( CNN ) -- When I was a little girl , my parents would take me every year to see `` The Nutcracker . '' I remember practically drooling in awe as the massive Christmas tree grew out of the stage until it towered over the audience , and hiding under my seat whenever that hideous , sword-wielding , gazillion-headed rat wobbled out onto the stage . Last year , I went to see it again , just for old times ' sake . The takeaway : The grown-ups in `` The Nutcracker 's '' day knew how to throw a hell of a party . It was all so pretty and elegant . Gorgeously clad ladies and top-hatted gentlemen arrived and immediately descended upon the champagne ; they danced and gave toasts , and sumptuous platters of fruit and glasses of mulled wine were toted about by equally well-clad servants . The kids made themselves scarce and played together with quaint wooden toys . Ah , the good old days . As far as I can tell , there 's no reason why we ca n't have that sort of cultivated , old-timey holiday rituals and flourishes today as well . What follows is a short list of such pleasures , just in time for Christmas and New Year 's festivities . After all , if you ca n't be nostalgic during the holidays , when can you ? Let 's bring back ... 1 . Champagne glass towers . A round pyramid of stacked coupe champagne glasses , in which champagne is poured into the top glass and trickles down to the lower tiers . Popular in the 1920s , such towers are gleaming monuments to pretty decadence . Can you think of a more spectacular way to ring in the New Year ? 2 . Winter picnics . A sublime way to spend a snowy afternoon . Bundle up , fill your wicker picnic hamper with white wine ( which you can chill just by sticking it in a snowbank ) , a thermos of soup , and sandwiches . Bring along a cheerful red wool plaid blanket to sit on -- and do n't forget your dog , who will love rooting around in the snow while you nestle and dine . 3 . Brown-paper-and-twine-wrapped packages . Fraulein Maria loved them in `` The Sound of Music , '' and so do I . They are a democratic approach to gift-wrapping -- and terribly mysterious as well . There could be anything inside , from a diamond necklace to a slab of fish . 4 . Bonbons . The perfect stocking stuffer for the glamorously indolent women in your life . While many types of candy today are described as `` bonbons , '' the cream-in-the-middle chocolate version of this confection used to be the symbol of lazy chicness : A lady of leisure would supposedly lie in bed all day and eat bonbons . In the popular imagination , these ladies were , of course , invariably clad in marabou-fringed dressing gowns . 5 . Homely Christmas trees . Lopsided ones with fat colored lights and homemade ornaments and popcorn strings . Matchy-matchy Martha Stewart trees with white lights and red plaid ribbons look constipated . 6 . Figgy pudding . If the lyrics of `` We Wish You a Merry Christmas '' are an accurate indicator , something about figgy pudding makes people quite bossy and demanding : . Oh , bring us some figgy pudding and a good cup of cheer -- We wo n't go until we get some , so bring some right here . Well , if it 's that good , maybe we should bring it back . 7 . Punch bowls . Punch bowls are the Lolitas of serving ware : Filled with pink party punch , they look dainty and sweet and innocent but portend all sorts of naughty behavior . They used to be the life of the party and deserve that honor once again . 8 . New Year 's Day parties . A lovely , optimistic alternative to the typical New Year 's Eve parties -- which are so often well-intentioned but disappointing . Set up a lovely buffet and open your doors at noon . Those who are nursing hangovers can stroll in later in the afternoon . 9 . Skating parties . Grab ten of your closest friends , a handful of brightly colored stocking caps , and head to a pretty frozen lake or outdoor skating rink . These once-popular diversions were often followed by a post-skating party supper as well . The 1966 edition of `` The New York Times Menu Cook Book '' recommends this endearing menu : . Hot Buttered Rum Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup Crusty French Bread Mixed Green Salad Cranberry Cheese Cupcakes . 10 . Bing Crosby . His voice used to be synonymous with Christmas , thanks to his rendition of `` White Christmas '' in the 1942 film `` Holiday Inn . '' The nostalgic , comforting tenor of the song strongly resonated with war-weary Americans and overseas soldiers ; Crosby 's `` White Christmas '' single eventually sold more than 50 million copies , making it one of the best-selling singles in the world , according to `` The Guinness Book of World Records . '' Happily , you can find Crosby 's Christmas recordings with the wonderful Andrews Sisters on iTunes -- although I maintain that they still sound best on scratchy old records .
She believes there needs to be more importance to the holidays . She suggests New Year 's Day parties and picnics in the snow . Wants to bring back candy and sugar pyramids .