It's not Christmas without...

This Christmas (more than others for some reason), I thought about my Christmases as a kid, and I've come to realize that many of the little things I remember most came from my Grandmother Tanner. So I hope you'll bear with me in reminiscing a little.

When my mom moved to Arizona, I went without those little things even though I was perfectly capable of recreating those memories on my own since, for the most part, they revolve around food. (What good holiday memory doesn't, right??)


The one treat I never did pass up, however, was the Danish Butter Cookies. Grandmother always had a HUGE tin of them sitting on her table during the Christmas season. I thought they were such a wonderful extravagance for some reason. Maybe it was the fancy looking tin or the fact that they were packed stacked in those papers. Maybe it was just the fact that Christmas was the only time of year we had them. But once they hit the table, I knew Christmas was coming. They've always been a must for me, and I still enjoy them as much as ever.

This year, Christmas Eve was held at our house with Nana, Grandpa Len, and Uncle Garrik. At Thanksgiving, my mom provided Wassail, and I decided it was high time I made it myself. And it was just right. I filled my crockpot with it that morning and we enjoyed it all day. It wasn't quite the same without the glass globe mugs, but it certainly hit the spot. Why I'd never asked for the recipe before is beyond me, but now I will be making it yearly.

The thing that really made an impact this year, though, was the Applekeg (which I've discovered is actually spelled Aeblekage, but would you have any idea what I had just said if that's all I left you with???). When my mom told me she'd made it, I actually started crying. I had no idea a simple bowl of applesauce, raspberry jam, and graham crackers could cause such an emotional reaction. But if you think that's silly, you should have seen the break down I had when I realized I actually had the Asian Bowls in my possession! (Stupid hormones!!!! ;D) We had applekeg every Christmas without fail. It would "cure" on the windowsill of her bedroom before Christmas and was always topped with just-barely whipped cream. And that's how I have to eat it to this day: no peaks, please.

There was a slight mishap on the way to Logan with a broken trifle bowl and a nice mess in my Mom's car, but she made another one. Unfortunately, we didn't actually eat it while they were here, but I enjoyed some the next day, Asian bowl and all. It was awesome and totally made my Christmas.



I hope that someday Lillian can appreciate the woman she was named after and how much she meant and still means to me. I guess a good start is continuing the traditions that remind me so much of her and make sure Lily knows where they came from.