“Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.” --Richard C. Cushing

AND thus warned the cardinal who served as archbishop of Boston for 26 years and whose friendship with the Kennedys made him equally famous. Talking about appearances, he was also famous for saying: “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”

Indeed, planning for the holiday season on where to go for vacation, how to spend bonuses wisely and, generally, what to do with one’s life can be so tedious, it can make a duck out of us, or something to that effect.

Planning should be done calmly and wisely, like in a comfortable couch in our favorite outlet of Starbucks café. The good news is: the onset of the Christmas holidays means the return of Starbucks Christmas blend, beverages and the most-awaited planner for 2008.

Beyond the blend

ABOUT 24 years ago, Starbucks coffee aficionados created a blend that would fit the Christmas season. The result was a combination of roasted beans from Latin America, Asia-Pacific and Indonesia (where beans were aged for three to five years).

The idea was to create “deep, spicy notes” that will go with the nuttiness of Christmas. It’s been two decades since the Christmas Blend, also available in decaf, has been made available to the public. Now it comes in half-pound bags, just perfect gifts for friends and family.

It is best partnered with  Starbucks desserts like the Holiday Spice Loaf Cake, a sweet and spicy ginger loaf topped with sweet cream cheese or honey butter-cream icing and shavings of candied ginger. Another is the Red Berry Bliss Bar, which is rich in butter, with a chewy texture and hits of ginger and orange. There’s also the Toffee Nut Muffin and Peppermint Brownie.

All this can be bought individually or in a box, perfect for Christmas exchange gifts or gatherings. They are available only during the holiday season.

Wholesome beverages for the holidays

AND then there’s the Starbucks Christmas beverages.

First is the Toffee Nut Latte, a buttery mix of sweet toffee with flavors of toasted nuts, smooth espresso and steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and  toffee sprinkles. Second is the Peppermint Mocha, which combines chocolate, espresso and creamy steamed milk with peppermint. 

Our favorite Café Mocha is at its best with whipped cream and red sugar sprinkles, now matched with a Christmas candy-cane twist. Then there’s Praline Mocha, which reminds us of premium truffles but comes as a smooth espresso with creamy steamed milk and rich dark chocolate, flavored with hazelnuts and topped with whipped cream and swirls of chocolate.

All these are available in hot, iced and Frappuccino blended beverage variants.

Planning for 2008

ON its fourth year, the much-anticipated planner returns in Starbucks’ 121 stores nationwide.

Like in the past, for every planner redeemed, Starbucks will make a donation in the customer’s name to Sparkhope. It is Starbucks’ joint project with Unicef that supports day-care centers in selected communities all over the country.

The partnership has helped enhance existing preschools previously in a state of neglect. There were repairs made for leaking roofs and infrastructure of learning centers. There were also constructions of new day-care centers. Children were given visual aids, school supplies, books and playground facilities.

Sparkhope has also helped teachers, parents and caregivers by giving them free training on the basics of Early Childhood Care & Development. For parents, the training makes them realize that it’s important for their children to be interested in studying, especially in the formative years.

The promo cards have been available since November 6 and can be completed until the first week of January. The leather-covered planner can be redeemed by completing the required number of stickers on the promo card.

Drinking coffee and helping people at the same time? Now, where else in the world can you find such an offering?

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Helping people while drinking coffee

AND thus warned the cardinal who served as archbishop of Boston for 26 years and whose friendship with the Kennedys made him equally famous. Talking about appearances, he was also famous for saying: “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”

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