There's still 11 days until Christmas, and already our jeans aren't quite fitting. Holiday goodies have been coming in faster than the temps are dropping, and none of them qualify for Weight Watchers' points. In case you're going home for the holidays (or somewhere you need to be in your bathing suit) and you don't want to look like you put on the freshman 15, we have a crafty alternative to say no to those seasonal sweets. Enter Little Cupcake Bakeshop, a little slice of confectionary heaven—with two charming locations in Nolita and Bay Ridge—where everything is made from scratch using the freshest ingredients like whole Vermont butter, New Jersey eggs, and unbromated flour. While that sounds muy fattening, don't fret, LCB has teamed up with charity:water, offering "virtual cupcakes," for $2.75 or a virtual dozen for $33 at the register, with 100% of the proceeds going towards the fund to build fresh water wells. The project is fittingly entitled "Jingle Wells," with the goal of raising $5,000, the average sum of a water project that can serve 250 people in a community in Africa for over 20 years. Losing weight never felt so good...but we won't tell anyone if you buy a "real" one for yourself. Just one, mind!
Nolita: 30 Prince Street (at Mott Street); 212-941-9100; Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: 9102 3rd Avenue (at 92nd Street); 718-680-4465; If you don't live in NYC, you can contribute directly here.
Photos via Pamela Gontha.