Santa Visits the Neighborhood

   

       Multiple sirens sounded loudly on the next block last night and we despaired for whatever household might be experiencing a fire during the pre-holiday season. However, the din stopped and started several times and we realized that it must be the local fire department transporting Santa Claus on his yearly neighborhood visit (each night a different neighborhood in the city is targeted for merriment). The dinner hour had just passed so most families were at home; children and adults poured out of front doors into the unseasonably balmy air to greet the jolly fellow, receive a candy cane and perhaps pose for a quick photo before he moved on. Altogether a welcome surprise and a lovely custom of our city.

Hangin' Kitty

     Even while resting, Little Miss Molly has a penchant for "hanging around".

Christmas Cookies All Wrapped Up

     Christmas baking starts a day or two after Thanksgiving at my house when leftover cranberry relish is incorporated into a nutbread batter and baked in tin cans. The breads are wrapped well and placed in the deep freezer, where they are soon joined by mini loaves of Christmas Bread (essentially banana nut bread brightened with maraschino cherries and semisweet chocolate chips). Cream cheese spritz cookies and cutout sugar cookies are baked and added to the freezer in mid December, and finally, chocolate covered mounds cookies are formed, dipped and stored in the very back of the refrigerator. The sugar cookies are iced and decorated on the night before the trays are assembled. The final product is a festive array of holiday treats.

     Daughter-in-law (the school teacher) requests three cookie trays in lieu of a Christmas gift and I am happy to comply. Double batches are not that much more work and she is thrilled to bring the trays to share with various groups at school. This year I've discovered Press'n'Seal, which adheres to the platters and helps keep the cookies in place. While not as pretty (transparent) as clingy plastic wrap, I am a staunch convert to the newer product.

Mounds Cookies for Christmas

    

      Pictured here from start to finish, these holiday cookies are as tempting as the candy for which they are named. The several steps necessary for making them demands a couple of hours but can be split into two sessions. The stiff dough of confectioners sugar, condensed milk, butter, pecans and coconut was mixed and shaped into balls in the morning. Refrigerated till early afternoon, they were then ready to be dipped into semisweet chocolate melted in the top of a double boiler, with a half-cake of paraffin added for shine. In order to have enough of these Mounds Balls for several planned cookie trays, it was extremely important to make these on a day with no kitchen visitors (to prevent subtle thieving, of course!)

Christmas Almanac

     This little gem is a compilation of all things Christmas, and it's the kind of book that can be read at intervals - you can put it down and easily pick it up later. It is chock full of stories, customs, history, recipes, and all sorts of helpful tips. All of these tidbits are presented in an appealing format, with modern merry-making interspersed with venerable traditions. Perhaps the most delightful thing about the book, however, is the manner of illustration. Vintage pictures and artwork create a fanciful, nostalgic atmosphere. A few minutes with the Almanac in hand is a transport into a simple yet magical holiday realm.

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