Countdown to the Holidays: Craft Time!

I'm taking a break from dusting my dining room chandelier (no, really) and want to talk about crafts for the holidays. I'm a Girl Scout leader. We do crafts. These mermaids pictured were made by my scouts to sell at the annual Holiday Stroll.

Every year we have a table inside the big church on Main Street where we sell little holiday ornaments and whatnot to the visitors. They come to town for the tree lighting and stay for the music and good cheer.

It's a Cape tradition in many of these small towns, kind of like a Friday night block party or evening sidewalk sale where all the local merchants and businesses sponsor music, food, sales, crafts, raffles, etc. all up and down Main Street. Lots of fun, and a nice opportunity for local groups like the Girl Scouts to earn a little extra money (we're hoping to go snowshoeing up north with the proceeds!)

Last week was the Veteran's Day holiday. I should have planned ahead for a blog post that day, but didn't. I was busy with my troop at the annual ceremony held at the local Veteran's Memorial. All the scouts and veterans and soldiers who live here in town participate.

Since it was a Thursday off from school, I invited all of the girls back to our house for pizza and crafts following the ceremony. We spent the rest of the day making fleece dog toys, kitchen spoon carolers, cinnamon cookie ornaments, and clothespin mermaids. I knew the mermaids would be a little hard to make, but the girls rose to the occasion and did an outstanding job of it.

Each girl took one home to hang on her own tree or give as a gift. The rest will be sold at the Stroll. I may have to make a few more with my daughter for holiday gifts for our own family!

What kind of crafts do you make for the holidays? Or is the glue gun your sworn enemy? Share some new ideas - the girl scouts are always up for a new challenge!

Happy Crafting!

Countdown to the Holidays: Puppy Tries to Help

She means well. I know she does.

No, I'm not wrapping gifts already - I was, however, trying to get the guest room cleared out for the arrival of my parents for a Thanksgiving visit. I'd gotten some Christmas bins out in October so that I could get at the Halloween boxes stuffed even further back in the recesses of my attic.

Now I've successfully (if only temporarily) shoved the whole mess back in there.

Puppy really wanted to help - or at least, not let me out of her sight. And being in the middle of everything is what she does best. She was curious about what was in the boxes... and tipped one or two over just to check out the contents...

Just wait until the Holidays really get into gear...

Countdown to the Holidays: Pudding Wishes

I'd be lying if I said the Pudding Wishes weren't important. Making Plum Pudding is all about the wishes, not only when you light the flame on Christmas, but also as you're stirring it together in the pot. When you add the sweet to the savory, there's a lot of stirring to be done. Everyone gets a turn, and everyone gets a wish for the coming year.

Our family has added the tradition of "photo ops," taking lots of photos during the stirring (and the wishing.) Here are just a few from this year's event...



Family. That's what Plum Pudding weekend is all about. The people in these photos live in Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, California and Cape Cod, but for this one weekend, we were all together, drinking wine, catching up and making Pudding.

What's your favorite part of the Holiday Season?

Countdown to the Holidays: Pudding Time!

If you're from an English or Irish family, perhaps you've had traditional Plum Pudding served to you at Christmas or New Years dinner. You know, the rounded one with the holly in flames at the top. But does your family still make Pudding from scratch?

Mine does. Every year.

The recipe came over to New York City from England with the Taylor family in 1900. It was a prized and coveted family recipe - so coveted, in fact, that my Great Grandmother and Great Aunt tore the recipe in half and each kept only one half in her recipe box, so that thieves wouldn't be able to steal the whole recipe.

When my own Grandmother was dying and gave the recipe to my mother, she and her sister and sister-in-law decided to continue the tradition, and each fall get together to make the puddings. It's a pretty involved process, but many hands make light(er) work.

The yuckiest job is "picking the fat." Yes, big chunks of thick, white lard are purchased from the butcher, but then need to be picked lean of hard bits and veins. Aunt Marcie got stuck doing the whole thing by herself this year. (Hey, I was busy taking photos!)

The saying the "proof is in the pudding" refers to the amount of alcohol that goes into it to preserve and kill the germs. Good pudding needs lots of alcohol to keep it moist so it doesn't crack when you turn it out, and to keep the bacteria levels in check. Rye whiskey is used when stirring it together, added by the oldest member present. Either brandy or some other high-proof alcohol is used to light the pudding on Christmas, creating that blue flame we all get to wish upon.
While the last of the ingredients are being mixed together, the boiling bowls need to be prepped. This is one of the jobs that gets pawned off on the youngest helpers - adding that layer of Crisco to the insides of the Pyrex bowls. My Great Aunt Zoe is usually the chief bowl inspector, but couldn't make the trip to Virginia this year. I was a poor substitute as my kids didn't want to listen to me ... well, in their defense, it was close to midnight at this point. They weren't listening to much of anything.
When the bowls are prepped and the secret ingredients are all stirred together, it's time to fill the bowls and finish the process. Squares of new clean muslin are cut and soaked in water. Each bowl is placed in its own square, and then topped off with a thick layer of flour on top, before being tied up tightly with string. Each bowl needs to then be boiled for several hours (depending on the size of the bowl) and then allowed to sit quietly all tied up until Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve, we'll get our puddings out of the closet, and boil them again for several more hours. When they're boiled enough, you finally get to cut the string, unwrap the muslin and scoop the remaining crust of hardened flour from the bowl. Then you "turn out the pudding" onto your serving plate. If it turns out without any cracks, it bodes well for the coming year.

The family recipe makes a lot of puddings. Each person takes several home to distribute to friends and colleagues - most of whom are of English or Irish descent. My publisher at CapeWomenOnline loves the pudding I give her each year for Christmas, which is probably the only reason she wasn't annoyed that I was going away the weekend we're trying to launch the Holiday Issue! Not many people eat plum pudding - my own kids prefer Pumpkin Pie!

So why continue the tradition? For one thing, it's a Holiday tradition. It's an opportunity for the extended family to gather with a purpose, but really just an excuse to get together and catch up before the Holiday Madness descends.

What traditions does your family observe? What brings the generations together at your house?