I thought we could use a seasonal thread. Two for me, the 11 pm Christmas Eve service and having a live, decorated Frazier fur in the living room by the fire place.
I've never been big on the tree or decorations, but I love candy canes and the old Christmas music they play in stores. Bing Crosby, Donnie Hathaway, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, all that stuff = GOLD.
My Mom got this little ugly pink and blue horn from her grandmother on her 4th birthday - so that's in like 1928 or something. They blew it before they gave out the presents. When I was a kid too. Now, it's at the top of out tree and one of our kids gets it. still works.
And they understand what it means, which is cooler yet.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
Christmas Village, Ogden, Utah. The Lights Before Christmas, Layton, Utah. The lights at Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. Festival of Trees, Sandy, Utah.
The Grab Bag. It is more a fun thing that anything else. My bother, three sisters and their spouses, along with me and my wife, do a adult grab bag each year just for fun. There is a $25-$50 range and we always try to find something way out of the ordinary and funny. It is not about the gift, but the time spent finding that perfect gift that makes everyone laugh. It is usually something no one would use. Like stuff on infomercials that everyone goes I would NEVER get that or who buys that?. It is the last gifts opened Christmas Eve and it is the part we adult really look forward to. I usually spend more time thinking about this gift than any other. It is always a great way to end the Christmas Eve festivities.
...that motherfucker is always spiked with pain.....
As kids we used to spend Christmas with all our cousins... As we've gotten older, the individual branches have gotten too big... so... Christmas night the cousins get together after we've each had our respective family dinners.
My younger brother's birthday is three days after Christmas, so after he and I stopped living in the same town, we made it a point to get together for his birthday, even if just for a lunch or something - without my folks or my older brother, girlfriends where applicable or anything like that. Good times.
Making cookies with my Grandmother's ancient cookie press and chasing the little hard candy silver balls that are used for decoration around the kitchen floor when one of the kids knocks the bottle of them over
Eggnog instead of half&half in my morning cup of coffee
and cranking Tom Scott;s version of "Feliz Navidad" at 11 because it is higher than 10
I'm Blind Jimmy Winthrop, Blues singer for the Rich.
Originally posted by CerebusEgg Nog and Everclear!
...well, it's a tradition to ME!
(edited by Cerebus on 12.12.06 2127)
When we lived in Ohio, we hosted the annual peon Christmas party at our house. We had an agg nog recipe found in an old Playboy book on entertaining (how to get in women's pants). For Christmas they had an eggnog recipe with the usual stuff plus a fifth of cognac and a fifth of bourbon. It made about three gallons. It certainly losened everyone up. Once, a friend tried it for the firt time and complained his ears were burning.
My brother in law's grandmother makes an outstanding "brandy butter" that tops off a Christmas pud nicely.
What makes it so special? Well she is quite comfortable financially, so cognac butter is a more accurate description. It usually gets made with Remy XO.
This year, the butter was a bit stiff when it got out of the fridge, so she added a touch more cognac to "help it loosen up a bit". I can tell you it was pretty darn potent!
Do you have a motto or a tagline that you live by, that sums up who you are and/or what you do? My motto in life is "Life's too short to be miserable" -- it's worked out pretty well for me so far.