So did anyone celebrate Festivus today? If so, how did you celebrate? I was going to take part in Festivus this year, but I'm afraid I'd get carried away with the Airing of Grievances. I have so many.
Please share your Festivus traditions!
(For those who don't know what I'm talking about, or would like more info, try the Wikipedia page on Festivus. Very informative.)
I think made-up holidays are my favorite.
OK, not really (it's a toss-up between Thanksgiving and Christmas). But the silly, made-up holidays are what really inspire me. They set a theme for my day and put a unique spin on an otherwise fairly dull routine.
According to this source, today's made-up holiday is Bake Cookies Day. No big surprise behind the timing of this one; many people are already getting in the holiday spirit by baking sweets. In fact, I was already planning on baking some cookies this weekend...I decided today would be a great time to start!
Please don't ask me what my favorite Christmas cookie is. I have too many favorites to pick just one! Today I made Peanut Butter Blossoms (the ones with Hershey's Kisses) and prepared the dough to make gingerbread cut-outs for tomorrow.
What are your must-haves when it comes to Christmas cookies?
Pink Day is an unofficial holiday, yet it is still one of my favorites! Pink is my very favorite color and if something comes in pink, I have to have it! Housewares, office supplies...you name it and I probably have it. One of my most beloved belongings is my pink KitchenAid mixer. I even have a matching cover for it so it stays clean.
Wear pink today! Eat pink foods! (OK, there aren't too many pink foods that I can think of, but you can always make it pink by adding food coloring.) Take pictures of pink things or make some art or crafts with pink as the focal or accent color!
Here are some of my personal pink pics:
Enjoy!
Happy Bundt Pan Day!
It is supposed to be super hot in Los Angeles today, so if you don't feel like cranking up the oven, you should check out Kiss My Bundt. I really really wish I'd thought of that name first; I love it!
Anyhow, have some cake today (hopefully of the bundt variety) and celebrate!
According to one source, today is Indian Pudding Day.
Never heard of Indian Pudding? Me either. So I pulled up my trusty search engine and looked for an answer. It doesn't sound Indian (American or Eastern) but it does sound delicious!
Indian Pudding is a dessert that is baked and it's a warm, brown, gooey, delicious-sounding thing you serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. I cannot wait to try this for Thanksgiving!
Recipe 1
Recipe 2
November is Family Stories Month
I could not find an official site for this observance, nor could I find who had created it. Regardless, I still think it is a fantastic idea, and one that I can really get geeked about. Additionally, the holidays are the best time to try to collect family stories, as you often see them more this time of year.
I am a huge history buff and I love to hear stories about my family. My grandparents are all gone and most of their siblings as well. While I still have my parents, I want to know as much about my family as possible. Recently, I've been creating my family tree on Ancestry, but I don't really get any stories this way, mostly facts.
There are many ways to collect your family's stories, but you need to focus on the best way to get the stories from your family. Some people will find that story telling comes naturally, but others you will need to prompt. My mother always says that she doesn't have any stories, or that she can't think of any. All I need to do is simply ask her a question or two, then sit back and listen as she talks and talks. I tease her about it and say, "I thought you didn't have any stories!" She has them, she just needs a prompt or two.
Prompts can be as simple as, "What was your childhood like" or more specific, like "How old were you when you got your first job?" This site has some great questions to ask your relatives, or even to answer yourself! (November is also National Life Writing Month.)
One year, my family wrote down memories on little slips of paper. We put them in a jar, and pull them out at holidays, or when we are all at home. They don't have to be holiday specific, just funny or warm little things you don't want to forget!
Enjoy Family Stories Month, and let me know if you have any good ones! I love to hear family stories, even if they aren't about my family!
Hmmm....I know Christmas festivities start earlier and earlier each year, but gingerbread houses in early November? I normally celebrate this in December (see last year's post), but I'm sure there is room in my life for more gingerbread.
Following is the recipe I used for my cut-out gingerbread houses last year. We like to eat our houses, rather than construct elaborate structures to be admired, so I use a softer cookie recipe.
Gingerbread Cut-outs
1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
1/2 to 3/4 c white or brown sugar
1/2 c molasses
1 egg yolk
2 c flour, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
additional flour as needed
-Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk.
-Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Blend into wet ingredients until smooth. Add more flour as needed. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350F. On a well-floured surface, roll to 1/4". Cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2" apart on ungreased sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire racks.
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Happy Holidaze by Alyson Wieczorek is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
