Directly after the Thanksgiving hullaballoo, it’s time to start thinking about the next holiday. Sometimes, people begin thinking about it on Thanksgiving Day! Black Friday sales, anyone?

But you can make it easy on yourself and give your loved ones, work colleagues, little league coaches, etc. a gift they will remember and enjoy – steak!

Now, not only is this genius, it’s so, so easy on you. Just choose a cut of gift-boxed steaks and order them online. They can either be sent directly to you so you can present them in person or have them sent to your recipient’s address.

Easy peasy.

And I like my holidays to be easy peasy. Christmas in my house simply CANNOT be a time of stress. I don’t know about you but we’re blowing and going all year long to work, school, baseball, basketball and football games, school events, volunteer functions and a million social events (okay, those are for the kids, not the tired parents). So when holiday time rolls around, we like to just hang out and be together.

So here are 5 reasons to send your crew delicious, quality steaks for Christmas:

1. They’re tasty. Duh.
2. They’re unexpected. Not a tie. Not a mug. Steaks!
3. They’re packaged up really nice. Meaning, that part’s done for you – boom!
4. You can show them you’re really thinking about THEM by choosing their favorite cut. Mom likes filet mignon? That’s what she gets!
5. It’s so easy. (This one’s my favorite).

I’ve got enough stress all year long. I don’t want additional stress over the holidays.

That’s why I just choose the best steak cuts for each person, send it to them and tell them I appreciate them.

Everybody’s happy and I get to enjoy my holidays stress-free. Sounds like a winner to me!

It’s the perfect time to host a watch party!

Any excuse is a good one if it involves gathering friends and serving great food!

Cheer on your favorite teams as they find out who will go to the “Big Dance.” Have fun with your food selections by using a basketball theme.

Try serving steakburgers with cheese shaped like basketballs. And cupcakes are fun to easily decorate to mimic a basketball – they’re already round!

Anything ball-shaped can quickly fit into your hoops-themed party. Cake balls become basket-cake-balls. Cookies are easy to decorate. And so is pizza! Just use pepperonis to create the distinctive lines of the basketball.

Not feeling that creative? Serve your favorite foods (like steak) on basketball-themed plates and napkins. Your fans will be just as appreciative!

Happy hosting!

Not only is it basketball time, it’s BASEBALL time, too! I love this time of year!

Part of the experience of going to the ballpark to watch some baseball is the food, right?

Ya gotta get into the spirit of America’s pastime by eating a good ‘ol American hot dog.

BUT, some major league ballparks are taking their dogs, well, to the extreme.

Take Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve got The Beast (see above), a grilled bratwurst cut in half and stuffed with a HOT DOG, then wrapped in bacon and topped off with sauerkraut and grilled onions on a pretzel roll.

WOW. That took some real thought — and calories.

Click here to see more crazy hot dog concoctions. Would you eat all of these? Not in one sitting, of course.

Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Brewers via People.com.