4 posts tagged “christmas”
Well, I am almost finished decorating for Christmas. Now, before you all groan out loud about it not even being December, let me explain.
Decorating the day after Thanksgiving is a tradition I started with my mom when we first moved into our house here in Atlanta. She was here for our first Thanksgiving in the house, and the next day we ran out to Michael's to buy wreaths, ribbons and lights to decorate the house. We had so much fun that it became a yearly tradition.
But this year my family wasn't able to come up for the holiday, so I'm decorating by myself. It's just not the same, but Kieran and Kaelin have been doing their best to help. :) Sunjay brought up the tree yesterday (and yes, I finally made the switch to artificial a few years ago...you people hush!), so Kieran and I got busy decorating it.
I have hundreds of ornaments. My grandmother used to buy one for my sisters and me every Christmas. She would write our names and the year on them, and I still have most of mine. A few have broken over the years due to poor storage and the Great Christmas Tree Crash (which is why I switched to an artificial tree), but I've been continuing the tradition with my kiddos. So the broken ornaments have been quickly replaced by new ones.
I love Christmas. I love everything about it except the fact that it occasionally brings out the worst in people. I love having my house decorated and it's always so sad when I have to take everything down. I love Christmas music and baking Christmas cookies. I love wrapping presents and cooking Christmas dinner. I get a little twitchy when I have company, but I can thank my mom for that. LOL
So I decorate early in order to enjoy all these things as long as possible. I will admit there was one year where I actually decorated the inside of the house right around Halloween. :D But it was the year I was laid off from my job and pregnant with Kieran. So I was bored and had nothing else to do. ;-)
Oh, pictures will come later. I have to put away all the boxes, etc. before I can break out the camera. :)
I cannot believe I forgot out this tradition...I bake like a madwoman this time of year! :-D
My mom has always baked holiday goodies for as long as I can remember, and apparently I was the only daughter who ever took an interest in it. After moving up to Atlanta I would actually drive back down to see her in early December so we could bake together. Cookie cutters, sprinkles, and mixer in tow.
I tried to start a holiday tradition with a friend of mine where we would get together every year to bake cookies, but life got in the way so we missed a few years. But I will still bake cookies, rum cakes, spiced pecans, fudge and gum drop cookies because it isn't Christmas without all those things. Martha Stewart ain't got nothin' on me, people. ;-)
I know a lot of people are rather bah humbugish about this time of year, but I love it. And one of my favorite things to do is toss the kid(dos) into the car at night so we can drive around and look at Christmas decorations.
I live in a pretty suburb of Atlanta, and some of the neighborhoods out here go all out. Kieran loves to drive around looking for the blow up Santa and snowmen, so we make a game of it. I also discovered this year (thanks to a friend!) that a local radio station plays Christmas music 24/7 through the end of the year. So we crank up the carols while driving around marveling in the thousands of tiny white lights.
I know the debate about white vs. color is a nasty one. LOL But I love the little white lights. I just think they looks so twinkly and elegant, and I was traumatized as a kid by obnoxious colored lights that didn't match or even remotely go together. I also love the traditional Christmas red bows on the wreaths and garland. They just stand out so much more than other colors, and they look beautiful against these bright blue winter skies.
I was a little disappointed this year, though, because two of my favorite houses apparently have new owners. So they are no longer decorated AT ALL. They went from having my favorite decorations to having none. Not even a wreath on the front door. So I'm now in the market for a new favorite house. :)
The best part of these drives is listening to Kieran try to sing along with the Christmas music. :-D He doesn't know most of the words, of course, so he makes it up as he goes along. And oh how I wish I had sme sort of tape recorder with me to capture those moments. Especially when I heard him singing "All I want for Christmas is you." God, it was so freaking cute. :-)
Kaelin is content to hang out in the car with us and giggle at her brother occasionally. The two of them get along so well right now, and it's so sweet to watch them together. My cute kiddos. :)
I knocked out a lot of my Christmas shopping over the weekend, so now I just wait for the UPS guy to bring it all to me. :-D Online shopping ROCKS! And this year was much easier since my side of the family decided to do the Secret Santa thing.
I will try to take a picture of my house this evening to show you my decorations. We picked up a twinkly snowman at Target yesterday, and Kieran is very excited about it. LOL We don't have many lights out front, but that will change next year. Even if I have to hire the gutter guys to put them up. :-D
I love this time of year. I am not so crazy about Thanksgiving, but I absolutely love Christmas. The commercial Christmas, that is.
I make no apologies for it, either. I'm that person you love to hate who squeals with delight when the stores break out the Christmas decorations before Halloween. In fact, it is taking every ounce of self restraint I have to not start digging out my indoor Christmas decorations. :-D
I made a spiced applesauce pie this weekend and turned on the Charlie Brown Christmas
I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I thought I would post a few of my favorite holiday recipes. They've become staples at our holiday table, but this year I'm hoping to do something different for Christmas. It might just be one big tapas and cocktail party. ;)
I've been making these two side dishes for years now, and everyone loves them. I hope you do, too.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
For the topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup finely chopped pecans
miniature marshmallows (optional)
Directions:
Beat first 6 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon into a lightly-greased 3-quart shallow baking dish.
Stir together brown sugar and next three ingredients; sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
Optional: After the casserole is finished cooking, sprinkle miniature marshmallows just around the edge of the casserole dish and put it under the broiler until marshmallows are slightly brown.
Green Beans with Mustard-Seed Butter
TOTAL: 40 minutes
12 servings
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
2/3 cup sherry vinegar
¼ cup water
½ cup heavy cream
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup whole-grain mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed
In a large skillet, toast the mustard seeds over moderately high heat, shaking the pan frequently, until they pop and start to brown, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
Add the shallots, sherry vinegar and water to the skillet and simmer over moderately low heat until the liquid is reduced to 1 tablespoon, about 12 minutes. Ad the cream and simmer over moderate heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, then stir in the butter, mustard and toasted mustard seeds. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the green beans until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the beans, pat dry and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the mustard-seed butter, season with salt and pepper; toss and serve.
MAKE AHEAD: The mustard seed butter can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month. Let the butter return to room temperature before using. The cooked green beans can be refrigerated overnight; blanch in boiling water or steam until heated through.
