Bird? Plane? An apron?

The world of miracle fabrics gets a little bit bigger -- and greener --with Crypton, a blend of recycled and renewable fibers made via an environmentally responsible process. The resulting fabric is odor- and bacteria-resistant, with a built-in moisture barrier to keep grease and liquids from penetrating. A Michigan-based company that uses the fabric mostly for upholstery and pet beds now offers an apron that's washable and even disinfectable (when used with Crypton's EPA-approved disinfectant & deodorizer). The Doodle Dog apron comes in various colors and features artist William Wegman's signature dog doodle. It's $29 at www.cryptonfabric.com.

Go on, have an Affair

The holidays always ramp up party expectations, and a host's stress. On Nov. 7-8, the Affair seeks to come to the rescue. This broadened evolution of the Chocolate Extravaganza brings together Twin Cities experts on food, wines, cheeses, chocolates, table settings and much more. Members of the Strib's Taste and Home & Garden staffs will be on hand both days at the Star Tribune Taste Stage. At 10:45 a.m., editor Lee Svitak Dean talks about easy entertaining; 11:45 a.m., Kim Ode demos holiday cookies; at 1:45 p.m., Bill Ward shares how to pair food with the right wine, and at 4:45 p.m., H&G's Connie Nelson gives tips for a great holiday tabletop. For the full schedule, visit www.theaffairmpls.com.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Hall E of the Minneapolis Convention Center. Advance tickets are $25 ($30 at the door) at Kowalski's Markets, Panera Bread and Gaviidae Common, and the website.

A cookie tradition The annual Land O'Lakes cookie brochure is available for download at www.landolakes.com, or call 1-800-837-7702 through Dec. 30 to request a brochure (one per address) by leaving your name and address on the message line. This year's recipes are for pumpkin sandwich cookies, sweet 'n' salty snack mix, dark chocolate lava drops, gingerbread cookie bites and lemon shortbread trees.

Once they're baked Federal Express offers these tips for mailing cookies: Place in a sturdy container with wax paper between layers, filling gaps with crumpled wax paper. Tape on the lid so it won't pop off, then place in a sturdy cardboard box, using crumpled paper to cushion the container tightly in place. Put a card with contact information for you or the recipient on the container in case it gets separated from the box. FedEx suggests shipping before Dec. 17 for the best rates for a Christmas arrival.

A reading tradition The Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories program is in grocery aisles, offering free children's books inside 6 million boxes of Cheerios, while supplies last. For the first time, all five books are in both English and Spanish. And look for "Junkyard Fort," a new book in the popular "Trucktown" series by the quirky and beloved Jon Scieszka. In eight years, Cheerios has distributed more than 40 million books and donated $3.2 million to First Book, a nonprofit group that distributes books to children in low-income families.

KIM ODE