One way to ring in the New Year that won't give you crabs. Might lose a finger to a firework, though. Be safe.

​My favorite New Year's Eve tradition comes from my friend, Andy. One New Year's Eve a long, long time ago, Andy's step dad created the best tradition since drinking beer always. The story goes that Andy's step dad (let's call him Badass McAwesometown), Badass McAwesometown, was left at home unsupervised with a winning combination of items: one brand new video camera that he got for Christmas, too many beers and a bunch of sweet, cute, unsuspecting gingerbread houses.

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Geek Ever After

​I hate it when people get all pansy about last-minute shopping. We're still four days out. It's 2011. We can make so much happen in one hour it's mind-boggling. "Last minute" is on the drive over you run in any place that's open and buy a gift certificate or print something off the Internet just as someone says, "Can we open presents now?"

So these aren't hasty gift ideas for the panicked. It's a list of ideas for those who want to get it over with, are running low on funds and need to get creative.

Pictured above: Jell-O shots are classy and a great gift. Wrap them up and stick them in the fridge. I have at least one gift in the ice box every year (usually bacon). Jell-O shots don't have to be indicative of halter-tops and ironed hair though. Geek Ever After has raised the bar.

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​Bread. The essential form of sustenance for most of us homo sapiens. More importantly, that from which doughnuts and cake evolved. I decided to take a look at different cultures' spins on holiday bread, and why so few take up such an inordinate amount of shelf space this time of year.

Panettone (Above)
Originally from Milan, Italy, it was first made in the early 1920s. This cylindrical bread typically has candied oranges, lemon zest and raisins. When done right, the rising process can take as many as 20 hours, lending to its distinctive towering fluffiness. Whole Foods, Central Market and World Market have mountains of it. Central Market is the only place that I can find that makes one in-house, but in terms of buying one from the towering stacks at stores, Bauli is as authentic an Italian brand as you can find.

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Flickr

Do you have these at Christmas. DO YOU?

​As we all well know from years and years of church and advertising, there are plenty of reasons to appreciate Christmas: Mistletoe, candy canes, presents, Santa, Christmas Lights, presents, holiday songs, holiday drinking, holiday hams, holiday nutcrackers, The Nutcracker ballet, Christmas movies, Christmas cookies, presents, gifts and more gifts and presents.

But what about Hanukkah? The Festival of Lights starts tonight, and I'd like to offer proof of its many gifts to humankind. Brace yourself for some mazel tov, y'all.

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Rise: The land of souffles.

​Food comas are an inherit part of the holidays. Gluttonous meals planned weeks in advance are devoured in less than 20 minutes, and all that's left is the amazing mess to clean up while fighting through food fog and heavy lethargy. Excited? Yeah, me too.

The day after Christmas is when it starts to become a beat down. Really, I have to cook again? I cooked all day yesterday and the day before that. I'm tired of cooking, my clothes are all too tight and I just want to lounge.

Rise No. 1 on Lovers Lane hears you loud and clear, and is once again hosting a pajama lunch on December 26th that begins at 10 a.m.

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Get lit with this drinking fountain from Nostalgia Electrics.

​It's getting late. There are only eight shopping days left before Christmas. If you're doing your shopping online, you should blow off work the rest of the day and get to it. We've compiled a list to guide you. These unique items will give the impression you searched far and wide.

1. Lighted Drinking Fountain (above)
Some may call this drink chandelier "illuminated" or "magical." I call it "classy." Filled with your favorite flavor of Kool-Aid, Uptown party guests will never be parched with this three-tiered cascading fountain of glory. Here it is demonstrated in front of a sparkling icicle-like curtain on Rodeo Drive. Nice touch. From just $19 on Amazon.

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Urban Acres

​On Saturday Urban Acres will have a Holiday Market at their shop in the Oak Cliff, where local purveyors will be on hand to peddle their artisan foods and crafts.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., bring along your holiday shopping list, because you'll surely be able to scratch off a few names and support a local small business at the same time. Local food vendors at the Holiday Market will include Cultivar Coffee, Emporium Pies, Hail Merry and Munchkin Mush. And, of course, the usual products always found in-store, including Burgundy Pasture Beef, Windy Meadows Family Farms, Nitschke Beef, Three Happy Cows, Veldhuizen Cheese, Pearl Brand Artisanal Ice Cream (new flavors) and many more.

Local artists at the market include Amy Henson's ceramics, hand-painted holiday cards by TMAC, beaded jewelry by Double Heart Studio and baby items by Two Moms Selling.

​Dust off those lederhosens, fraulines. The Arlington Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first Christkindl Market this year December 8 though 11, just north of The Ballpark on a closed-off section of Road to Six Flags.

Marking the 60th anniversary of the partnership between Arlington and her sister city, Bad Konigshofen, Germany, Christkindl is a street-market style fair that is held throughout Germany and in some U.S. cities every holiday season. It involves general merriment, German culture appreciation and food. Lots and lots of food.

Wafting through the festive air will be scents of German beer, brats, goulash, strudel and potato pancakes. A few of the vendors are Helmut's Original Austrian Strudel, Everything German restaurant, Juergen's German Grill and Old World Sausage Company.

For entertainment will be a tree lighting ceremony, the Brave Combo polka band and, if we're lucky, lots of Clark Griswald-style polka dancing. And since 'tis the season to spend, there will be arts, crafts and "exquisite unique ornaments and rare European crafts."

Admission and parking is free; during the Cowboys game on Sunday, parking will be at Hurricane Harbor with free shuttles.

Alice Laussade

Oh, shit. December 2nd can't come soon enough. Click to embiggen.

​ Advent calendars are cool. They help you remember the current date, sometimes they have chocolate in them and they help you count down to Christmas Day (which is known to be one of the greatest holidays ever).

This Advent calendar is obviously way better than those other ones, though, because while it tells you the date and also helps you count down to Christmas, it also yells at you what you should be eating on each day if you're a true fan of The Big JC's b-day.

Go eat some tacos, beetches! And don't forget to marinate those unicorn horns before you broil them. Really makes a difference.

Follow City of Ate on Twitter. Follow me at @thecheapbastard

​Shopping during a lunch break is a great way to whittle down that holiday gift list. To help make your multi-tasking hour even more fruitful, the Shops at Park Lane will have Food Truck Fridays every Friday in December from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The line-up includes 3 Men and a Taco, Gennarino's, Green House, Jack's Chowhound, Ruthie's Rolling Café, Ssahm BBQ and Trailercakes. Check here for the weekly line-up.

Another option for making food trucks part of your holiday merriment is the Dallas Arts District Annual Tree Lighting event this Friday, December 2, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. In addition to Santa photo-ops, there will be musical performances from local groups and the following food trucks: Greenhouse, Ssahm, Gandolfo's, Cup Cakin' Machine and Jack's Chowhound.