Now that we're moving, a note on the new location--

Welcome to Simply Xmas' new home at Blogger!

After giving the matter some thought, I decided that I would, after 5+ years on the Wordpress platform,  move Simply Xmas over to Google's Blogger. Suffice it to say there are certain advantages to using Blogger that finally swayed me in this direction. The transfer went suprisingly well, but there were a few glitches that must be corrected.  Beyond that, there is a lot of  "dead wood" in the blog that I am going to cull over the next few days: dated material specific to one geographic region, etc. In the beginning this blog focused heavily on covering the various trappings of the Christmas season in the region where I live, but it has been drifting away from that, and more towards a "general" holiday blog. Henceforth, the focus will be the history of Christmas, Christmas recipes, old and new, Christmas games, stories, poetry, images, thoughts and reflections, and of course, ideas related to how you can simplify your Christmas, making it more joyful and less stressful.

This process of cleaning up should take a week or two, and I should be posting fresh content regularly by no later than Thanksgiving, and possibly even earlier than that. Meanwhile, there's a lot here to look through, if this is your first visit.

Some consider Halloween the traditional "kickoff" of the holiday season. Allow me, then, to say for the first time this year: Happy Holidays!

"Christmas Trees," by Robert Frost

THE CITY had withdrawn into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
When between whirls of snow not come to lie
And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove
A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,
Yet did in country fashion in that there
He sat and waited till he drew us out
A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.
He proved to be the city come again
To look for something it had left behind
And could not do without and keep its Christmas.
He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;
My woods—the young fir balsams like a place
Where houses all are churches and have spires.
I hadn’t thought of them as Christmas Trees.
I doubt if I was tempted for a moment
To sell them off their feet to go in cars
And leave the slope behind the house all bare,
Where the sun shines now no warmer than the moon.
I’d hate to have them know it if I was.
Yet more I’d hate to hold my trees except
As others hold theirs or refuse for them,
Beyond the time of profitable growth,
The trial by market everything must come to.
I dallied so much with the thought of selling.
Then whether from mistaken courtesy
And fear of seeming short of speech, or whether
From hope of hearing good of what was mine,
I said, “There aren’t enough to be worth while.”
“I could soon tell how many they would cut,
You let me look them over.”

“You could look.
But don’t expect I’m going to let you have them.”
Pasture they spring in, some in clumps too close
That lop each other of boughs, but not a few
Quite solitary and having equal boughs
All round and round. The latter he nodded “Yes” to,
Or paused to say beneath some lovelier one,
With a buyer’s moderation, “That would do.”
I thought so too, but wasn’t there to say so.
We climbed the pasture on the south, crossed over,
And came down on the north.
He said, “A thousand.”

“A thousand Christmas trees!—at what apiece?”

He felt some need of softening that to me:
“A thousand trees would come to thirty dollars.”

Then I was certain I had never meant
To let him have them. Never show surprise!
But thirty dollars seemed so small beside
The extent of pasture I should strip, three cents
(For that was all they figured out apiece),
Three cents so small beside the dollar friends
I should be writing to within the hour
Would pay in cities for good trees like those,
Regular vestry-trees whole Sunday Schools
Could hang enough on to pick off enough.
A thousand Christmas trees I didn’t know I had!
Worth three cents more to give away than sell,
As may be shown by a simple calculation.
Too bad I couldn’t lay one in a letter.
I can’t help wishing I could send you one,
In wishing you herewith a Merry Christmas.

Classic TV Christmas: Green Acres: "An Old-Fashioned Christmas"

Watch "Frosty the Snowman" Online

Frosty The Snowman (Rankin Bass) by theperminator

Watch the Original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Online

Click on the graphic to go to the website:

A Victorian Christmas, 1840

Outdoor Decorating with Garland

Amanda from Kansas asked for some ideas for outdoor decorating with something that the birds won't eat up right away (unlike cranberry-popcorn garland). Below are some links to various projects the whole family can help with, creating garlands to make the exterior of your abode as festive as the the inside.

• Outdoor Christmas Decorating with Garland: Some great ideas for creating a homemade, natural garland that can be used to frame windows, line railings, and more.


• Christmas Ribbon Garland or Chain:  The idea here is to create a "paper chain," but make it out of ribbon (red and green, for example) instead.


• Homemade Recycled Holiday Luminaries for Thanksgiving or Christmas: This version is made from ordinary used food cans. See video below, which illustrates the effect they create.


• This short instructional video outlines how to make luminaries to line  your driveway. These are strictly for outdoors in dry/non-windy weather, as they are made from paper bags and incorporate a votive candle in each bag. I had never seen them before (I live in the northwest U.S., where it is virtually guaranteed to be inclement in the month of December, which explains why luminaries are popular mostly in the south), but apparently they are made quite often, and give a very cheerful effect, as the photo below illustrates.

"The Common Welfare Was My Business." A Poem.

Elaine stood at the window with her tea,
and watched the man next door,
bearing an armload of groceries,
fumble on the doorstep for his key,
a shadow-man, in the December rain.

She spoke. "I wonder if our new neighbor has people."
"People?" John murmured, looking over her shoulder.
"Yes, people," said Elaine. "So he needn't be alone
at Christmas. I hope he has friends, just as
Providence blesses us;
It hurts my heart, to think of a soul in pain."

John said, "He likely has family, either here or there.
Maybe he's Jewish, his grocery bag overflowing
With chocolate Macabees, and Gefiltefish.
In any case, though, just because he lives alone,
doesn't mean, automatically, that he doesn't have people,
people of his own."

Elaine frowned. "I guess there's no way to know,
Unless one were to ask him, strike up a conversation
along the sidewalk, some day when it isn't raining."
John frowned, then, "So, now, shall we invite to Christmas
Each stray dog that happens in from the rain?
What business of ours is it, really, anyway?"

John was not a cruel man at heart, but Elaine took it cruelly,
and whispered, "The common welfare was my business...
So said the ghost of Jacob Marley, one Christmas Eve."
"Good God!" John exclaimed, "now you're quoting Dickens to me."
"This is real life, my dear. It isn't a fairy tale, a fantasy."

Her fingertip captured the tear on her cheek, before John could see.
"To be sure," she said, and falling silent
She closed the curtain; and in time,
The man outside the foggy window pane....
The shadow man in the December rain....
Was completely forgotten.

"The Holly and The Ivy"- George Winston

10 Festive Drinks for Christmas (alcohol)

Important note: Have a look at this page before you prepare any of these drinks!
----------

 
APPLE PIE SHOT

Ingredients:

• 1 oz vodka


• 1 oz apple cider


• 1 Tbs whipped cream


• 1 pinch cinnamon

Preparation:

In a 2 ounce shot glass, combine vodka and apple cider. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a pinch of cinnamon.

HOT APPLE TODDY

Ingredients:

• 2 oz whiskey or apple brandy


• 1 tsp sugar


• hot apple cider


• lemon wedge for garnish


• cinnamon stick for garnish


• 2-3 whole cloves for garnish

Spiced Stewed Apples

 
Awesome with roast pork or ham! Also excellent spooned over vanilla ice cream while still warm, with an added drizzle of caramel sauce.

Ingredients:

• 5 large cooking apples*


• 1 cup sugar


• 1 tsp cinnamon


• ¼ tsp nutmeg


• ¼ cup butter


• 2 Tbs water

Preparation:

Peel apples and cut into chunks. Combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Sprinkle seasoned sugar over apples until evenly covered. Put seasoned apples, butter, and the 2 Tbs. water into a pot, cover and cook over low heat, stirring 2 or 3 times, for 20 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve hot with meal.
------
*Common varieties of cooking apples: Granny Smith, Yellow Delicious, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Gala, McIntosh, Pink Lady

Sweet Potato Pie

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes


• 2/3 cup sugar


• 2 eggs, beaten


• 1 cup evaporated milk


• ½ tsp lemon extract


• ½ tsp cinnamon


• ½ tsp salt


• An unbaked pie crust

Preparation:

Scald milk and mix all ingredients together. Pour into the unbaked pie shell and bake a t 425° F. for 20 minutes; reduce to 350° F. and continue another 20 minutes or so. Make sure the crust is well-browned. Test filling with toothpick - it should come out clean.

Cool before serving, but keep in mind that many people like it warm.

"Bringing in the Boar's Head"*

 
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.
The boar's head in hand bring I
With garlands gay and rosemary;
Qui estis in convivio.

I pray you all sing merrily
The boar's head, I understand,
ls the chief service in this land ;
Look wherever it be found,
Servile cum cantico.

Be glad, both more and less,
For this hath ordained our steward,
To cheer you all this Christmas—
The boar's head and mustard!
Caput apri defero,
Reddens laudes Domino.

*Excerpted from The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities. R. Chambers ed., W. & R. Chambers: London-Edinburgh, 1883

Ten Non-Alcoholic Drinks for the Holidays

 

HOPPY HOLIDAYS

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Orange Juice


• 2 oz. Sour Mix


• 1 oz. Pineapple Juice


• Splash of Grenadine


• Splash of 7-Up


• Orange


• Cherry

Preparation: Build first five ingredients on ice. Chill, shake and strain. Garnish with orange and cherry.
------
VERY STRAWBERRY PUNCH

Ingredients:

• 4 packages Strawberry Jello


• 3 large cans Pineapple Juice


• 10 oz. bottle Lemon Juice


• 2 cups Cold Water


• 6 cups Boiling Water


• 3 large cans Ginger Ale


• 5 cups Sugar

Preparation: Combine jello and sugar. Add boiling water first, the cold water, lemon juice and pineapple juice. Refrigerate. Add ginger ale just before serving.

Christmas Past: "Entertaining on Christmas"

December 18, 1915, City Times, Galveston, Texas
ENTERTAINING ON CHRISTMAS

The Christmas season brings to mind the many Christmas days gone by, with their four great features—turkey, cranberry sauce, plum pudding and mince pie.

It was a good old English custom, not to be rejected by the American colonists, although modificatlons were necessary to suit the religion and conditions of living in the colonies, the. Chrlst-splrlt being substituted for the pagan Yuletlde, the famous "boar's, head" was omitted, and the Christmas pie became known as-mince pie. However, many old observances were kept, including the mistletoe and holly, and Christmas was a day for family gatherings, with a feast prepared by the" women of the house.

Christmas Possum

 

GLENNIE NELL'S ROAST CHRISTMAS POSSUM
From The Treasury of White Trash Cooking by Ernest and Trisha Mickler.

Ingredients:

• 1 possum, corn and milk-fed
  for one month prior, cleaned and dressed


• ½ cup vinegar


• Kitchen Bouqet™


• Persimmons jam


• 5-6 slices bacon


• 8-10 medium sweet potatoes


• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Immerse the cleaned and dressed possum in an enamel dishpan or basin, making sure it's completely covered. Add an half cup of vinegar and let soak in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, drain the water and cut the possum into pieces. Boil the pieces in salted water until done, but not falling off the bone (1-2 hours, depending upon the size and the age of the possum). When done, remove the pieces from water and allow to drain in a colander. This part of the process will remove most of the fat.

After the meat cools, rub the pieces generously with salt and black pepper. Then prepare a mixture of 1/2 jar of persimmons jam (any light-tasting jam may be substituted) mixed with two teaspoons of Kitchen Bouqet.™ Thoroughly coat possum pieces with mixture. Transfer pieces to large roasting pan.

Lay 5 or 6 strips of thick-sliced bacon or salt pork across the glazed possum meat, and surround with the sweet potatoes, which have been peeled and rubbed with oil or Crisco.

Put in preheated 350° F. oven and roast, covered, for 30 minutes. Then uncover and cook until well-browned, but not burned (approx. 30 minutes longer). Baste with drippings every few minutes during this phase of the cooking.

Afterremoving from oven, test the sweet potatoes for doneness with a fork. If not yet completely cooked, transfer them to a lightly buttered casserole dish and finish them off in 350° F. oven.

169 Christmas Movies and Animated Features

Compiling this list was rather nostalgic for me, as I fondly remember some of the films from my childhood, as others doubtless will.

Some of these are available on DVD; some are not. Many of them will doubtless air on television this holiday season. I have tried to include both the old and the new in this little directory.

Each link opens in a separate window.

1. All I Want for Christmas (1991)


2. American Christmas Carol, An (TV) (1979)


3. Babes in Toyland (1934)


4. Babes in Toyland (1961)


5. Babes in Toyland (TV) (1986)


6. Bells of St. Mary's, The (1945)


7. Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The (1983) (TV)


8. Bishops Wife, The (1947)


9. Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) (TV)


10. Black Christmas (1974)

50 Christmas Decorating Ideas

CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATIONS

1. The More Decorations the Better: There’s no such thing as too many decorations on your tree. If your ornaments are carefully selected and evenly spaced, the more decorated the better looking the tree.

2. Silk Flowers: Silk flowers are a great way to add color and beauty to your tree. You can choose different colors, or make them all white for a beautiful snowy effect.

3. Metallic Spray: Paint pine cones, leaves and seedpods with metallic spray. Then you can evenly space them on your tree for a great new look.

4. Miniature Wreaths: You can find all kinds of miniature wreaths at craft stores. Add greenery, ribbons or berries with a glue gun, and tie a ribbon for hanging, and you have a great home-made tree/wall decorations.

5. Ribbon Streamers: Instead of garland, try using ribbon streamers. All you do is attach Christmas colored ribbon or raffia to the top of the tree, then wind them down and around the tree until you get to the bottom.

Rum Ball Muffins

 
Ingredients:

• 1¾ cups plain flour


• ½ cup sugar


• 4 tsp. baking powder


• ¼ cup of cocoa powder


• ½ cup of coconut (plus some for the tops)


• ½ tsp. salt


• ½ cup raisins


• ½ cup brown rum


• 2 eggs, lightly beaten


• 1 cup milk


• 4½ oz. of butter, melted

Preparation:

1. Soak the raisins with the rum for at least 2 hours.


2. Heat the oven to 400° F.  Line 18 muffin tins with paper cases or brush oil on the bottoms.


3. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Mix in the coconut and sugar.


4. In another bowl mix the milk, eggs and melted butter. Stir in the rum and raisins.


5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once. Using a fork fold the ingredients together only until the mixture is uniformly moist (do not over-mix!)


6. Spoon the mixture into muffin tins and sprinkle the tops with coconut.


7. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. They are ready when a skewer or toothpick comes out clean.


8. Place muffins on a wire rack to cool.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Christmas Canon

I saw on TV recently that the famed Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing at Key Arena in Seattle on Nov. 21.  This called to mind what is probably their most famous piece:  "Christmas Canon," based on Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major." My mind returns to a certain moment, years ago, when this played on the radio at work, and a young woman sighed and said, dreamily, "this is the nicest song in the world."

She may have been right.