Holiday Greetings from Hong Kong

Happy hanukkah!  Tsing dan fai lok!  In whichever language, it's the holiday season, which means that I, along with sister Hot Cocoa and Hot Mama Cocoa, am in Hong Kong, shopping and eating.  Somehow, between all of the shopping and eating, we've managed to fit in a number of wedding-related tasks.  I got fitted for my qua and qi pao, picked up our invitations, found gifts for my bridal party, sourced trimmings for future DIY projects . . . . Details of all of our adventures are to come.

But first I thought I'd share with you what I accomplished today, which is to purchase the "pastry cards" that are included with the invitations we send to friends and family in Hong Kong.  

In the Chinese tradition, it's customary to include with the wedding invitations a gift certificate to a local bakery.  The custom has its roots in an ancient practice in which the groom, in exchange for the hand of the bride, would deliver a roasted pig and pastries to the bride's family and friends.  (Read about Mrs. Eggplant's festive cookie party here.)  That's right, ladies. Don't go thinking you are all that and a bag of chips. All you are really worth is a barbecued snout and a slice of cake.

Few grooms have the wherewithal to hand deliver baked goods nowadays, so the custom has evolved into the present practice of including a gift certificate for pastries, which friends and family can redeem at their leisure.  We won't be distributing the pastry cards to our guests in the States, but since many of our extended family in Asia won't be able to attend our wedding, we will be presenting them with the pastry cards -- sort of like a pre-wedding favor.

I leave you with a photo of me and sister HC getting naughty with a dancing Christmas tree.  At the time, we thought we were grabbing his belly button (the red ornament), but it just occurred to us that this photo might be more X-rated than we intended.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, the poinsettia was also attempting to grab my butt.  Either that, or she was doing "Thriller."

Happy holidays!  May your days off be festive, productive, and memorable.