DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   When it comes to our cherished symbols of Christmas, few towering, twinkling firs can rival Rockefeller Center’s yearly display of New York yuletide cheer. But some of them succeed, at least when it comes to height: America’s tallest Christmas trees can top 100 feet. And they make for fun stopovers during the holiday travel season.    Only the biggest cities can afford to transport and maintain these giant firs, but size isn’t really the point. Tree lightings represent “a moment of togetherness and true unity,” says Alexandra Lewis, author of The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, “a moment in which hope and happiness win out over bitterness or worry, when togetherness wins out over partisanship.” 10. Houston City Hall Height: 70 feet    Every holiday season, Houston unveils the Lone Star State’s tallest Christmas tree in front of City Hall. This year, the Mayor’s Holiday Celebration tree is a 70-foot white fir, sourced from a snowcapped mountainside north of Medf

   Here's another one from goddesshobbies.blogspot.com  .  They kind of remind me of the autumn holiday pumpkin garland.  These are something that's cheap and easy to make to set off your Christmas tree this holiday season.  Especially if you use metallic cardstock or even some old music sheets.  Good luck and enjoy! Handcrafted Holiday ~ Paper Ball Ornaments    The kids and I have been making ornaments for the tree for about two weeks now. I can't wait to show you the files of the sweater mice ... but I can't figure out how to upload the PDF file I made for the pattern. If anyone has ideas I would love them. ;)    The other day on our advent calendar tag was 'making paper ball ornaments'. I saw a picture in a book (or on the net) of these and I thought they were just beautiful! They have been in my head ever since. Of course, I had stick with my theme and find a way to make them recycled. So I found the perfect medium... Old calendars!     Georgia O'

   This recipe is from www.marthastewart.com .  What doesn't go better for a Thanksgiving dessert than chocolate and pumpkin??  Nothing I can think of at this moment.  Make this for one of your holiday happenings and I guarantee there won't be any left over or to take home.    Chocolate shows up in three guises throughout this dressed-up pumpkin pie. A layer of bittersweet chocolate coats the cinnamon-spiced graham cracker crust, semisweet chocolate adds depth and smoothness to the pumpkin custard filling, and melted milk chocolate is drizzled over the top just before serving. Make this pie the day before Thanksgiving (minus the milk chocolate topping) to give the filling time to set in the refrigerator. Yield Serves 12 Ingredients For the Filling 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers) 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

   The ship ' Mayflower ' has played a very significant role in the history of Thanksgiving, because it was the historic ship that took the Pilgrims to America in 1620. The pilgrims were basically the fortune hunters, bound for the resourceful 'New World'. And the 'Mayflower' was a small ship crowded with men, women and children besides the sailors on board. The first record available about the ship 'Mayflower' is somewhere in 1609. At that time it was a merchant ship, which traveled to Baltic ports, most notably Norway.    At that time, that is around 1609, Christopher Nichols, Richard Child, Thomas Short, and Christopher Jones owned the Mayflower. The weight of this ship was about 180 tons and it rested in Harwich. Initially this ship was employed for the purpose of transportation of goods such as tar, lumber, fish and possibly some Greenland whaling. But later on this ship was employed in Mediterranean wine and spice trading.    In