Heinzelmannchen Brewery Holiday Party and Last Minute Gifts

December 24 - Stop by Heinzelmannchen Brewery, 545 Mill Street in historic Downtown Sylva, NC from 10 AM to 5 PM for their annual Holiday Party. Enjoy samples of recipes from Your Gnometown Cookbook and Heinzelmannchen ales/sodas.

Last Minute gifts available from Heinzelmannchen:

Gifts to Go:  Your Gnometown Cookbook and 2 pint glasses $21 (33% discount!)
Baskets & Gifts: This gift basket contains 2 Heinzelmannchen pint glasses, set of 12 Heinzelmannchen coasters and 3 deelicious dips, ready to go for $30.  We also have others to choose from less and more expensive. Make your shopping easy!

And don't forget Wunderbar Wednesdays - Traditional flavor Growler Fills only $10 All day, every Wednesday.

Holiday Hours: Monday - Friday, Dec 19 - Dec 23 & Dec 26 - Dec 30 - 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec 24 & Dec 31 - 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Always closed on Sundays

Winter Hours: January 2 - March 18, 2012 Monday's & Tuesday's - By chance or By Appointment (you can have you birthday or special event here) Wednesday's - Saturday's - 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.  Always closed on Sundays.

Christmas Art and Crafts this weekend in Asheville

December 3   Asheville Downtown Galleries Walk  Take a self-guided tour and explore the diversity of art in downtown Asheville.The December Galleries Walk is especially festive and a great opportunity to find unique Christmas gifts. Handmade gifts are treasured for a lifetime, not just the current fashion's season. Browse 25 Galleries in Asheville's downtown decorated with this year's "old fashioned Christmas" theme.

December   3, 10   Guild Artists’ Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center     Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild will be on  hand in the center’s auditorium  to sell select work at 10-50% off retail. Guild Membership is considered acknowledgement of the highest level of art and craft in the Southeast. The Annual Holiday sale is an opportunity to purchase high quality works, a value at any price. The event is held at the Folk Art Center located at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville NC

Holiday Flavors return to Immaculate Baking Company

Submitted by Immaculate Baking Company, headquartered in Flat Rock NC This issue of The Creative Cookie is truly a collaborative and experimental venture. Sometimes, a consumer will ask if something is possible, and since we love a challenge, we'll try anything. Here's a collection of holiday ideas and adventures.                   Gingerbread and Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Dough are back in stores and flying off the shelves again this season. Can't find them? Ask your favorite dairy manager. Carolyn from NY asked if you can roll out our gingerbread spice dough to make gingerbread boys and girls. Indeed, you can, though they will bake up faster than the directions for the regular cookies. Be vigilant and don't let any little gingerbread men escape. Like Carolyn, Dorothea from NJ was thinking outside the box with her gingerbread as well. She asked about using it to make a Gingerbread House. And two of us stepped up for that adventure: good-enough mom and perfectionist mom. Read about their adventures here. Immaculate Baking Holiday cookies take the stress out of holiday cookie swaps too.
Fruit turnovers - a great idea for Immaculate Baking crescent rolls from Gerry in North Carolina "Use four crescent roll triangles to make a rectangle for each turnover. The first thing you need to do is seal all of the edges. Put a nice big spoonful of Apple (could be cherry or peach) pie filling in the lower middle of one rectangle, fold the top part over and use a fork to crimp the edges. Cut a slit, so the pie filling can steam and bake until golden brown. I make an icing with powdered sugar, milk (I use Rice milk) and vanilla and drizzle this over the hot turnovers."		If all of these ideas are a bit too adventurous for you, try this easy tip from Michael in Texas - add raisins to cinnamon rolls. Unroll, lay out some raisins, re-roll, bake, frost. Yum. Cheers and good wishes to our departing interns, Krista and Jessica . . . we'll miss you!

USA Raft Holiday Gift Certificates and 2011 Adventures

USA Raft - Closest Whitewater Rafting to Asheville, NC.  As we prepare for the holidays, we wanted to stop and thank you for an amazing year. Our most important customer is you! We hope you will join USA Raft & Mountain Adventure Guides again next year for meaningful outdoor fun and adventure. Visit our Facebook page for the latest happenings, where you can also post comments and pictures of your trip!

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Save 10% on Holiday Gift Certificates Gift certificates make great stocking stuffers! Save 10% on your gift purchases before 12/24/2010. Hurry - special offer! No other discounts apply. Call 1-866-USA-Raft and we will be happy to assist you.

New Rafts for Next Season We've ordered 16 new "Splash" class rafts. They are truly the best high performance, self bailing rafts available. In fact, they have been featured in the World Championship Races on the Gauley River. They're 100% hand made in West Virginia by our friends at Custom Inflatables.

MAG Summer Adventure Camp 2011 Summer schedules posted for 12 & 18 day camps for ages 12-17. Explore a cave, climb a mountain, raft a wild river, cook a delicious dinner over a camp-fire and then sleep under the stars! Activities are age appropriate and include comprehensive instruction. No experience is necessary and MAG provides all major gear. More

Icebreaker Weekend April 2-3 Join our annual spring staff get together and kick off on the Nolichucky River, as we "break the ice." We will post rafting/caving with lodging package details on Facebook and our website soon after the holidays. Check it out!

Raft Guide School Be a river guide! Learn the basics of guiding a raft, including water reading skills, hydrology, raft maneuvers, paddle techniques, scouting and river rescue. We have seasonal summer job opportunities, both on and off the river, and for our summer adventure camp! More

Asheville Shop Offers Great Gifts for Nature Lovers

The Compleat Naturalist located at 2 Brook Street in Asheville NC is a store for nature lovers. If it's about nature, you'll find it there - birding supplies and feeders, binoculars, compasses, field and botany supplies, weather instruments, books and maps, gifts, clothing and more. And you can join the owners for a free morning bird walks. Check out these special gifts for your holiday shopping:

Guide to Bird Feathers. This is the first book we've seen that provides a photographic identification guide to bird feathers.  How often have you seen a bird feather while hiking and wondered what bird it's from?  This book includes 400 photographs representing 379 species of North American Birds.  A must for every nature lover's library!

The Practical Naturalist.  If you have a budding naturalist in the family, this book will give them a great start on how to become proficient in various nature study hobbies. Chapters are arranged by habitat and feature tips on how and what to investigate in each area, plus a chapter on "Weather and Sky" covering weather and astronomy. Also included is a chapter on "What a Naturalist Needs." The color photography illustrations are fantastic.

Binocular Sale. Some of the most popular binoculars are on sale through December 31.  Come in and check them out!  Or check on our website, Sales and Bargains page.  The optics experts here in the store can help you select the perfect instrument for the naturalist on your gift list.

Bird Song Bible.  Bird Songs Bible covers the sights and sounds of every single breeding bird in North America-- nearly 750 in all. A beautiful keepsake, Bird Songs Bible is an essential volume for the true bird lover. 536 pages, hardcover in carrying case with handle. 15 x 13.75 inches, full color illustrations, maps, electronic sound module.

Heartwood Bird and Bat Houses. This is a brand new line of bird and bat boxes that we love!  They are made in Mississippi, mostly from cypress, the most naturally rot-resistant wood that grows in the U.S., and are made from scrap pieces from the furniture industry.  We love the beautiful artistic design with metal roofs, or multi-colored shingles with copper covering on the peaks.  And all are fully functional and built-to-last.