Christmas

Granny Ann's Home Cooking

Christmas

I love Christmas, with all the lights that outline the

neighborhood homes, decorated trees, the music, shopping, baking Christmas cookies with my grandkids and wrapping the gifts.

My childhood memories of Christmas was so wonderful. I remember getting a clear bag of goodies that held an apple, orange, assorted nuts and hard candy. I don't know who made all those bags for all the kids, but it was a great treat to receive one. I really don't remember getting gifts each year, except for one year when "someone" gave me the most beautiful doll house I had ever seen. I fell in love with it. My dad and mom didn't even know who left it outside our front door with my name one it. Then, one afternoon when I came in from school, it was gone!! No one would tell me what happened to it. I guess by most folks standards back then, we were poor. I didn't feel poor and the kids at school didn't treat me as being poor. I was just one of them. I knew all the neighbors and I made friends with all of them and I couldn't imagine who would have been so kind to give me such a lovely gift and then have it taken away! To this day, I still do not know what ever happened to that beautiful doll house.

My dad always seemed to wait until the last minute to get us a Christmas tree. I suppose that was because we couldn't afford to buy one. When he brought it home we made ornaments from aluminum foil in the shape of bells, construction paper glued together in rings to make a long train and popcorn on a string to drape around the tree. The lights were a bubble type, but over the years they were changed to little colored light bulbs. All I knew as a child, it was the most beautiful tree I had ever seen once it was decorated.

Mom made her yearly date-loaf candy and divinity candy with pecans. Sometimes she would make a special brown sugar candy that she learned how to do when she lived in New Mexico for a time with dad. Dad went to where the work was and that may have meant moving to be there.

Mom also baked her famous fruit cake made with Mogen David Wine that she kept hid in the large walk-in closet next to the kitchen. I discovered it one time playing hid & seek in there. Mom didn't have a recipe to follow, she just baked it from her memory back then. The cake was pretty good too.

Make memories with your family, your children or your friends. Christmas only comes once a year, but it is the "most beautiful time of the year". I still dream of a "White" Christmas every year since we don't have snow like most parts of the USA. So, Merry Christmas to everyone and a very Happy New Year!

Love,

Granny Ann

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.