Christmas Eve is a week away and, to me, that means time for cookies...lots of 'em! I always make a bunch of cookies and display them on this pretty blue and white tiered stand that my mom gave me. More about our holiday cookie tradition below.
On the bottom of this lovely dish it says: Hand Engraving, Old Foley, Chrysanthemum, James Kent, Staffordshire, England.
The dish is all ready...now I just have to get started making those cookies!
And a game of tag, Christmas style
My dear blogger friend Tabetha at The Closet Intellectual has
tagged me in a game of “Tag – You’re It, Christmas Style.” Be sure to visit
Tabetha for her Holiday Extravaganza Week.
This pretty lady presented me with five holiday-worthy questions to
answer. I trained as a journalist, probably because I don’t like to answer questions. But I’ll give it a try…
What is your oldest
family holiday tradition?
I don’t know if it’s the oldest, but my favourite holiday tradition is setting out cookies on Christmas Eve on our three-tiered cookie stand. My mom used to do it every Christmas Eve. We didn’t have much family in our area—most of them lived in Nova Scotia—but my parents’ friends would drop in throughout the evening for tea and sweets. My mom gave me the blue and white cookie stand and I fill it up with cookies each year at my house now. My kids and my nieces love to pick out cookies from it.
What is your favorite holiday memory from childhood?
Okay, Mom, don’t tell Dad I put this on my blog. It’s not a favourite memory, but rather a dominant memory. After all, the not-so-fun experiences give you character, and I can look back on them with fondness now. Something about Christmas just rubbed my dad the wrong way. He was really grumpy about it. We had this horrible artificial tree with colour coded branches. Each branch had a bit of colour on the end that matched the colour around a hole on the tree. You had to insert each branch individually. When we got a bit older, my sister and I would put up the tree together. It was a pain in the you-know-what. The colour had actually worn off the stems, so you had to hold each piece up to the next to find the longest ones. And my dad would be yelling at us the whole time. He often went to bed early on Christmas Eve. Not sure what was going on there.
Penguins, snowmen or nutcrackers?
For a pet, mascot or décor? We have one stuffed snowman that someone gave me, but I think penguins are cuter. Frosty aside, of course. Strangely, we have had almost no snow yet this year in the Toronto area. One day it snowed a bit and my daughter was able to make a tiny snowman.
What is your favorite holiday cookie?
When I was a kid, I loved cherry balls. My husband thinks that’s disgusting. I can’t bring myself to make them now when I see all of the fake colour in the maraschino cherries. Life is more complicated now that I think all the time. I enjoy veganizing old cookie recipes, and making them with spelt flour. If you want to talk squares, date squares are still my favourite. I reinvented granny’s recipe here.
Linking up with these wonderful sites: Sir Thrift A Lot and A Living Space and Homemaker on a Dime and Hey What's for Dinner Mom? and The Cottage Market and Coastal Charm and Knick of Time and The Thrifty Groove
Oh I love reading posts like this and getting to know about the bloggers I read.
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday to you Jo!
Thanks Rachel. Happy Monday to you too! :)
DeleteI agree with Rachel, it's so nice to get to know our fellow bloggers like this. I loved your holiday tradition by the way!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading and for commenting! :)
DeleteThat cookie stand is absolutely beautiful. -And I'm with you...it's definitely COOKIE TIME! Happy holidays!
ReplyDeleteI am really fond of it...and I have got to get going on those cookies...soon! Happy holidays to you too, Heather.
DeleteJOANN: DON'T FORGET WE WENT TO THE TREE FARM & CUT "REAL TREES" UNTIL YOU & YOUR SISTER COMPLAINED SO MUCH ABOUT NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE A TREE DECORATED & IN THE HOUSE IN NOVEMBER, LIKE SO MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS. THE PROBLEMS WERE JUST DIFFERENT THEN.
ReplyDeleteLOVE MOM
I remember the real trees too, Mom. Don't worry! :)
DeleteOooh love the stand! I can't really do enough cookies for something like that because they all get eaten before they've barely cooled down :P
ReplyDeleteI usually pop them in the freezer as soon as they are cooled down. It's safer that way! ;)
DeleteI remember Dad putting our tree together, with the color coded branches !! I can see it now.....
ReplyDeleteNothing like the pop-up pre-lit trees they have now I guess!
DeleteOur tree has those color coded branches...makes me grumpy too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your stories!
Hey Julee, I didn't know those trees still existed. ;)
DeleteBeautiful cookie plate! And you reminded me I have one packed away, too, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruthie. Enjoy your cookie plate...and the cookies of course!
DeleteFantastic answers-- love the snowman too {& the cookie plate is also gorgeous}. We have the same color coded branches for our tree & we were just contemplating what we will do when the colored tape wears off LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks Tabetha. Your questions gave me an excuse to post my daughter's snowman pic! ;)
DeleteI think it was paint on the branches of our tree. Tape sounds interesting. I thought the trees just popped up now?
Beautiful cookie thingy! That snowman is great, making the most of a little snow :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lilly. We still don't have snow...feels very odd.
DeleteYour moms cookie stand is lovely and that little snow man is pretty awesome!
ReplyDeleteDon't feel bad about your dad being a grinch, my mom (who was amazing in every other way) was kind of a bummer during the holidays, too. By the time I hit 11 she stopped putting up a regular tree and converted to a tiny fake tree. We never celebrated with family so it was a very quiet, very boring day. Meh. Probably why a big, live tree and celebrating is so important to me now.
I love that you had guests dropping by through out the evening to say hello and indulge in treats... It sounds perfect!
PS- cracking up at your moms comment...lol :D
PPS (or is it pss?) - Joann's mom, you have amazing taste!
Thanks Wendy. Grinch is a good word for it. ;) A tiny fake tree is kind of sad. ;) I'm sure you put on a great party now though. :) I like when people drop by too, and indulging in treats of course! Yes, my mom and I have different viewpoint on history, don't we? ;)
DeleteWhat a fun way to get to know each other. I LOVE that beautiful tiered tray! Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing with us at TTF. And have a Very Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Merry Christmas to you too Diann!
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