"Does Santa Still Visit?"
We all have our own family traditions when the holidays come around. When you become an "empty nester" like Dan and I it is often difficult to get into that "Holiday Spirit" like we did when our kids were around, then again I do live with Santa! In his own special way Dan always brings a bit of magic to the holidays even if it is only with a chuckle,
a few "ho ho ho's, or even a smile! When Dan was created the "powers that be" decided he needed an extra dose of "happy" and believe me when I say they did a great job!
Our family traditions seem to have stuck with our kids as they have gone on to have their own families. Stockings were never just an accent to Christmas they were an event all on their own! Now our grandkids are experiencing that event! We also had a cookie tree in the kitchen that was "always" accessible to little hands and constantly replenished daily! The Holidays are about bending the rules a bit and making fond memories to carry with us throughout our lives.
One of my favorites of our family traditions is the reading of the "Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve and having Kentucky Fried Chicken....now I know most of you are going "HUH?" The Kentucky Fried Chicken thing started with my youngest when he was all of 3 or 4. He had asked Santa for a picnic with KFC on Christmas Eve (to this day he is still all about food)...so Santa came through, and has delivered every year since, along with the blanket spread out on the floor next to the tree.
Nothing says Christmas like twinkling lights while you munch on a drumstick! Even in Australia where he lives now with his three kids KFC is a must on Christmas Eve along with the blanket and
family gathering next to the tree. Our daughter does the same thing in California with her family every year....and if KFC isn't available there is always fried chicken from our own kitchen or someone else's! Our son David who lives in China.....hard to say if he still does KFC but I do know he does the stocking thing cause his mother sends it!
Me, I'm about the fruitcake....I know your thinking "fruitcake!" Must be the Irish in me cause nothing is better Christmas morning than a good cup of coffee and a slice of whiskey soaked fruitcake!
When the rest of my family is munching on cinnamon rolls I'm in heaven with my fruitcake! It truly is funny the memories we create especially during this time....happy times always seem happier and sad times come to life with more poignancy! We miss the ones that are no longer here to celebrate and share a piece of chicken but we hold on to them tightly in our hearts!
Embrace, Enjoy and Enhance your memories this year....Merry Christmas to ALL!
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I love the fruit cake too. An English woman originaly, from Yorkshire, always eats it with a piece of Cheddar cheese. delicious!!
Hmmmm that sounds so good! I will have try that this year....Merry Christmas!
So true about individual traditions, Pam. It's what matters to you and yours that counts no matter other's opinion of it. Your lucky to live with the true Santa Claus, but my DH does a very good impression and although we are on our own now, and the kids all have their own homes and a mixture of traditions that is 'ours' and 'theirs' it's still very special.
BTW, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the fruitcake. Some things I hold very dear :>)
Hi...My husband and I are fruitcake lovers..I have already made one and I am making another this afternoon...I pour 1/4 cup brandy over the top as soon as it comes out of the oven..then I soak a piece of cheesecloth with water and more brandy and wrap around the cake. Let it age a couple weeks...I have my fruit cake posted on my blog http://primsandannies.blogspot.com
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Smiles and huggs,
Maxie
Oh Pam - you always somehow manage to get right to the "heart" of it. Yes, so true how memories and traditions become engrained. I loved hosting the family Christmas Eve celebration after my mother could no longer because the menu had been set years and years ago. And fruitcake - how I despised it and mocked it as a child and youth - and now, what I wouldn't give for a single morsel of Dear Aunt Agnes's delicious sweet bread.....Thanks for the reality check....Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin
Loved you post Pam ~ always from the heart and with so much meaning!
I hope You and Yours have a Merry Christmas ~ Oh heck go out and get some KFC!!!
Prim Blessings
Robin
I just love the way each family has their own traditions that are special to them.
I don't know where this came from originally, but my mothers mother, my mother, and now me. We make a Brown Paper Pie.
Little trinket gifts are put in the pie dish( which is the old fashioned sort.) The trinkets are bought with the person in mind. e.g. If it was a book keeper it might be a pen, if it was an Aunt, may be some smelly soap, if it is children, may be a match box car or earings for a little girl. Something small. The presents have a ribbon that comes from the gift out the top of the pie to each persons plate. The pie crust is made of brown paper, and is stuck around the edge of the dish. At the beginning of the meal we all crack the pie crust by pulling the ribbons.
The children love it.
Hugs
Kay
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