Traditions

We have certain traditions throughout the year. They're helpful for children to remember the "special-ness" of the occasion. Some of the traditions include food, and yet some traditions are not edible. We definitely have turkey at Thanksgiving. But at Christmas time, we don't always eat the same meat each year. Our Christmas traditions include our Advent calendar, which is a house with drawers. In each drawer are a couple of pieces of candy along with a Bible verse pointing us to the birth of Christ. We have a bag of gifts too. A different child each day gets to stick his hand into the bag and pull out a small Advent gift. As the children got older, we knocked them off the list and included only the younger ones. We usually have an Advent wreath complete with the four candles, one lit with each new Sunday in Advent. But back to the food issue. I do try to bake some special things that I don't normally bake during the year. This year, though, I'm fighting the gooey green Christmas Holly cookies. I love to eat the gooey mess, but I don't really like to fix them. They are SO sticky! I got a cookie press, so this year we did lots of "spritzer" cookies. I baked tons of Cheese Krispies for a Christmas party. Early next week, I will bake the traditional Red Velvet Jesus Birthday Cake. I buy those icky Christmas mint nougat candies and leave them in a pretty crystal bowl on a side table.

Our big Christmas meal is usually on Christmas Eve. This is a tradition that my mother started, and I really like it. Most of my cooking work is done, and then on Christmas Day, I can sit back and enjoy the leftovers, the presents, the people, etc. However, we do have one more meal tradition on Christmas Day. Our Christmas morning brunch. Christmas brunch includes homemade whole wheat cinnamon rolls, mimosas, eggs, grits, sausage/bacon, and OJ. Once brunch is over, then I can relax! It will be a little more difficult this year, as my oldest dd will not be here. This is the first year she won't be home. She has her own home now, as she got married on January 1st. They live in town, but this year they will travel to her husband's family and enjoy Christmas with them. It's time to pass on some duties to the next dd. Emma is a huge help already, and will have no trouble filling Lindsey's shoes on Christmas.


Our Christmas Eve menu this year will include Prime Rib. I've never fixed one before, so I'm searching the web for directions. We'll also have our Hash Brown Casserole, a favorite with the children. The typical sides, the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Red Velvet cake will round out the meal. Since there will be only 10 of us around the table, we've invited another family that has recently moved to our town. We're looking forward to this lovely meal on December 24, and praying that those pregnant ladies will either deliver beforehand, or wait until afterwards. :-)