IGX

It's just the wife and I for me, so we don't really have too many traditions for the holidays.

The only one that we really carry on is the annual fruit cake. My grandmother always had a real fruitcake at her Christmas Eve dinner that she worked on for a couple of weeks before the big day. Soaking the dried fruit, aging the finished cake in brandy. It's one of the best memories I have of her. My wife and I make one every year.

The smell of the house when you open up the container of dried fruit that's been soaking in rum for a week, and the smell of the cake when it's cooking pretty much is the season for me. That first taste on Christmas Eve always reminds me of her.

YES!!! The Future Mrs. Here Doktor and I decided to watch Bill Murray movies all day and drink, after we open presents!!! It's gonna be awesome, we're staring with Ghostbusters we decided and then going straight into Scrooged!

I usually nurse a crippling hangover and do my best not to cuss out annoying family members.

Christmas Eve is almost always the drunkest day of the year for me.

Running up to the holiday we watch Rare Exports and the Hogfather. On Xmas eve we spend the night at my mom and dad's house and we watch Elf. On Xmas day I always get a quickie from the Amazon in the shower.

Rare Exports, Scrooged, Hogfather, and Casper's First Xmas on the tv. The wife and I open our Krampus gift on Xmas eve from each other. The gift can be anything but it has to be wrapped in a hideous and tacky way. Last year hers was wrapped in burned wrapping paper with a bow of human hair.

Xmas day is spent with her family for dinner and just hanging out.

Homemade eggnog to put the tree up and take it down.

Thou shalt NOT drive!

We go to. Christmas eve mass at 2 pm and then come back to the house for an extended happy hour, a holiday dinner, and then gift exchange after the kids go to bed. Christmas day is for laying around in our PJs and maybe a nap or two. I always make a big pot of soup for dinner. This year its lamb chops for Christmas eve and an Asian beef stew for christmas day.

There's a special X-mas Eve service at my church. Much of the congregation travels at various times of the year, so it's normally only half full. But on X-mas Eve everyone is home so the pews are packed. You see everyone in a family all sitting together, multiple generations.
All of the music is very simple and more like a family affair than a big production, even though the performer(s) may be a pro or two who returned home for the service.
The service ends with the entire congregation singing Silent Night a Capella by candle light. It sounds corny but its breathtakingly beautiful. It's this multigenerational thing where you'll have an eighty year old and a four year old both holding candles singing next to each other sharing the moment.
After the service is over we have friends and their kids come over to eat chili at our house. Then we go sing Xmas carols to shut ins in our neighborhood.
My wife and kids and I open presents the next morning and eat sausage balls that my wife makes. Sometime during the season we'll meet with extended family for other celebrations.
But X-mas eve is the highlight.

davidc wrote:There's a special X-mas Eve service at my church. Much of the congregation travels at various times of the year, so it's normally only half full. But on X-mas Eve everyone is home so the pews are packed. You see everyone in a family all sitting together, multiple generations.
All of the music is very simple and more like a family affair than a big production, even though the performer(s) may be a pro or two who returned home for the service.
The service ends with the entire congregation singing Silent Night a Capella by candle light. It sounds corny but its breathtakingly beautiful. It's this multigenerational thing where you'll have an eighty year old and a four year old both holding candles singing next to each other sharing the moment.
After the service is over we have friends and their kids come over to eat chili at our house. Then we go sing Xmas carols to shut ins in our neighborhood.
My wife and kids and I open presents the next morning and eat sausage balls that my wife makes. Sometime during the season we'll meet with extended family for other celebrations.
But X-mas eve is the highlight.

That's awesome man, it's always cool to be apart of things like that.

We watch Duck Dynasty marathons, and curse A&E for trying to infringe on Phil's first amendment right to practice his faggot hating religion.

On a serious note, we honor the birth of The Lord and Savior by eating too much food, watching Cousin Eddie empty the shitter, and spoiling the kids with hundreds of dollars worth of stuff they they really don't need.

Christmas Eve is ham and Mac cheese for dinner. Christmas dinner is always rib roast. Favorite dinner of the year. Also plum pudding with hard sauce.

I usually MTBike on Christmas Eve and ski for a few hours Christmas Day. Kids vegetate and play with toys.

Christmas eve is at my mother's house with my brothers and their families for our version of "Surf and Turf"; steak, Alaskan crab, Stone crabs from the Keys and lots of shrimp. Watch the dog cousins wrestle like maniacs for an hour or so. Presents opened later in the evening.

Christmas morning is for a walk at the beach. This year we'll check to see if my brother's memorial bench on the boardwalk has been restored after being destroyed by Sandy.

Christmas day is at my house with my mom and brother that doesn't have local in-laws, some unrepentant Christ killers from my wife's side, and any strays that might be in need of some ham, turkey or vegetarian lasagna. My wife in her infinite goodness prepares for almost any dietary restriction of our guests whether it's for health, religion or just plain asshattery.

Well I'm hoping NOT to repeat what happened last Xmas eve where I got totally fucked up drinking a lot of some crazy beer that was around 9 percent which I didn't realize then took a few hits from the vape that had some instant zombieland shit in it. I was keeping it together for awhile and was in fact killing it in a game of Catch Phrase but then I needed a little air and went outside and laid down and went to sleep in the yard while a gentle but cold rain was falling.

We will all get together…kids, grandkids etc. again on Xmas eve but I will keep it together.

Hey AEN, if it's not too much trouble post a how to on that fruitcake. I'd like to try to make that.

JDub wrote:

davidc wrote:There's a special X-mas Eve service at my church. Much of the congregation travels at various times of the year, so it's normally only half full. But on X-mas Eve everyone is home so the pews are packed. You see everyone in a family all sitting together, multiple generations.
All of the music is very simple and more like a family affair than a big production, even though the performer(s) may be a pro or two who returned home for the service.
The service ends with the entire congregation singing Silent Night a Capella by candle light. It sounds corny but its breathtakingly beautiful. It's this multigenerational thing where you'll have an eighty year old and a four year old both holding candles singing next to each other sharing the moment.
After the service is over we have friends and their kids come over to eat chili at our house. Then we go sing Xmas carols to shut ins in our neighborhood.
My wife and kids and I open presents the next morning and eat sausage balls that my wife makes. Sometime during the season we'll meet with extended family for other celebrations.
But X-mas eve is the highlight.

That's awesome man, it's always cool to be apart of things like that.

Thanks, JDub. I feel blessed, that's for sure.

Christmas Eve is normally split between my parents and my wife's parents. Those events revolve around eating a lot and opening gifts. Christmas Day is up early to watch the kids open gifts then cooking a big breakfast and laying around. We have three kids, 11, 8, and the youngest will be 2 in Feb. I'm excited to watch her open gifts for the first time.

davidc wrote:

JDub wrote:

davidc wrote:There's a special X-mas Eve service at my church. Much of the congregation travels at various times of the year, so it's normally only half full. But on X-mas Eve everyone is home so the pews are packed. You see everyone in a family all sitting together, multiple generations.
All of the music is very simple and more like a family affair than a big production, even though the performer(s) may be a pro or two who returned home for the service.
The service ends with the entire congregation singing Silent Night a Capella by candle light. It sounds corny but its breathtakingly beautiful. It's this multigenerational thing where you'll have an eighty year old and a four year old both holding candles singing next to each other sharing the moment.
After the service is over we have friends and their kids come over to eat chili at our house. Then we go sing Xmas carols to shut ins in our neighborhood.
My wife and kids and I open presents the next morning and eat sausage balls that my wife makes. Sometime during the season we'll meet with extended family for other celebrations.
But X-mas eve is the highlight.

That's awesome man, it's always cool to be apart of things like that.

Thanks, JDub. I feel blessed, that's for sure.

Same here although I take it for granted way too much.

Midnight Latin Mass

Coffee with Irish cream for Batboy as he watches the wife and kids open presents

I then cook Haluska for breakfast; bacon, onion, cabbage, egg noodles, butter, salt and pepper.

The Christmas dinner menu may change a bit from year to year, but there is always a mincemeat pie.

I usually pick up a special beer of some sort and get totally drunk.

Shapecharge wrote:
Hey AEN, if it's not too much trouble post a how to on that fruitcake. I'd like to try to make that.

It can get expensive getting all the dried fruit together, but it makes the single best fruitcake I've ever had. I make 2 batches since it takes so long. One gets no brandy and one gets the full alky treatment. I go cheap on the rum for soaking the fruit, but drop some coin on the brandy. I also soak the fruit for up to a week rather than the overnight the recipe calls for. I just toss it all in a tupperware container and shake it up every day or so.

Ingredients
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup currants
• 1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup sun dried cherries
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
• Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
• 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
• 1 cup gold rum
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
• 1 cup unfiltered apple juice
• 4 whole cloves, ground
• 6 allspice berries, ground
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken
• Brandy for basting and/or spritzing

Directions
Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.

Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)
Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.

Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.

When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake's flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks.

Anal

Christmas Eve at my granfather's place. Christmas day at my dad's place.

My dad and I also watch A Christmas Story every year, a couple of days before Xmas. We've done this for the past 25 years.

BucketHead wrote:Anal

It's nice that you think of Shape this time of year. I'm sure he appreciates the lack of force involved when you just give it up willingly.

My daughter comes down from Seattle (45 min. drive) on Christmas Eve.
The next morning, my wife cooks Eggs Benedict breakfast & I make Mimosas. Then we gather around the tree (in a once-a-year exception, the dogs get to join us in the living room), and open presents. Sometimes the Airedale assists with opening the presents. Christmas music is playing…mostly Old School, but we allow some Mariah Carey, etc.

Then I put my sea-salt encrusted, oil & rosemary rubbed, standing rib roast in the oven. At some point, we throw in parsnips, yams, Yukon Gold potatoes, and maybe turnips or rutabagas, to roast in the drippings from the roast.

Mid-afternoon, we feast on the roast, drink red wine, and reminisce/bullshit. And talk about plans for the new year.

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:

BucketHead wrote:Anal

It's nice that you think of Shape this time of year. I'm sure he appreciates the lack of force involved when you just give it up willingly.

Time to fess up on how you inject your special flavor into that fruitcake

nafod wrote:

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:

BucketHead wrote:Anal

It's nice that you think of Shape this time of year. I'm sure he appreciates the lack of force involved when you just give it up willingly.

Time to fess up on how you inject your special flavor into that fruitcake

Huh. I was thinking that was probably going to be a "hard" sauce.