Christmas Memories & Traditions....

I will never forget the time I was doing some holiday shopping at a JC Penney and was in a checkout line to purchase some gifts for my boys,  and struck up a conversation with a very pretty 70 (ish) year old woman.  We began a short dialogue of small talk and we both agreed that this very special season had gotten out of hand.  She then began to reminisce of her childhood and spoke of how the treat they most hoped for was to find an orange in their stockings on Christmas morning.   She beamed when describing how incredibly delicious it was.   Foods did not travel the way they do now, fruits & vegetables were truly seasonal.   She shared with me how special it was to go to church on Christmas Eve because burning candles illuminated the Christmas tree.   They kept a bucket of water next to the tree to put out the occasional flare up.  I was very touched that a stranger would share her fondest memory of Christmas with me.   How beautiful and simple, I just love that.

My favorite Christmas memories, of course, involve food.  Every year, my Mom would make gingerbread cookies.   Nothing says Christmas like the smell of cinnamon & cloves wafting through your house.  She would outline the gingerbread men with white icing,  give him raisin eyes, a wide smile, and cinnamon candy buttons....soooooo cute!  The cookie itself is the best holiday cookie I've ever had.  It has a slightly crunchy exterior with a chewy interior, very, very delicious.  It is a tradition in my house to make these with my boys, we cut them out to bake and we decorate them together. My little Ryan calls them "people cookies".   It's great fun and we all look forward to it every year.    I would love to share that recipe with you next week, when I regain my energy from this week's posts.  It's never too late to start a new tradition!

Thanks for reading!
Angie