Unique Serving Platter

If you are looking for beautiful glass blown Christmas ornaments some of the most beautiful are made by Christopher Radko. Our tree is interspersed with Christopher Radko ornaments and we would have many more if they weren’t so expensive. They are exquisite and have amazing detail, so they are well worth the money. It will just take awhile to build your collection.

The company began in 1986 with Christopher selling ornaments out of his home. Now these ornaments are taking the holiday world by storm and are probably the most well known name in the Christmas and holiday decoration world. These holiday ornaments are found in prestigious places, including government trees, the President’s tree and have been featured on several television shows as of late, including the Today Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show. In addition, these ornaments adorn the pages of magazines like InStyle and People. Several celebrities including Elton John and Oprah Winfrey also don their trees with Christopher Radko ornaments, so it is easy to see why the general population has taken interest in them.

Christopher Radko ornaments can be found at retailers like Neiman Marcus, Marshall Fields, Macy’s, Saks and others. In general, these ornaments sell for about $50 each. So as you can see, these are not your run of the mill standard Christmas tree ornaments. Definitely not something to purchase if you have curious toddlers or cats that like to bat at trees. Believe me, I learned this the hard way and have packed away my Christopher Radko ornaments for a few years. I think I will only be seeing these ornaments when our sons leave the house for college and the cat dies. I can’t bear to see a $50 ornament crash to the ground again.

If you are looking for those that are retired and are considered collectibles, you will need to browse sites like e-Bay and auction sites. Be prepared to pay top dollar, as Christopher Radko ornaments have become quite popular and many people are looking to complete their collections. Some of the early releases are now selling for around one thousand dollars each, so have your checkbooks ready! In my opinion, it is somewhat ridiculous to pay this much for a Christmas ornament that you will only see for about four weeks per year, but I guess who am I to say what people should spend money on. They are quite beautiful, but I’m not convinced they are worth nearly one thousand dollars each!

When I was growing up, there was nothing more stressful or feared during the holidays than grandma’s fruitcake. I know that my experience is not unique. Fruitcakes are feared all over the country. The everlasting fruit cake is the bane of any holiday season. Fruit and flower baskets, Christmas ornaments, cheesy family cards, eggnog – all of these meet appreciation wherever they are given. Those tough, indestructible fruit cakes alone ruin the holiday season!

I have always been a fan of cooking – especially baking. I love to bake cakes and cookies, and I can’t figure out why in the world such a disgusting cake would become such an entrenched tradition. In my whole life, I have only met a handful of people who like fruitcakes – and many of them are fruitcakes themselves. I set out to discover if there were such a thing as a good tasting fruit cake. Were they always these indestructible things that you could send in the mail, leave sitting for weeks, or even stack papers on top of without damaging in the slightest? Were they ever, in other words, intended to eat?

I haven’t been able to find out where the much maligned fruit cake originates, but I have discovered that there are many different recipes. Most of the time, people are familiar with the bland, generic one. These cakes are dense, dry and easy to preserve. In this day and age where we can have fresh food whenever we want, we are a little bit spoiled. Few of us see the usefulness of having such a durable holiday fruit cake, but my guess is that, in earlier times, they were pretty handy. In the winter when everything was dead and the ground was cold, having something sweet and doughy that you could snack on all year would be a rare luxury. So much for the uselessness of the fruit cake!

I have also discovered that there are some cake and fruit recipes that are actually quite good. If you add a little bit of brandy, for example, you can turn a bland fruit cake it is something delicious. You can also add coffee, cream, or many other additions. Using fresh fruit, although not strictly traditional, will also make it lighter and tastier for people. In short, there is no reason why you can’t make a fruit cakes that tastes good while still deserving that name. All it takes is a little bit of creativity.