This Advent Calendar is a gift that kids can make for their parents! This lesson shows you step by step how to make an advent calendar. Think of things you can do to help your parents in December, write or draw every promise on a little piece of paper and put them in the Christmas ornaments. For teachers, the lesson attachment has a link to a free companion document containing writing suggestions and sample drawings. Music courtesy of Davenport Productions, used under license.

Lovers of white wine, rejoice! Sunset Magazine breaks down the history and flavor spectra of over a dozen varieties, including sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio. Start with the most popular wine in the United States, chardonnay, and work your way towards the more obscure, though equally flavorful and complex, types such as riesling, white Rhônes, and even Austria’s pride and joy: Gewürztraminer.

Looking for a Thanksgiving dessert to follow your scrumptious feast? This holiday season, try this recipe for a creamy spiced pumpkin cheesecake with a shortbread crust! This lesson from Rouxbe Cooking School walks you through the process start to finish, from choosing and lining the right pan to slicing your finished dessert. Use the included pumpkin cheesecake recipe, or apply these tips to your own cheesecake recipe to avoid common problems such as over-mixing, leaky fillings, and cracking.

Sunset Magazine takes you on a guided tour of red wine from the Old World (Europe, for the uninitiated), from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhône to Italy and the southern tip of Spain. Whether you like big and structured wines, or light and fruity is your thing, the Continent has a centuries’ old recipe for you. Learn about each region’s history, winemaking styles, and dig deep into several common varietals, such as: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir, and nebbiolo.

Need a cute and light dessert for a tea party, bridal shower, or picnic? Honeysuckle Catering shows you how to transform a classic dessert into a bite-sized treat by making miniature strawberry cupcakes. They only need to bake for fifteen minutes, and both the batter and the frosting contain real strawberry puree. These mini cupcakes infuse a fresh strawberry flavor with a delightful bite of pure scrumptiousness. The recipe shown in this lesson is adapted from Sprinkles Cupcakes.

For their originality and variety, American and New World red wines can’t be beat. Sunset Magazine explores the varietals in its own backyard: cabernet sauvignon from Napa; pinot noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon; and California’s own old vine zinfandel from Sonoma. As a bonus, get a sneak peek at up-and-coming malbecs from all the way down in Argentina.

Is your wallet feeling a little light? You can still eat gourmet on a budget. No fancy pizza stone or time-consuming techniques necessary: all you need is some flatbread, tomato sauce, mozzarella, bacon, and a frying pan. This tutorial by the Brothers Green demonstrates how to make a bacon flatbread pizza that is both delicious and easy on your wallet.

Fondant is a great alternative to store-bought frosting. Although homemade fondant made from marshmallows can be sticky, messy, and time-consuming, it is not the only method available to yuo. With this marshmallow-free recipe from Eat Now, Cry Later, you can start decorating your cakes with fondant in no time.

Add some cheer and some cheers-ing to your garden party by serving champagne cocktails! Learn how to concoct this classy cocktail by combining sugar, bitters, and champagne. This video also teaches you how to peel a lemon in order to create a lemon twist that can be used to garnish this (or any) cocktail. Champagne cocktails are a great alternative to a mimosa at a tea party or special shower!

Travel to Korea with the delicious Soju cocktail - a refreshing mixed drink with citrus flavorings. It’s perfect for your next dinner party! Soju is a traditional Korean distilled alcohol typically made from rice and barley. The mixers include grapefruit yogurt drink, citrus soda, and sliced lemon or lime.

Want to bake a chocolate cake with the perfect moistness? Stay away from the store-bought mixes: this recipe by Renee GTV, when executed correctly, is guaranteed to give you that perfect moist and fluffy texture. Using several household ingredients—butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, buttermilk, and a few others—you can make some truly decadent chocolate cake.

Tired of baking a beautiful cake, only to be ruined by a rough layer of frosting? Especially if your frosting is too thick, it is all too common to see stray crumbs on an otherwise spotless cake. Fortunately, with just a square of paper towel, you can smooth out cake frosting easily. Whet your appetite and learn a cool, new kitchen trick with this tutorial by The Little Delights in Life.

Want to make your letter, poster, or craft a little spookier than usual? Why not use a correction or white-out pen to write on black paper? In this lesson, Drawing with Shoo Rayner shows you how you can use a correction pen and add a few spiky flicks at the tips of your letters to create this eerie look. Also learn how to draw a dancing skeleton to accompany your words, and how best to use the correction pen to apply pressure. Make a scary poster for a perfect and easy Halloween craft!

Make a sweet summer treat by covering cookies in a cream cheese frosting and adding fruits and berries! In this lesson, Simply Bakings teaches you a recipe that will allow you to unleash both your artistic skills and your tastebuds. Learn how to make the frosting that will let your fruit stick to your cookie-pizza, then get suggestions for the kind of refreshing fruits that make great toppings. This lesson includes a link for a recipe for sugar cookies that you can use as your pizza base.

Want to make a fun and colorful alcoholic drink? In this lesson, The Vegetarian Baker teaches you how to infuse Absolut Vodka with jelly beans, making the vodka colorful and sweet. Using mini vodka bottles and jelly beans, you can create a cheerful mini-fridge-sized drink with a kick. It's the perfect way to get a little of your inner child into your adult beverage!