Holiday Must-Makes = Christmas Cake Pops

Though cake pops are still a relatively recent dessert craze, they’ve quickly become a staple sweet when it comes to birthdays, weddings and, naturally, the holidays. We teamed up with Michaels to create a batch of totally festive confections to bring to all your holiday parties. And with the right buckets, boxes and baskets you can create a fun display on your dessert table or give these cake pops as party-perfect hostess gifts. Cake pop points are clearly the new brownie points ;)

You can get everything you need to decorate and package these cake pops at Michaels, so be sure to make a trip before the holiday madness launches into full swing.

Ingredients for the pops:
– cake mix

– water, oil and eggs (as per your cake mix)

– 1 jar of frosting

– cake pop or lollipop sticks

Ingredients for decorating:
Wilton Color Mist (gold, red, white)

– Wilton Silver, White, Blue, Red and White Sprinkles

Wilton Decorating Bags

– Wilton Blue Candy Melts

– Wilton Red Candy Melts

Wilton Bright White Candy Melts

Wilton Gold, Silver, Red and Blue Pearl and Color Dust

– Wilton Edible Silver and Gold Stars

Materials for packaging:
– gold bucket

– white boxes

– red paper baskets/crates

glitter tape

paint pens

red crinkle paper

gift tags

floral foam (for standing up cake pops)

Instructions:

1. Bake cake according to package directions.

2. Let cool completely; crumble and mix thoroughly with a jar of frosting.

3. Roll dough into quarter-sized balls.

4. Melt a small amount of white candy melts. Dip ends of lollipop sticks in melts and then stick halfway into cake balls. Freeze for one hour.

5. Melt remaining candy melts and dip frozen balls in one at a time to cover completely. Dip pop in sprinkles or leave plain and stick pops into floral foam to dry.

6. Melt more candy melts and place in a pastry bag fitted with a small round attachment. Use candy melts and sprinkles to add creative designs to each pop. Go nuts!

7. Optional: Package them up as edible gifts, create creative displays on your dessert table using buckets, boxes and baskets.

Let’s get started!

Bake cake according to package directions. We went with a box of white cake mix with oil, eggs and water. You could easily try one of our skinny alternatives though.

Once your cake has baked and cooled completely, use a fork to crumble it up.

Then drop in an entire jar of frosting and mix thoroughly. Roll your new dough into quarter-sized balls.

Now, melt a small amount of white candy melts. Dip ends of lollipop sticks in melts and then stick halfway into cake balls.

Freeze your pops for one hour.

Now comes the fun part. Time to start decorating!

Start by dipping some of your pops in white candy melts.

Add icing, sprinkles, pearl dust and more.

Then melt another bowl of candy melts in any color you like. Put them in a piping bag and decorate your pops. When you’re using candy melts in a piping bag, you must act quickly or the melts will start to harden.

You can also dip the whole pop in your candy melts and add sprinkles.

Then, we went with a big blue bowl of candy melts to add a little wintery hue to this holiday scene.

Voila!

Now, time to package them up.

We used paint pens to write on this gold bucket. Then add floral foam to the bottom of the bucket and stick your cake pops into it. Top with crinkle paper to cover the foam, and your pops are ready to gift.

For this box we used washi tape to trick it out.

And for the basket we created Santa’s belly. How jolly is that?

To get everyone we know into the Christmas cake pop spirit, we invited our favorite makers, bloggers and friends to Brit HQ to make their very own cake pops.

Folks got super creative with their designs, and the Michaels team provided ample inspiration. So fun!

What are your favorite holiday desserts? What about edible gifts? Talk to us in the comments below.

Are you a small business owner looking for a good loan to grow your business? California Small Business Loan Match makes it easier to find the right loan for you. Loan Match pre-vets mission-driven lenders and matches you with the best lender for your business, at no-cost. Get started in less than 10 minutes with a brief pre-application and no credit check required!

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Photo by RDNE Stock project

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Check them out to help you grow your business, meeting our mission to help you succeed! Good luck!

Hero photo by Amina Filkins

Dearest gentle reader, if it were up to Lady Whistledown, the finest trend of the season would absolutely be the return of the cottagecore aesthetic. Bring on the floral dresses, ruching, and tulle because thanks to Bridgerton, we're glady welcoming cottagecore back into our current style rotation (if it ever left). Cottagecore has come and gone with the likes of period drama movies and TV shows á la Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey, and so many more. So whether you're frolicking in the English countryside, attending balls with Kings and Queens, or just simply catching up on Bridgerton season 3 from the comfort of your couch, we've got all the best dresses for the occasion that will have you looking like THE diamond of the season.

What is cottagecore?

Photo via House of CB

Cottagecore is an aesthetic or style that is inspired by "cottage living" — imagine the English countryside in the early 1900's. The clothing style is very reminiscent of a Jane Austen-inspired era with lots of feminine and flowy silhouettes. You'll notice the styles having corsets, ruffles, florals, and bows, so just think very effortlessly girly!

What are the best brands to shop for cottagecore aesthetic?

Photo via House of CB

The brands that immediately come to mind and encapsulate the "frolicking-in-the-english-countryside-while-waiting-for-your-star-crossed-lover" vibe are brands like Love Shack Fancy, House of CB, and Doen. I've personally shopped all of these and can attest that they are idyllic, gorgeous, and will have you feeling like the lead of a Bridgerton season in no time.

What should I watch to get inspired by the cottagecore aesthetic?

Photo via Netflix

Period dramas are perfect to get into this vibe, and some shows and films that I love to watch are Little Women, Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Bridgerton(obvi), and anything from the Jane Austen-era! When you watch all of these shows, you'll get so much inspiration from the way they dress and styles they're wearing. I also love scrolling Pinterest to find inpso for what to wear in order to achieve this aesthetic!

Shop Cottagecore Aesthetic Staples Here!

LoveShackFancy Floral Dress

LoveShackFancy is a brand that does cottage-core SO well! They completely nail the ruffles, florals, and femininity that we're looking for in order to achieve the cottage-core look. This mini is adorable with the ruffles and short silhouette!

Melloday Smock Dress

Anything smock will definititely help you achieve cottage-core style and this smocked dress is such a cute one! I love the length and material of this one, as well as the strings on the sleeves! Such a fun detail!

Reformation Tagliatelle Linen Dress

How could you think of cottage-core and have your mind not go immediately towards the cool-girl brand of Reformation. They are the brand to shop at for any linen pieces to achieve your cottage-core style. Plus, you can never go wrong with a simple white dress! It's definitely a staple in every wardrobe.

House of CB Rafaella Dress

This dress just screams femininity and grace; exactly what we need for this Bridgerton-inpsired aesthetic! To be honest, this dress looks like it was taken right from a diamond of the season's wardrobe! Adding this to cart now!

Free People Feeling Bonita Smock Dress

Free People is a brand that does cottage core so well but in a more understated and casual way. Like this dress above, it exudes the cottage lifestyle but more casual than you may see on shows like Bridgerton or Downton Abbey. You'll definitely get so much wear out of this staple dress!

House of CB Emmelina Poplin Dress

I have this dress after trying it on in store and falling in looove with it immediately! It's stunning quality and tulle skirt will have you feeling like a princess! Just a note-- it runs quite small so make sure to adjust your sizing to a size bigger than normal!

Abercrombie Emerson Mini

This pattern just screams English countryside to me with the beautiful vintage colors and silhouette. I would definitely pick up this one to achieve the cottage-core style on a budget!

Charles Henry Bustier Maxi

Another affordable option to achieve the same look as the House of CB dress! It checks all the right boxes: floral, bustier, maxi, and so cute! We love this one!

Reformation Cherise Linen Dress

This dress is quintessential cottage-core, Bridgerton vibes to me! It looks so dainty and regal with it being a maxi and having the most adorable puff-sleeves and bow detailing. I say add a pair of white mary-jane flats and big white bow in your hair to top off the whole look!

All In Favor Midi Dress

At only $64, you're going to want to sprint to checkout on this dress that looks like it was taken right from my Pinterest board! I love how simple it is and the blue color is perfectly on brand for our theme as well. Plus, I love a corset moment!

House of CB Petticoat Dress

Petticoat dress? Say no more, we have found the most perfect cottage-core dress ever, readers! This dress would have Lady Whistledown, herself, wanting to know where it's from!

Abercrombie Puff Sleeve Dress

Lastly, a puff sleeve dress from our favorite and affordable Abercrombie because you can truly never go wrong with anything linen or puff-sleeved. I love this one with mary-janes like above or even with a pair of white pumps to dress it up!

Looking for more awesome picks? Sign up for our shopping newsletter, and be sure to check out our Amazon storefront for more editor-approved products!

Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.

Lead image via Netflix.

Mallory Levy leads a busy creative life in NYC as head of social for Brit+Co. She wrapped 2023 with a dreamy forest wedding and bucket-list honeymoon to Australia and is back to work creating clever and often hilarious posts for our Brit + Co followers, from snappy recipe Reels to inspiring quotes to celebrity interviews and more. Where does she get her inspiration to bring you the best social content?

“I’m lucky to be within walking distance of world-class museums, theater, and cool events, like fashion week. The inspiration is endless!” she says. “Social media can get overwhelming at times, but I often come away feeling more inspired than anything else. It’s a great way to connect with other creators and find new inspiration, which fuels my creativity to deliver fresh, engaging social media content every day.”

Mallory’s secret to bringing her inspiration to life? She uses Adobe Express, the all-in-one AI content creation app, to ideate and design colorful and engaging content on-the-go. “The features on the all-new Adobe Express mobile app make editing and collaborating on projects easier than ever!” she says. “Because we’re a remote team, I’m very rarely at my desk, so being able to ideate and create, or make adjustments, when I’m out and about is truly game-changing.”

Adobe Express makes designing easy and fast for anyone – even if you’re not a pro – with thousands of beautiful, professionally designed templates and a massive selection of assets for your Instagram and TikTok content, flyers, logos, and more. Plus, Adobe’s Firefly generative AI technology, which allows you to create the perfect image, edit with ease, and generate and customize amazing text effects with styles or textures that really stand out. All these features are now available on the mobile app.

In this fresh, new Reel, Mallory shares a day in her colorful life as she creates standout visual assets for Brit+Co’s social channels using the generative AI features in the new Adobe Express mobile app. Check it out below!

What a fun, creative job, right? “My day-to-day is genuinely such a blast. I love having the creative freedom to run with my ideas and infuse some of my own humor and pop into our content,” says Mallory. “Most of my friends and family don’t believe that this is what I get to do every day!”

Looking to improve your social content game? Here are tips for saving time and making an impact on social media for your work, side hustle, or to build your personal brand.

1. Engage with your audience: Engaging your audience with content that resonates can lead to higher reach and visibility. Thanks to Mallory’s constant performance monitoring, we know our B+C follower loves to treat herself and her besties, she’s super creative, indulges in celebrity news (especially nostalgia TV), and gets joy from entertaining, travel, food, and decor. Knowing this, Mallory creates fun, interactive posts like polls and quizzes, and always keeps our content fresh and interesting using the massive library of fonts, photos, and design assets in Adobe Express.

“I’m always out and about filming fun content for TikTok and our other video platforms,” says Mallory. “Adobe Express makes it so easy to add clips, music, and captions (and record voiceovers!) so I can edit it all together in real time.”

2. Generate anything you can imagine: AI has become a powerful tool for content creators, helping them enhance their creative work and simplify tasks. Leveraging the right AI tools can help you work and create high-performing content faster! The new Adobe Express mobile app is packed with AI goodness that makes complicated tasks simple. For example, speech to animation lets anyone easily animate extraordinary characters using their own voice. Adobe’s Firefly generative AI, which is designed to be safe for commercial use, helps creators ideate, generate, and edit stunning images and turn text and headlines into attention-grabbing designs – all on-the-go and in just a few taps. And the Adobe Express Generative Fill feature even lets you insert, remove, or replace people, objects, backgrounds and more with just a description.

“The AI tools are fantastic,” says Mallory. “Even the most obscure ask in the Text-to-Image feature will yield dozens of options. My favorite hack is to include “hand drawn” or “illustrated” in the prompt box to get a more authentic/stylized result.”

3. Embrace trends: Hopping on social trends quickly can boost your visibility and relevance. Constant collaboration ensures our team is on top of what people are talking about – and Mallory takes that to social media to make sure our POV is part of the conversation. The ever-changing nature of marketing and social media can make it hard to keep up! With the Adobe Express TikTok Creative Assistant tool on the desktop version, you can easily ideate and search what’s trending, so you’re in-the-know and able to reach more followers and stand out with your creative take on the latest trends. Then head to the mobile app to quickly schedule or post the content directly to your necessary social platforms! More on that below.

4. Keep it short and sweet: Attention spans on social are short, so it's best to keep your content concise and to the point. Use clear and concise language and don’t be too fussy (sound like the real person you are!). Break things up with text with photos, emojis, and bullet points to make your content more scannable.

5. Create a consistent visual style: While our audience can have slight nuances across our social channels, Mallory makes sure our content is instantly recognizable. Using tools like brand kits in Adobe Express (shown below) can help you easily stay consistent and on brand, easily saving and applying colors, fonts, filters, and imagery to any asset to create a cohesive look and feel across assets – and in a fraction of the time.

6. Repurpose content: Repurposing our top-performing content into different formats or for different platforms helps stretch the impact of a post and helps us test performance. Sometimes a post that didn’t perform well in the past kills months later!

7. Schedule ahead: In today’s on-demand world, consistency is key to keeping your social audience engaged. Develop a content calendar and schedule posts in advance to ensure a steady stream of content. With easy-to-use tools like the Adobe Express Content Scheduler, you can quickly plan, preview, schedule, and publish in a few clicks to all your social media channels and on-the-go.

8. Leverage data: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your social media content and identify trends, patterns, and audience preferences. Analyzing data can help you achieve a successful content strategy and focus on creating content that inspires, delights, and keeps your audience coming back for more!

Download the all-newAdobe Express mobile app today to try out all the innovative and fun features, including Adobe Firefly generative AI—a one-stop shop for all your content needs!

Video Direction & Editing by Mallory Levy.

Out of all of this May's movies (and all the 2024 movies, TBH) there's one I'm most excited for: The Fall Guy starring Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling! I haven't seen a big, silly action movie in so long and they always prove to be the perfect summer movies because they match the energy we all have when we're this close to sunny bathing suit weather.

The Fall Guy 2024 is absolutely a movie made by movie lovers, for movie lovers. It's also director David Leitch's "love letter" to the stunt community, and gives them the celebration they deserve! While the Emmys have a stunt category, the Oscars don't, and Emily and Ryan actually brought it up while presenting at the 2024 Oscars. "The Academy's history runs deep with the fearless work of the incredible artisans of the stunt community," Ryan said in a voiceover during the show. "Stunt performers and the action they design continue to create some of the most memorable moments in the history of cinema."

While The Fall Guy cast got me into the theater, the movie had plenty of unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Here's everything you need to know about the movie before you see it this weekend.

What's The Fall Guy 2024 film about?

Image via Universal Pictures

The Fall Guy follows Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), who disappears from Hollywood after a stunt gone wrong. When the lead of his ex's (Emily Blunt) movie goes missing, derailing the film, Colt jumps back into action to find him and save the movie — and, hopefully, get the love of his life back too.

While it definitely has plenty of explosions, fights, and stunts, The Fall Guy 2024 is just as much a rom-com as it is an action movie! Emily and Ryan have such great chemistry, and their characters are goofy, hilarious, and lovable. There's the classic miscommunication we see in all our favorite rom-coms, and the two of them continually watch out for each other in a really sweet way. They complement each other so well and I NEED to see them in another movie ASAP!

How to watch Fall Guy movie 2024?

Image via Universal Pictures

The Fall Guy hits theaters May 3, 2024. It's a great movie to see with all your friends, or for date night (either with your partner or on a solo date).

Who's in The Fall Guy cast?

Image via Universal Pictures

The Fall Guy cast is crazy good — alongside Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, we'll see Stephanie Hsu, Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

What is The Fall Guy 2024 film based on?

Image via Universal Pictures

While a lot of movies are based on books, The Fall Guy 2024 is actually based on a TV show. The series, which debuted in 1981, follows a stunt man named Colt who's also working as a bounty hunter. The show takes an opposite approach to the story (with Colt working as a bounty hunter instead of basically fighting them like Ryan does) and now I absolutely have to watch it.

Where can I watch all 5 seasons of The Fall Guy TV series?

Image via Universal Pictures

You can rent episodes from The Fall Guy on Apple TV and Prime Video. The TV show stars Lee Majors as Colt and Heather Thomas as Emily Blunt's character Jody.

What other spring and summer movies are you excited to watch this year? Ride the Ryan Gosling hype, and check out Ryan Gosling Supports Eva Mendes "In All The Ways," And It Makes Us Love Him Even More!

Lead image via Universal Pictures

Last season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we all speculated that Kyle Richards swapped one Mo for another given her separation from Mauricio Umansky and budding friendship with Morgan Wade. While Richards was tight lipped throughout each episode, we learned a lot more from Buying Beverly Hills and tabloids alike, featuring more definitive timelines and theories about what was really going on at home with the Richards-Umansky family. Now, with Mauricio reportedly fully moved out and Morgan allegedly out of the picture, what's left for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 14? Here's a breakdown of everything we know, from returning cast members, remaining couples, and more.

Who's returning to "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" for season 14?

Images via Bravo

There aren't any official announcements about the returning cast yet, but there are plenty of stories out there about who's not returning — and who's potentially getting demoted!

First up is Dorit Kemsley. Dorit's been on the show a while now, gabbing and girling with Kyle Richard throughout the latter half of the show's history — but there's been a wrench in that relationship ever since Kyle befriended Morgan Wade. And now, The Daily Mail exclusively reported that Dorit may even get demoted to "friend of the show" after not being fully truthful about the state of her relationship with husband PK Kemsley. Kyle Richards "dismissed" these reports, but we'll have to see about that. Fingers crossed she and Kyle can mend things...and that she and the producers can as well!

Next, we've gotta address Anne Marie Wiley. Anne Marie was let go from the show after just one season — where we can't help but giggle at the journey from calling herself a literal doctor to finally addressing that she's actually a nurse — and is allegedly okay with it. She told Peoplethat she's "in a great space" since then, so...good for you, girl! Just maybe don't obsess over someone's esophagus in your next foray into the film and TV world.

A regular for the last three season, Crystal Kung Minkoff is also not returning to the RHOBH world, according to Deadline. She noted on Instagram how heavy it was to carry "the weight" of being the first — and only — Asian American woman to join the RHOBH cast. Her presence and thoughtful opinions will definitely be missed!

For now, we can only assume that Kyle Richards, Garcelle Beauvais, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, and Sutton Stracke will make a return, but only time — and tabloids — will tell!

Will any new cast members join "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" season 14?

Image via NBC

Apparently Melanie Griffith, known for starring in projects like Working Girl, is joining the RHOBH crew for season 14, according to In Touch Weekly! She's a long-time friend to Kyle Richards, and I think that'll add a great dynamic...especially given how rocky things got between Kyle and Dorit last year. The girl needs friends now more than ever!

One of the sillier rumored cast situations is that Chelsea Handler was joining the show. The hilarious comedian quickly shut that down, however.

A person we don't think will ever return as a main cast member, friend, or otherwise? Miss upside down jacket herself, Denise Richards. 🤭

Who's still a couple on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" right now?

Image via Netflix

That's a very, very good question! Kyle and Mauricio are definitely broken up, and seemingly for good. The only other remaining couple is Dorit and PK, and well...according to The Daily Mail, PK's living in the Beverly Hills Hotel at the moment. It's not looking great for them, but we're hoping for the best!

When will "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" season 14 air?

Image via Bravo

There's no set air date for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 14, but I'd have to guess that we'll see these ladies (and whoever else joins them) by sometime in 2025.

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