food, crochet, merriment
At the end of summer, Nate bought a new food storage shelf for the long closet in the basement…
Apparently it is very, very strong…
I will buy at least one food storage or emergency item every week even if it’s just a can of beans.
1. The snow coming down as I type. Our state always needs more water. So it’s a big deal to get all this new stuff. I just want to be snowed in at least once in my life.
2. Pink lights on a canopy bed. It’s very exotic and makes me feel particularly fancy somehow. Even if I’m just wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.
3. A baby girl who loves her monkey.
4. A baby boy who loves to laugh.
5. A baby “chomp” who could show up any day now. Maybe we’ll wake up one of these mornings and Lyndi will have a sweet, warm bundle all cuddled up with her. I suppose, in real life we’ll know when she decides that she’s truly coming. But since Lyndi is having a home birth–it could be a surprise for us–any time now.
6. A well attended puzzle on a wintery day.
7. Dear friends in a beautiful place.
8. A beautiful place
9. A pristine kitty
10. A letter from a happy boy in a very cold, faraway land.
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Loving the holidays like we do, it’s always been hard to buckle down and put the Christmas stuff away. We just never felt quite ready to let it go. Then, a few years back, a good friend began this wonderful tradition of throwing a party that she called Twelfth Night. I had no idea what it was suppose to mean, but hey…I’m not so complicated that I over-think the purpose of a party. As an added benefit, this turned out to be a great incentive to let the decorations slip back into the tubs without the usual resistance because we still had a great event to look forward to…until…
…this friend moved away…far away.
Oh, we still hear from her now and then, which is wonderful. Even so, it left the “party junkies” at a negative – 1 in the celebration department.
Not acceptable.
So, with no other choice but to do the event ourselves, we felt that perhaps a tad more research was in order.
Turns out that Twelfth Night, also called Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, is a festival marking the biblical arrival of the Magi to worship baby Jesus. Typically recognized on either the 5th or 6th of January, many people celebrate by drinking, feasting, gift giving and general “merrymaking.” I really like the word merrymaking.
That, I get.
So, since people all over the world celebrate this day in dozens of ways, there seems to be a bit of latitude here. I like that too.
Our approach is to use the evening of January 6th to:
1- Celebrate the closing of the holiday season. That is suppose to mean putting away all the Christmas stuff and setting up January decorations. We’re working on it.
2- Make and share *character goals–You know, the kind that help you be a better person, like–being more positive, or being less judgmental of others—that sort of thing.
3- Open Party Crackers–which you can buy at party stores or online, but that are also incredibly fun and easy to make. I’ll show you how in the post below. They are full of candy, games, toys and always…always a tissue paper crown. Very important element. We made our own.
4- Drink a gallon of Wassail. No explanation needed.
5- Eat “King’s Cake.” Traditionally, this was more of a sweet bread with filling, but of course, it can actually be whatever you want it to be. More in the post below. Ours is a Glazed Holiday Eggnog Cake from Lehi Roller Mills.
6- Play games until it’s time to put somebody to bed—usually…me.
After all this, believe me–we are ready to take on the New Year, and the world…
or sleep for a week…
:]
I will take my own advice and “be nice or be quiet” while mingling with the other drivers on the road. No matter how amazingly everyone else drives, I will keep my mouth shut and not say, “The nuts are loose!” Not even once.
Party Crackers:
These are the tissue wrapped paper tubes stuffed with treats and little random prizes and always a paper crown. In several of the Harry Potter movies where there is a Christmas celebration–you’ll see a “Christmas Cracker” sitting by each dinner plate. You can buy them if you like, but they are simple to make so don’t be afraid.
Supplies needed:
Empty paper towel or tissue rolls
Colored tissue
Glue Stick
Small prizes like puzzles, stickers, tiny toys
Small treats like suckers, taffy or gum
Tissue paper crown–rolled and folded up
Curly Ribbon
Instructions
Wrap the prizes and treats if you want. Stuff them carefully in the cardboard tube.
Roll the tube in colored wrapping tissue. I used two different colors and left 3 or 4 inches on both ends. When you get to the end of the rolling, use a streak from a glue stick to keep it in place.
Tie each end with curly ribbon. Decorate the tube with more ribbon or stickers–or strips of tissue.
That’s it!
Kings Cake:
This can really be anything from a fancy bread, coffee cake, jelly roll or a filled cake. Traditionally, a dried bean or tiny toy baby was hidden in the batter or dough and whoever got the piece with the bean or trinket became “king” for the day. The King could expect to be waited on (within reason) and could make silly requests of his friends and family–such as–singing a song, doing a trick, dancing or making animal sounds.
I’m never that excited to have someone chip a tooth on a surprise in the dessert–so we put little charms on the glaze of the cake, that say things like “live, believe, laugh, hope, wish, love”—and I can’t stand for anyone to be left out–so everybody gets one.
Some people add color to the cake or frosting to make it more festive. One year, we made a steamed chocolate cake in a plum pudding pan. This year it will likely be spice cake in a Bundt pan decorated with gum drops. We’ll see…