A Mom's Year

Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

A Tree from Mr. Snowman

For several years, I’ve been wanting to put a little Scandinavian tree in the kitchen in front of the glass door leading to the back porch. For some reason, I was thinking it should be a potted plant but I didn’t have any luck finding one. So this year I decided to get a real tree. I thought this tree in our yard would be perfect, but Tim was horrified at the idea of cutting down one of his pets. I thought about doing it anyway when he was out of town to see if he would even notice, but I felt too guilty.

So I stopped in at Mr. Snowman’s Christmas Tree Farm just north of town. We’ve never been to Mr. Snowman’s because we always get our Christmas tree through my mom’s office, but we have friends who help out there during the holidays in exchange for syrup. For real. It was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday so I wasn’t sure anyone would even be there as I pulled up to the little shed. But Mr. Snowman himself came out to greet me. We introduced ourselves (his name is Charlie) and I told him what I was looking for. He pondered the idea for a moment, then pointed down the road to where I could find a small tree. He was all set to send me off with a saw to cut it down myself, but then changed his mind and told me to follow him in my car. It was a very small saw and I think I could have managed it, but I’m not one to turn down help when it’s offered.

Off we went to a little grove of trees, many of which had their needles rubbed off by deer. Charlie showed me a few different trees and helped me decide on one. The tree was so small it only took a second or two to saw through. When we got back to the office, Charlie cut off a few of the lower branches and tidied the tree up a bit. I asked him how much it was. “Nothing,” he said, handing the tree to me. I insisted on paying, but he waved me off and told me to have a merry Christmas.

Well. That filled me with enough Christmas cheer to last through the holidays. When I got home, I brought in the old metal bucket we use for drinks in the summer and turned it over to set the tree on. Tim found an old metal tree stand that suits our little tree perfectly. I went through our ornaments and found the most Scandinavian (or at least European) ones I could. Two strings of wooden cranberries, and that was that.

And this little troll has finally found a home.

Cookie Extreme 2011 / Cornflake Cookies

Are there words to describe the joy of being surrounded by friends, family, and thousands and thousands of delicious little cookies and candies? I don’t think there are. Actually, that’s not true. A friend’s four-year-old son calls this annual gathering “Cookie Extreme.” He’s got it right.

As if the edible treats weren’t enough, we had a new baby dressed in red-and-white stripes and elfin hat to pass around and cuddle. The girls sold their handmade crafts and raised plenty of money to purchase everything hoped for by a special family in need this Christmas. And it began to snow softly as the last guests walked along the flagstone path and up the drive. My heart was full. And so was my stomach.

We had eighteen different cookies and candies to exchange. Some are old friends that make an appearance every year: Christina’s caramels (sprinkled with sea salt) and my mother’s Russian tea cakes. Others were new guests: Julie and Donna’s maple cashew brittle; Cheryl, Kate, and Cassie’s colorful melting moments; and Barb’s fudge puddles. Cookie dough truffles, chocolate peppermint thumbprints, red velvet shortbread cookies…one delectable treat after another.

I make the same cookie every year: Grandma Campobasso’s chocolate cornflake cookies. The world’s simplest cookie, but it wouldn’t be Christmas for me without them. My grandma has been making cornflake cookies for more than 50 years, and I hope I will be, too. I have a funny little story about these cookies. I was subbing at school one December day and someone’s sweet old grandmother was selling cookies in the faculty lounge. I dutifully purchased a small tub of cookies labeled “Chocolate Delights” for five dollars. Imagine my surprise when I opened the tub later and found cornflake cookies nestled inside. I’m not complaining, of course, because chocolate is chocolate and this was for a good cause. I did toy with the idea of renaming our cookies “Chocolate Delights” just to be a little fancier. But some traditions are perfect just the way they are, simple name and all.

Grandma’s Cornflake Cookies

Ingredients:
16 ounces Hershey’s chocolate
2 squares bittersweet chocolate
6 cups cornflakes

Break up the chocolate and melt over low heat. You can use a microwave or double-boiler if you’d like. Pour in the cornflakes and stir until the cornflakes are completely covered in chocolate. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets lined with parchment or wax paper.

That’s the official recipe, but I always find myself improvising a bit. This year I used an entire gigantic box of cornflakes and about 10 big 7 oz. Hershey bars (purchased for under two dollars each at Walmart). I like the cornflakes completely covered in chocolate, but I don’t like them too “soupy.” So I keep adding cornflakes until the mixture reaches just the right consistency. This batch yielded about 170 cookies, which was more than enough to cover the 12 dozen I needed for the exchange and leave some extras for us to nibble on.

Making a Snowy Candle

We had a gorgeous snowfall Saturday night, so while the kids were out sledding Sunday afternoon I put together this snowy candle. It looks simple, but for someone like me it represents a big milestone in becoming an organized grown-up. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to know exactly where everything was to make this. The candle holder on a shelf here, a candle in a plastic bin there, and cranberries purchased and tucked in the freezer here. And of course lots of beautiful, fluffy snow everywhere. Tim, who knows my struggles well, oohed and aahed appropriately (as our friend Kristi would say).

I set the candle on the front steps where it joined the traditional tin buckets filled with spruce tops. I put these buckets out every year not only because they are pretty and festive, but also because I am a creature of habit and love tradition. And also because I love Aunt Cheryl’s bows. She tied these particular bows years and years ago and every year I carefully tuck them away because I could never in a million years figure out how to tie them myself. There’s a great story behind Aunt Cheryl’s bow-tying skills: she learned how to make them while locked in a vault at the bank where she was working. Hmmm. Does that sound right? I’ll have to ask her if that’s how the story goes. I wonder if she’d be willing to teach a workshop on how to tie bows. I bet she’d have a lot of takers.

Letters to Santa

Did you know that the U.S. Postal Service offers North Pole postmarks on holiday mail? We’ve never tried this, but it might be fun to have a letter from Santa straight from the North Pole.

To receive the North Pole postmark on your Santa letter and holiday cards, you should:

  • Purchase stamps at any post office.
  • Affix the stamps to envelopes of your choice.
  • Address the sealed envelopes, with the cards enclosed, to those on your mailing list.
  • Mail them in a larger envelope, box, Priority Mail or Express Mail package to:

NORTH POLE HOLIDAY CANCELLATION
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998

Requests must be received in Anchorage by December 10th to ensure delivery by Christmas. You can go here for more information.

We’re visiting Santa at the Mall of America today, so while we’re there the kids will drop off their letters to Santa at Macy’s. I really love Macy’s Letters to Santa program. For every letter that a child writes and deposits in one of the special mailboxes at their stores, Macy’s will donate $1 to the Make A Wish Foundation—up to $1,000,000. Amazing. You can create your letters online here or just pick up some pre-printed postcards at Macy’s.

Paper Snowflakes

We’re kicking off Day 1 of our Advent Box countdown with a snowflake-making extravaganza. Every year I forget how to make paper snowflakes and have to refer to a tutorial like this one. We’ll cut out enough snowflakes to fill the windows in the dining room and leave them up all winter. Real snow isn’t usually in short supply here in western Wisconsin, but the simple white snowflakes are so pretty, I hate to take them down until I have to.

The trickiest part of doing the Advent Box is figuring out the best time to do it. When the kids were little, we opened the box right when they woke up. But now we’re just trying to get out the door for school. Mostly, it works out well to open the box after school, do the activity, and then read the Christmas book at bedtime.

Tim is flying home today from a business trip to Virginia. When he flew out, I joked that he’d have to make a pilgrimage to the National Christmas tree to visit the site of his marriage proposal. He didn’t think he’d be able to make it down to the Mall, but he called after he arrived and said he got a great view of the tree as the plane made its approach into Reagan National Airport. I think that counts as a pilgrimage.

Have you started decorating yet? I’m just finishing putting up the last of the decorations today. I have the incentive of hosting a cookie exchange the first Saturday of every December to get me moving. I actually like getting the decorating done right away so we can relax and do other things. Did I just say “relax”? As if I know how to relax during December. There’s too much to do!