BE MERRY

The winter holidays are upon us. And while I love visiting family and drinking questionable eggnog, this winter I'm already looking forward to escaping the days of red and green crinkling paper and going directly to champagne toasts at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Until modern technology is supplemented with mass pro­duction of a Delorean DMC-12 that will allow me to skip to the bubbly (sparkling cider, of course), we all have to tough it through the most wonderful and expensive time of the year.

Don't get me wrong, I love winter holidays. I even get to double up, Hanukkah with half of the family and Christmas with the other half. But it's easy to get overwhelmed with the parties and my worst fear: forgetting what I bought my mom and accidentally re-gifting something she gave me last year. To keep it simple, I'm focusing this year on shopping local to ensure I don't end up with any duplicates. I've also themed most of my gifts with a small touch of glamour.

To start, almost everyone on my list loves chocolate. Luckily for us, we have two great local shops that sell fancy chocolate. Alexander's Chocolates in Dayton and Bubbles & Chocolate in Waitsburg will have you covered. Fancy chocolate treats are the specialty of both places, and nothing says "glamorous stocking stuffer" like individually wrapped chocolates. Alexander's Chocolates hand decorates their chocolates in house. Chocolates from Bubbles & Chocolates can be accompanied with a fancy bottle of bubbly - from standard Champagne to really unique sparkling wines.

Between shopping trips, slow down with some local church services. The First Presbyterian Church in Waitsburg will have a community choir cantata, titled Night of Miracles by John Peterson at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16, at the church.

If you want to be part of the singing, there will be a carol­ing party from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17, at Coppei Coffee in Waitsburg.

Local churches will also have candlelight Christmas Eve services, caroling and readings. Dayton's First Congrega­tional Church will even hold a Blue Christmas service, to honor losses and take time to grieve for lost loved ones in the midst of an overwhelmingly cheerful season. The First Congregational Church's Blue Christmas will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at the church.

As the season shifts from Christmas to New Year's Eve, we also will shift topics from church-going to wine.

Speaking of wine, be sure to stock up for all of your mead needs before Christmas. Mace Mead Works, like most of the other restaurants in Dayton, will be closed for Christmas. Starting the week of Christmas, the store will stay closed for renovations for about six weeks to update their inventory and finish up some of their updates to the storefront.

When the unwrapping frenzy and chocolate consumption come to a close, it's time to ring in the New Year.

It's likely many of us will still have some fancy sparkling wine left over from the holidays to celebrate New Year's Eve. For those of you ready to switch to something less dehydrat­ing, there is at least one dry event to check out.

The Dayton Memorial Library will host a New Year's Eve party at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve at the library.

The library party will be complete with games, family movies and dancing. The staff requests guests bring a finger food to share and their own non-alcoholic beverage.

SHOP IN WAITSBURG

Here are some local shops and vendors to help inspire your holiday shopping. Call for more information.

Blue Crystal Screen Printing and Signs

Screen printing, signs and more

337-8201

Bubbles & Chocolate

Sparkling wines and chocolate treats

206-409-8399

Coppei Coffee

Hot chocolate mix, rotating local art on exhibit and more

524-8184

The Crossroads Mercantile

Costumes, clothing, jewelry and more

337-9027

Dean Smith

Pocket knives, hunting knives, swords

849-2659

Etceteras

Costume jewelry, pottery, glassware, nail polish, toys,coloring books, stuffed animals and more

337-6150

Hugs, Gifts & Collectibles

Home décor, antiques, collectibles and more

539-8773

Irving's Leather

Leather repair and supplies

337-6160

L&B Kitchens

Gourmet family farm wheat products

337-8860

Midway Food Mart

Quick stop gas station and grocery store

337-6151

Northwest Antler Design

Custom antler designs

240-4564

Nothing New Antiques

Antique goods

337-6393

PEO

Nut packages, pistachios, cashews, pecans

337-6145

Ray's Woodworking

Hand-carved wood art

386-5634

Waitsburg Grocery

Butcher section, frozen food, variety of beverages andmore -337-6641

Waitsburg Hardware

Greeting cards, toys, household supplies, nuts and boltsand more

337-6671