Advent Calendar - Christmas Eve

     The Christmas Shuffle has begun; no it isn’t some kind of hoe-down dance. Not really, this is the dance that every parent does right before the paper shredding event takes place.

     First thing in the morning we quietly sneak in to grab a cup of coffee, it might be the only peace and quiet we have for two days. I love my kids don’t get me wrong, but we ALL seek silence in the house before the “Christmas Twister” hits. Once all the gift seeking sweethearts get up the Christmas tree attack begins, so to speak. You can catch each one of then sitting on the floor crisscross applesauce style, gazing at the gifts below the tree. The conversation will consist of many different points of interest for all parents to hear.

 

     ….”lets count how many presents are under the tree.”

     ….”that’s too heavy.”

     ….”this one makes sound when you shake it, hey mom this isn’t breakable is it?”

     ….”someone tricked me with this box.”

     ….”I know exactly what this is.”

     Once their legs go numb from sitting on the floor the number one question will be asked, not only once but multiple times, “When are we going to open the presents?”

     Once the kids are entertaining themselves we begin our Christmas Shuffle. Running around making sure we remember where we hid everything, it never fails something is always missing. Then we do a quick double check to make sure we didn’t leave anyone out, or short anyone I should say. We know how they like to count and compare.

 

     Quick kitchen run through making sure all of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner ingredients are on hand. Prepare the sugar cookie station with icing and sprinkles, spread the wax paper out and lay out all of the cookies. Now it’s time for the decorating chefs to come in and create.  Mom and dad now have a few minutes to set back, watch, enjoy and remember our childhood past at our cookie stations.

 

     Our Christmas Eve consists of all the fun activities discussed, the tradition and activities continue on into the evening. Once the cookies are done it's time to make the homemade pizzas, that's right on Christmas Eve we have homemade pizza for our dinner, no were not Italian. Don't worry on Christmas Day it's the traditional prime rib with all the trimmings. The stomachs are full, dishes in the dishwasher and now it's time for the wrapping paper to fly.

 

     Ah, the smiling faces, giggles and joyful conversation are now taking place, while we, mom and dad, set back wondering what just happened. Then laugh and realize it was the "Christmas Twister". The evening has come to an end and now it's time for bed, they try real hard to get all snug in their beds and go to sleep for they know Santa Claus is on his way.

Advent Calendar - Christmas Cookies

     Christmas cookies are a staple in the Rodesky house hold just as they were in the Langston house. Both my mom and grandma would bake like there was no tomorrow. I remember mom would always bake a variety of goodies. Everything from haystacks, peanut clusters, and divinity to sugar cookies and trust me I could go on. With Grandma and Grandpa it was always fudge, they would cut into one inch thick squares, and then warp them in wax paper. I don’t know exactly why they would wrap each piece, maybe they wanted you to feel like you were unwrapping a present of yummy goodness.  My fudge till this day looks like sticky mud; they had a secret, wish I would have asked.

     My favorite cookie was and still is sugar cookies with homemade powder sugar icing. I can clearly remember the first time I was able to help mom make the cookies. She pulled out all of the ingredients that we would need along with the brown and milky white glass mixing bowl. Then she wrapped this yellow and brown apron, with brown rick-rack on the edges, around my waist. She would then but her matching apron on, both of them were made by her grandmother, one was moms and the other one was her moms, my grandma. I still have both of those aprons, I think this might be the year my daughter wears it while making cookies.

     I was allowed to place all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl minus the eggs. I guess the idea of me cracking the eggs on the counter top and floor wasn’t festive. My favorite part of making the cookies was when mom would pour the flour into the sifter and I got to sift. I don’t know what the big deal was with that, it wasn’t anything fancy a metal sifter with a red painted wooden knob that I would turn.

      It never failed once everything was mixed you could find my dad eating some of the cookie dough. He and both my brothers had their favorite part of making the cookies and that was it, eating the dough.  We would roll out the dough and use our Christmas cookie cutters in shapes of stars, Santa, holly leaf and I believe a Christmas bell. Once they were baked and cooled it was time to for the icing and sprinkles. Now this was and still is the “BEST” part. We would lay the paper bags out on the counter top, space the cookies out evenly then begin icing. See I would always add a little extra icing on the cookies so it would run off onto the paper bags. Once the cookies were picked up I would take my finger and wipe up all the icing that accidently, yeah right, dripped off the cookies and lick it off. Yes, this was one of my favorite parts of making sugar cookies and still it.  

     Here in the Rodesky house we still bake all of the Christmas goodies including the sugar cookies. As tradition would have it my husband and sons have taken the place of my dad and brothers. As soon as everything in mixed in the bowl you can always find them grabbing a piece of cookie dough and eating away. My daughter and I can be found dragging our fingers in the icing that drips off the cookies, like mother like daughter. Yummy!