound simple but can result in some creative and romantic presents. From year one to 10, do you know which gift is for which wedded year? Test your knowledge and get some gift ideas with my quiz.
Photo by Jasmine Star courtesy of Source

Mummy's Rules and Traditions For Trick-or-Treating!

Heather Maddan — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 04:00:00 PDT

Halloween is a sugar rush! Before most kiddos set foot out the door, lots of parents lay down a couple of safety guidelines for the night. Here's what LilSugar mamas had to say.

Deciding which costume to make or buy adds to the excitement of Halloween so 73 percent of mamas let their children choose their own outfits.
Lil darlings love to dip their hands into the bag of goodies and munch on sweets as they walk around on Halloween night. Seventy-percent of mamas carefully monitor their tot's intake.
Knock, knock, do you need to know who's behind every door? While some moms map out a specific route for their trick-or-treaters, others allow their kids to venture into unknown neighborhoods. Sixty-three percent of mamas let their kiddos go to strangers' homes.
You might have carried your costumed kiddo or pushed them door-to-door in a pram, but at some point the youngster wants to gather candy with friends. Forty-five percent of moms said this is OK for teens.
Before a child eats their treats, some mamas have their youngsters shake their sacks out on a table and sort through the sweets for suspicious-looking candy. One hundred percent of mamas said they check the candy.

Mummy's Rules For Trick-or-Treating . . . Chime In!

Heather Maddan — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 06:00:21 PDT

Halloween is a sugar rush! Before most kiddos set foot out the door, lots of parents lay down a couple of safety guidelines for the night. From party pranks to trick-or-treating with friends, what are the traditions in your household? Chime in!

Did You Eat Wedding Cake on Your First Anniversary?

partysugar — Tue, 18 May 2010 09:00:07 PDT

Lauren and her husband recently celebrated their one-year anniversary - congrats! She posted this picture in the Wedding Talk group in the YumSugar Community. She says:

My husband and I just celebrated our first anniversary and a couple days before, my mom gave me a ziploc with pieces of our wedding desserts that she had saved. We had quite a few different things: a traditional Norwegian Ring Wedding cake, a truffle pyramid, and a Mexican wedding cookie pyramid; she saved little bits of each. I can only imagine how a traditional wedding cake would taste one year later - thankfully ours survived 365 days in the freezer, so they weren't half bad!

How about you? Did you save a piece of your wedding cake to enjoy on your anniversary? Is this a tradition you want to follow when getting married?

The Groom's Cake: A Sweet (and Whimsical) Wedding Custom

YumSugar — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:50:08 PDT

The cake-cutting ceremony is one moment for which wedding guests are sure to save their appetites - and if they're lucky, they may be looking forward to not one, but two sweet endings. At many weddings, a dessert called a groom's cake will take residence next to the towering white original.

A reliable history of the groom's cake is difficult to trace. Among the many legends, some believe it was served by the groom to the bridesmaids; others say a bride wanted a chocolate cake for her wedding without forgoing the white color scheme. Despite the dessert's nonessential role in the wedding, it's long been traditional in the South, and has made somewhat of a comeback in recent years.
Because the cake is a gift from the bride to the groom, it often reflects the groom's interests and comes in a variety of flavors (although chocolate has been historically popular) and themes (such as sports teams). A groom's cake with a sentimental message is a heartfelt, timely, and surprising wedding present to your significant other. If the idea of another cake at the wedding sounds redundant, consider serving it at the rehearsal dinner, an apropos occasion since the groom's family typically hosts the occasion. What are your thoughts on the wedding tradition?

Source: Flickr User stephen_bolen

Family Ties: Changing of the Guard

babysugar — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:30:56 PST

One of my favorite things about the holidays is celebrating old traditions. Baking cookies, sledding, going to the Nutcracker, and ice skating are just a few items many families check off their list. In my family, our Christmas Eve celebration is our most cherished event.

Since I can remember, my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, sister, and grandparents have gathered to drink margaritas, eat tamales, sing songs, and when we were younger, put on Christmas pageants. When we turned into teenagers, the plays passed as did the caroling. Some 20 years later, our family has grown as we have welcomed seven great-grandchildren into the brood. Sadly, we lost the matriarch of our family just a week before Christmas and it was the first year where my sweet lil grandma was not with us. While we missed her beyond belief, the wee ones kept the focus on the future and helped to make the celebrations a little brighter. And, for the first time in years, the youngsters put on a show and soaked up the limelight. It was a changing of the guard and for the first time in my life, I realized I was now in The Middle Place.

Tell Mommy: What's Your Favorite Holiday Tradition?

LilSugar — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:45:53 PST

The holidays are ripe with rich family traditions - from opening one present on Christmas Eve, making homemade treats, cutting down a tree to wearing silly matching PJs and giving dad or grandpa the gift of ugly ties. In my family, taking a photo of the entire crew in their Christmas Day garb has been a staple tradition since I was a child, but we sneak in plenty of more seasonal and fun customs - especially now that the "kids" have kids - like making popcorn and watching Christmas flicks and eating my aunt's almost inedible fruitcake. What is your family's favorite holiday practice?

Source: Flickr User svenstorm

Turn Those Letters to Santa Into Something Memorable

babysugar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:18 PST

Young believers in Santa Claus know that writing a letter to the North Pole is a task worth completing when it comes to getting the gifts they want. Whether they are asking for a shiny new sled or a Zhu Zhu Pet Hamster, wee ones delight in making a lengthy list for the bearded one and his lil helpers. When the gig is up, it's entertaining to take a look back at the lists from years past. Instead of tossing them in the recycling bin, moms can store them in a secret place where they can be shared later in life. A bound book with the requested gifts may turn out to be the best gift of all! If mama's short on ideas, check out our awesome holiday gift guide!

Flickr user genealogy photos