An announcement, a giveaway and a consolation prize...

Mr. One and I love to throw parties. Or, rather, I love to throw parties and Mr. One loves me. So it all works out.

I also love traditions. And I simply adore Christmas. You can imagine, then, how I feel about a holiday party that is a tradition. Love. It.

It took a year or two of plotting, but Mr. One and I finally settled into our own annual mid-winter fete. Initially, I wanted to have a New Year's shindig, where we could celebrate the promise of good things to come with Hungarian harbingers of beauty and prosperity, apples and lentils. We threw in some Norwegian butter cookies so Mr. One's ancestors wouldn't feel left out. Since then, our little soiree has morphed into a hodgepodge of gingerbread, smoked fish and other bastardized Magyar-Nordic traditions, foodstuffs and decor. Compared to the TD MotherShip's legendary Night-Before-the-Night-Before Christmas bash, we're very small-time, but it is nonetheless a highlight of my holiday season.

Which brings me to my triumvirate of important news.

A) Lacking a suitable venue, this season's party is postponed until January 1, 2012. Mark your calendars now. It will be epic.

B) Just because *I* won't be having an amazing Hungwegian New Year Party doesn't mean YOU can't! As my contribution to the spectacular Five Giveaway, I will send you your very own kit with all the essentials for a perfect Hungarian New Year, including:

• One pound of organic du puy lentils -- guaranteed to fill 2011 with prosperity. And gas.
• A top-secret recipe for the most delicious lentil soup in the entire world. If I do say so myself.
• Two bars of organic homemade apple crisp soap, studded with ginger, oatmeal and apples. Princess H and I whipped them up this afternoon, and they are really yummy. And not quite as ugly as I feared...

***You can enter to win this and four other AMAZING treats by clicking the "FOLLOW" button on the right and leaving a comment on the original giveaway post here.

C) For those of you who don't win, or can't wait to find out whether you won or not, you can enjoy a truly mind-blowing stroll through my favorite European capitol here. Amazing.