Christmas Stocking Tradition

This post is a part of the Virtual Advent Tour, sponsored by Sprite Writes. Please visit her site to check out the list of other Christmas traditions from bloggers around the world.

Totoro Family Stockings:

Have you ever experienced a time when you innocently started something rather simple that over time mushroomed into something much bigger than you ever envisioned? Such is the plight of Totoro Christmas stockings.

Pin It and Do It

Over the weekend I made the time to catch up on a bit of blog reading.  I have missed connecting with all of you and thoroughly enjoyed catching up on your literary as well as personal lives.

One meme that appeared on several blogs was Trish's Pin It and Do It Challenge for December and while I did not officially register to participate, I did think that I would join the "pinners" on this last day of the challenge.

My Pinterests tend to focus on photography and food, although I can see using the site for craft and reading inspiration in 2013.  The Pin that I would like to share today, however, falls in the realm of Creative Gift Ideas.

As the children have grown up we find that Christmas gift surprises are more and more difficult to pull off.  And truth be told, we have learned that parental tastes in clothing, music, movies.... well, just about anything, is not the same as a twenty-something.  So for the past several years we have filled stockings with small, inconsequential items and then wrapped a check for the "large" present.  Of course, some years have been more financially lucrative than others, and this year was one of the more lean holidays.

While the end-product was a bit less than perhaps anticipated, it was my hope that a unique wrapping would make it special.  And this is where Pinterest came to the rescue:

Kleenex Money Box

The idea is simple - and did not take nearly as long to assemble as I had anticipated.  But the true joy was the look on each child's face as they opened the gift of tissues....only to discover the true present within.  We had fun watching them pull the dollar bills out of the box, and then carefully separating each one into a tidy sum of cash for their own personal use.

There was also another website that illustrated several different, creative ways to give money.  I plan to refer to this again and again for future ideas - not just for Christmas, but other fun gift-giving occasions.

A Homemade Christmas

I realize that Christmas has come and gone - but I wanted to share with you the gifts that I made for each of my girls:  my two daughters and my soon-to-be daughter in law.  Our family Christmas traditions are many and run deep - filled with lots of routines and favorite recipes.  I decided that I would create a scrapbook that preserved the top ten recipes that I make each year between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Each two page spread included the title of the recipe - the actual recipe itself written on a 3x5 index card and placed in a plastic sleeve that can be removed from the book and replaced - a photograph from years past that depicted our family celebrating the holidays - and a note that briefly told the background of certain traditions.

The project was more labor intensive than I had planned - but fortunately I started early enough that it did not prove too stressful to complete in time for Christmas morning.  I hand wrote each recipe (x3), created page layouts (x3), copied pictures (x3), and added decorative elements (x3).

In the end, I think the books were well-received and I hope that they will be used in years to come.

While we will most likely always have the Italian Christmas Eve vigil at our house (traditionally the feast of seven fishes but done Totoro style includes baked salmon - boiled shrimp - and plenty of snow crab) - my eldest has already claimed that Christmas day will be spent at her house so the grandbaby can enjoy her Santa gifts.  I don't blame her for wanting to adopt a new tradition - but I am a bit melancholy that our days of early Christmas morning risings accompanied with squeals of surprised glee are officially over.  It was a wonder 25 years of fond family memories.

2010 Virtual Advent Calendar

The one thing that is constant in life is change.

I have heard that expression since I was a little girl, but it seems the older I get the more I realize that adage is true.

My Christmas celebration has been steeped in tradition since I was born. I remember it started with decorating tree.  My dad would spend hours making sure that the tree stood straight - in the right spot in front of the living room picture window - and each light bulb worked before stringing them on the tree.  He would then take a a long dowel (about 36 inches) where he would evenly place the 4 cardboard cutouts of the current year - each cut out lined with glue and highlighted with festive glitter.  My brother and I would stand by the tree holding the sign so that Dad could take a "picture for posterity"  My brother and I would decorate the tree with ornaments (which I have a feeling might have been repositioned after we went to bed) and then Dad would meticulously hang individual silver icicles for that finishing touch.  This would officially begin our family Christmas.

There was some traditional baking during the days that led up to Christmas Eve - such as M&M cookies, bishops bread, and orange balls.  Usually Mom would take an entire day to wrap the presents while Rodger and I were at school.  When I came home and saw all those lovely gifts "magically" appear under the tree I knew that Christmas was just around the corner.

Christmas Eve was not celebrated much in my house - except that we did often attend the midnight service when Rodger and I were old enough to stay up that late.  But no matter how much we pleaded, Dad would never allow us to open even one present on Christmas Eve.  All the magic had to happen on Christmas morning.  Consequently, the anticipation would keep us awake much of the night and when we would normally welcome sleeping late any other day of the week, Rodger and I were out of bed before 8:00AM to discover the treasures within the packages - and the surprises from Santa.  Yes, Santa came to our house as long as we lived under the roof.  The gifts were opened by mid-morning, we would feast on Christmas lunch of prime rib and mashed potatoes, and then all of us would take a nice long nap to round out the holiday.

When I married, I knew that some of my childhood traditions would need to meld with my husband's Italian heritage.  I brought with me the desire to bake M&M cookies and Bishop's bread, and of course the continuation of Santa's visit, while Geoff contributed the Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve.  In his house, Christmas Eve was celebrated as much as Christmas Day. His grandmother (first generation American) would always prepare the large meal of aioli (angel hair pasta with a garlic/anchovy sauce), bacala fritters (salted cod), fried white fish, and bacala salad that included Italian peppers drizzled with olive oil.  Not quite seven fishes - but it was a huge meal.  After all the dishes had been cleared, washed, and put away, gifts from Cora were opened while coffee and cookies were consumed.  

Geoff also brought his father's love of Christmas lights into our home.  It would not be unusual for him to detangle ten or twelve strands of lights before placing them on the tree.  It often took several hours, but it was a true labor of love and resulted in a well-lit tree.

When we had children we knew that we wanted to institute some new traditions - that would be particular just to our family.  We still made the traditional cookies, although we added a few more to the list:  I eliminated orange balls but now include decorated sugar cookies and white chocolate dipped pretzels.  We decorate a tree --- although I eliminated the need for an elaborate sign to announce the date, and Geoff relished the idea of a pre-lit tree rather than dealing  with all the tangled cords.  We began the tradition of inviting friends over to make gingerbread houses in 1992, which is a lot of work but also a lot of fun.  The Christmas Eve vigil continues, although we have substituted chicken tenders for bacala fritters, and shrimp and crab for bacala salad and white fish.  A bit more expensive than the original meal, but so delicious.  We allowed our children to open gifts from Cora and each other on Christmas Eve - but the remaining gifts would have to  wait until Christmas morning.  Santa still comes to all in the house, but here all the stocking stuffer gifts are individually wrapped to help make the Christmas surprise last a bit longer.  The Christmas breakfast consists of egg casserole and bagels and cream cheese (a bit of New England in the Midwest) and the Christmas dinner continues to be roast beast, potatoes and gravy, and two kinds of pie:  pumpkin and mincemeat.  The required nap is still a staple.

This has been our family tradition for a generation, but the times are changing.  This Christmas will be slightly different as my daughter will be celebrating with her in-laws in Memphis, my son will be splitting his time between our family and his girlfriend, and my mother is not sure that she is up to join us for all the festivities.  We will be small group around the dining room table. I will still bake the same cookies - although it will not be quite as elaborate or nearly as much; I will still wrap the stocking stuffers in the hopes of prolonging the magic of Christmas just a bit longer (although I anticipate the two kids at home will opt to sleep a bit later this year), and the two primary feasts will remain the same, although noticeably smaller.  

My eldest - racing to find what
Santa had brought (1993)

But while this Christmas will be different, it will also be transitional.  Next year will bring even more changes:  there will be a new granddaughter to shop for, my son will be living in LA rather than Nashville and it will not be as easy to hop a flight home; my youngest will have moved into her own apartment (although it will still be in town) and probably wish to do her own baking rather help me with mine.  Mom's health is always questionable, but her presence will certainly be felt - just perhaps in a different way.  I anticipate that many of these traditions will stay the same --- but I also know that many will be adapted.  My daughter will want to begin her own traditions with her daughter, my son will continue to split time between households, and my youngest will have established her own life.  All as it should be.  

It is my expectation that many of the traditions will continue because it is what Geoff and I desire of a Christmas holiday.  Perhaps the cookies will be fewer, the meals not as elaborate, and the decorating a bit toned down, but it will still be our Christmas.  I also hope that as the children grow older, we can continue to have a Christmas Eve vigil together every two or three years --- and perhaps on the off-years we can celebrate a Christmas Day together as well.  Santa will still visit for all - although the wrapped stocking stuffers may be fewer as his helper seems to be developing a touch of arthritis in the knees and can't wrap as much as she once could.

Yes, the more things change, the more the stay the same.  This is particularly true of our Christmas celebration.

TSS: 11.28.10

Well, it is hard to believe that Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone and we are now in the throws of the holiday season.  I must admit, however, that I truly love this time of year.

I have done very little in the way of reading and writing this week; in fact, I have not written a single word in my NaNoWriMo work all week long.  I knew that this would happen, however, which is why I wrote like a mad woman the first two weeks of the month.  I still have about 2,000 words to go to meet the 50,000 word challenge, and I probably have about 10,000 words to go until the end of the book.  I may not finish writing the book before Tuesday night, but I will definitely achieve my goal of completing NaNoWriMo 2010.

This has been a fun family week.  My son came in from Nashville and we were able to celebrate with all children and their respective others.  It was nice to have the Thanksgiving table full of food, family, and friends.  My daughter will be spending Christmas with her in-laws in Memphis and Brian will be moving to Los Angeles in January, so this was probably the last time that we will all be together for quite a while.  My youngest will graduate in May and I will become a ....ahem....grandmother in April (not sure I like the sound of that new title) so 2011 is sure to be a year of significant changes, so it was nice to have a traditional Thanksgiving weekend.

Christmas time is definitely here!  I did actually venture out into the Black Friday crowds around 5:00AM and when I returned home around noon I had most of the Christmas shopping completed.  I still have a couple of stocking stuffers to purchase, but other than that, I am done.  I am  SO excited!  I hope to have them all wrapped by the middle of the month so that I am not staying up late on Christmas Eve.

We put up the tree on Friday night and I experimented taking a few photos.  I have a long way to go in my creative photography pursuits, but I am trying to give myself a break and rather than expect perfection, just enjoy the process.  I am looking forward to the Picture the Holidays online photography course that will begin on Wednesday.  While the next couple of weeks will be busy with end-of-the-semester grading and preparing for final exams, I hope to find a bit of time each day to focus on photography.

I also hope to start reading for pleasure again.  It has been far too long and I think I am ready to escape again into the world of fiction.  Most of reading lately has focused on writing, and after NaNoWriMo I think I am ready to take a break from the writing routine. I still hope to maintain some kind of daily writing habit, but not at the insane pace of 50,000 words in a month.  I think the Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge is the perfect antidote.  I still need to cull through my bookshelves to find the perfect books.

I am also looking forward to reading all the holiday themed blog posts that will be a part of the Virtual Advent Tour.  I so enjoyed reading about others' traditions last year, and I know that I will anticipate each day's entries this year as well.  In fact, I decided to take part in this tour myself and am scheduled to post on December 20th.  I participated for the first time last year and gave a brief overview of our family's Italian celebration.  I am not quite sure what I will share this year, but I have some time to consider the options.

This week I will have to put my nose to the grindstone.  I have taken off three full days and now I need to write lesson plans and grade research papers.  I hope to write all the lesson plans for the rest of the semester today and grade about six of the remaining eighteen papers.  The students will be giving oral reports in class tomorrow and then I will have to complete the grading by Wednesday.  I have an incentive, however, that should help me to stay focused:  on Friday I will leave for Nashville for the weekend.  I will have the opportunity to see my son again, my brother and his wife, and attend the Birth of Impressionism Exhibit at the Frist Museum.  I have wanted to see this since I first heard about in July.  Approximately one hundred paintings from the Musee  d'Orsay will be on display, and while Nashville is not Paris, this will certainly be the next best thing.  I am just giddy with excitement!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and that the upcoming holidays will allow you to rest, relax, and enjoy the true meaning of this Season of Hope.

Gingerbread Houses

About a week ago I posted some of our family traditions, which include making gingerbread houses. Several of you requested that I post the finished products, and I am happy to comply.

On Monday night we had my daughter and her husband, my son and his girlfriend, along with her stepfather, mother, and brother, and my youngest daughter participate in the annual decorating of the GB --- as they have dubbed the event on twitter. My husband and I tried to ensure that everyone had enough frosting and goodies to complete their project.

The ante has now officially been "upped" in the Gingerbread House event. While the "typical" house would include two pentagons for the front and back, two squares for the sides, and two rectangles for the roof --- many participants this year decided to cut their own shapes for a different gingerbread look. But I am getting ahead of myself. On Sunday afternoon I rolled, cut, and baked 8 different houses. I usually do this at least 24 hours in advance so that the gingerbread has a chance to set and somewhat harden.

On Monday afternoon I went shopping for all the decorating goodies. These tend to vary slightly from year to year, but typically include:

• Frosted Mini Wheat cereal -- makes a great thatched roof; or hay
• Tootsie Rolls - makes great logs stacked on the side of the house
• Green Gumdrops - makes perfect bushes to decorate with snow along the perimeter of the house
• Necco wafers --- good for a roof
• Red Licorice bites - also good for a red tile roof effect - or a chimney
• M&Ms --- all around good decorating
• Jelly Belly (ice cream assortment) - these particular colors make great sidewalks or stone effects for the side of a house
• Stick Pretzels -- make a great fence or just good all-around building material (I forgot to buy these this year and was made aware of my faux pas. It will not happen again)
• Nerds - or other small candies - make good Christmas Light decorations

Of course the sky is the limit with candy decorations - but these tend to be our favorites.

As I mentioned before, this year we got into the sculpting of gingerbread as well as the simple candy decorations. One made a rather clever in-ground house sculpture; my son-in-law made a pick up truck, my daughters made an adobe style house, and my son and his girlfriend put their houses together and made a "ranch" house (hmmm....I wonder if this was a subtle hint that they plan to eventually live together?? -- eg --- an engagement is in the near future?)

Ultimately I think fun was had by all. Decorating lasted nearly two full hours, and many laughs were shared. It is always a great time - and I am so glad that this tradition has continued after the kids have grown. Although I do wonder how many houses I will have to make once grandchildren are on the scene?!

2009 Virtual Advent Calendar Tour

Today marks the beginning of my 5th decade on this earth and I thought what better way to celebrate than to recall fond memories and traditions of the past 50 Christmases in this blog entry.

When I was growing up, Christmas was always celebrated on Christmas Day. As much as my brother and I would beg my father to let us open "just one gift" on Christmas Eve, the answer was always no. While we feigned disappointment, I think the prolonged suspense helped make Christmas morning all that more special. My fondest Christmas memory of this time in my life was the year I turned 16. I had looked forward to my 16th birthday since I was 8 --- no joke. And while the Sweet Sixteen birthday was not all that I hoped it would be, that Christmas more than made up for it. I had decided that I wanted an old-fashioned Christmas that year and my family was kind enough to indulge my wish. We went to a Christmas Tree farm and cut our own tree (typically we decorate with artificial trees), and my grandmother hand-crocheted several ornaments to help decorate it. That evening we went to the midnight Christmas Eve service and when we exited the church it was snowing!! It was going to be a White Christmas - a real dream come true.

I will never forget the first Christmas that I spent with my husband's family. We were not yet engaged, but I was treated as a part of the family from almost the beginning. His family is 100% Italian --- something that I have always highly valued as my ancestry is a mish-mash of ethnicities. His grandmother always prepared her celebration on Christmas Eve and she would spend hours in the kitchen preparing the Vigil. Being devout Catholics (at least at some point in their lives), the vigil included only pasta and fish -- no meat. While this was an unusual feast, I cherished the tradition and have incorporated it as a part of our family Christmas celebration ever since.

The first course is Aioli --- angel hair pasta served with an anchovy sauce. I know it doesn't sound very appealing, but it is absolutely delicious. Geoff's grandmother always made Bacala -- fish fritters made of salted cod. While this was easily found in the Italian section of Bridgeport, CT, her hometown, bacala is not readily available here in the beef-eating midwest. For a number of years Cora would actually mail us the bacala about two weeks before Christmas. I would carefully soak the fish in water for the

required 3 to 4 days, frequently replacing the old water with fresh. About 5 years ago we decided to forego the bacala fritters and replace them with fresh boiled shrimp and crab legs. This is a true delicacy for the family, and a dish that all look forward to eating. I also make Spinach Bread from Cora's old recipe collection that is simple, yet festive. Dessert includes not only holiday cookies, but an Italian specialty called Strufoli --- or honey balls. They are not difficult to make, but very time consuming. My husband absolutely loves them however, and I don't think he would consider it Christmas without them. So, as a labor of love, I make them every year just for him.

Over the years it has gradually become tradition for my kids to sleep together in the basement on Christmas Eve. They ARE allowed to open one gift on this night before Christmas -- typically the one that includes a new pair of Christmas PJs and a new DVD to watch during the night. They are "banished" to the basement around 10:00 so that Geoff and I can wrap all the stocking gifts while we watch A Preacher's Wife, It's a Wonderful Life, and/or A Christmas Story. We usually finish around 12:30 or 1:00 --- set out Santa --- and go to bed.

While I expected this latter tradition to slowly fade as the children got older, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised two years ago when my eldest daughter, who is now married, planned the overnight stay -- her husband included -- because she did not want to miss the silly sibling early morning antics, nor did she want to miss the opening of Santa. At our house, Santa leaves a stocking for everyone: grandma --- dogs ---- parents --- and kids of all ages. Apparently this is something that Megan has enjoyed and she has vowed to keep the tradition going long after Geoff and I have faded away. Who would have known that such a simple routine would have developed into such a symbolic tradition over time.

Another whimsical idea that has evolved into a Totoro tradition is the making of gingerbread houses. What began as a fun activity to distract the children from the endless wait to Christmas, has gradually become a ministry activity to meet people who are new to our lives, and now to grow closer to families who have become a significant part of our lives. Every year since 1991, I have made a minimum of one gingerbread house per child, with the maximum number of houses being 12 when my daughter invited several friends from school to take part in our annual tradition. The house just doesn't smell like Christmas until I bake the gingerbread, and we would not recognize the season if the table weren't covered with symmetrical stacks of gingerbread pieces ready for assembly. Each child (well now, each grown up who is a child at heart) receives a cardboard base, 6 pieces of gingerbread, and a pastry bag filled with royal icing. Newcomers are given a quick lesson on proper pastry bag etiquette, and then everyone quickly assembles their house. The dining table is laden with the necessary candies, cereal, and metallic dragees to decorate an entire gingerbread village. The festivities usually last about 2 hours, and the culinary creations are always unique. Our tradition is to leave the Gingerbread House up for the holidays, and then eat it on New Year's Day.

So on this special day --- 10 days before Christmas and the advent of a new decade of my life --- I look back in awesome wonder at all the warm holidays of the past, while I look forward to many more familial gatherings in the future. I thank you for stopping by and sharing in this celebration with me.