Advent Calendar

We all know what time of year’s coming. The time of year when people put fake icicles on their gutters, fat men wear white beards with red pajamas and egg nog hits store shelves. The time of year when young evergreens are cut down for enjoyment and decoration. When prices shrink, lines grow and shoppers shop just a little harder. Christmas time, in case you hadn’t figured it out.

If you’ve grown up in America or been around during winter, you’ve seen Christmas foods and decorations. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you’ve either seen, eaten/drank or played with them. So I’m not going to go into detail on all the same boring stuff everyone does year after year. This blog is all about the stuff I loved most as a child. If, after reading this, you feel inclined to share my fondest Christmas joys with your loved ones, well then my work is done.

Egg Nog

Everyone has some form of Christmas drink, usually alcoholic or hot. In my family, it was always sparkling apple cider for the kids, egg nog and Tom & Jerrys (think a cross between egg nog and a soufflé) for everyone else. The older I get, the more I come back to the egg nog. Non-alcoholic or strong, I love the stuff. Every year I clog most of my arteries with sweet, cheery cholesterol. It isn’t Christmas without that thick, rich, nutmeggy awesomeness.

Advent Calendars

Kids love candy, it’s science. Kids hate waiting. Also science, probably. But for some reason, I loved those little cardboard Christmas candy calendars. Well, I called them candy calendars. They’re actually called Advent calendars. There are a few different varieties, but they all have a little box for every day up to Christmas. Each day you open a box, and there’s a small toy or candy inside. Candy calendars were the only things that made the wait for Christmas bearable. Besides, it was a guaranteed chocolate every day. Volume, kids, volume.

Christmas Cookies

Our family opens presents on Christmas Eve after dinner. We meet at some realtive’s house with gifts for everyone and have desserts and the drinks I mentioned earlier, but never to excess (cough, cough). Everyone brings some homemade cookies, biscotti, amaretti (we’re Italian, in case you didn’t notice), fudge, gingerbread, brownies, we go through enough junk food to feed a battalion. This is followed by opening presents, dogs running through the house, kids screaming, people laughing, wrapping paper everywhere, lost presents, noise, more food… Ahhh, Christmas.

The author, Frank, is politically correct. He just forgot to mention the other holidays.