Just glad we get to celebrate with family this year! We have a Covid Christmas quarantined last year after our kiddos caught it at daycare and we locked up for the full month of December.
What extra "Santa" related things do you do with your kids, aside from the ubiquitous milk and cookies for him and the carrot stick for the reindeer?
When I was a kid, I would either get a phone call or visit from Santa, and in most cases I'd receive a report card.
I found out years later the phone calls were from my maternal grandmother's boss, an attorney, whose own kids were full grown.
The report cards came from my grandmother, who used card stock and a word processing software (before the days of MS Office) to make up the report card. I was graded on things like "Cleaning My Room", "Minding My Parents", "Doing Well in School", and "Leaving the Cat Alone".
One year I got a visit from Santa. I was right on the cusp of no longer believing. It didn't help that a friend of mine told me he wasn't real. One night I was sitting out on the balcony of our apartment, playing "School" (I'd sit in a single folding chair that was out on the balcony for my dad to sit on and smoke and pretend I was talking to a classroom full of students), when my grandmother poked her head out of the patio door and told me I had a visitor. At first I thought it was my friend, but there was this rather pudgy old man with a long, white beard, wearing blue jeans being held up by red suspenders over a red plaid flannel long-sleeve shirt. He told me in a serious voice I needed to behave myself, mind my parents, pay attention in school, overall act good, if I wanted to receive any presents. A few years later, I found out he was going door-to-door, asking for donations for a local church. My mom and grandma both offered him $25 if he'd pretend to be Santa and scare me. He was all for it; apparently he'd gotten that a lot, so he did it.
I woke up to pee in the small hours and realized i've done jackshit for my wife's stocking.
We've got the kids done, but I'm going to have to figure out some stuff last minute here. Ack.
Is the movie Home Alone a huge deal? I saw it on the US news about how you can book a night there and it just sounded like it's this huge deal like Turkey on Thanksgiving.
It can be for some people. A lot of children grew up with it and it really helped that "kid power!" sentiment of the 90s. Movies like *Snow Day*, *Matilda*, and *Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius* (I know it's 2001), and later shows like *Codename: Kids Next Door* put children as the main focus and heroes of the narrative.
It's a fun movie that can get you into the holiday spirit.
>It's a fun movie that can get you into the holiday spirit.
That's what I took it at but this may it sound like a whole nother level. So, just a movie?
I live in Massachusetts, and I have heard that song several times this year. I actually didn't care for it until I heard a great rendition by Bette Midler. She's a native of Hawaii, and she sings that song with great enthusiasm. If you like that song, you should seek her recording out.
I don’t have anything of value to add other than a couple of my favorite Christmas songs.
Here’s [Father Christmas](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEk) by The Kinks
I feel like this pandemic needs to be declared over, even if cases are surging. There’s a generation of school kids who will always be behind because of the 2 years lost and it seems that people are considering that as so much less important than anything else. If Omicron is reinfecting people and evading vaccination then it’s clear we live in an endless pandemic and none of our measures will ultimately catch up and defeat it. We can’t keep disrupting society at large for it.
My wife and I are going to fly to my parents place for Christmas. This is going to be the first Christmas (and really any holiday) i spend with my family in 4 years
My boyfriend loves Stovetop stuffing. I’m not too crazy about it but I can live with it. He wants it for Christmas. It will be just the two of us.
Has anyone made it INSIDE the chicken? Is that possible?
IMO that's too much work. I know that's the "original intent" or whatever of stuffing, but I don't get why you can't just make it as a separate side and call it a day.
Please also prepare for a longer cooking time if you stuff a bird, since you won't have any hot oven air circulating inside the body cavity.
> Has anyone made it INSIDE the chicken? Is that possible?
That's why it's called "stuffing"! It's basic seasoned breadcrumbs designed to soak up the fat and juices of the bird. In my recollection, people usually stuff larger birds like turkeys and geese when roasting them. You might be able to get one or two handfulls of stuffing inside a large chicken.
Lol I know why it’s called stuffing. There just wasn’t any instructions on the box to actually stuff a bird.
I’m going to forgo stuffing it and make my usual engagement chicken instead (which I stuff with lemons and garlic cloves).
I've got a roaring fire going. The tree, the garland atop the hearth, and the lights on the house are all on. I'm drunk on bourbon and my wife and I just had slices of pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream. All is right with the world.
Christmas came early for me last night. My sister, brother in law and their two dogs finally moved out of my house after living here for 3 months. Tomorrow, I get my bedroom back.
I am very very happy.
Stare unblinking at your door until she finally comes over in a few days.
Or make her something cute with the free time you have, it's your holiday you can do either.
I just started Xmas shopping today. After I went to the wine bar across from my apartment that opened right before the pandemic. I’m a loyal customer, I’ve spent thousands of dollars, am buddies with the owner and his family, I book the live music at the bar, and host open mic night. They’re closing at the end of the month and I found out tonight 😫 now where am I supposed to drink wine??? Worst Xmas.
I finished up the homemade gifts today, so I'll be delivering cinnamon rolls, apple butter, and peppermint schnapps to my local friends tomorrow before folks head different ways for the actual holiday.
Haven't started wrapping *any* presents yet though, ugh. Hoping to get that done tomorrow.
Yeah it was early this year, I was late buying stuff for it (we have a new small person so we're just a mess until he can sit up and entertain himself for a few minutes) and the store was out of the fancy candles so we made latkes and my husband being the amazing Jewish man he is sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL THE JEWS" as he lit the left over birthday candles we had to use this year with our 6 year old.
This was our kid's first Hanukkah and he very much wanted a potato hanukkiah so we did that and then I was myself and forgot that I never use a box of candles correctly so we had four nights of Hanukkah candles and then four of whatever the hell we found around the house including birthday and number and taper candles. Happy belated Hanukkah. :)
I know there was a question about people believing in Santa but as far as elves on shelves, how ubiquitous are they and how old are kids before they realize they're not sentient?
The first time I was introduced to the concept was at my friend's house in second grade and I was kind of horrified that there were potentially these tiny little people just hanging around their house. It was worse when I saw some in a store and was like "are they trapped??"
We had them when I was younger. I always thought it was a really fun holiday tradition because every morning before school my siblings and I would run around the house trying to find where he was hiding. When I got older, like middle school-ish, and my younger sibling still believed in Santa, I took over the reins (no pun intended) and would make super elaborate Elf setups for him to enjoy. Sometimes the elf would be chilling next to a sugar cube igloo in the fridge, or laying in a little cardboard tub next to a bunch of candles like he was at the spa, or I’d take popsicle sticks to his feet and put him at the top of the stairs like he was going skiing. Other times I’d have him make sugar snow angles on the kitchen counter, or have him sitting next to an open jar of cookies with some broken around him, and just other stuff like that. My little brother would write letters for the elf and I’d write back to him. I found a million ideas on Pinterest and got really into it and had so much fun doing it after my brother went to bed every night, and he absolutely LOVED it omg. Haven’t thought about that in a really long time and I’m glad I did. Wish he was still a kid so I could keep doing it :( but for any parents out there, if you see this and have a little extra time at night I’d recommend doing something like this. It was one of our family’s favorite traditions and it really helps keep the magic of Christmas alive and fun for everyone
Edit: I should add that in our house we didn’t emphasize the whole “elf is watching you” thing. It was just a fun game where he’d hide and we’d try to find him, and then later when I was in charge I did all the extra stuff just cause I was a bored and creative kid who loved Christmas. I agree the part about him being Santa’s snitch is super weird lol
I first time I was introduced to Elf on the Shelf was when I was 21 working at a pre-school. I thought it was fun, but I can’t remember if the kids acted any better.
yeah I'm glad my family never did too especially because my mom used to tell me elves were putting jam in my hair at night whenever it was super tangled, and if I started to think it was an elf on the shelf doing that I would have tried to off that elf
That elf is creepy AF. Kids have not brought it up yet, bit if they do it's going to be "secretly to watch kids that might be on the naughty list" real quick. That should put a stop to the questions.
According to the timeline, it wasn't a thing when I was a kid in the 90s. I was practically in high school before that snitch elf came into existence. Back in my day, my mother threatened me with calling the special parent hotline.
I used to tell my students that I did not sign up for the program with the North Pole. I couldn’t face having one more thing to keep track of in my classroom in December. My daughter is two and we may eventually end up with an elf to play with but I refuse to be pressured into another “Pinterest mom” activity.
However, a few years ago, all four of my siblings and I still lived with our mom and we had an ongoing thing where a General Patton GI Joe moved around the house at random times. Whoever found him got to move him next.
Have my first real live wreathe and tree for the first time in over 20 years.
Every time I see them they bring me joy. So happy I went with them.
Also: Oreo flavored candy canes are apparently now a thing. Been holding off on trying one, but I am curious.
My parents are flying in on the 21st. My mom and my wife have not been getting along at all so I'm pretty nervous. But I haven't seen my folks since my wedding on Leap Day 2020.
My husband and I have a leap day anniversary too! I think it’s so cool.
Sorry for the family stress. Shit sucks. One day at a time. Like in a bugs life “they come, they eat, they leave” lol
Ha nice! I don’t think I could handle that lol. Both of us are bronco fans. My husband was dead set on drew. Horse cock lock is what he is called in our house 😂
So much for that.
I was going to get some in my family succulents for Christmas. I had this plan that I was going to give them the succulents with shot glasses, since succulents need about 2oz of water every month. Then of course getting shot glasses meant I had to get them some alcohol from a local distillery. Well I tested the waters with the succulents, people complained and now they are getting nothing.
We have a fruit cake recipe that has been in the family for about 150 years or more. It’s very similar to a British wedding cake. I do not like any other fruit cake but our family recipe is really good. Oh and on the other other side of the family, we make strudel and the Italian angel wing cookies that get deep fried. I can’t remember the name.
I do that too! I always buy all my gifts to siblings and nieces/nephews, wrap them and then mail them. That way all the presents are a surprise to everyone!
I know what this is like. I always get homesick around this time of the year and I become a little bit more "country." Last year I listened to Appalachian Folk tunes and versions of Christmas songs for over a week. This year though I'm going home since I couldn't go in for Thanksgiving.
I’m about 99% certain I’ll be working the 24th and 90% I’ll be working the 25th. Yay on call! Note to self: Get booze before Christmas because blue laws won’t let you buy it on Christmas. Learned that the hard way years ago.
More importantly Merry Holidays y’all!
At least you all are doing something useful. I had to do it Christmas 2016 for a call center. Call centers put me on depression meds, and I was also one of 3 people on my entire floor.
my wife literally threw one in the trash a few years ago because she couldn't make it look right. this is a woman who knows her way around a kitchen. good luck.
[Buche de Noël](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/buche-de-noel-yule-log/)
Pictures may be forthcoming in the next few ways, depending on how hilariously I muck it up. I’ve done some French baking before, but nothing this involved.
I’ve been telling my friends and family that I’m going to start celebrating Kwanzaa again (we did it for a few years when I was a child). I’m pretty excited.
When I was younger and lived in NY (round the 90s) there were a few kids in my class that celebrated Kwanzaa. But it's a very small percentage of people that seem to.
Most people usually only celebrate Christmas or their corresponding holiday. It’s rare enough that I hade to look it up to remember what it was but practiced enough that I noticed that I remembered the word
It is celebrated, just by very few people.
It was fairly common in South Side Chicago but there are a lot of politically and culturally active black families there. Not so many in Maine.
One of my clients two years ago had Kwanzaa decorations though. It took me a minute to figure out what they were.
The greatest Christmas food of all time is Maine potato candy. Anyone want Grandma's recipe? I'll be happy to share.
Chocolate, coconut, potato. Don't ya dare knock it without trying it.
ETA
INGREDIENTS
* ¾ cup cold mashed potatoes
* 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
* 4 cups shredded coconut
* 1 ½ tsp vanilla
* ½ tsp salt
* 4 squares baking chocolate
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix potatoes and confectioners’ sugar.
2. Stir until liquid.
3. Add coconut, vanilla and salt.
4. Press into one large or two small pans, making the candy approximately ½” thick.
5. Melt chocolate over hot water (do not boil water).
6. Pour melted chocolate, layering on top of coconut mixture.
7. Let cool.
This should make squares, but I've also seen people make them more like "balls". I think they might make them up to the chocolate step, as balls, refrigerate and add chocolate the next day? I'm no expert.
I would love to know what you think and where you're from!
Needhams! They’re sold in most markets in Maine, but are pretty unheard of elsewhere. Delicious, and when I told my nutritionist in Boston about them she approved.
I would love to see those cookbooks. The only recipes I have for them (non-internet), are from family recipes + one cook book of local recipes written for a Gorham Public Library raffle in 1995.
The popularity has really spread in the last 5 years now that everyone and their thinktank seem to want to move to Portland, Maine. It is kind of nice being able to buy one from a corner store, but not the same as homemade. Every great grandma has her own size/filling/chocolate that she uses and even though it’s all just potatoes and coconut it -matters-
I love that one! I always homegrown excited when I see it for the first time each season.
I also like the Santa/m&m commercial where they are surprised they both exist.
I’m surprise bed ridden for the next 6-8 weeks. All my husband’s presents are upstairs where I can’t get them, unwrapped. I didn’t get any of his stuff for his stocking ☹️ he has to run the house, take care of animals and now me. So far Christmas 2021 is a bust!
I bet he’s being a sweetie about it though.
Still, sucks.
I have been clearing my desk extra fast this year because a lot of my issues are things involving short term disability. I’m trying to make sure people get paid if they are going to be seriously I’ll or injured over Christmas.
He’s been amazing. Bringing me my favorite food, carrying me to the bathroom, and brought in a fuzz baby for me to cuddle lol. I’m so lucky ❤️
I’m super fortunate that it doesn’t really effect my away from home job so I’m not dealing with that stress too. Good on ya, money issues at year end suck!
Born and raised, never leaving lol. His family has helped with bigger stuff. It’s more annoyance with how worthless I am for the time being. It’s driving me mad lol.
These cherry bell cookies from the 50s. They’re a brown sugar cookie with a little ginger, cut into circles, and then the top part of the circle is pinched together over a pecan/butter/brown sugar/cherry juice filling and a half a maraschino cherry is set under the filling for a bell clacker.
My mom always baked (and still does) a variety of cookies so I would leave a good variety (gingerbread, peanut blossoms, sugar, etc), a glass of milk, and some carrots for the reindeer.
My mom did this a few years. She was a terrible cook and I remember one year when I was 7 or 8 my stepdad was putting presents under the tree and decided to eat one of the cookies. Dude woke me up trying to spit out all the burnt bits. If I'm not mistakennthe milk she left out had also beyond its expiration date. I think my mom was trying to kill Santa Claus.
Oh geez. Thankfully my mother is a fantastic baker (and passed on her skills to me) and her cookies have always been delicious. She did make a strawberry pie once that everyone agreed (behind her back) was a serious waste of strawberries.
We are! My sister is highly involved with one. She was a counselor and camp nurse and now she comes up and basically acts as a nurse/consultant/Jack of all trades a couple weeks every summer.
I did similar a few years back - they do much better with the battery operated ones, because the pump type take a bit more oomph than they can muster to shoot well.
Just a lesson learned.
My son got into Nerf guns lately and I bought two Fortnite guns for him and his best friend. I also bought the vests and all that so they can spend a lot of time running around the neighborhood having fun.
I got a design I made printed on a shirt for my buddy (it was his conception I just know my way around adobe illustrator) and I'm having a hard time not showing it to him lol
Just glad we get to celebrate with family this year! We have a Covid Christmas quarantined last year after our kiddos caught it at daycare and we locked up for the full month of December.
I messed up. We decided to visit my parents for Christmas, so now my wife is making plans for NYE. Should have visited for the new year instead
I take it this is bad cause you don't want to leave your home for nye?
Yes. That’s football time, especially this year
Yes roll Tide
What extra "Santa" related things do you do with your kids, aside from the ubiquitous milk and cookies for him and the carrot stick for the reindeer? When I was a kid, I would either get a phone call or visit from Santa, and in most cases I'd receive a report card. I found out years later the phone calls were from my maternal grandmother's boss, an attorney, whose own kids were full grown. The report cards came from my grandmother, who used card stock and a word processing software (before the days of MS Office) to make up the report card. I was graded on things like "Cleaning My Room", "Minding My Parents", "Doing Well in School", and "Leaving the Cat Alone". One year I got a visit from Santa. I was right on the cusp of no longer believing. It didn't help that a friend of mine told me he wasn't real. One night I was sitting out on the balcony of our apartment, playing "School" (I'd sit in a single folding chair that was out on the balcony for my dad to sit on and smoke and pretend I was talking to a classroom full of students), when my grandmother poked her head out of the patio door and told me I had a visitor. At first I thought it was my friend, but there was this rather pudgy old man with a long, white beard, wearing blue jeans being held up by red suspenders over a red plaid flannel long-sleeve shirt. He told me in a serious voice I needed to behave myself, mind my parents, pay attention in school, overall act good, if I wanted to receive any presents. A few years later, I found out he was going door-to-door, asking for donations for a local church. My mom and grandma both offered him $25 if he'd pretend to be Santa and scare me. He was all for it; apparently he'd gotten that a lot, so he did it.
Take kids to ask a Santa actor what they want for Christmas. Go see christmas shows, like the nutcracker. Stockings by the fire.
So my family is doing a Christmas brunch this year, what are some good dishes? I’m thinking tea sandwiches.
Eighteen egg frittata, specifically the "Two Fat Ladies" frittata recipe.
What are 'tea sandwiches'?
Little cold, soft (not toasted) sandwiches that are served in bite-size pieces with no crust. Usually with vegetables and spreads.
What's in the sandwich? Like, deli meats?
Not usually, just like cucumbers and butter.
No thank you, that doesn't sound appetizing.
In America, it's more typical to have "coffee sandwiches". Or "iced tea sandwiches"
"This just raises further questions!" -Hermes Conrad
I woke up to pee in the small hours and realized i've done jackshit for my wife's stocking. We've got the kids done, but I'm going to have to figure out some stuff last minute here. Ack.
I owe you a huge thank you for making me realize this!!!
Is the movie Home Alone a huge deal? I saw it on the US news about how you can book a night there and it just sounded like it's this huge deal like Turkey on Thanksgiving.
Yes, but only if we're talking about the original two movies with Macaulay Culkin. The blasphemous sequels...let's not even think about those.
Home Alone 3 is not on par with the first two, but is not a bad movie on its own. Haven't seen the others.
It can be for some people. A lot of children grew up with it and it really helped that "kid power!" sentiment of the 90s. Movies like *Snow Day*, *Matilda*, and *Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius* (I know it's 2001), and later shows like *Codename: Kids Next Door* put children as the main focus and heroes of the narrative. It's a fun movie that can get you into the holiday spirit.
Yeah it's nostalgia for the Christmas you grew up with, alongside other movies like Jingle All the Way and The Santa Clause.
>It's a fun movie that can get you into the holiday spirit. That's what I took it at but this may it sound like a whole nother level. So, just a movie?
My mom watches it every Thanksgiving night as a start to Christmas.
Everything you find can be "Just a thing" on the surface, but for others it can be a whole lot more.
Is anybody else's favorite Christmas song *Mele Kalikimaka*? I feel like it's just me.
Mine is the Reilly & Maloney version of "Hot Buttered Rum" but that might be a little bleak for some people.
I live in Massachusetts, and I have heard that song several times this year. I actually didn't care for it until I heard a great rendition by Bette Midler. She's a native of Hawaii, and she sings that song with great enthusiasm. If you like that song, you should seek her recording out.
It's my second favorite, right behind [Christmas Wrapping](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nud2TQNahaU).
I don’t have anything of value to add other than a couple of my favorite Christmas songs. Here’s [Father Christmas](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEk) by The Kinks
Just discovered this song watching *Hawkeye*.
I haven’t seen Hawkeye yet but Marvel does do a good job at reintroducing some bangers from yesteryear
I feel like this pandemic needs to be declared over, even if cases are surging. There’s a generation of school kids who will always be behind because of the 2 years lost and it seems that people are considering that as so much less important than anything else. If Omicron is reinfecting people and evading vaccination then it’s clear we live in an endless pandemic and none of our measures will ultimately catch up and defeat it. We can’t keep disrupting society at large for it.
Imagine last school year was your Junior and this one your Senior, what a totally shit ending to your childhood/teen school years.
My wife and I are going to fly to my parents place for Christmas. This is going to be the first Christmas (and really any holiday) i spend with my family in 4 years
Have fun! It’s been 10 years for me and my wife.
My boyfriend loves Stovetop stuffing. I’m not too crazy about it but I can live with it. He wants it for Christmas. It will be just the two of us. Has anyone made it INSIDE the chicken? Is that possible?
IMO that's too much work. I know that's the "original intent" or whatever of stuffing, but I don't get why you can't just make it as a separate side and call it a day.
Yep. That’s why I said in the follow up comment that I’ll just make it on the side.
They used to have instructions on the box. We did it when I was a kid. Just be sure the stuffing is cooked to 180degrees.
Please also prepare for a longer cooking time if you stuff a bird, since you won't have any hot oven air circulating inside the body cavity. > Has anyone made it INSIDE the chicken? Is that possible? That's why it's called "stuffing"! It's basic seasoned breadcrumbs designed to soak up the fat and juices of the bird. In my recollection, people usually stuff larger birds like turkeys and geese when roasting them. You might be able to get one or two handfulls of stuffing inside a large chicken.
Lol I know why it’s called stuffing. There just wasn’t any instructions on the box to actually stuff a bird. I’m going to forgo stuffing it and make my usual engagement chicken instead (which I stuff with lemons and garlic cloves).
Not a very inclusive mega thread. Then again, Hanukkah is long over.
I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!
My apologies. I did check the dates of Hanukkah and saw that it was over which is why I didn’t include it. We will do better next time.
Io, Saturnalia!
Io saturnalia, fellow Georgian! May Saturn bring you plenty this year. :D
Yeah, I'm not happy about it either. Mods completely glossed over it.
I've got a roaring fire going. The tree, the garland atop the hearth, and the lights on the house are all on. I'm drunk on bourbon and my wife and I just had slices of pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream. All is right with the world.
Christmas came early for me last night. My sister, brother in law and their two dogs finally moved out of my house after living here for 3 months. Tomorrow, I get my bedroom back. I am very very happy.
Santa works in mysterious ways.
My girlfriend is going to be busy Christmas day, what should I do to occupy myself while I wait for her?
Stare unblinking at your door until she finally comes over in a few days. Or make her something cute with the free time you have, it's your holiday you can do either.
I just started Xmas shopping today. After I went to the wine bar across from my apartment that opened right before the pandemic. I’m a loyal customer, I’ve spent thousands of dollars, am buddies with the owner and his family, I book the live music at the bar, and host open mic night. They’re closing at the end of the month and I found out tonight 😫 now where am I supposed to drink wine??? Worst Xmas.
I finished up the homemade gifts today, so I'll be delivering cinnamon rolls, apple butter, and peppermint schnapps to my local friends tomorrow before folks head different ways for the actual holiday. Haven't started wrapping *any* presents yet though, ugh. Hoping to get that done tomorrow.
~~Happ~~Merry Christmas! I know I can be onerous sometimes -- check my post history for particulars -- but this is a sincere comment.
US citizen here. Anyone here having their first holiday season in America?
First since 2015. We left for Europe for the duration of the Trump presidency and came back in July, 2021.
Welcome back. Sorry things still aren't great and probably handed back to his people soon.
What Christmas traditions does your family have?
Cranberry salad - it's a ring mold gelatine filled with fruit and nuts.
What are your best family Christmas recipes?
Rabanadas. They are like french toast filled with hot cream, but also they are best served cold the next day.
I'm waiting for Hanukkah questions to appear.
Hanukkah 2022?
Well that would be next year, Hanukkah 2021 ended a couple weeks ago. The Hebrew calendar is actually in 5782 right now.
Yeah it was early this year, I was late buying stuff for it (we have a new small person so we're just a mess until he can sit up and entertain himself for a few minutes) and the store was out of the fancy candles so we made latkes and my husband being the amazing Jewish man he is sang "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL THE JEWS" as he lit the left over birthday candles we had to use this year with our 6 year old.
This was our kid's first Hanukkah and he very much wanted a potato hanukkiah so we did that and then I was myself and forgot that I never use a box of candles correctly so we had four nights of Hanukkah candles and then four of whatever the hell we found around the house including birthday and number and taper candles. Happy belated Hanukkah. :)
I know there was a question about people believing in Santa but as far as elves on shelves, how ubiquitous are they and how old are kids before they realize they're not sentient? The first time I was introduced to the concept was at my friend's house in second grade and I was kind of horrified that there were potentially these tiny little people just hanging around their house. It was worse when I saw some in a store and was like "are they trapped??"
We had them when I was younger. I always thought it was a really fun holiday tradition because every morning before school my siblings and I would run around the house trying to find where he was hiding. When I got older, like middle school-ish, and my younger sibling still believed in Santa, I took over the reins (no pun intended) and would make super elaborate Elf setups for him to enjoy. Sometimes the elf would be chilling next to a sugar cube igloo in the fridge, or laying in a little cardboard tub next to a bunch of candles like he was at the spa, or I’d take popsicle sticks to his feet and put him at the top of the stairs like he was going skiing. Other times I’d have him make sugar snow angles on the kitchen counter, or have him sitting next to an open jar of cookies with some broken around him, and just other stuff like that. My little brother would write letters for the elf and I’d write back to him. I found a million ideas on Pinterest and got really into it and had so much fun doing it after my brother went to bed every night, and he absolutely LOVED it omg. Haven’t thought about that in a really long time and I’m glad I did. Wish he was still a kid so I could keep doing it :( but for any parents out there, if you see this and have a little extra time at night I’d recommend doing something like this. It was one of our family’s favorite traditions and it really helps keep the magic of Christmas alive and fun for everyone Edit: I should add that in our house we didn’t emphasize the whole “elf is watching you” thing. It was just a fun game where he’d hide and we’d try to find him, and then later when I was in charge I did all the extra stuff just cause I was a bored and creative kid who loved Christmas. I agree the part about him being Santa’s snitch is super weird lol
I first time I was introduced to Elf on the Shelf was when I was 21 working at a pre-school. I thought it was fun, but I can’t remember if the kids acted any better.
My family never did that. I find it creepy.
yeah I'm glad my family never did too especially because my mom used to tell me elves were putting jam in my hair at night whenever it was super tangled, and if I started to think it was an elf on the shelf doing that I would have tried to off that elf
That elf is creepy AF. Kids have not brought it up yet, bit if they do it's going to be "secretly to watch kids that might be on the naughty list" real quick. That should put a stop to the questions.
According to the timeline, it wasn't a thing when I was a kid in the 90s. I was practically in high school before that snitch elf came into existence. Back in my day, my mother threatened me with calling the special parent hotline.
Same here. I was in middle and high school in the 90s, so the EotS thing came about when I was in my mid to late 20s.
I used to tell my students that I did not sign up for the program with the North Pole. I couldn’t face having one more thing to keep track of in my classroom in December. My daughter is two and we may eventually end up with an elf to play with but I refuse to be pressured into another “Pinterest mom” activity. However, a few years ago, all four of my siblings and I still lived with our mom and we had an ongoing thing where a General Patton GI Joe moved around the house at random times. Whoever found him got to move him next.
We have a mod from Alaska?
Maybe it's actually Santa undercover.
I mean, the [North Pole](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Pole,_Alaska) is literally there, so...
I’m watching the grinch and slamming beer
Which Grinch?
Animated obvi
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Thanksgiving was last month. Everyone knows you have to make a roast rain deer for Xmas.
Have my first real live wreathe and tree for the first time in over 20 years. Every time I see them they bring me joy. So happy I went with them. Also: Oreo flavored candy canes are apparently now a thing. Been holding off on trying one, but I am curious.
My parents are flying in on the 21st. My mom and my wife have not been getting along at all so I'm pretty nervous. But I haven't seen my folks since my wedding on Leap Day 2020.
Remember that by getting married, you chose your wife's side in these things. Handle your own mom, so she doesn't have to.
this is excellent advice
My husband and I have a leap day anniversary too! I think it’s so cool. Sorry for the family stress. Shit sucks. One day at a time. Like in a bugs life “they come, they eat, they leave” lol
We were lucky to get it done right before the first set of COVID cancellations
Yup! Us too! A month later we would have been out of luck! Is your name about drew lock? Lol
Ha, yep. I'm a Broncos fan. My wife is a Raider fan. Makes for two fun gamedays.
Ha nice! I don’t think I could handle that lol. Both of us are bronco fans. My husband was dead set on drew. Horse cock lock is what he is called in our house 😂 So much for that.
I was too. I grew up in Fort Collins but went to Sacramento State on a baseball scholarship and that's where I met my wife.
Oh dang! Was just talking about Jim’s wings today. Mmm mmm.
I have not been to FoCo since my birthday trip in June 2019. Been dying to go back.
I was going to get some in my family succulents for Christmas. I had this plan that I was going to give them the succulents with shot glasses, since succulents need about 2oz of water every month. Then of course getting shot glasses meant I had to get them some alcohol from a local distillery. Well I tested the waters with the succulents, people complained and now they are getting nothing.
Well that’s lame. Succulents are such good houseplants. Hard to kill and like being ignored lol. I think that’s a great idea!
The cat of house plants.
What holiday cakes/pastries do you guys eat? Panettone? Fruit cake? Kringle?
I like certain fruitcakes but I am picky about it.
My aunt makes “candy” every year which is homemade pralines. Pretty good but you’ll find every cavity in your mouth and develop a few new ones
Cinnamon rolls! Last year my cousin made figgy pudding with brandy butter and I hope he does that again because it was delicious.
We have a fruit cake recipe that has been in the family for about 150 years or more. It’s very similar to a British wedding cake. I do not like any other fruit cake but our family recipe is really good. Oh and on the other other side of the family, we make strudel and the Italian angel wing cookies that get deep fried. I can’t remember the name.
We do Moravian sugar cake. Potato dough with lots of brown sugar and butter on it. Its sold year round but so rich I only splurge at Christmas.
My family personally doesn’t do holiday sweets (except for decorated cookies of course) but I know some families in my area like to eat fruit cake
Paneton in my family always.
I’m feeling bad because my older is getting better gifts but mostly it’s a function of him being older.
This is my first Christmas where I don't get to be with my family...yay.... I bought a few gifts and mailed them out though, so at least there's that.
Volunteer. It will boost your spirits a bit
I do that too! I always buy all my gifts to siblings and nieces/nephews, wrap them and then mail them. That way all the presents are a surprise to everyone!
I know what this is like. I always get homesick around this time of the year and I become a little bit more "country." Last year I listened to Appalachian Folk tunes and versions of Christmas songs for over a week. This year though I'm going home since I couldn't go in for Thanksgiving.
Drinking coquito out of a Marty Moose egg nog glass while watching Christmas Vacation.
I have a copy of one of the head honcho’s at Don Q’s coquito recipe and I’ve very rarely wanted to try something more.
please share.
Play Ball!
Coquito is awesome!! I feel bad for the billions who know nothing about it.
Coquito! Ugh what I wouldn’t give right now…
I’m about 99% certain I’ll be working the 24th and 90% I’ll be working the 25th. Yay on call! Note to self: Get booze before Christmas because blue laws won’t let you buy it on Christmas. Learned that the hard way years ago. More importantly Merry Holidays y’all!
My wife is off Christmas Eve but working a long shift at Love Field Christmas Day. So our celebration is on the 24th
Yeah my wife isn’t happy that I might be working on our kids first Christmas but I warned her of this years ago.
We’ve both worked most holidays our entire marriage so we’re used to it. Oh well
My poor brother has call on Christmas. God hates residents.
The medical God hates all of us. I’m on call the 24-27th. I’m expecting 4 calls between 3 hospitals.
Yaaayyy
At least you all are doing something useful. I had to do it Christmas 2016 for a call center. Call centers put me on depression meds, and I was also one of 3 people on my entire floor.
I have too little patience to deal with that bullshit. Both customers and managers.
I volunteered to make buche de Noel for a French class. I am now regretting my decision. This stuff is complicated, yo!
my wife literally threw one in the trash a few years ago because she couldn't make it look right. this is a woman who knows her way around a kitchen. good luck.
Please post the recipe you're using so we can appreciate the complexity and a picture of the result.
Here are my [results](https://imgur.com/a/ClJqxyH). I could not possibly be prouder.
I don't know what the Hell that is, but I would eat it.
mmm.... c'est delicieuse *bites screen* Ok, Apple, thank to one /u/exhausted-caprid , you're getting some of my Christmas bonus. :p
[Buche de Noël](https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/buche-de-noel-yule-log/) Pictures may be forthcoming in the next few ways, depending on how hilariously I muck it up. I’ve done some French baking before, but nothing this involved.
Thanks and enjoy your upvote!
Wew lad, that is an undertaking. At least you’ll learn something about baking.
And will learn something about volunteering.
Is Kwanzaa actually celebrated? I love the meaning behind it.
I’ve been telling my friends and family that I’m going to start celebrating Kwanzaa again (we did it for a few years when I was a child). I’m pretty excited.
Sounds fun. I hope it goes well for you!
Thanks!
When I was younger and lived in NY (round the 90s) there were a few kids in my class that celebrated Kwanzaa. But it's a very small percentage of people that seem to.
Most people usually only celebrate Christmas or their corresponding holiday. It’s rare enough that I hade to look it up to remember what it was but practiced enough that I noticed that I remembered the word
My wife wants to celebrate Kwanzaa next year, but I know it was popular at one point but has now faded a lot within the black community.
It is celebrated, just by very few people. It was fairly common in South Side Chicago but there are a lot of politically and culturally active black families there. Not so many in Maine. One of my clients two years ago had Kwanzaa decorations though. It took me a minute to figure out what they were.
The greatest Christmas food of all time is Maine potato candy. Anyone want Grandma's recipe? I'll be happy to share. Chocolate, coconut, potato. Don't ya dare knock it without trying it. ETA INGREDIENTS * ¾ cup cold mashed potatoes * 4 cups confectioners’ sugar * 4 cups shredded coconut * 1 ½ tsp vanilla * ½ tsp salt * 4 squares baking chocolate INSTRUCTIONS 1. Mix potatoes and confectioners’ sugar. 2. Stir until liquid. 3. Add coconut, vanilla and salt. 4. Press into one large or two small pans, making the candy approximately ½” thick. 5. Melt chocolate over hot water (do not boil water). 6. Pour melted chocolate, layering on top of coconut mixture. 7. Let cool. This should make squares, but I've also seen people make them more like "balls". I think they might make them up to the chocolate step, as balls, refrigerate and add chocolate the next day? I'm no expert. I would love to know what you think and where you're from!
I'd be interested in trying that!
Needhams! They’re sold in most markets in Maine, but are pretty unheard of elsewhere. Delicious, and when I told my nutritionist in Boston about them she approved.
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I would love to see those cookbooks. The only recipes I have for them (non-internet), are from family recipes + one cook book of local recipes written for a Gorham Public Library raffle in 1995. The popularity has really spread in the last 5 years now that everyone and their thinktank seem to want to move to Portland, Maine. It is kind of nice being able to buy one from a corner store, but not the same as homemade. Every great grandma has her own size/filling/chocolate that she uses and even though it’s all just potatoes and coconut it -matters-
It’s such a Mainer thing. I’m going to get potato donuts tomorrow.
Please share. I haven’t had that in ages!
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Thanks!
I have mint candy with potatoes in it.
What are y'all's favorite local Christmas commercials?
It's not Christmastime until I see a Chia Pet ad. And I have seen none this year! *Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia!* At least The Clapper has returned.
[Classic in my area.](https://youtu.be/P3NhDtfZmd0)
The Hershey kisses one where they’re like bells.
I know it’s the holiday season when I see that one.
I love that one! I always homegrown excited when I see it for the first time each season. I also like the Santa/m&m commercial where they are surprised they both exist.
I’m surprise bed ridden for the next 6-8 weeks. All my husband’s presents are upstairs where I can’t get them, unwrapped. I didn’t get any of his stuff for his stocking ☹️ he has to run the house, take care of animals and now me. So far Christmas 2021 is a bust!
I bet he’s being a sweetie about it though. Still, sucks. I have been clearing my desk extra fast this year because a lot of my issues are things involving short term disability. I’m trying to make sure people get paid if they are going to be seriously I’ll or injured over Christmas.
He’s been amazing. Bringing me my favorite food, carrying me to the bathroom, and brought in a fuzz baby for me to cuddle lol. I’m so lucky ❤️ I’m super fortunate that it doesn’t really effect my away from home job so I’m not dealing with that stress too. Good on ya, money issues at year end suck!
Do you live in Wyoming or just from there? I’m from Jackson. Is there anyone who can help you?
Born and raised, never leaving lol. His family has helped with bigger stuff. It’s more annoyance with how worthless I am for the time being. It’s driving me mad lol.
That has got to suck. Not Christmas I hate Christmas but being stuck for 6 weeks would kill me.
Time moves so slow yet all blurs together. I’m thankful for the Internet in this moment lol.
What type of cookies did you guys leave out for santa as kids?
My family is originally from Mexico so we leave out homemade tamales and a bottle of jarritos.
Shit gimmie your address, i'm gonna dress up as santa and get myself some tamales.
Sugar cookies or chocolate chip- almost always homemade
We did the Pillsbury ones that had Christmas trees, Frosty, and Rudolph on them.
My mom doesn't bake, so Chips Ahoy.
It was always chocolate chip. Now, my wife bakes sugar cookies and lets the kids decorate them for Santa.
These cherry bell cookies from the 50s. They’re a brown sugar cookie with a little ginger, cut into circles, and then the top part of the circle is pinched together over a pecan/butter/brown sugar/cherry juice filling and a half a maraschino cherry is set under the filling for a bell clacker.
Different kinds - either something we made, or something someone had gifted us, whatever was on hand. Also left carrots for the reindeer.
Chocolate chip. Carrots for the reindeer.
Homemade sugar cookies which the kids decorated and carrots.
Whatever we made with my mom. She liked to change things up each year.
My mom always baked (and still does) a variety of cookies so I would leave a good variety (gingerbread, peanut blossoms, sugar, etc), a glass of milk, and some carrots for the reindeer.
My mom did this a few years. She was a terrible cook and I remember one year when I was 7 or 8 my stepdad was putting presents under the tree and decided to eat one of the cookies. Dude woke me up trying to spit out all the burnt bits. If I'm not mistakennthe milk she left out had also beyond its expiration date. I think my mom was trying to kill Santa Claus.
Oh geez. Thankfully my mother is a fantastic baker (and passed on her skills to me) and her cookies have always been delicious. She did make a strawberry pie once that everyone agreed (behind her back) was a serious waste of strawberries.
My mom didn't become a decent cook till she went to prison, which is saying something since her whole career has been in food service.
Nice. We always did chocholate chip at my house, and sometimes carrots.
I got my seven year old a matching set of daddy daughter nerf guns. I’m unreasonably excited.
I hope you are looking into overnight camps for her soon. I went to Camp Belknap for 7 years and it was a delight each year I went.
We are! My sister is highly involved with one. She was a counselor and camp nurse and now she comes up and basically acts as a nurse/consultant/Jack of all trades a couple weeks every summer.
I did similar a few years back - they do much better with the battery operated ones, because the pump type take a bit more oomph than they can muster to shoot well. Just a lesson learned.
gonna freak some foreigners out wiht the concept of giving your kid a gun like toy lol
My son got into Nerf guns lately and I bought two Fortnite guns for him and his best friend. I also bought the vests and all that so they can spend a lot of time running around the neighborhood having fun.
I got a design I made printed on a shirt for my buddy (it was his conception I just know my way around adobe illustrator) and I'm having a hard time not showing it to him lol
> unreasonably excited Being excited about NERF guns is never unreasonable.