It’s the most festive time of year, and since we don’t want to find ourselves on the naughty list, we want to be completely honest with you: It’s not the presents that make us most excited for this time of year, but all the sweet treats we’re bound to be munching on! Images of sugary fudge, Christmas cookies, holiday logs, gingerbread houses and candy canes dance in our heads when we daydream of the holidays all December long and we just can’t wait to bite into any sweet, sugary goodness we can get our hands on!

But that’s not even the best part! During the holidays, any baking you delight in is completely guilt-free! It’s finally time to reward yourself for all your good behaviour throughout the year. In fact, it’s your duty to indulge in all things you crave and bake your heart away! You’ll want to savour some of the best treats of the season and take full advantage! This week, we have two cheerfully perfect recipes for this delectable time of year. Add these to your family traditions or list of Christmas baking classics, and everyone, including yourself, will be munching on these treats in no-time. Everyone will marvel at your amazing baking skills! In collaboration with the extraordinary Instagrammers and bakers, Gabrielle and Émilie, we have created two holiday-inspired dessert recipes perfect for any occasion!

Get your taste buds ready for an explosion of chocolaty-goodness with our Black Forest and Beer Yule Log or our Cookie Dough Fudge. Whether your wish is to wow guests at the end of a memorable feast or to simply surprise someone special with a small treat (Santa might just love trying something new), these recipes will make this holiday season extra merry. Are you ready to warm up your kitchen with all the best tastes of the season? Before you get mixing the delicious chocolatey ingredients, make sure you are prepared! For these recipes you will need a 15” baking sheet for the log, and a 8” x 10” square baking dish for the fudge.

Start your holidays right by baking these delicious recipes!

Black Forest and Beer Yule Log

Cookie Dough Fudge

Satisfy your sweet tooth this holiday season!

  Gabrielle and Émilie met about a year ago when Émilie was finishing her masters in biology and Gabrielle was a student at Cégep de l’Outaouais. They got to know each other when they had the chance to work together at a local bakery. They quickly became collaborators, having both cooking and baking as mutual passions. They adore cooking together in their spare time, especially throughout the summer of 2017, while Émilie was pregnant! In the kitchen, they complement each other well, Gabrielle with her photography skills and Émilie with her imagination. Together, they create beautiful culinary projects, that are simple and delicious!

When thinking about holiday decorating, your mind probably goes to Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings and outdoor lights, amongst other things. So does ours! Though decorating your table setting just right might not make it to the top of your list of to-dos for “Operation: Deck The Halls,” you might just want to reconsider. We’re here to show you why setting a gloriously cheerful and inviting table can make all the difference at not only your biggest feast of the year, but any holiday experience you and your guests will never forget. You’ll be itching to set a table that outdoes any you’ve set in the past, and the best part? We have tons of ideas to give you a great start!

Setting a cheerful, beautiful, and thoughtful tablescape is a great way to show your guests how pleased you are to be sharing the evening with them. It can be a fun way to bring even more yuletide glitz and glam into your home (bring on the gold, plaid and all kinds of classic holiday bits and pieces!). It also creates a first impression of the feast and can build anticipation for what’s to come: the best of tasty family traditions and show-stopping creations! Your table décor can set the tone for the entire meal: casual or formal, relaxing or upbeat. Above all, the goal of decorating a table should be to create a welcoming ambiance. Whether it is a gift for your guest at each place setting or a name card to guide them to their place without hesitation, making them feel at home is a host’s purpose.

So, this festive season, make dinning delightful with these merry and bright ideas for your holiday table décor!

1. Holly Jolly Homes: A flicker of festive cheer is an important element of any table! A candle lit centerpiece is timeless and creates seasonal charm, while the contemporary design of our Scandi House Tealight Holders (available in-stores) keeps it modern.

2. Fanciful flatware: Having some fun and getting creative with elements on your table shows guests you put time and effort into setting the table for them. Creating a special holder out of your napkin with pockets for your cutlery, like we did with our Champagne Flatware Set and Nature Napkins, is a clever way of showing off some of your crafty talents!

3. Plaid Pops: Bright red and just right for yuletide feasts, our plaid Christmas Eve open stock dishes pop against the subdued elegance of our White Pearl dinnerware set. The classic pattern will give your table an energetic feel.

4. Woodland Welcome: Evergreens are emblematic of wintery celebrations. Trimmings of greenery are always a “do” for any holiday décor and add a rustic touch to contrast a Faux Wood Charger against a red plaid Comet Placemat.

5. Hello Deer!: What’s a Christmas table without a woodland creature? The deer motif on our Christmas Eve Mugs and Bowl add a lighthearted, but nevertheless wild factor to your tablescape.

6. Adorable Ornaments: Ornaments aren’t just for the tree and this time of year is for all things that glitter. Personalizing each place setting with a name is charming and endearing. Guests will be glad to find their seats without hesitation.

7. Gold is Good: It’s just so right to adorn your table in gold during this season of bliss. Our ornaments are topped with a bow that glitzes and glimmers. The cutlery set on the table adds another gilded element that shimmers off the table.

8. Fun and festive: With the Scandi House Tealight Holders (available in-stores), we created an enchanting Christmas cottage village for a playful look, yet a contemporary vibe. The ornaments on the greenery that make up the centerpiece will have you thinking of your tree and are an easy way to elevate your table.

9. Glittering Glassware: Often simple and understated, even your wine glasses can make a statement. The Oro Red Wine Glass is effortlessly elegant and has a touch of gold on the stem for a festive feature.

Helping you set the mood for every holiday celebration you have in store,

The sun bounces off the snow, happy and satisfied smiles gleam; the presents have just been unwrapped on Christmas morning. Everyone is pleased with their haul, or better yet, pleased to have gifted just the right thing to their loved ones. Now that all the gifting is over, the next most anticipated thing about the holidays comes to forefront: the food! There’s no better way to continue the magical morning but with a deliciously satisfying and festive breakfast or, depending on what time your alarm rings, brunch!

This week we worked along with Instagrammer and foodie, Monita Sen (@monita_sen), to help create a holiday breakfast like no other! The entire family will enjoy waffles, hash, and poached eggs, with a yuletide twist! In Monita’s own words, it is a warm and refreshing take on a holiday breakfast, and better yet, the Citrus and Cranberry Sauce Waffles are easy to do, because you can simply add in your favourite canned cranberry jelly sauce to the batter. The seasonal flavours don’t stop there! Combined with the taste of lemon and orange, and the warmth of cinnamon and nutmeg, the entire family will be asking for seconds! With healthy Smoky Cauliflower Hash and Poached Eggs to complete the meal, it’s a celebratory breakfast you can enjoy without guilt!

During the holidays, you might just be in a pretty intense time crunch. Make sure you’re on time for your next holiday engagement with this quick tip from Monita: fry up the hash the night before. Simply heat it up to serve with your fresh fluffy waffles made with the Belgian Rotary Waffle Maker and poached eggs!

Make this special time of year even more exceptional with these 3 recipes!

Making sure your holiday moments are filled with satisfied smiles and appetites,

@monita_sen

Born in Canada, raised between Toronto and Kolkata, India, Monita is a self-taught home cook and baker influenced and inspired by her Canadian upbringing, eastern roots, and her love of Julia Child. Married to a French Canadian who doesn’t speak a word of French and is a picky eater, Monita finds herself endlessly developing fusion recipes to feed and satisfy both herself and her spouse, a challenge she loves as there is endless inspiration from her culinary obsessed heritage and travels.

As an Insta-Blogger Monita has had her food featured on the Instagram sites of Bon Appetit Magazine, Cooking Light Magazine, and Tasting Table, to name a few. A lifelong wordsmith, you’ll find something for your taste buds as well as your amusement on her Instagram gallery @monita_sen.

October has come and gone and we all know what that means – the season of giving is here! Finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list can be a daunting task. This year Stokes wants to help you get a head start on your gift giving – and there just might be something in it for you too!

Check out our gift giving guide below for every person on your list !

For the Tablescape Artist

Getting the details right for every occasion, while creating a welcoming and festive table, is what this gift beneficiary is all about. The Christmas Juniper Dinnerware Set helps add joyful cheer to any table and will help your Tablescape Artist set the perfect table.

For the Holiday Host 

A Holiday Host wants to make sure their spread has something for everyone. What better way to give them a gift by buying them something to help them make sure of that. The Heart Revolving Condiment set gives a party planner the ability to set out all their guests’ favorites!

For the ones who love making festive foods and seasonal sweets

For the cooks and bakers in your life, their happiness comes from other people’s enjoyment. Lend them a hand this holiday season by making sure their spice collection is on point with the Mason 16-Jar Spice Rack.

For the one who always brings the Holiday Spirits

Do you know someone who never lets a party guest go without a drink in their hand? For this lucky person on your list, it’s all about helping people enjoy the moment in a relaxed atmosphere. The 3 bottle dispensing system on our Bar Butler will them make sure everyone’s joining in on the merrymaking.

For the one who loves to brew the perfect cup

This person on your list believes a hot drink can cure all.  Whether it’s to get their day started, hearing out a friend, or with a good book in hand, something brewed should always be within reach. The Mousse Milk Frother will take their brewed experience to the next level.

For the specialty chef

The specialty chef is someone who likes to experiment. Finding the right appliance to help them make exactly what they want, how they want,  is what makes them tick. The Triple Swiss Raclette will let this person on your list grill anything to perfection.

For the one who devoted to decking the halls 

This gift recipient is easy to please, all they need is something that can add some holiday cheer to their home! Avoid clashing with decorations they already have by going with a classic and elegant look like our Rudolf’s Sleigh.

For the one who loves to snuggle up

We all know one person who would stay inside all winter if they could! This homebody knows that cold days are for cozying up with something to read or for starting a Netflix marathon. Make sure they stay warm all winter long with this Red Checkered Throw.

For the playful one

This one is for the person on your list who loves a good game and some healthy competition. Getting the whole group involved, while making the energy in the room go up a notch is what this person loves. The Drinking Roulette Game would make a perfect gift!

Here to help you get every aspect of your holiday season just right,

The most important trick to having Christmas dinner run smoothly is planning ahead; know what you’re cooking, what ingredients you need and even what dishes you will place them in. Make Christmas day even easier for yourself by cooking a few dishes beforehand that could last in the fridge for up to two days. For example, blanch the carrots and greens or even peel and boil the potatoes. You can also cook a few dishes even earlier and freeze them, for example the gravy (just add juices from the turkey before serving), the stuffing (an easy trick is to freeze it in an oven safe dish that once it is defrosted you can easily pop it in to the oven)…etc.

Now that all the food is prepared, the next items on the menu are décor and tableware. Make your dining room feel like a winter wonderland with our Christmas Cottage Collection. Our Christmas Cottage Reindeer will be sure to add some Christmas charm, along with our tree and candle holder centerpieces. They act as a great centerpiece to any table as they add some light and aren’t too tall so they won’t obstruct the view of any of your guests.

Choose a simple dinnerware set for your table to accentuate all the holiday décor already in the room, for example our Zen dinnerware set, or if you want a little bit more of a festive charm, our Winter Wreaths dinnerware is perfect to complete the look. To bring color to your table, add either our Red Square Charger, Holiday table runner, or plaid table cloth. A tablecloth is also great when your table cannot fit all your guests; it allows to seamlessly put together multiple tables of the same height.

Another simple trick to make the night run smoothly is to have a bar near the table. This way, your guests can help themselves when they please and you don’t have to leave the table to bring back extra refreshments. This can either be a small table or sideboard. Make sure to have all the essentials there; an ice bucket, a good selection of drinks and glasses (such as our poinsettia wine glasses), and even spare napkins.

And above all, don’t forget to eat, drink, and have a merry time!