There's New Royalty In Town, Marie Louise Ludwig Crowned Taste of Home's Mrs. Holiday

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The search for America's Mrs. Holiday is over! Marie Louise Ludwig of Phoenixville, PA has claimed the Mrs. Holiday crown, which she earned with a winning combination of sparkly holiday spirit, enthusiasm and her signature Holiday Snow Globe Cake. In addition, Marie Louise will take home a $50,000 prize, which will no doubt contribute to some top-notch Christmas decorations.

Befitting her title, Mrs. Holiday likes to bring a little holiday spirit to every day of the week, especially when her friends and family need some holiday cheer in their lives. In fact, she keeps her fully decorated Christmas tree up all year round. "Every day should feel like Christmas," says Marie Louise Ludwig, "I like to keep the spirit of Christmas going all year."

To help spread her award-winning holiday joy, Mrs. Holiday loves to prepare her now famous Coconut Raspberry cake, inspired by a cake that her grandmother used to bake. The decorations on the cake change depending on the occasion, and for Christmas, Marie Louise makes a Holiday Snow Globe Cake, complete with frosted Christmas trees and snowmen.

"We are excited to have Marie Louise Ludwig as our new Mrs. Holiday," says Catherine Cassidy, Taste of Home's editor in chief. "Her endless holiday spirit and energy exemplifies exactly what this pageant seeks to promote."  Mary Louise and her signature Holiday Snow Globe Cake are featured in the December/January issue of Taste of Home magazine.

The Mrs. Holiday contest was conducted by Taste of Home magazine, and sponsored by Imperial Sugar and Dixie Crystals. There are more than 65 million fans of the magazine, its iPad edition, website, books and special interest publications. Readers count on Taste of Home to be their go-to recipe resource for the holidays and all year. Website traffic at TasteofHome.com increases by 25%-40% before every holiday, for example.

Unlike pageants such as Miss America, consumers and Taste of Home readers played a role in picking Mrs. Holiday. Voting occurred from June 4^th to September 7^th at facebook.com/TasteofHome. Mrs. Holiday was selected by the Taste of Home editors from among the top 100 most popular votes by a panel of experts. The Popular Vote winner was Brittany Allyn of Nashville, TN whose Pinecone Cheese Ball garnered the most social media votes.

As Mrs. Holiday, Marie Louise will support Taste of Home in its prominent position as a go-to digital and print source of holiday recipes, tips and tricks.  Her features in the magazine, on tasteofhome.com and across social media channels will help the active community of home cooks celebrate and make the holidays more personal throughout the year.

About Taste of Home
Taste of Home is the leading multi-platform producer of information on food, cooking and entertaining, serving home cooks engaging media that capture the joy and comfort received from food made with love. The world's largest circulation food publication, Taste of Home magazine has a circulation of 3.2 million. The brand also features Simple & Delicious magazine, which is published bimonthly; best-selling bookazines; newsstand specials; and popular cookbooks. The Taste of Home Cooking Schools attract more than 300,000 attendees annually. Tasteofhome.com is a top destination for engaging audiences with kitchen-tested recipes, how-to techniques, cooking videos and lively community forums. Learn more at tasteofhome.com. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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SOURCE Taste of Home