The queen of entertaining is skipping Christmasand replacing eggnog with Tasmanian sparkling wine.
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Martha Stewart
Credit: Patrick McMullan / Getty Images

If the pandemic taught us anything, it's that experiences can trump physical gifts. Sure, we all found joy inonline shoppingduring lockdown, but what we really craved was strolling the streets ofParis, or sitting at a chef's table eating dishes we didn't make ourselves.

In a recent Groupon survey, 64% of participants said they're more likely to remember a gift involving an experience as opposed to a physical item. So, in Cyber Monday-like fashion, Groupon is throwing its first-everGroupon Dayon Dec. 17, just in time for last-minute holiday shopping. In addition to experiences like winery tours and skydiving, the big-ticket item we're most excited about is a private, hour-long virtual cooking class withMartha Stewart, who will share some of her favorite recipes.

斯图尔特告诉Food & Wineit's up to the winners to decide what recipes she'll be making. A private session with Martha where we can make requests? It seems too good to be true. (And, yet, it is.)

This holiday season, the queen of entertaining will be celebrating a bit unconventionally. She's about to embark on a three-week cruise to Antarctica with her daughter and grandchildren. Normally, Stewart indulges ineggnogaround Christmas, but "there probably won't be too much eggnog on the ship," she jokes. As for what she'll be eating and drinking this holiday season, she responded, "Who knows what will happen." But with Stewart on board, we're sure that even at the edge of the earth, where she can't use herfarm-fresh eggsor garden-grown ingredients, the ship will have a spread making us all wish we were skipping the holidays this season.

Since most of us will be home, Stewart shared a great tip to share on last-minute hosting. "Entertainingis not so difficult if you have a few things on hand," she told me. "If you just want to do drinks and hors d'oeuvres even as close as the day of the event, you just need to get different crackers and olives, make sure you have spreads, charcuterie, and an assortment of great cheeses, and you'll make a gorgeous cheese board. I did one last night in a cooking class."

Stewart says she prefers white wines—particularly from Burgundy—and is launching her own in January (but that's all she could share for now). And while she typically sips Champagne on New Year's Eve, she's currently excited about the sparkling wines coming out of Tasmania, which she says are "something to watch out for."