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Review & Giveaway: Walmart to the Rescue

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Almost 15 years ago… As a new resident in this part of our county, I was immediately struck by how far away everything was. In our old house, I was 10 minutes from work, in walking distance from a grocery store, close to a dozen restaurants, and…sniff…I could have a meal or a pizza delivered from any restaurant. Wahhhhh!! We have no pizza delivery where we live now.

As I was lamenting the fact that a local shopping mall was 30 minutes in one direction and 40 minutes in the other direction, I discovered a small, now defunct big box store. It was dingy, overpriced, depressing, and not missed when it closed. The reason for its demise was the arrival of Walmart. Townsfolk were up in arms about Walmart, but I only had to walk in to Walmart once to know that it has everything you could need and more. No more long drive to the mall to then walk from store to store looking for soemthing. Walmart is one-stop shopping.

Did you know?? In November, Walmart took steps to help Americans share a memorable Thanksgiving with its Thanksgiving Dinner for Eight for as low as $20. Now, with Christmas and New Year’s right around the corner, Walmart has two great encores — Christmas Dinner for Eight for only $30 and a New Year’s Eve party for 10 for under $40. With help like this, Moms don’t have to cut corners or sacrifice taste or quality when entertaining this winter.

The current economy impacts overall holiday plans for 80% of Moms, emphasizing the importance of deals like these when it comes to ensuring that Americans everywhere have the opportunity to enjoy holiday meals with their families. And with the majority of Moms planning to entertain more than 7 people for the holidays (we have 11 people coming over for Christmas Dinner), Walmart’s fresh and affordable holiday meals help eliminate some of the stress that comes from hosting a large get-together.

Walmart’s Christmas Dinner for Eight under $30 provides all the ingredients necessary for a traditional meal, including a 10-lb Spiral Cut Half Ham, three cans of Del Monte green beans, one 10-lb bag of russet potatoes, Sara Lee dinner rolls, and a pumpkin pie. I love this meal! Aaron Sanchez of the Food Network has some fab videos of entertaining suggestions. So does Melissa D’Arabian.

The New Year’s party basket for 10 for under $40includes a Shrimp Tray, Vegetable Tray, Hillshire Farms Little Smokies, Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Land O’Lakes Egg Nog, and a Red Velvet cake.

And to give your recipes a new spin, Aarón Sánchez of Food Network fame shares cooking tips and unique, delicious recipes he created with Walmart’s basket of holiday and New Year’s ingredients.

I’m the everyday, humdrum, work-a-day cook. My husband loves to cook for special occasions. He rolls up his sleeves and gets stuck in. We both love the idea of Walmart’s Christmas Dinner for Eight for as low as $20 and the New Year’s Eve meal for 10 under $40 — what good value! For this year, we are doing a ham rather than a ham and a turkey. We are entertaining 11 people on Xmas Day – I think a ham will be plenty.

The Musings from Me tips for successful entertaining:

Use paper plates; plastic knives, forks, and spoons; and paper napkins for occasional holiday meals. While this is not environmentally sensitive, I allow myself to break out the disposable stuff every so often.
If someone offers to bring a dish, take them up on the offer. We provide the main course, side dishes, dessert, plus drinks, but it is always lovely to have an extra dish or two.
Involve kids. I let my kids set the table, make placecards for each family member, and set out the chairs. My kids have been known to create an impromptu table centerpiece out of candy, ribbon, and a Beanie Baby.
Leave sodas, water bottles, juice, ice bucket, and cupout for everyone to help themselves. When the kids were younger I would place alcoholic drinks out-of-reach of kids.
Allow a gap between serving dinner and serving dessert. We’re English — at least some of us are — and we love Christmas pudding. It is heavy, so is better eaten an hour or two after dinner.

Want to experience the Walmart Entertaining Experience? I have a giveaway for Musings from Me readers! I have two $30 Walmart gift cards for two lucky readers! One comment = one entry. Enter now!

- Do you have a favorite holiday dish? For me, it is a toss up between sausages wrapped in bacon and Christmas pudding.

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I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Walmart. In addition, I received a Walmart gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate and two to offer as a giveaway. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends December 28 at 11:59 p.m.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 1:33 am and is filed under Cooking/Eating, Entertainment, Giveaways, Musings on Family, Musings on Giveaways, Reviews, food, holiday, holidays, housekeeping, mealtimes, shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.