There’s a NEW holiday tradition being added to St. Louis’s social calendar this year! “Holiday Magic” comes to America’s Center, December 4-6, and it promises to be an exciting and entertaining event for families and shoppers. Enjoy wood carving demonstrations and hands-on crafts, a dazzling light show with over 40,000 holiday lights choreographed to holiday music, and a full-scale indoor carnival.
And best of all . . . Walter Knoll Florist will be there with a special treat for children . . .

It’s gonna be great – we’ll have hundreds, maybe thousands of white poinsettias for kids to paint – as well as protective gear to keep their little outfits tidy – so come on down and get in the Christmas Spirit!

As we prepare and set up our booth for the big show we are also installing over 75 real live Christmas trees around the center-complete with lights!

And our booth will have lots of fully decorated trees and ideas as well as special “show” pricing – there will be ornaments and garland and wreaths and swags you can buy and take with you and we will also have on display our Holiday Arrangements (you may have seen them on our Holiday Unwrapped 2009 brochure we mailed out last week) – so come on down, bring the kids (and $5 of course-proceeds benefit Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club). Tell ‘em Di sent you!

Speaking of poinsettias – you know it’s an old wives tale about them being toxic, don’t you? Well, although we don’t recommend you eat them, they are NOT poisonous.

Here is a pic of a poinsettia painted by a 73-year old!

How about a blue or purple poinsettia?

Can’t get down to the Convention Center this weekend? Don’t despair – visit our garden center at California and LaSalle and see all our poinsettia varieties – here’s a sampling!

I’m ahead of the game this year – hoping to have dozens of knitted gifts to give –
Here are 5 hats I’ve made since mid August or so

Wacky Hats

I especially like these two, so if you see someone wearing something like this, ask them if Di made that hat!

Cool you say? No, very warm!

Please don’t ask me for the pattern! I figure them out as I go along or I copy a previous pattern from one I have made.

Are you perhaps not so nimble fingered and wondering about holiday gift giving? Walter Knoll Florist can solve that problem! Call us about our holiday corporate gift giving ideas! We’ll have beautiful poinsettias, wreaths (decorated and plain – live and everlasting) as well as a whole line up of holiday floral bouquets! After all, we’re Walter Knoll Florist, Your Personal Florist Since 1883 Call us at 314.352.7575 or toll free at 1-800-341-ROSE (7673) WKF.COM

Three Little Pigs

What could be better than salty buttery puff pastry wrapped around a little sausage or hot dog? These are easy to make, there will be very few left over and if there are leftovers, they reheat well.

Ingredients:
1 package Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets (thawed)
2 1-pound packages of mini hot dogs or cocktail sausages (Hillshire)
Grainy Mustard
Egg Wash (egg mixed with water to seal edges and paint tops

Drain the wieners well in a colander and dry them well with paper towels. As you are dying them, poke each one just enough to pierce the skin with a fork or several times with the point of a sharp knife.

Unfold and smooth out a sheet of thawed puff pastry on a lightly flowered surface (do not roll the dough thin or manipulate it much or it won’t puff as much as it should – keep second sheet wrapped until ready to use)

Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough

Divide the dough into 3 long strips then make 7 rectangles of each strip (use pizza cutter) and then cut the rectangles on an angle to form triangles.

Put a little grainy mustard in the center of each triangle then roll it around a dry weenie, sealing the point to the base of the triangle with a tiny brushing of egg wash.

Space about an inch apart - they will puff up

Space and inch or so apart on a parchment lined baking sheet, then lightly brush the tops lightly with egg wash.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for 20-22 minutes or until as brown as you like them. Remove from sheet pan to a paper towel laid over a cooling rack.

Serve hot with more mustard for dipping.

These reheat well at 325F for 8 or 10 minutes.

Hey! Who Stole A Weenie?

One package of two sheets of pastry makes about 100 – or 2 pounds of mini weenies.

A great party snack, they are good hot or at room temperature.

Speaking of Party! Are you ready for your New Year’s Festivities? 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s use of a telescope! So drink a toast to Galileo and the skies this December 31!

Galileo Galilei (surely a big fan of Pigs in Blankets!) Painting by Giusto Sustermans

Don’t forget to take or send ahead some flowers to your New Year’s Eve Party!

This tree is in the Lobby of the Metropolitan Square building in downtown St Louis (Located at 1 Metropolitan Square).  This year the tree has been transformed to tell the story of the history of St Louis. Included in the ornaments are 32 large, custom luminaries that were hand crafted by Walter Knoll Florist.  These luminaries show a pictorial history of St Louis.  The luminaries are made from Lexan, a clear polycarbonate that has been cast into tubes that then have historical images from St Louis’ past displayed with back-lit illumination.  Images featured include Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson,  Lewis and Clark, The 1904 Worlds Fair, Charles Lindbergh & the Spirit of St Louis,  the construction of the St Louis Arch and many other Saint Louis historic moments.

Standing at over 45 feet tall, this is the largest Indoor holiday tree in the St Louis area.

The Christmas tree in the lobby of the Metropolitan Square Building

This year we added a podium and a book with copies of the images and a description of each photo.

The Podium and Picture Book feature LED lighting

Some Close Ups of the Luminaries

Many of the images came from the Missouri History Museum and  several from the personal collection of Mark Allen from Anmar Photography.

If you are out looking at holiday decorations this season, it is worth your time to go by and see the biggest and best tree in St Louis. The Metropolitan Square Building tree is a great backdrop for a holiday photo.

This tree was assembled and decorated by Walter Knoll Florist and we manufactured many of the decorations as well.

If you would like to ask Walter Sr a question about the decorations click here.

Fields of Poinsettias

The Garden Center is a riot of color right now!  So many poinsettias!  If you are in the city, plan to make a trip to Florist Row and the Walter Knoll Florist Garden Center -

Red Pink Red

Close Up

Friendly Staff - ALWAYS!

Many Sizes

Traditional

RED RED RED

Pinks and Greens

Pink and White

Feathery Pinks!

Red and White

Beautiful Pinks

Green!

with Santa!

You can read about Pointsettia care and feeding or visit our web site wkf.com for more of our holiday selections

Walter Knoll Florist Holiday 2008 TV Spot.  See our Holiday Flower Selection. Click here to visit our web site for more information.  Click here to request a catalog to be mailed.

This spot is narrated by Walter III, Chuck and David Knoll, 5th generation of the Knoll family, It features Walter Knoll Florist’s Season’s Greetings Centerpiece, Let It Snow, Let It Snow . . .
and Gold & Rubies.

I can’t make pies without making extra crust to make these cookies and on special occasions I even make pie crust just for these cookies.

Make your favorite pie crust recipe; (my favorite is half lard and half butter for the fat) roll out disks approximately 8 inches in diameter. Paint with softened butter and then sprinkle heavily with cinnamon and sugar.

Cut the disk into 8 or 10 wedges (pizza cutter works great here) and roll the wedges up starting with the wide end.

Bake at 425 to 450 for 8 to 10 minutes until just browned – removed from cookie sheet immediately and cool on cooling racks – Don’t worry about how long they keep, because they’ll be gone as soon as they are cool! But if you do have some to store, they keep well in waxed paper in an airtight tin.

Tulips will be here for the upcoming holiday season! “Hello Myrtle” our flower buyer tells me we will have red, pink and white this year!