My Love for Holidays Began in Childhood
As a little girl, I was always described as vivacious—bubbly, effervescent, talkative, and overflowing with enthusiasm for life! My mom made our childhood so magical, especially during the holidays. She turned every celebration into a cherished memory, and those joyful experiences instilled in me a lifelong love for holidays.
She didn’t do it to show the neighbors. She did it because she received great joy in seeing how happy it made us.
Some of my favorite memories include holiday stories by the tree each evening in December, felt Valentines hearts, people eggs and Easter basket surprises, a true Thanksgiving feast with delicious pies, making neighbor gifts or holiday cookie boxes (my take on them), our Danish family heritage ebelskivers plus our annual special ornaments and Christmas eve gifts that included jammies.
When I was on bedrest in the hospital with our last little miracle baby during Thanksgiving, my mom made and brought in an ENTIRE Thanksgiving feast foor us to enjoy together in my room. She really is incredible! And that sweet baby ended up surprising us on Christmas Eve arriving at just 28 weeks... He is perfect and doing great.
Now, as an adult, I’ve embraced that spirited girl inside me and found the freedom to enjoy holiday cheer the entire year! I love making many of the same memories with my own little family now. Seeing their joy emanate as they describe their favorite traditions makes every amount of effort worth it.
Bringing Holiday Magic to Your Table
At Holiday Food and Fun, I’m here to share that joy with you. This space is a haven for all things festive, where we celebrate every holiday with delicious recipes, fun traditions, and unforgettable gatherings.
Whether you’re looking for ideas to spice up your Halloween with smoking mocktails and a charBOOterie board or planning a cozy Christmas with a snowman cheeseball and a festive hot cocoa bar, I’ve got you covered!
One of my favorite ways to celebrate is through food, and I love sharing recipes that bring holiday magic to your table. From Pancake Spaghetti inspired by the holiday movie Elf to Easy Hawaiian Roll French Toast perfect for Easter, I’m always cooking up something fun and festive.
Whether it’s a Starbucks White Hot Chocolate for a winter’s day or a Christmas Charcuterie Wreath to impress your guests, my recipes are all about creating moments of delight.
Celebrating with Tradition and Joy
But it’s not just about the food—it’s about the celebration! I’m passionate about helping you create traditions that will last a lifetime. From a Galentine’s-themed party to a Witches Night Out, Halloween brunch, or a cozy Christmas Eve Bethlehem dinner, I want to help you make every holiday special.
My Core Values: Celebrate, Tradition, and Delight
At the heart of everything I do are three core values:
CELEBRATE: Let’s celebrate this one life we have to live—together, all year round!
TRADITION: I’m here to help you create new traditions (or give you support with those you already love) that bring joy to your family, just as my mom did for me.
DELIGHT: Delight wholeheartedly in the most delicious food and joyful moments around the table that celebrate the holidays.
Why authenticity is important to me
I am here to tell you that being authentically you is the only way to truly live happily. People will gravitate towards your authenticity and want to learn more about what makes you so joyful.
Everything I do is authentic (No smoke and mirrors here.) What you see are true excerpts from our life. If I share a blog post on how to throw a Groundhog day party, you better believe that it was styled first with my own family in mind to CELEBRATE life.
If it is a recipe I am sharing and hoping you DELIGHT in, like our Christmas reindeer chex mix recipe, more than likely my middle son was in the kitchen with me measuring out ingredients. He wants to be a chef one day and this mama is happy to help him gain more knowledge in the kitchen!
I am all about the end memory or feeling of any event, delicious recipe or holiday idea I share. I don’t just set up a beautiful table, photograph it for my blog then put it away before my family can see it.
On the contrary, I style it for them, because I want to create a special memory that will bring them joy for many years to come. I want to create traditions in the form of food and fun that continue to be passed on both in our family and yours!
A Safe Haven of Authentic Joy
I hope you find this blog to be a safe haven of authentic joy and happiness in an often negative world. More than anything, I want you to know that you are free to be YOU! Live with unbridled joy, and make every day a celebration.
Life is too short not to enjoy it with those you love most, so let’s make memories that will last a lifetime—starting with a little holiday cheer the entire year!
Since I am a very nostalgic person, so many of the traditions my mom instilled in us are things I now hope to share with my kids AND with all of you.
I am also the founder of This Vivacious Life, a blog dedicated to sharing gluten-free recipes and creative mocktails. In addition to this, I serve as the COO and partner at Tastemaker Conference, where our team is committed to legitimizing the creator economy and providing valuable education to food bloggers and creators across the globe. My passion for gluten-free living also led to a collaborative project with my mom, resulting in our cookbook, Gluten Free on a Budget, which we proudly promoted on a Barnes and Noble book tour.
While living in Arizona, I was a contributor on Channel 3 Your Life A to Z in Arizona regularly and now contribute to Good Things Utah as often as my schedule allows.
Fun fact: My husband and I started a business a few years back hosting celiac awareness nights with professional athletic teams. We had the pleasure of working with teams such as the Miami Heat, Arizona Diamondbacks, Yankees, Padres and more. We received an angel investment from none other than Mr. Mark Cuban himself and was able to host even more celiac awareness nights. It was certainly an exciting partnership!
In addition to my above professions, I truly consider my role as a wife, mother and everyday cook to my family to be of greatest value.
If you want to learn more about the faith that grounds me and has provided me with more happiness than I could imagine, please click HERE. Get a FREE copy of my favorite book ever click HERE.
Let’s work together!
I am currently only taking on sponsored projects in the form of recipe development, styled parties and social media only campaigns. I am also available for television appearances and interviews. You can view all of my TV appearances HERE and all of my recipe videos HERE.
Time and again I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of brands to help them achieve their marketing goals and deliver a huge return on investment.
I’d love to hear more about your products and how you see us working together! Please feel free to email me at chandice (at) holidayfoodandfun(dot) com or message me on Instagram.