Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas
Christmas. For many of us, our picture of this holiday is a static one:
we've "always" done this or we "always" do that.
Indeed, that idea of tradition and stability and connection is one of
the deepest and most meaningful themes of the holiday!
I make Aunt Bill's Brown Candy or Mim's Texas Pralines because my
mother did, my grandmother did, my great-grandmother did.
Celebrating that connection is wonderful, but don't let it blind you to
the very real fact that Christmas also changes.
If I compare our current Christmas celebrations to my childhood
holidays, I find that today's rejoicing is longer, faster, more intense and
more expensive. Not better or worse, but different.
This is, I humbly submit, as it should be. Children grow. Families
change. On growing older, many of us explore new spiritual depths, finding
meaning in different places.
And, yes, it means that while I treasure my copy of a candy recipe that
is written in my great-grandmother's hand, I also know that modern cooks needed
the transliteration I provided a few years ago.
Where Granny Hawk measured sugar in pounds, I measure in cups. Where
grandmother Mim cooked her pralines over the stove, mine get made in the
microwave.
Times change, and so do holidays. Be of good cheer! Christmas has room
for both tradition and novelty, and no one need feel constrained from Christmas
innovation.
But I really have to wonder whether my grandchildren will treasure my
old 5 1/4-inch floppy disk, containing updated recipes for grandmothers'
favorites ...
To Do Today
Print the 2 forms:
Prepare household traditions
What's tradition in your household? Today's the day to prepare.
Bring out the family's favorite holiday books, music and movies.
Display holiday collections, and prepare to track new acquisitions with a Holiday
Collections inventory form.
Does your family give each child an annual ornament? Use an Ornament
Journal inventory page to list each year's special ornaments.
Looking for a new tradition? Try the You've Been Elfed game to bring
seasonal fun to neighbors or co-workers.
Learn about other traditions
The holiday season isn't just Christmas, hard as that can be to realize
in our go-go consumer economy. Other nations, races and ethnic groups have
fruitful and fascinating holiday traditions that also enrich this season of the
year. This holiday season, learn more about Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and
holiday celebrations of other countries.
Open the doors, and bring new dimensions of the holiday season to your
family. The world is wide and large and full of goodness to share. What better
time to rejoice with the whole world?
To Read Today
Holiday traditions don't have to be expensive! Try these no-cost,
low-cost ways to celebrate with children:
Low-Cost, No-Cost Ways to
Celebrate with Children
Cutting costs at Christmas doesn't mean celebrating like Scrooge. It's
not about what you buy--it's about what you do!
Putting "celebration" at the center of the season--and taking
the focus off of gifts and giving--can be the key to happy holidays that don't
break the bank.
Better, when it comes to kids and Christmas, cheap is good! Simple,
inexpensive family activities can be as meaningful as pricey Nutcracker
tickets--and no need for scratchy dresses or dress-up suits.
Try these no-cost, low-cost ways to celebrate the holiday season with
kids:
- Christmas Camp-Out: One evening, roll out sleeping bags in the living room, and hold a family camp-out underneath the Christmas tree. Don’t forget the hot chocolate and carols around the fireplace!
- Lights Night: Put younger children to bed as usual, but wake them an hour later. Tumble the family into the car pajamas and all, and drive out to see the Christmas lights. Pack hot drinks and popcorn for a surprise treat.
- Shopping Date: To encourage children to give, make a one-on-one shopping date with each child. Together with a parent, help the child shop for gifts for other family members. Be sure to stop for a sweet treat. Make memories!
- Pet Patrol: Visit the local humane society or animal shelter, and volunteer to walk homeless pets during the season. Fresh air and family time are a bonus!
- Candle-Lit Dinner: Make an everyday dinner special by dining by candlelight. Share stories around the table as you enjoy the glow.
- Glowing Toes: Share a mother-daughter moment: a girls-only pedicure party, complete with Rudolph-red nail polish!
- Library Lane: Visit the local library and check out books about Christmas. Read one book each night in December as a special holiday countdown.
- Cracker Crafts: Save enough toilet-tissue tubes to supply the family. Create Christmas crackers by stuffing tubes with tiny candies, toys and treats. Wrap crackers, and use them as place cards for holiday dinners.
Today’s Recipe
Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy
Aunt Bill's Brown Candy Recipe
Ready for a unique seasonal taste treat? It's Aunt Bill's Brown Candy!
With unforgettable caramel flavor and bursting with plump pecans, this
old-fashioned cooked candy is a Sooner tradition in the state of Oklahoma--and
it's been a family favorite in the Ewer household for five generations!
Not for the inexperienced candy-maker, but for those with a good
knowledge of candy-cooking, it's a heavenly holiday treat.
Ingredients
6 cupssugar, divided
2 cupslight cream or half-n-half
1⁄4 teaspoonbaking soda
1 cupbutter, unsalted
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
2 poundspecans, shelled (about 8 cups)
Instructions
Combine 4 cups of sugar and the milk or half-n-half in a large, heavy
saucepan. (Rub the sides of the saucepan with butter, to help prevent
graininess.) Stir and set aside.
Put the remaining 2 cups of sugar in a large iron skillet over medium
heat. Stir constantly until the sugar starts to melt. At that time, place the
sugar-milk mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar
dissolves.
At the same time, continue melting the sugar in the skillet, stirring,
until all is melted and it is the color of light brown sugar. Melting sugar
scorches VERY easily, so watch carefully. The entire process may take almost 30
minutes; at the end, you want one pan of light-brown melted sugar AND the
milk-sugar mixture at a very light simmer.
The next step requires family teamwork. Pour the melted sugar into the
simmering milk-sugar mixture in a stream "no bigger than a knitting
needle". Stir constantly! This step may take five minutes, and works best
if someone strong pours the melted sugar v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.
Continue cooking the combined mixture to the firm ball stage (246
degrees; higher at high altitudes), do not stir, other than to scrape the sides
of the pan occasionally.
Remove from the heat at once. Stir in the baking soda--the candy will
foam vigorously, so call the children to watch this step. Plop the butter into
the foaming mixture, and let everything stand without stirring for 30 minutes.
Add vanilla and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture stiffens and
loses its gloss. This process may take 10 to 15 minutes, so beat in turns with
your helper . Add the pecans, stir to mix, and turn the candy out into a
buttered 13-by-9-inch rectangular pan.
Let the candy cool until barely warm; cut in smallish pieces--it's
rich.
Notes
This candy is a wonderful keeper if each piece is wrapped in aluminum
foil, and the wrapped pieces stored in an airtight container.
Aunt Bill's Brown Candy is traditionally sent by the women in our
family to family members serving in the military. It's sturdy, keeps well and
won't be damaged in transit--and brings an unforgettable taste of home to our
family members in service.
Mim’s Texas Pralines
Creamy and delicious. this Texas treat dates from the days when Christmas
memories had to be made with little more than some nuts from the backyard
trees.
Traditionally sent to our family by my grandmother, Mim Miller, these
pecan patties spell "Christmas" to me!
Includes both conventional and microwave directions.
Ingredients
1 cupbrown sugar, packed
1 cupsugar, granulated
1⁄2 cupmilk
2 teaspoonsvanilla extract
2 tablespoonsbutter, unsalted
1 cuppecan halves
Instructions
Conventional directions: Combine milk and sugars in a large saucepan.
Boil to the thread stage.
Add butter, vanilla and pecans, and cook over medium heat to the soft
ball stage.
Remove pan from heat. Beat candy immediately until it thickens. Quickly
drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper.
Microwave directions: Combine milk and sugars in a 2-quart batter bowl;
microwave on High for 7:00 minutes, until mixture begins to bubble. Add butter,
vanilla and pecans.
Microwave on High six to seven minutes, until mixture reaches
232-degrees to 240-degrees--the soft ball stage.
Remove from microwave, and beat candy immediately until it thickens.
Quickly drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper.
To use microwave thermometer to test temperature, crumple a 15"
piece of Stretch-Tite or plastic wrap into a long ribbon.
Center the ribbon over the batter bowl, pressing both ends on the
outside of the bowl. Stick the microwave thermometer through the center of the
plastic wrap strip--it will stand straight up in the center of the candy.
Check the thermometer every 45 seconds to 1 minute.
NOTES : For a quick holiday treat, try making pralines in the
microwave--Cynthia's update to this classic recipe. Both conventional and
microwave directions are included.
Game:
You’ve Been Elfed!
Have you been Elf-ed? Join the fun with this Christmas version of the
Halloween BOO game.
Sometimes called "You've Been Jingled", "You've Been
Elf-ed!" is easy to play.
Sometime before Christmas, one neighbor starts the game, secretly
leaving a basket of treats together with an Elf sign and Elf poem explaining
how to play the game.
Ring the doorbell and run! It's the best part of You've Been Elf-ed!
In turn, each recipient is asked to post the sign to alert would-be
Elves that they've been Elf-ed, and to pass the game along to two more friends
or neighbors.
As the days pass, Elf signs pop up all over. Who's been Elf-ed? It's
all part of the fun to see holiday cheer spread from door to door.
To start the game, we've made it easy with free printable Elf-ed poems
and Elf signs.
Will you join the Christmas fun? Look out ... You've Been Elf-ed!
Print Elf poem and sign
