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Merry Christmas from Crosswind!
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- 25 Days of Christmas Movie Schedule
- Holiday Cocktail Favorites
- Events in Texas to Celebrate the Holidays
- 100 Classic Christmas Songs
- How to Drive Media Engagement During the Holiday Season
- 'Tis the Season for Giving Back
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25 Days of Christmas Movie Schedule
With Christmas getting closer and the weather getting colder, what better way to spend your night than drinking hot cocoa and snuggling on the couch watching Christmas movies? Freeform has released its movie lineup featuring some of Crosswind's favorites: A Christmas Story, Eight Crazy Nights, The Holiday, Home Alone and Polar Express. What's your favorite Christmas movie?
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Holiday Cocktail Favorites
If you’re hosting a holiday event and have no idea what drinks to make, check out these tasty recipes to spike the Christmas spirit 😉
The North Pole.
By halfbakedharvest
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4 drinks
Calories: 297 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 4 ounces vodka
- 2 ounces Kahlúa or more to taste
- 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons molasses
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk
- whipped cream candy canes and gingerbread cookies, for serving (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a cocktail shaker combine the vodka, Kahlúa, chocolate syrup, vanilla, molasses, and ginger. Shake until well combined. Add ice and shake again. Strain into 4 glasses. Top off each glass with heavy cream. Dollop with whipped cream and garnish as desired. DRINK!
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Events in Texas to Celebrate the Holidays
Austin is known for its annual Christmas light extravaganza, better known as Trail of Lights. That isn't the only big event that Texas has to offer. Other cities including Amarillo, El Paso, Fredericksburg and San Antonio also host big events to enjoy with family or a special loved one.
Amarillo
Let the hot chocolate keep you warm while you go for a walk through the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, decorated with beautiful Christmas lights, November 29-December 23, Thursdays through Sundays. If you have small children, head over to the Amarillo Zoo for ZOOLights, where you can enjoy fun holiday attractions for kids, like the holiday maze and a cookie decorating station.
El Paso
Perhaps the most extravagant light show in Texas is located far west: the El Paso Christmas Light Show is a synchronized music and light show with complimentary hot chocolate and cookies after every show. It kicks off November 29 and runs every Friday through Sunday until Christmas. Also, driving past the brightly lit homes in Eastridge is a great way to get into the holiday spirit.
Fredericksburg
Shop along Main Street, check out the 30-foot tree and 26-foot Christmas pyramid at Marktplatz, and enjoy the local authentic German cuisine. The town offers shopping from 150 art galleries, boutiques and shops, and the annual Light the Night Christmas Parade on December 7 now highlights the beautiful downtown square.
San Antonio
The Alamo City celebrates its rich cultural history across town through its food, parades, performances, and more. Explore German and Mexican cuisine and learn how to cook tamales with professional chefs; experience a live concert and boat parade celebrating Hanukkah, complete with a menorah lighting ceremony on December 3 at Pearl; stroll along the River Walk, lighted by more than 2,000 traditional Mexican lanterns at the Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias on Fridays through Sundays starting November 29; and, on select dates in December, hear the beautiful voices of choirs from across Texas performing Christmas carols in the acoustics of Natural Bridge Caverns.
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Christmas Music Classics
There's no such thing as jamming too much to Christmas tunes. You can jam as much as you'd like. No one is judging you. If they are, just turn the music up louder. I'm sure that'll get them in the Christmas spirit.
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Last-Minute Christmas Gifts
Although December is one of the best times of the year, it can also be the most stressful time. Between work, school and extracurricular activities, when would you have time to go Christmas shopping? With most businesses turning digital, it's easy to do your shopping online rather than stress yourself running errands all day long. Click the link below for the perfect gifts to make one smile:
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Marketing Tips: How to drive media engagement during the holiday season
Idea 1: Decorate Your Cover and Profile Photo
Your Cover Photo should always primarily represent the values and personality of your brand, but if you want to get your audience in the holiday spirit you have to change it to reflect the holiday season. People are browsing social media more than usual so fresh Cover Photos will motivate them to check your social media and look for special offers or gift ideas.
To start, try to picture the Cover Photo as your billboard and ask yourself what information you want to promote during the holiday season. Maybe you have some special holiday products you want to showcase or some special holiday deals your fans would like to hear about? Tell that to your audience with a simple and effective design that consists of a bold background color and playful combination of serif and sans serif fonts.
We suggest you try Arvo or EB Garamond as serif and Glober or Din as your sans serif fonts.
Idea 2: Create a Very Merry Christmas Offer
Christmas is one of the biggest buying seasons of the year during which most retailers earn as much as 20 percent of their annual revenue, so a lot of effort is placed into attracting buyers to choose a particular brand.
Messages such as: one day only, limited quantity sales, buy-one-get-one free, special discounts or holiday coupons are among the most frequent deals used. To bring attention to the message make sure you place text on a background that will not be too distracting. Apply the principle of font hierarchy and give bigger font size to more important pieces of the information, such as the discount value.
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'Tis the Season of Giving Back: An Opportunity to Help a Family in Need
The Austin American-Statesman is in the 20th year of its Season for Caring campaign, which each year asks the community for monetary donations to help families in need of assistance. Some of these families live out of their cars, struggle as single parents, don't have reliable transportation, or have medical conditions. Take a few seconds and read the stories of these 12 families who aren't asking for much, but just enough to survive the holiday season.
“It changed our lives in a way that we couldn’t have imagined,” Suzanne Farrell says of the Statesman Season for Caring program.
“It gave us hope,” her husband, Tim Farrell, says. “We started to see a future we wouldn’t have realized without it. We took it as a miracle and as a blessing. We started to move forward and do our lives.”
The Farrells, including daughter Aubrey, were part of the 2012 Statesman Season for Caring program.
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Port of Corpus Christi takes big step forward on Harbor Island crude oil terminal
Tim Acosta, Corpus Christi Caller Times
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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, USA – A proposed marine storage terminal that will load massive amounts of crude oil for the Port of Corpus Christi has taken a big step forward.
Port commissioners approved a pair of contracts totaling nearly $12 million for work at Harbor Island meant to prepare it for a proposed crude oil storage terminal in Port Aransas capable of fully loading Very Large Crude Carriers. The terminal is part of the port's plan to dredge part of its ship channel from the entrance to Harbor Island down to 75 feet to accommodate full loading of the massive vessels.
The commission approved a nearly $5.4 million contract with Rockport-based Derrick Construction Company Inc. to demolish three existing docks at Harbor Island that are no longer in use. In addition, commissioners approved a 25-year, $6.5 million contract with AEP to provide electric power to Harbor Island, where the proposed terminal will be located on port property.
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LEANDER, TX — Curious residents pored over graphics and engineering documents Nov. 14 to try and get a sense of what future plans are for the next phase of 183A.
During an open house to see what plans the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) has for the 183A Phase III project, visitors had the chance to talk one-on-one with engineers and officials from the organization.
The basic plan will be to extend the toll road from Hero Way in Leander north to about one mile past the SH 29 intersection, a 6.6 mile stretch. The planned transition back to a non-tolled highway will be around CR 258.
Assistant Director of Engineering Michael Sexton said at this point there are no plans for the CTRMA to address any issues north of where the extension ends.
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Join us in the new year as we celebrate Crosswind's 10-year anniversary!
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