Projo Holidays Blog

November 2007 Archives

This Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent for Protestants, Catholics and Anglicans.

It marks the beginning of the church year and, together with the other days of Advent, is seen as a time of preparing for the arrival of the Messiah in the birth of Jesus at Christmas, marked on Dec. 25.

At sundown Tuesday, Jews will begin their celebration of Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights.

It celebrates the time 2,172 years ago when the Jews freed the Temple from their Syrian conquerors, bringing about a restoration of their political and religious freedom. Customs of the eight-day festival include the lighting of the Menorah, whose eight branches symbolize the Maccabees lamps continued to burn for eight nights despite having oil for only one. One additional candle on the Menorah is lit each day of the festival.

-- Journal report

Years ago, my sister strated a tradition in our family of baking cookies and making trays and giving them to family, friends and co-workers. As time when on, and her family grew, I tried to pitch in and do my share of baking. Little did I know how much I'd enjoy it! Yeah, I'm nuts. I know. I actually plan vacation time so I'll have the time to bake.

Don't ask me how, but my sister Debbie only needs one weekend to bake anywhere from 5 to 9 different types of cookies. Note, I said types, not dozens. I love the cookies she makes. They're the traditional ones that my Mom would bake. Cookies I dare not tackle like prune filled, cherry bars and an old family favorite, Cherry Winks (my brothers fight over those).

Amanda, my niece, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, usually pitches in and makes three to four kinds of cookies herself. She always manages to come up with something very different. In the past. she's made rugallah, cardamom cookies and penuche fudge!

I take at least three days to bake anywhere in the vicinity of 10 to 15 kinds of cookies. On the last baking day, Amanda and/or my nephews Dan and Devin come over to help create the trays. If we're done early enough, I deliver most of the trays that night.

So far, I've only written a partial list of the cookies I'm planing to bake starting the week of Dec. 16. The the must-haves: butterballs (a recipe from my great-Aunt Josie), peanut butter blossoms, lime-filled shortbread, 7-layer bars, decorated sugar cookies, chocolate logs, spritz cookies and chocolate raspberry bars.

Last year, Amanda's job at Dessert Works in Masschusetts kept her busy so she wasn't able to join in all the fun. But I just HAD to show you the cookie spread Debbie and I baked!

A few years back, I took my dog Mac, to visit with Santa. At the time, a pet chain store would allow you to bring your pet in and sit with Santa while Santa's elf snapped their photo. The store would even put it in an ornament frame or a decorated cardboard frame. Proceeds would go to animal charities.

I took Mac to see Santa the first two years I had him. The following two years, something always came up to keep us from making our yearly visit. It wasn't easy having an 85-pound drooler hanging his head over my shoulder and whining the whole 20-minute ride up and 20-minute ride back. He was truly excited about the whole adventure. He loved sitting next to someone who would pay the least amount of attention to him. Santa and his elves sure did that. They always remarked on how handsome he looked. I would put some sort of Christmas collar finery on him. He was SO handsome despite the drool of excitement.

Last year, I swore nothing was going to come between Mac and me and Santa. But my boy got sick late in the summer and he never made it. I still miss him.

This year, Holly, my female Boxer, and I will definitely find a way to Santa's "lap". After all, it is her first Christmas with me.

This year, Petco is offering Santa photos for one day, Dec. 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They'll even give you a commemorative photo for $6.95, of which $5 from every photo will benefit homeless pets. How can you go wrong?

Find your local Petco.

When I read Donna McGarry's earlier post about her favorite Christmas as a child, it reminded me of one of my favorite dolls: the circa-1970 "Baby Go Bye-Bye."

The little blond, pig-tailed doll (which I named Cindy, after the littlest Brady Bunch sister), drove a battery-operated "Bumpety Buggy" that I thought was really cool, because it went around and as it turned, the doll's head moved along.

I guess that was foreshadowing for my own adult tastes, as I now drive yellow-gold 2002 Mazda Miata convertible -- and just like Cindy, my little head often bobs along as I drive, too.

Turns out there are a few of these dolls on eBay these days -- which is where the above photo comes from. I'd love to hear about your favorites from childhood. Check out our survey: What was your best Christmas present ever?

I just walked into work a few minutes ago. Two of my co-workers were talking about watching a couple of their relatives being dancing elves on the Web. Though it was noon, it's still morning in my head. None of this made sense to me. They both assured me I'd get it once I went through my e-mail. I have to say, it made my morning. Now I'll pass the dancing elf link along to you.

So here's MY personal link to check out. Mind you, this isn't me. It's my little "dogter", Holly.

Enjoy!

Updated Saturday: With a new month, all restaurants are again available, and there's a new coupon code to get 50 percent off; enter the word "NEW" in the coupon code field on your shopping cart to see the discount reflected.

Dealnews reported Thursday morning (Restaurant.com coupon: 60% off gift certificates):

Ending tomorrow, Restaurant.com slashes 60% off any gift certificate via coupon code "THANKS". This coupon cuts $25 dining certificates to $4 and $10 gift certificates to $1.20. Restaurant.com's gift certificates are redeemable at local restaurants across the United States. Some gift certificates have restrictions, like dinner-only or a $15 or higher minimum. (Each restaurant lists its individual restrictions.)

Been there. Done that -- three times tonight. These look to me like 84 and 88 percent off face value, respectively.

There are only a few available for Rhode Island restaurants -- just 16 -- and six have sold out of however many coupons they chose to offer this month. (If you're elsewhere, you may see more restaurants, or none..)

You can select how many restaurants to view on one page, something I think every results page needs..

Some do restrict the coupons to lunch or dinner, others have minimums. Terms are clearly stated. Wickford Gourmet, for instance, offers a $10 coupon, "Valid with a minimum purchase of $25 for Catering, Gift Baskets, Cheese's. All services valid."
There are participating restaurants I've never been to -- Feast or Famine 'Wood Grilled Cuisine in Cranston and Warren, for instance, and Uncle Ronnie's Red Tavern in Harrisville -- and there's ($10, lunch only) Rasoi, the Indian restaurant just after Hope Street becomes East Avenue in Pawtucket, where we ate last night. It's in the plaza where Barney's bakery/deli used to be, and the food is distinctly different from that of the two India restaurants, for which gift certificates are also available here.

(Specifics: Crisp pappadums and three dipping sauces/relishes to everyone. We loved the mutton in savory brown sauce, bones and all and the surprisingly sweet-crusted and flavorful cauliflower. Leftovers were just as delicious tonight. Nan, too.)

The restaurant.com interface offers info about each restaurant and its cuisine, with a photo and links to the menu and a map. Use a search engine to find out more, if you're unsure.

The shopping cart is smart. Changes in quantity are reflected immediately. Typing the magic word "THANKS" in the coupon code field immediately applies the additional 60 percent discount to the already discounted price of the gift certificate, and tells you so.

Even after doing that, using Firefox, I was able to use my back button to go back to the search results page for Rhode Island and continue shopping, with the cart remembering it all. Good thing, since the link back to the site from the cart leads back to the front door.

Checkout offers an easy way to opt out of promotional emails , if you like (uncheck the box).

After you pay -- PayPal is an option -- you get coupon links to print now or later in b&w or color. An email reinforces the certificate links, and they remain available in your account. Privacy policy says they don't share your personal info, but you'll probably be an anonymous blip on a demographic profile that includes your zip code.

So far so good. This is as far as I've gotten. Some will be gifts.

If you don't have much money, this could take you -- or people you wrap these for -- to some potentially funky eateries for not much. Me, too.

I look forward to listening to Christmas music during this season. I love the fact that WSNE and WWLI have been playing nothing but Christmas music. Now, you can even play it over your computer while you're at work!

I must own at least 70 Christmas CDs. That's not counting the ones I've recorded for myself. Some are the "oldies" that remind me of my childhood. Some are a little more modern. But over the years, I keep going back to the same tradition of playing The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait. That one is my all-time favorites. I've actually worn through one album (remember those round, black, vinyl thingies?), out grown another album and over-played one CD so it skips constantly during "Little Altar Boy." Last year I broke down and bought another CD.

I can't just play the CD any old time. I have to wait until I put up my REAL Christmas tree. That's my tradition.

This weekend, I'm looking forward to picking out my real tree and listening to Richard and the late Karen Carpenter sing "The Christmas Waltz", "Merry Christmas Darling" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" while decorating the tree.

My childhood happened long before environmental consciousness took hold, so I know there wasn't any guilt associated with chopping down a live tree. I know that because I remember hearing stories ending in a "Shhh", about people cutting trees wherever they found them, like near the Scituate Reservoir with uncle so-and-so helping out. But suddenly we headed into a period that was anything but natural. We soon discovered the aluminum tree -- ours was white -- and each year we used decorations of one color only, and of course, the colored light wheel. So one year, all decorations were red, the next blue, and so on. (Gold was a particularly spectacular year.) But then we decided to go natural.

One memorable winter in my early teens, during one of my family's first "real-tree" years, we netted a big one, but I don't remember seeing any Tree Farm signs -- and I recall it was a really long ride to and from the place. The tree was a lot bigger in the car than it seemed while still standing, needless to say. We didn't even bale the thing, shoving it trunk first into the back of our Ford LTD Station Wagon, the top end hanging out of the back quite a ways. I do remember an air of secrecy as we were all just anxious to get home with it. The car was unbearably cold on the way home with the back hatch open and hence the windows open to let the fumes out. And the sap was unreal -- and lasting! The cut end was nearly touching the dashboard, so with the breadth of the tree and six people, the car was packed. We literally dragged it upstairs to the cathedral-ceilinged attic we'd just done over as a family room and it reached the ceiling (and wrecked a few door moldings along the way). My dad estimated it to be 14 feet tall, but I think that was a stretch.

Nowadays, my husband and daughters and I head to Connecticut to get a real tree about 2 weeks prior to Christmas. Then we decorate it right before Christmas Day. The scent of a fresh cut Fraser Fir in the house is just plain beautiful and at night, with only the tree lights on, it's absolutely magical. On top, we place a huge cardboard painted and glittered star that the girls made when they were only three years old. In my mind when I look at it, always the same thought -- imagine, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 years ago they made this. I'm preserving it for them.

This is the painted cardboard star I made with my daughters when they were just 3.

They'll probably hide it away when they get it, just the way I did with the one my parents gave me when I moved away, because then they'll have their own special family star. I'll bet my parents even forgot they gave it to me!

This is the star my parents gave me. It needs wiring, but I still love it.

Here's a close up of the angel!

But I keep it packed away and look at it every year when I haul out the decorations, to remind me of the massive tree that made it look so insigificant way up there, 14 feet off the floor -- and the happiness that always filled our home at Christmas time.

Ticket to Ride
Tops: "It's familiar (much of the play is based on rummy), appealing (who doesn't love trains?), easy to learn (figure five minutes for explaining the rules, tops) and competitive without being confrontational. Read my full review here" -- defective yeti Matthew Baldwin

The defective yeti's all-time favorite Good Gift Games. These are board games, not computer games. He offers links to other roundups of best games as well, so if you're looking for a new way to bring the family together for fun, this is the place to start.

The yeti -- Seattle programmer and board-game fan Matthew Baldwin -- also points to his annual roundup of good gift games for 2007, now up at The Morning News (2007 Good Gift Games Guide), and to those of earlier years.

I was never a girly-girl. I was the last of five kids; three older brothers and an older sister. The majority of my family was males; so I took their side.

But one Christmas, I asked Santa for a doll. Not just any doll. I asked for a Drowsy Doll. She had the cutest expression and could ttalk! My favorite was "I want another drink of water!" So demanding. Just like a real kid.

That Christmas Eve, I must have awakened very early in the morning. Hey, for a kid on Christmas Eve, there is no time. I sneaked past my parents' bedroom. The lamp over their bed was lit and my Dad was sitting up reading. I froze in my tracks. I was afraid he'd hear me and send me back to bed. I figured I got "this far", why not keep going? And so I continued on into the livingroom.

The house we lived in was an old Victorian-style home. The windows in the livingroom were nearly 100 inches long. No exaggeration. At Christmas, my Mom would open the drapes for all to see our poor-thing silver tree sitting on top of an ottoman draped under a plastic tablecloth. How kitch! To me, it still was beautiful.

I made it into the livingroom undetected. Everything was SO bright even though it had to have been about 2 a.m., I'm assuming. It took a few seconds to realize where Santa left my stash. There she was. Drowsy in her box. The street lamp was reflecting off the plastic wrapping around the box. I fell to my knees in front of her. I rememeber not knowing what to do. I just stared at her sleepy eyes. When I came out of my shock, I picked up the box. Big mistake. I guess my Dad heard the rustle of the wrapping. From the entryway to the livingroom, he startled me with a "GET TO BED!" Needless to say, I left Drowsy until later that morning.

Years later, when I was in my early twenties, my first Boxer, Butkus, found Drowsy in our attic. He tore her apart. There was stuffing everywhere. It really wasn't a pretty sight. Tears welled in my eyes remembering that wonderful Christmas. But I loved Butkus and tried to let go what he did. Obviously, I still hold that grudge. Since Butkus is no longer with us, I forgave him.

When eBay became popular it dawned on me to search for Drowsy to see what I could find. I really never expected to see anything even remotely similar. I was surprised! There she was! And no, not the later version that came out briefly in the late '70s / early '80s. The early 1960's version! The auction battle was brief and $40+ later, I owned another Drowsy. She was a tiny bit dirty and her voice box doesn't work (I plan to have it fixed some day) but she's still huggable.

With today's technology, you may be able to get back that child-like Christmas spirit by searching for a long lost toy. Maybe one that Santa forgot to leave? Or one that was destroyed by a lovable pet? Or even one that was destroyed by you! You can either use a search engine like Google or go straight to the source on eBay.

Don't forget to share your story with us: What was your best Christmas present?

I'm one of those people you hate.

I start Christmas shopping in the summer. I have most of my presents wrapped by Veterans Day (sick I know, but I don't think I can wrap, send Christmas cards and bake at the same time). I usually have my "early" holiday decorations up right after Thanksgiving and the tree is up the first Sunday in December.

But this year is different. I started a new job, scheduled an away vacation right before Thanksgiving (who does that?) and I just lost track of time.

So when you're under the proverbial holiday scheduling gun, how do you get to all this stuff and still maintain sanity? Or is that not an option? Do any of you normal people -- who are just starting to tackle your holiday list now-- have any advice?

Thanks.

The Humane Society of the United States urges everyone not to forget to give presents to our feathered and furried friends.

Laura Simon, field director of urban wildlife for The HSUS, “Although wild animals are able to adapt to survive cold winter temperatures and food limitations, there are small things that people can do to help them this time of year. We suggest several ‘gifts of the season’ that can give our backyard neighbors a warm boost during the holidays.”

Don't think of birds, squirrels, racoons or skunks as pests. They are living being ans deserve a break.

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Nancy Archambault, of Foster, decorates Tuesday for the Festival of Trees at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Dozens of trees will be on display.

Starting Friday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 2, the Rhode Island Convention Center is hosting the RI Festival of Trees. Hours are 10 am to 9 pm Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to get into the sneak preview. It was just minutes before the center closed. I wish I had more time. I felt like I was in heaven! Trees of all colors and styles with decorations I would never have imagined I'd ever use. One of my favorites had a Grinch theme. I believe that was my favorite tree that year. Well, except for my own.

If you get a chance, stop by. Tickets are $9 for aduts and $7 for seniors and children.

Yes. I'm one of those people who starts the Christmas season as soon as Halloween is over. That's if I can hold back. After all, it is my favorite time of year. So, I pull out all my Christmas CDs and movies and start with that.

This year, my outside Christmas lights went up on Thanksgiving Day. I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Rhode Island had sixty-something degree weather. Perfect timing if you ask me. The following day, I put up just a few of my family-room decorations and one artificial tree. Next week, the rest of my decorations will go up.

I have such a difficult time understanding why people get so grumpy this time of year. I know some people complain about the commercialism of Christmas. I think Christmas can be exploited if you allow it to be. Look beyond the ads, the sales and pressure. Even if you aren't religious, it is a beautiful time of year. It doesn't have to require money. You need to look within yourself and give from your heart. It could be a favor, an errand or just some time set aside. I realize I have an idealistic view of Christmas but that took years to get here. I, too, had to get over the commercialism when I was in my twenties. I eventually blinded myself to all of it.

I was one of five children. My parents obviously didn't have much money. Somehow, they always, and I mean always, gave us a perfect Christmas and that started within the home. We had one of those poor thing silver pom-pom trees that stood four feet tall. We didn't have lights for it; we had one of those spotlights with the four-color rotating wheel. I still remember the burn mark the light left on the carpet. My Mom, who was of Italian descent, cooked up TWO feasts; one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. I don't know how she did it but they were always wonderful even though I hated bacala!

My three brothers and sister keep those memories and make sure their children have the same kind of Christmases we had as children. All of us (nearly thirty of us now) still have that spark this time of year. We all love Christmas.