There are many Christmas traditions that are gradually being lost in today's high-tech, always-on-the-go world. But Christmas is the perfect time to slow things down and get back to basics to really enjoy the season. The following are three ways to have a traditional, old-fashioned Christmas.
1. Decorations
For many people, decorations are what make Christmas time special. The right decorations can set the mood for a traditional Christmas and let the whole family get involved in creating the Christmas spirit.
Start with an old-fashioned Christmas tree. Traditional decorations were all hand-made. Take a day early in December to get the whole family together to create the decorations such as stringed popcorn and chains made from colorful paper. Play Christmas music, serve eggnog and get everyone into the spirit.
Check your local thrift or antique shop for some old-fashioned decorations. Wax or blown-glass ornaments were commonplace in years past, and there are often some great examples to be found in thrift stores for next to nothing.
You can also look for antique tins with Christmas themes. These make great candy or fruit dishes.
2. Baking and Cooking
Baking and cooking come a close second to the Christmas tree for setting the mood for Christmas. Cookies, pies, and hot cider are all staples of an old-fashioned Christmas celebration.
The entire family can take part – even the non-bakers. They can help to decorate the sugar cookies or gingerbread men. Kids can help cut the cookie shapes before they're baked.
3. Christmas Day
There are plenty of Christmas day traditions that can help create old-fashioned fun. Find someone to play Santa Claus and deliver the presents for everyone in the family.
Make the gift exchange time special. Don't just tear into them en mass, give everyone a chance to open them separately. This gives everyone a better chance to show their appreciation, and people get to watch their reactions.
If you're lucky enough to have a white Christmas, take some time out of the day to go sledding or have a snowball fight. Top it off by serving hot cider or hot chocolate.
These family traditions can be passed on from generation to generation, with each one adding their own extras.
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3 Non-Traditional Ways to Prepare Your Holiday Turkey
Deep-Fryed Turkey
3 gallons peanut oil for frying, or as needed
1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
1/4 cup Creole seasoning
1 white onion
In a large stockpot or turkey fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees F. Be sure to leave room for the turkey, or the oil will spill
over.
***** Side Note *****
How to determine the amount of oil you need:
The easiest way I've found to determine the amount of oil you need is to place the turkey into the fryer and fill with water until the turkey is just covered. Remove turkey and allow to drain, pat dry with paper towels as well. Make note of the level of water in the fryer. Discard water and dry throughly. Fill frying vessel with oil to the level as noted above. This should help in preventing hot oil spill overs.
***** End Side Note *****
Layer a large platter with food-safe paper bags. Rinse turkey, and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Rub Creole seasoning over turkey inside and out. Make sure the hole at the neck is open at least 2 inches so the oil can flow freely through the bird. Place the whole onion and turkey in drain basket. The turkey should be placed in basket neck end first. Slowly lower basket into hot oil to completely cover turkey. Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees F, and cook turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound, about 45 minutes. Carefully remove basket from oil, and drain turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees F.
Finish draining turkey on the prepared platter.
Grilled Whole Turkey
12 pounds whole turkey
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon paprika
Prepare an outdoor grill for indirect medium heat, and lightly oil grate. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Place turkey breast side down on the prepared grill. Sear turkey on both sides until skin is golden to dark brown. In a large roasting pan, mix together the water, bouillon powder, garlic powder, onion powder, poultry seasoning, parsley, and paprika. Place turkey breast side down in the roasting pan. Scoop the pan mixture over the turkey. Cover tightly with foil and place on grill. Grill 3 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the thigh reaches 180F. Remove turkey from grill and let stand 15 minutes before carving.
Smoked Turkey
1 turkey 8 to 22 lbs., fresh or completely thawed
Sweet Pickle Brine (recipe to follow)
Maple syrup
Sweet Pickle Brine:
1 gal. water
2 1/2 cups salt, rock, pickling or canning salts are recommened
1/3 cup of light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Lquid garlic
1 oz. pickling spices
Mix well. You may need to adjust the amounts depending on the size of your bird. This recipe should suit you fine for an 8 to 12 lb. turkey.
Rinse turkey thoroughly with cold water, drain and pat dry. Prepare sweet pickle brine. Brine turkey according to the following schedule, 8 to 12 lb. bird 3 days, 13 to 16 lb. bird 4 days, 17 to 22 lb. bird 5 days. Remove from brine; rinse thoroughly in cold water and pat dry. Allow to dry in refrigerator for 24 hours.
Lock wings behind back and tie legs and tail together. Baste turkey with maple syrup before putting in smoker and every 2 hours while smoking. Position turkey on cooking grill. Smoke cook until done.
The best way to determine doneness is to insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey (the breast) the internal temperature should read 180 degrees F.
Smoking food is more an art than a science; this recipe is not intended for the novice. Allot of factors go into determining the cooking time for a particular food when smoking.
Cool turkey in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving to enhance the smoked flavor. You may serve the turkey right away if you wish.
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"The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value." – Charles Dudley Warner
You've found the perfect gift, one completely appropriate for the recipient. But now you've realized that this gift also happens to be the impossible-to-wrap gift.
Maybe the gift is oddly shaped and won't fit in a box. Maybe the gift is digital and doesn't have a physical form. Or maybe the gift is too big and can't fit through your door. Here are ideas about how you can easily "wrap" even the most impossible gift.
Oddly Shaped Gifts
Some gifts just were never meant to be wrapped. Try one of these ideas to get that oddly shaped gift properly covered.
- Gift bags are a popular way to wrap an oddly shaped gift. Just place the gift in the bag and cover with brightly colored tissue paper.
- Put a large sheet of wrapping paper on the floor, design side down. Place the gift in the middle, and pull the four corners of the paper up and toward the middle. Close the top by tying the corners with a festive ribbon.
Gifts Without a Physical Form
Our modern computer age has brought a whole new challenge to wrapping gifts, those gifts like electronic books, downloaded software, or downloaded music. These ideas will turn your digital gift into something that can still go under the tree.
- Burn the files for the digital gift onto a CD. Alternatively, buy a thumb drive or memory stick and copy the digital files onto the memory device.
- Print the download instructions for the digital gift. Then purchase (or make) a Christmas card and include the printed instructions inside the card.
Gifts Too Big to Fit Under a Tree
For large gifts you'll have to find a "safe" hiding place. Some merchants might allow you to store the present at their store until just before Christmas. Alternatively, perhaps your garage or a storage shed can server as a good hiding spot. You might even consider using a neighbor's garage (and getting your neighbor's permission first is probably a good idea!).
With the gift in a safe spot you can still "wrap" the present and put it under the tree with one of these ideas.
- Use a Christmas card (or make one either by hand or using your computer) and announce the gift inside the card.
- Wrap a small item to represent the gift and put it under the tree. Try to choose an item that hints at what the present is without immediately revealing the secret. For example, you might use a bike tire pump to represent a new bike, a car owner's manual to represent a new car (I think most of us won't be giving a gift this big), or a house key to represent a new house (this one requires some possession of sizable wealth).
So don't let the impossibility of wrapping a gift keep you from selecting the present that is most appropriate for your loved one. Use one of these fun ideas to get that present "wrapped" and "under the tree."
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Do you know how many turkeys are eaten during the holiday season? Below are a few interesting facts regarding the volume of turkeys eaten, cards sent, and much more.
Christmas Cards
Do you enjoy receiving cards in the mail? How many do you think you get each season? There are roughly 1.9 billion Christmas cards sent in the United States every year to friends, family members, and acquaintances, making Christmas the #1 card sending occurrence, followed by Valentine's Day.
Packages
The number UPS is expected to deliver this year is over 340 million. The busiest day is expected to reach 20 million deliveries, which translates to 230 packages being delivered every second during that day.
Turkey
There are approximately 60 million turkeys consumed in the United States through the holiday season. Each American eats around 13.7 pounds of turkey every year! You think you are tired of turkey once Christmas is over? This may be why.
Christmas Trees
Next time you are lugging your tree home, remember this little fact. There are 20.8 million Christmas trees cut in the U.S. every year, with Oregon being the largest producer. Tree farmers retail roughly $506 million from the sale of trees. There is $69 million worth of artificial trees imported from China alone. Artificial Christmas trees have outsold real trees every year since 1991.
Christmas Tree Ornaments
China is the largest importer of Christmas ornaments which totals $561 million between January and August. Apparently those little trinkets are purchased year-round to have handy when Christmas time approaches.
Decorating
Most malls and other stores begin decorating for the holiday season on November 1st.
Holiday Shopping
Holiday sales are expected to hit $439.53 billion this year. December accounts for roughly 15% of stores' yearly sales, except for in the case of jewelry stores, which is closer to 24%. However, most Americans only expect to spend an average of $681 each this holiday reason. On Black Friday, approximately $8.01 billion was spent, totaling $16.8 billion for the weekend. Residence of the New England states are expected to spend the most, with the South expected to spend considerably less.
Toys
Roughly 45% of shoppers this year will be purchasing toys, with Barbie and video games being the most sought after products.
Holiday Music
The most frequently played holiday song is "Jingle Bells", with "White Christmas" running a close second. Bing Crosby's "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" is the #1 best selling Christmas single of all time.
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I know how frustrating it can be to try to figure out what is a good Christmas tree stand for your Christmas tree. I have put together a review page of some tree stands I found that are very popular.
Don't worry I will report the bad ones too if I find them. If you have had a good experience with a certain stand write in and let us know.
Go to The Review Page To get more information.
http://www.yourperfectchristmastree.com/blog
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