As the holiday season approaches, NVD high school and local small businesses offer special drinks and foods to celebrate the season. Whether it is a cozy seasonal latte or freshly baked cookies, these limited time treats add an extra touch of magic. Students and teachers eagerly await the many traditional specials available each year.
A community favorite café, Humphreys Coffee, is known for its seasonal drinks. Some things they offer include a white chocolate peppermint mocha latte, a cranberry white chocolate macadamia latte, and a candy cane hot chocolate. Emma Karach, owner of Humphrey’s Coffee, explained how these delicious drinks are come up with.
“Now that we’ve been open for a few years, we bring back popular ones from previous years, and we look on social media to see what other places are doing. We really just play around and experiment with it,” Karach said.
Beyond drinks, many people find ways to incorporate their homemade treats during the season. Local food markets offer the ideal ingredients for anyone looking to perfect their holiday favorites. A teacher at NVD, Carrie Opderbeck, shared her love for baking over the holidays.
“We have a tradition of making homemade gingerbread cookies, it’s a very old recipe for making those cookies. Also, truth be told, I like eggnog. It is very good. And genuinely, I just like making a whole bunch of different cookies this time of year, it is like a cookie festival,” Opderbeck said.
She continues to talk about where she goes to shop for these ingredients.
“I just go to Shop Rite or a local food store in town, nothing special,” Opderbeck said.
With seasonal drinks and recipes in full swing, students at NVD are excited to share their favorite treats. Fall favorites are particularly popular this time of year. When asked what she looks forward to the most, sophomore at NVD, Maya Snir, had a clear favorite.
“I’m going to have to say the apple cider donuts are my favorite treat to have this season. I like them because I feel like they’re a limited type of donut. I feel like all the other flavors of donuts, such as chocolate, are available all the time. I feel like apple cider donuts are only available this time of year, so that’s why I get excited and go get those,” Snir said.
Humphreys’ staff also enjoyed sharing their personal favorites and drinks, along with some of the customers’ favorites. Claudia Martillo, a cafe employee, shared her picks.
“I usually like having the fall flavors, like the pumpkin latte or the maple latte,” Martillo said.
While Humphreys’ provides a wide range of foods and drinks, some items are consistent customer favorites.
“Most popular year round is the brown sugar latte or vanilla, but for this time of year, it’s the cookie butter latte or snicker doodle latte,” Karach said.
Advertising around this time plays a key role in promoting seasonal drinks. Social media posts and posters around town encourage locals to try new offerings, or just remind them of their classic seasonal favorites.
“I like to buy specials because buying these specials makes it feel more rare and limited time only, because also if I can make it, it means I can make it whenever, and that kinda defeats the purpose of these seasonal specials,” Snir said.
While some enjoy the exclusivity of seasonal items, others find joy in creating the treats at home.
“I like baking around this time of year because it brings comfort and joy to myself and connection to my family because we do it together, especially with my kids. It makes me very happy and I feel very comforted,” Opderbeck said.
