Christmas Don’ts

So many people have holiday traditions, things they do each and every year, and while we definitely have more than our fair share of Dos, today I’d like to talk about a few of my Don’ts.

I don’t:

Use tinsel. Not one sparkly strand. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-tinsel – as a matter of fact, growing up, we always had tinsel (or what we called “icicles”) on our tree. We’d grab the glittery stuff and toss it willy nilly all over that beautiful evergreen. It was so ingrained in me that during the first few years of marriage, my husband and kids and I repeated the tradition. Until I actually had to clean up all that shiny stuff – from the floors, the furniture, our clothes…so, yeah. No tinsel. Not even the garland kind. I’m now used to a less sparkly tree. *g* (I’ve also outlawed any and all Easter grass during Easter but that’s a whole ‘nother post) The tree pictured here is my mom’s, hence the sparkle.

Make or drink eggnog. I know it’s traditional and all and I love eggs as part of a meal but the idea of drinking them just gives me the heebie jeebies *shudder*. So…no eggnog even though Big Sis (older daughter) loves it. This year I’m making apple brandy. Hey, that can be traditional, right?

Watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, How the Grinch Stole Christmas or The Year Without a Santa Claus. They (and a few others) freak out my children (who, I might add, are 21, 18 and 15 but still…) It’s the artwork for some reason *shrug* It’s such a deep-seated fear that the other night when I found The Year Without a Santa Claus on TV, Big Sis wouldn’t come into the living room until I’d turned the channel. I tried to talk her into watching the part where Heat Miser sings but she’d have none of it.

Send Christmas cards early. Ever. I always plan on having them done weeks ahead of time but it never happens. Some years I’ve barely made it On Time. Oh, and I always save my kids’ school pictures to include in the cards but I don’t always remember to actually put them in the envelopes.

Put ribbons or bows on wrapped presents. I used to. I used to spend hours wrapping presents, curling ribbons and making perfect bows (I even got a wooden bow-maker one year – you wrapped the ribbon around it somehow…wonder if I still have that?) and being creative with my wrapping. Now I’m lucky if I don’t run out of wrapping paper, tape and/or gift tags. Seriously. I’ve been known to use the Sunday comics for wrapping paper, stickers (yes, stickers) in place of tape and folded pieces of scrap paper for tags. It’s not pretty.

Let my kids step one foot into the living room on Christmas morning until my husband and I have coffee in hand, Bing playing on the CD player and the camera ready to snap a picture of their reactions at seeing all the presents Santa left. As I mentioned, two of them are now legally adults and yes, we still do this. And yes, Santa still leaves presents AFTER they’ve gone to bed Christmas Eve.

Hey, I can’t spend all that time wrapping presents. I have goodies to make! Here’s a super easy one that also happens to be my husband’s favorite:

Peanut Clusters

2 – 12 oz packages of white chips

1 – 12 oz package of milk chocolate chips

1 – 12 oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 cups Spanish peanuts.

Combine chips in a large bowl. Melt. (Can melt over low heat of a double boiler – I use a glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of an inch or so of simmering water) or in the microwave (med heat for 2 minutes, stir, then microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth).

Add Spanish peanuts, stir until coated. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto wax paper lined cookie sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. (We love a salty/sweet treat so I sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top of half of these *g*)

What are some of your Christmas Don’ts? I’ll draw one name to win a set of The Diamond Dust trilogy which kicked off with A MARINE FOR CHRISTMAS!

And you DON’T want to miss out on the 12 Bandita Days of Christmas! From now until December 25th we’re celebrating the holidays with daily recipes and PRIZES! It’s all leading up to a HUGE Prize bundle of books and goodies on Christmas Day! Tomorrow’s guest, Jeannie Watt, is giving away THREE copies of her latest release for SuperRomance, CROSSING NEVADA!