Blog Posts

Nutcrackers! A Holiday Tradition

Happy Holidays from Nantucket Gate Blog! With holiday break approaching, we thought it would be fun to give you a bit of history on one of the most prominent holiday decorations: the nutcracker. Take a moment this week in your Tacoma, WA apartment or wherever you’re spending the break to read up on the origins of this popular holiday symbol. Nutcrackers were originally functional wooden tools designed for cracking nuts, and the makers would sometimes carve them into whimsical characters. Eventually, the functionality was secondary, and the dolls became decorative, yet retained the visual jaw-dropping function of cracking nuts. One story about the origin of nutcrackers places them in the German Ore Mountains (German: Erzgebirge) region, where a craftsman from Seiffen carved them. Wilhelm Friedrich Füchtner , known in Germany as the “father of the nutcracker,” was instrumental in the popularization of the novelty. They became popular as gifts and by the mid 1800s were being produced in factories. Nutcrackers were a European thing until after the Second World War, when soldiers came home with them for souvenirs. The story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, by Hoffman was adapted as a ballet, The Nutcracker, also played an important part in boosting the popularity of nutcrackers in America. Today nutcrackers are often featured as holiday decorations and are collector's items. Nutcrackers come in all sorts — from inexpensive discount soldiers to handmade German pieces, ranging from soldiers to storybook characters, to famous people and everything in between. A quick google search will yield dozens of examples. So for a bit of holiday tradition, add one to your apartment decor this holiday season. Today nutcrackers are often featured as holiday decorations and are collector's items. Christmas Treasures carries the Steinbach line of nutcrackers, and you can also find high-end German-made nutcrackers at Erzgebirge-Palace . Thanks for reading our post today! May your holidays be merry and bright

Gift Wrapping Tips

With the holidays rapidly approaching, we imagine you’ve already purchased most of your gifts, and so now it’s time to wrap them! Nantucket Gate Blog is bringing you some suggestions to make the gift wrapping experience more enjoyable for you! Consider the Recipient Before you use just any old wrapping paper, take a minute to think about who you are giving the gift to and what kind of message you want to send to them. Do you want them to laugh? Do you want them to enjoy opening the gift almost as much as they enjoy the gift itself? These are a few things to think about that will help give you some inspiration before you mindlessly wrap the gifts you are giving. If you have children, one of our favorite tips to simplify the wrapping process is to choose a special paper for each child and wrap their gifts exclusively in that paper! Measure Before You Cut If you cut out the wrapping paper for your gift just by eyeballing it, you’re likely to end up with a piece that is either much too small or far too large. To save yourself from doing that, make sure to use whatever gift you’re wrapping to measure the paper. Lengthwise, make sure you cut ample paper to cover the entire present; widthwise, cut the paper to be a few inches longer than the present itself. Doing so will save you time and frustration! Add an Embellishment If you feel like your wrapped gifts seem a little bit plain, enhance them by adding something else that makes it look even better! Sometimes, curling ribbon is the perfect embellishment to complement the wrapping paper you chose. Other times, bows do the trick. If you’d like to make your presents look particularly stunning, try using parcel paper, twine, and some live greenery. Here are a few festive wrapping inspiration ideas to check out. However you choose to spruce up you wrap job, adding the perfect touch will show that you spent time not only picking out your gifts for others but that you also put some thought into how you presented them. Do you have any tips for wrapping holiday gifts? Let our Tacoma, WA apartment community know by leaving a comment below!

Holiday Movies to Stream

Are you getting in the mood to end the day with a holiday movie? Nantucket Gate Blog is sharing four fun holiday films you can stream today! Whether you’re looking for a cartoon classic or a Netflix original, try out one of these festive movies this month in your Tacoma, WA apartment: The Knight Before Christmas “After a sorceress transports medieval knight Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) to present-day Ohio during the holiday season, he befriends Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens), a clever and kind science teacher who's been disillusioned by love. Brooke helps Sir Cole navigate the modern world and tries to help him discover how to fulfill his mysterious one true quest - the only act that will return him home. But as he and Brooke grow closer, Sir Cole begins to wonder just how much he wants to return to his old life.” Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas “A Christmas themed, three-part anthology-style video. The first part, "Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas" is essentially a retelling of Groundhog Day (1993), with Huey, Dewey, and Louie reliving Christmas ad infinitum. Next is "A Very Goofy Christmas", in which Goofy tries to overcome his son's skepticism about Santa Claus. Finally, "Mickey & Minnie's Gift Of The Magi" recreate the classic tale of ironic Christmas selflessness. The stories are linked together by narration by Kelsey Grammer.” A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby “It's Christmastime in Aldovia, and a royal baby is on the way. Queen Amber (Rose McIver) and King Richard (Ben Lamb) are getting ready to take some time off to prepare for their first child's arrival, but first they have to host King Tai (Kevin Shen) and Queen Ming (Momo Yeung) of Penglia to renew a 600-year-old sacred truce. But when a snowstorm hits on Christmas Eve and the priceless treaty goes missing, peace is jeopardized and an ancient curse looms. Amber will have to figure out who the thief is before the clock strikes midnight, for the safety of her family and the kingdom.” Klaus “When Jesper (Jason Schwartzman) distinguishes himself as the postal academy's worst student, he is stationed on a frozen island above the Arctic Circle, where the feuding locals hardly exchange words let alone letters. Jesper is about to give up when he finds an ally in local teacher Alva (Rashida Jones), and discovers Klaus (Oscar® winner J.K. Simmons), a mysterious carpenter who lives alone in a cabin full of handmade toys. These unlikely friendships return laughter to Smeerensburg, forging a new legacy of generous neighbors, magical lore and stockings hung by the chimney with care. An animated Christmas comedy directed by Despicable Me co-creator Sergio Pablos, KLAUS co-stars Joan Cusack, Will Sasso and Norm Macdonald.”

Holiday Greeting Card & Letter Writing Tips

Sending greeting cards for the holidays is a time-honored tradition, and today Nantucket Gate Blog has some tips to do it upright. So head over to the Tacoma, WA post office to get some holiday-themed stamps, pull out your greeting cards, and get started! Greeting Cards It’s always a delight to bring in the mail and find a greeting card from friends or a family member. It brings a piece home upfront and center. In today’s post, we have some tips for getting your cards in the mail more easily this year. — Keep all of your supplies — stamps, cards, envelopes, and pens — together in one place so when you have a few minutes to devote to cards, you will have what you need close at hand. — Send greeting cards so they will arrive mid-December. — Check your address list and update it before you begin. Use your return address so cards can be returned to you if they are undeliverable, and so you can know which addresses you later need to update. — Add a legible, personal note to your card, but be brief. It should fit above or beneath the printed verse. (If it’s going to be longer, consider enclosing an annual newsletter.) — Use a high-quality pen to sign cards. It will make the task easier if you aren’t fighting the ink flow. Annual Holiday Newsletter We have a few ideas about writing annual holiday newsletters: Keep them to one page, two pages max if you must have more room. Break them up so that they don’t consist of one massive paragraph. Use pictures, quotes, or clip art to achieve this. Stick to hitting the highlights of the year; you don’t have room for everything. As you are writing, consider your audience and write to them. Writing how you speak is a good rule of thumb when it comes to annual letters. It’s okay to share accomplishments in a newsletter, but keep them low-key and take care so they don’t come across as bragging. Take this opening paragraph, for example. It’s engaging and humorous, the reader is left wanting to know more about the ducks as well as the family — and you know it isn’t going to be a litany of one-upmanship. Where is the creativity fairy when you need one? The Christmas songs are blaring, the Christmas tree is twinkling, there’s even frost on the windows, but for the life of me, I can’t get this annual Christmas letter started. But you know, once I do, I won’t be able to stop, and I’ll be trying to figure out how to cram the entire year’s activities into one letter. So, maybe we will just skip the laundry list of what wonderful things our darling children have done and talk about some cold hard facts, like what we are going to do with eight ducks. Yes, that’s right, eight ducks. I’m not sure what was going on this spring when we decided to embrace the country life and raise farm animals. Now that’s a good start for an annual newsletter. We want to know about the ducks, right? A brief update about each family member is fine. For each person you will be writing about, collect their top five accomplishments, experiences, or challenges for the year and use that information (you don’t need to use all five!) when you are crafting your newsletter. Whether you send cards, a newsletter, or pick up the phone and call friends and family with holiday greetings, kudos to you for taking the time to connect. Thanks for reading today’s blog post, and we want to wish everyone in our apartment community happy holidays!

Movies to See During Thanksgiving Break

Nantucket Gate Blog wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you enjoy your holiday this upcoming Thursday in your Tacoma, WA apartment, or wherever else you may be celebrating. In addition to good company and a delicious feast, we hope your Thanksgiving holiday weekend includes some fun entertainment. For many people, it’s a tradition to see a movie over Thanksgiving break, so this week, we are highlighting four films you may want to see. Knives Out “When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.” Harriet “Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.” Charlie’s Angels “Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska are working for the mysterious Charles Townsend, whose security and investigative agency has expanded internationally. With the world's smartest, bravest, and most highly trained women all over the globe, there are now teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys taking on the toughest jobs everywhere.” Last Christmas “Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Her last date with disaster? That of having accepted to work as Santa's elf for a department store. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn. For Kate, it seems too good to be true.” Which films are you looking forward to seeing this season? Do you have any classics you enjoy watching at home this time of year? Let our apartment community know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

Fun Fall Drinks to Make

The fall season brings so many great tastes with it. This week on Nantucket Gate Blog, we’re bringing you some of our favorite recipes for fun fall drinks. Try out one of the following recipes this month in your Tacoma, WA apartment: Thanksgiving Punch by I Heart Naptime If you’re looking to experience all the tastes of Thanksgiving desserts in one delicious drink, then this punch is a great choice for you. To make it even better, it’s incredibly simple to make! All you’ll need is apple cider, caramel syrup, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon sticks, and sliced apples. Consider serving this drink in a fun glass to make the experience even better! Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider by The Kitchn Now that the weather is getting colder, it’s the perfect time to start making warm drinks to help things feel a little cozier. This seasonal drink is a great place to start! For this recipe, you’ll need cranberry juice, apple cider, orange peel, ginger, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, cloves, and a sweetener of choice. Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate by Tidy Mom This warm and tasty white hot chocolate recipe comes from Tidy Mom. This drink will warm you right up on a cold November night. To make this drink, you’ll need whole milk, canned pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, ground cloves, vanilla extract, sea salt, and white chocolate. Warm up the milk, pumpkin, and spices over the stove, add the chocolate, and top with whipped cream and cinnamon. Flu-Season Ginger-Honey-Lemon Tonic by The Kitchn Unfortunately, the cold weather brings in flu season every year. To help make being sick a little better — or to help take care of yourself before it hits — try making this soothing tonic! You’ll need water, fresh ginger, lemon, and honey. If you’d like, you can add an optional shot of whiskey, too. Thanks for reading our post today. Enjoy this time of year with these drinks!