Christmas Traditions

Hey, we haven't updated since, uh...September!

Krista has a great excu-SHE'S PREGNANT, Y'ALL. I'm gonna be an aunt! EEEE.

In the meantime, let's talk Christmas. After three years of momming it up my ownself, I have nailed down a pretty solid set of Christmas traditions for my little family. After Santa comes to our house, we spend one whole day together, just the three of us, before we pack up and head out to spend time with the extended family.

My Christmas spread is simple - there's no point in making a big meal when we're just going to leave the next day. I have already blogged most of the recipes:

Natchitoches Meat Pies - I start my holiday season off (usually a week or two beforehand, since it's an all-day process) by making up a double batch of these, and freezing them. On Christmas day, I take out as many as we'll eat, and fry them up for lunch/dinner. The rest, I pack up and give to family and friends (and keep some extra on hand in my freezer, BECAUSE THEY ARE DELICIOUS).

Christmas Eve is spent making an insane amount of Nestle Toll House Cookies. The recipe is on the bag of Nestle chocolate chips, and everyone in the world loves these cookies. I bring some to the neighbors. I pack some up as gifts for friends. I eat about 50 of them myself. Santa Claus gets a heaping plate of them. I use real butter, and pecans from my grandparents' farm, and I like to think that makes them taste extra nice.

My oven works overtime Christmas Eve, because I also make batches and batches of Sausage Balls. For snacking, for gifting, and just because. They also make great breakfast munchies for Christmas morning!

Speaking of breakfast, I like to start Christmas morning off with a Breakfast Quiche. It's easy to make and tastes good all day long. It does not last all day long, however.

When it's time for lunch/dinner (I cook Christmas lunch around 1:00 pm and everyone eats whenever they want, as often as they want, as late into the evening as they can stand), I fry up some meat pies, and serve it alongside Potatoes and Green Beans. Which I only make once a year because of how terrible this is for people to consume. And because it goes really, really well with meat pies.

This year, I'm planning to introduce a new tradition to the mix. The last time I talked to my sister on the phone, we discussed this. I thought I might have been the only one who remembered this, but I was so happy that she does too!

One year, when we were little kids, my family discovered Dairy Queen's newest product: the Blizzard. (Internet research tells me this was probably 1986. I was 8 years old. Krista was 5.) My parents, being awesome, figured they could make Oreo Blizzards at home and save us both a trip into town (COUNTRY LIVING, Y'ALL) and some cash. The result was my whole family sitting around the Christmas tree, lapping up homemade Oreo Blizzards and feeling sugary joy together. I remember this so vividly, and so fondly, that I'm going to treat myself this year and possibly every year from now until I die of diabetes-related illness.

It's such an easy recipe, I'll just link you to it - Oreo Blizzards

And that's it. Have a great holiday season, whoever you are, reading this, and I love you! Krista probably loves you, too! I'm sure we'll post more in 2012 (we might even post more in 2011 if we feel like it), because neither of us can go very long without cooking. Or talking. Mostly talking.

Best buttery wishes,
Kendra