Category Archives: Holidays

Light Brunch Ideas for the New Year

Lighten Up with These Post-Holiday Brunch Ideas

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s we stuffed ourselves with savory indulgences and sweet treats. January is a time when we like to “get back to basics” and offset the decadence of the holiday season with healthier options.

Healthier, lighter choices are challenging to make in the middle of winter. It’s easier to follow your self-imposed restrictions during the workweek, when you’re distracted and far from your refrigerator. However, the weekends don’t lend themselves to salads.

When it’s blistering cold outside and you’re cozy and warm in your flannel pajamas on a Saturday morning, you want nothing more than a steaming hot cup of coffee and a heavy, hearty brunch.

You don’t have to forgo your leisurely weekend meals in your jammies. Simply swap out your signature French toast casserole for one of these delicious options that are heavy on flavor and light on guilt.

10 Light Brunch Ideas for the New Year

1. Butternut Squash-Kale Hash from Health.com

This sweet and savory Butternut Squash-Kale Hash is ready to enjoy in just over thirty minutes. The mix of superfoods with the low-carb satisfaction of butternut squash is sure to warm you up in the morning. Finishing the dish with a crispy fried egg, with its gooey soft center, also satisfies our craving for a cheesy topping.

Get the recipe on health.com

2. Mixed Berry Vanilla Baked Oatmeal from Julie’s Eats & Treats

The French toast casserole we mentioned earlier? Swap it out for the sweet taste of fresh berries and fragrant vanilla in this Mixed Berry Vanilla Baked Oatmeal. This is a warm, comforting dish that you can feel good about, with your feet up on the couch in your favorite footie pajamas.

Get the recipe on julieseatsandtreats.com

3. Light & Spicy Turkey Sausage Breakfast Burrito from The Creative Bite

This is an absolute favorite! Not only is this Light & Spicy Turkey Sausage Breakfast Burrito a satisfying addition to a weekend brunch, this recipe can be made ahead and frozen for an on-the-go meal during the week. It’s easy to throw together and contains a fraction of the fat of pork sausage.

Get the recipe on thecreativebite.com

4. End-of-Summer Zucchini Mushroom Frittata from Life is But a Dish

Remind yourself of warmer days with this lightened up End-of-Summer Zucchini Mushroom Frittata. Ok… stay with us… we are well aware that we are far from the “end of summer,” but if we’re being honest, all of these veggies are available — and inexpensive! — in your grocery store throughout the year. Topped with salty, savory feta, this frittata will satisfy your deepest darkest brunch cravings.

Get the recipe on lifeisbutadish.com

5. Crustless Vegetable Quiche from Recipe Runner

Everyone loves a good quiche. If you are torn between “brunching out” or “brunching in” and sticking to your New Year’s resolution, this Crustless Vegetable Quiche is the recipe for you. You could easily swap out the spring veggies for vegetables that are more readily available. Regardless of what veggies you choose, ditching the crust means you save yourself countless calories. Calories that can be better spent enjoying a mimosa in your bathrobe

Get the recipe on reciperunner.com

6. Sweet Potato, Bacon, and Apple Hash from Worth Cooking

Sometimes you can’t skip the bacon. Subbing traditional russet potatoes for sweet potatoes means you are going to get more nutritional bang for your buck — which totally cancels out the bacon (we’re basically nutritionists… not). Incorporating apples and sweet potato in this Sweet Potato, Bacon, and Apple Hash definitely does take the edge of the guilt. In the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

Get the recipe on worthcooking.net

Light Egg Dish for the New Year

‘Italian Eggs’ from Cook the Story

7. Italian Eggs (aka ‘Eggs in Purgatory’) from Cook the Story

This recipe for Italian Eggs, better known traditionally as ‘Eggs in Purgatory,’ is light on calories but packed with the robust flavors we crave when we think of Italian cooking. The dish consists of eggs simmered to perfection in a hearty tomato sauce, then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. The red pepper flakes give the dish a spicy kick that will warm you up on a cold January morning.

Get the recipe from cookthestory.com

8. Avocado Toast with Turkey and Egg from The Lemon Bowl

You can’t brunch without avocado toast, or so we’re told. This Avocado Toast with Turkey and Egg is a deeply satisfying healthy breakfast-lunch-or-dinner dish. Hearty multigrain toast, topped with creamy avocado and a decadent runny fried egg will keep your fatty breakfast cravings under control. Additionally, the extra-lean protein punch of sliced turkey will keep your hunger in check until your next meal.

Get the recipe from thelemonbowl.com

Fuzzy Duck Slippers from Aroma Home

Did someone say fuzzy slippers? ‘Duck Slippers’ by Aroma Home.

9. Bacon and Asparagus Frittata from The Roasted Root

Put on your warmest, fuzziest slippers because this Bacon and Asparagus Frittata is classic lightened-up comfort food. With only four ingredients (!!!) you can prep this dish in just ten minutes. Ideal for a lazy Saturday morning. This recipe calls for four slices of thick cut bacon, which infuse each of the frittata’s 6+ servings with the savory bacon goodness you’re craving. Top with avocado, because why not?

Get the recipe from theroastedroot.com

10. Whipped Yogurt with Spiced Berry Compote from The Worktop

We’ve rounded out this brunch list with a sweet finish in the form of a Whipped Yogurt with Spiced Berry Compote. A yogurt parfait is something that we think of during the summer months, but the cinnamon, anise, and vanilla of this spiced berry compote warm up this sweet dish with the flavors of winter.

Get the recipe from theworktop.com

For more ideas on how to live your best life in the New Year, visit The Pajama Company on our blog or check us out on Facebook.

This Year, Workout in Your Pajamas

We make a lot of promises to ourselves in January that we break by March. New Year’s resolutions are a tradition of goal setting. They key to accomplishing your goals is to start small and build on small successes. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to start working out, we have the perfect way to ease into a new routine.

Gyms are expensive and involve an additional commute. For some of us, the added cost and challenge make it easier to commit to an exercise routine. For others, those same challenges become hurdles. Before you spend on Crossfit classes, try incorporating exercise into your routine slowly to make the habit stick.

A great way to start is by working out in your pajamas. That’s right — a quick workout before or after you go to bed allows you to knock it out before you shower for work. Here are some simple exercise ideas that you can do at home, in your PJs.

10 At-Home Workouts You Can Do in Pajamas

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How to Host a Winter Pajama Party

How to Host a ‘Winter Wonderland’ Pajama Party

After we unplug the Christmas tree and pack away our holiday decorations, many people feel a touch of ‘post-holiday blues’ because there is nothing left to celebrate and a long winter ahead. Don’t feel sad! There is a lot to celebrate after the holidays!

For one, we aren’t faced with the daunting task of entertaining in-laws and houseguests for another weekend packed with holiday traditions and formalities. Those of us who travel aren’t faced with another weekend in an airport, dragging luggage and children from coast to coast to visit family. The magical, sparkly, snowy winter weather is still going strong, which means we have a lot to celebrate — right at home.

Without all the holiday obligations, we can gleefully spend the rest of the winter season in hibernation. Why not celebrate what’s left of the season with a laidback ‘Winter Wonderland’ pajama party? Since the kids will be on winter break until after the New Year, you can keep the party to just your family or invite another family to join in. It’s also a great excuse to use those matching family pajamas one more time…

Winter Pajama Party Decor Ideas

Delaying taking down the Christmas decorations? Use your decorative string lights to create a wintery ambiance.

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Best Christmas Cookie Recipes of 2017

Must-Try Cookie Recipes for the Holiday Season

In December, the warm smell of freshly baked cookies — rich vanilla and butter — is as iconic as the smell of balsam. Baking and decorating cookies with loved ones is a long-standing holiday tradition in many households, as is indulging in pure buttery bliss in matching family pajamas on Christmas Eve. Fill your home with the scent of holiday joy this year with one of these popular cookie recipes from 2017.

Best Christmas Cookies to Enjoy in Pajamas

Enjoy Christmas cookies in matching family pajamas this holiday season.

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Quick Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

Quick Tips for Managing Holiday Stress

The pressure of finding the perfect gifts, being “Santa’s Little Helper,” attending a dozen social events, and entertaining family can add up quickly. It takes one Saturday afternoon at the mall in December to make anyone want to pull their hair out from holiday stress. But how do we manage? We can’t drop everything and camp out under the covers in our pajamas until January (though obviously we recommend this approach over any other).

Here are some quick, practical tips for lightening your load and getting ahead of holiday stress this winter.

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Christmas Movie Pajama Marathon

12 Days of Christmas Movies!

December has arrived and the last of the turkey leftovers have been cleared from the fridge. We can’t even think about eating another scoop of mashed potatoes, but a candy cane dunked in a cup of hot cocoa? Yes, please.

Festive wreaths and red velvet bows are being hung on front doors, strings of twinkle lights are strung through the trees, and giant inflatable Santas are hauled onto rooftops throughout the neighborhood. Enjoy the best of the holiday season before the inevitable post-Christmas burnout with 12 days of Christmas movies.

These movies are sure to get everyone in the Christmas spirit, both the little ones and the young-at-heart. Curl up with a cup of hot cocoa and take your matching family pajamas for a spin.

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2017 Holiday Gift Guide from the Pajama Company

Ultimate Holiday Gift-Giving Strategy: The ‘2-Stop Shop’

It feels like Labor Day was only yesterday and yet somehow we’ve managed to fast forward through Halloween, blast past Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just around the corner?! Begin the annual lies: “I’m going to get my Christmas shopping done early this year” and “I’ll have the gifts wrapped by the end of November…” Sound familiar?

These are the lies we tell ourselves until mid-December when we end up on an aimless 10-hour Saturday mall run, buying whatever wrapping paper is left at Rite Aid, and giving at least six people on our list Starbucks gift cards. Hey, we’ve all been there. That’s why we’ve decided to help you out with a new strategy: The ‘2-Stop Shop.’

One part Cyber Monday and one part last-minute drugstore run, this strategy is designed to personalize the bejeezus out of your Cyber Monday haul for easy, thoughtful, personalized gifts for everyone on your list.

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New Family Holiday Traditions, Matching Pajamas

New Ideas for Fun Family Traditions

As the days get shorter and the colors of fall give way to frost, our lives become wrapped in tradition. It begins with Halloween: trick-or-treating, neighborhood Halloween parties, themed family costumes, or just stealing all the peanut butter cups out of your kid’s candy stash… no matter how big or how small, the shift from fall to winter signals a shift into a season filled with traditions and memories that will last a lifetime.

There are popular traditions that you share with others, such as the turkey you might be cutting into in the coming days, and then there are ones that are unique to you and your family. Young families have the special and unique opportunity to start traditions with their families and choose what their children will remember from their childhood about this special season — and might pass on to their own.

Here are a few ideas for new traditions you might like to start with your family this holiday season.

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Funny Family Holiday Photo Ideas

12 Funny Family Holiday Photo Ideas

With the holiday season just around the corner, we know that many of you have family holiday portraits scheduled in the coming days. When you are planning your family portrait this holiday season, consider some outside-the-box options.

Each year we receive dozens in the mail that, frankly, all look the same — and into the trash they go!  Ditch the matching sweaters and have some fun this winter with pictures that are guaranteed to bring holiday joy.

Matching Family Flapjack Pajamas

Matching family pajamas from Lazy One.

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Pajama Halloween Costume Ideas

6 Pajama-Themed Halloween Costume Ideas

When it comes to Halloween, there are those people who meticulously plan their costume a year in advance — finding the perfect props and carefully sewing, stitching, or gluing their masterpiece together — and then there are the rest of us. Halloween is less than a week away and we’re willing to bet you don’t have a costume either.

Rather than be the party pooper who shows up to the Halloween bash as themselves, look no further than your pajama drawer. By utilizing your pajamas in these six simple costume ideas, you will be warm, comfortable, and at least a hundred dollars richer for not having ordered a last-minute costume online.

Unlike an inflatable T-Rex or a garden gnome, you can wear your pajamas again and again. Here are costume ideas for the rest of us.

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