How many of ye get a day dedicated entirely for thine birthday? Three days hence, William Shakespeare’s day of birth, April 23, hast officially been named “Talk Like Shakespeare Day”, and mayhap ‘tis why thou mayest struggle understanding this eloquent blog.
Faith, this very blog ‘tis written in Shakespeare Speak in honor of this auspicious event. In sooth, e’en before I apprenticed at DQ® ‘twas a tradition to partake in DQ Cakes on all happy celebrations. Why, e’en better, thou might tryest a Blizzard® cake!
Indeed, I urge all honey-tongued gentlemen and gentlewomen partake in “Talk Like Shakespeare Day.” Prithee, do also have your scribe announce thy favorite happy celebrations here, so that all mayest consider the delights!
Posted by Beth Carlson under Uncategorized on February 14th, 2011
To quote a Facebook friend, “How annoying, I still believe in love.” I’m not sure what inspired this quote, perhaps the influx of peanut butter hearts (nom nom nom), pink and red balloons or sparkly, cherub-filled cards flitting around that had my friend down, but not out. Valentine’s Day has turned into so much more than a mooshy, kissy-face lovey-dovey couples’ holiday. Now I see cards for aunts and uncles, from the dog or cat, to the mail man and grocer. Love knows no bounds! (said by Truman Capote, or someone else depending on the Google link you choose).
One tradition I had with my friends while I was still on the singles scene was a heart-shaped DQ® Cake. No, I will not get out of town! I’m being dead serious. For years I was the 3rd, 5th, or 7th wheel. Want to know what? I didn’t care, I grabbed my cake and headed out and was always the most popular person of the party. While this may sound like bribery, I figure it follows suit with most commercialized holidays: trick or treat (sounds like kids are being bribed with candy to not trick adults)? Cookies for Santa? I would have been ashamed if I didn’t use this holiday to my benefit!
A DQ store in Canal Park in Duluth, MN, gives away a rose with each cake. Genius? Yep. They call it one-stop shopping.
This Valentine’s Day, believe in love, believe in yourself, and believe in the DQ system. Check with your local store and get your Valentine’s cake pre-ordered today!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of our favorite Valentines!
A DQ® Cake can be the perfect dessert for a variety of events, holidays and occasions. Recently, one DQ customer wrote to the corporate offices to tell us about a special cake purchase for her son-in-law’s birthday. She had gone with her husband to a store, had an employee write, “Happy Birthday John” on the cake, and then traveled a short distance to their daughter’s house.
That’s when the trouble began. The mother-in-law, to save time while her husband was driving, had taken the cover off the cake in order to place candles on it. However, when she stepped out of the car at their destination, she lost her balance and ended up slamming the cake against the side of the car! It was ruined.
They went back to the DQ restaurant and explained the dreadful situation. To their surprise and delight, the manager gave them a second cake at no extra charge. The disaster was turned around, and the DQ system earned some customers for life.
Who knew February 2010 would be so exciting! We start the month off with the Super Bowl, there’s the start of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and then we’re off to Valentine’s Day. That’s just the first half of the month and lots of opportunities for parties!
I don’t know about you, but up here in Minnesota we were TOTALLY excited about the Super Bowl possibilities for our Vikings, only to have our hearts broken last week. Still, the Super Bowl is a lot of fun and always an opportunity for a party. At the minimum it is a game-and-commercial-watching-snack-fest! Even those of us who aren’t football crazy can enjoy this game. If not, it’s always a great time to go shopping. Do your part for the economy! The malls and department stores can be pretty quiet during games like this.
Now, the opening ceremonies for the Olympics on Friday, Feb. 12, may not be top-of-mind when considering reasons for parties. But consider the following: the opening ceremonies for the Olympics become more and more spectacular with each Olympics, and more and more folks have fabulous HD-TVs. I’ll bet the opening ceremonies will be absolutely spectacular in HD! If you have an HD-TV, have a party, invite your friends!
I admit, Valentine’s Day can be tricky depending on the status of your current romance. With a little creativity, however, it can be a fun time for anyone: there is the traditional quiet and romantic time with your sweetheart, a party with several couples could be a fun way to celebrate, and have you ever considered having a “Who Needs ‘Em Anyway” party? Everyone loves chocolate and desserts… mmmmm!
With all this party planning you might need a hand with your snacks and treats. Shameless plug, I know, and at the same time, your local DQ® stores and restaurants have yummy novelties — Dilly® Bars in a variety of flavors, Buster Bars®, StarKiss® Bars, DQ Sandwiches, and even no-sugar added bars for your guests who are really watching their figures. Perhaps you and your guests would prefer a DQ Cake or a Blizzard® cake festively decorated for the occasion. A decoration and dessert all in one!
To celebrate Canada Day on July 1, employees at the DQ® Canada corporate office came up with a huge idea—to build the nation’s largest cake. The massive soft-serve cake weighed in at 1,540 pounds and was made of 120 gallons of vanilla and chocolate soft serve, 264 pounds of chocolate crunch, 20 gallons of cold chocolate fudge and 14 gallons of vanilla icing! The cake was made on eight tables and was eight by ten feet in size. A total of 128 sheet cakes and 46 eight-inch round cakes were used to complete the record-breaking DQ Cake.
Planning for this gigantic cake began back in March and nearly 30 people helped out in making this feat possible. For five hours the day before, volunteers worked in a -25 degree Celsius warehouse to make the cakes. When they were finished, the product was loaded into a freezer truck and transported to a park the next day. It even arrived with a police escort!
Once at the park, it took 30 minutes to reassemble and ice the cake. Then it took another 20 minutes to serve it to the more than 600 people who showed up on that rainy day. It was sliced into 3,500 pieces and all leftovers were donated to The Salvation Army and a homeless shelter. Now what are they going to come up with for next year?
I don’t know what the traditions are like in your area for graduation parties, but here we live, they are a Very. Big. Deal. Garages, yards and homes are decorated with balloons, streamers, memorabilia and photos… and everyone puts on quite a spread. Sometimes there are food themes like “make your own taco” bars, or catered Mexican or Chinese food, other times wonderful sandwiches like sloppy joes, pulled pork or barbecue beef. I think this is all a conspiracy started by hungry teenage boys. The crowd of students moves from one party to the next – all coordinating their travels – and eating everything in sight!
My husband and I consider the graduation parties we’ve thrown to be practice for planning a wedding. And just like at a wedding, the pièce de résistance–the centerpiece of the table–is the all-important graduation cake. Always iced in the school colors, lately the cakes have also featured photographs of the students. They look terrific! Many of our DQ® restaurants can scan photos for you; just ask when you stop by to place your order. The most delightful cakes I’ve seen created with photos use “before and after” pictures of the Graduate – a baby photo and the senior portrait.
Let’s not forget the convenience either! With all you have to worry about with preparing for a graduation party, a beautifully decorated DQ cake will be ready for you when you need it and requires no effort. DQ cakes are the perfect cool ending to a party that will create wonderful memories for your Graduate!
Do you have a graduation this year? What are the traditions in your area?
I love Easter. I love everything about it. I remember getting up early to attend a sunrise service at church (outside of course!) and afterward enjoying fellowship in the church basement for a pancake breakfast. Lots of wonderful memories: decorating eggs, new Easter outfits, going to church, Easter Egg Hunts, dressing up (or not), and most of all celebrating with family.
Our family tradition now includes a huge meal with dear friends as we all happen to live far away from the rest of our families. Lots of work, lots of people, lots of food and lots of fun.
Of course we must have dessert, not just delicious, but beautiful as well. I find that sometimes time runs short when preparing for any holiday gathering and purchasing a dessert often fits the bill of delicious, easy, and beautiful. Then I can fuss over the rest of the meal and still enjoy the finale.
Our family has enjoyed beautifully decorated DQ® Cakes and Blizzard® Cakes from our local Dairy Queen® restaurant for all kinds of occasions. The cake decorator at our local DQ restaurant is so talented and the freezer is always filled with cakes that can meet the needs of any holiday or occasion. I can also special order a cake decorated just for us so that it is perfect for our party.
What are your family’s traditions this time of year?
