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Christmas

Pizza on Christmas Eve?

January 13, 2022 by 61 Comments

deep dish pizza

From Mr. Handsome…

If someone told you that one of their Christmas traditions was eating pizza on Christmas Eve, what would you think? I’ll admit that it sounds a bit underwhelming. Maybe they burned their Christmas ham a few years in a row and ended up ordering pizza anyway, so they eventually decided to just forget the ham and go straight to the pizza.

Well, I’m here to tell you that I ate pizza every Christmas Eve as a child. My parents still serve it to this day.

We didn’t buy it from the freezer section at the grocery store or order it from a restaurant. No, this was homemade, completely from scratch. We called it shepherd’s pie. I’m not sure why. True shepherd’s pie is a casserole with meat, vegetables, mashed potatoes, and cheese. But for some reason, on Christmas Eve, pizza became shepherd’s pie for us. I suppose family traditions don’t have to make sense.

As my siblings and I grew, we started helping with dinner. By the time we were teenagers, we were making it entirely by ourselves. We improved our techniques each year, and the pizza got better and better. After trying my uncle’s lasagna, we switched out the canned pizza sauce for his secret tomato sauce recipe. After trying Chicago style pizza, we started experimenting with deep dish.

When I met Ellie, I was horrified to learn that she liked a bizarre, newfangled concoction of toppings known as “Hawaiian.” I couldn’t imagine putting ham (or Canadian bacon) and pineapple on pizza. “I’m dating a hippie,” I thought. But to impress Ellie on the first Christmas she spent with my family, I put some pineapple and ham on a pizza, and lo and behold, it actually tasted pretty good.

We have been quarantining since a week before the baby was born, to avoid all the COVID and flu germs going around, so we didn’t see my family for Christmas. My mother was kind enough to prepare some homemade pizzas for us and freeze them. We cooked them in the oven, and they tasted delicious.

Do you have any unusual Christmas (or any other holiday) traditions?

Filed Under: Christmas

Lame Adult Alert

December 26, 2021 by 46 Comments

I think I have officially crossed the line into becoming a boring adult: I spent Christmas Eve assembling a build-it-yourself children’s toy.

I know my parents did the same thing when I was a child. I could hear them in the basement late into the night putting together our Christmas gifts. Mr. Handsome’s parents did the same. (Did yours?)

I just never realized that someday that would be me.

It happened so innocently. I thought it would be fun to give Little Buddy a grocery store checkout station because he loves playing pretend with his plastic food and kitchen. He would then have the complete experience: a truck to drive to the store, a grocery cart to shop, a supermarket checkout station to purchase the food, and a kitchen to cook in.

I started assembling the kit a week early, thinking that would give me plenty of time, but as things always go, it took much longer than I thought. I also admit that I procrastinated more than I had planned, although I guess that’s the definitely of procrastination.

By Christmas Eve, it still sat unfinished, so after Little Buddy went to bed, we put on a Christmas movie (Do you agree with Mr. Handsome that The Sound of Music is a Christmas movie?) and worked on the project.

It was all worth it when, on Christmas morning, Little Buddy came running down the stairs, laughing and shouting about the new toy. He immediately started stacking toy food into his grocery cart and taking it to the checkout line.

How many of you stayed up late assembling Christmas toys?

Filed Under: Christmas

A Parade of Trees

December 21, 2021 by 5 Comments

This year at the Gaylord Opryland hotel, in addition to all the normal Christmas decorations and lights, which I blogged about the other day, we also came across a new Christmas “exhibit.” As part of their 38th annual A Country Christmas activities, the hotel had something called the Parade of Trees.

A number of the most popular Nashville musicians each contributed a decorated, themed Christmas tree and donated a VIP experience to be raffled off for charity. We enjoyed looking at the trees, which were disbursed throughout the Garden Conservatory atrium at Opryland. Which of these artists are you familiar with?

Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
George Strait tree
Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
Darius Rucker tree
Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
Josh Turner tree
Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
Reba McEntire tree
Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
Luke Bryan tree
Gaylord Opryland Nashville Christmas
Carrie Underwood tree

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: A Country Christmas, Christmas tree, Gaylord Opryland Hotel, Nashville musicians

Santa Claus?

January 1, 2021 by 83 Comments

One of my readers suggested I write a post about the man in the red suit. In the United States, the vast majority of preschoolers believe in Santa Claus, although most kids stop believing by mid-elementary school. As young children, my older brother and I were among that group.

On Christmas morning, we each came downstairs to find a big, unwrapped gift under the tree that was from Santa, as well as a few smaller, wrapped gifts from our parents. On Easter, the Easter Bunny hid a basket for each of us to find. And when we lost teeth, the Tooth Fairy left a few quarters under our pillows.

I distinctly remember the day when my brother told me the truth about Santa, when I was about eight years old. We were driving in the car, and I remember exactly where we were. “Does that mean the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy aren’t real either?” I asked. His response made me cry.

Mr. Handsome grew up being told that the Wise Men came on camels and left gifts under the tree. On Christmas Eve, his dad stomped around on their roof. “The camels are here!” his mom would say. “You have to go to bed, or they won’t bring presents.”

Having come from two different backgrounds, Mr. Handsome and I are faced with a big decision: What will we tell our children? Little Buddy was still too young to understand who brought his gifts this Christmas, but we’ve decided not to do Santa Claus or the Wise Men. Before I explain why, I want to start by saying that I have absolutely nothing against parents who hold to either tradition.

For me, the biggest reason is that I don’t want to risk confusing my kids. And while I don’t necessarily think that I trusted my parents any less when I found out the truth about Santa, but it’s more about my perspective as a mom. Even with a young toddler, I always strive to keep my word. I try not to make promises to Little Buddy that I can’t keep.

I do want Christmas to be a magical time for our children, and I plan on starting some fun Christmas traditions for our family, perhaps as soon as next year. Do you have any suggestions? I would also love to hear your thoughts on Santa Claus.

Filed Under: Christmas

Shopping Local

December 15, 2020 by 24 Comments

Shop local Tennessee

To help counteract the financial strain that has been put on small businesses over the past eight months, we have been doing our part this Christmas season. We have really been trying to buy gifts from local vendors.

In the age of Amazon, it’s so easy to purchase gifts from large retailers and send them with the click of a button. We admit that we do use Amazon (quite a bit, actually), and it’s a wonderful convenience, but when it comes to selecting meaningful presents for family and friends, we would rather give our money to small business in Tennessee.

Have you been shopping locally this Christmas season?

Filed Under: Christmas

Holiday Baking: Gingerbread Cookies and Royal Icing

December 18, 2018 by 18 Comments

Soft gingerbread cookies recipe

Growing up with a mom who was raised by European parents, gingerbread was a big part of our Christmas celebration. Every December, we made gingerbread houses and spent hours baking and decorating dozens of homemade gingerbread cookies. We kept plenty for ourselves and shared the rest with the neighbors. When I married Mr. Handsome, I was saddened to discover that gingerbread wasn’t a part of his family’s holiday traditions. After all, who can resist a perfectly baked gingerbread cookie?

I really want our children to grow up enjoying gingerbread as much as I do, so I have kept the traditional alive and well by making gingerbread cookies every year. (We also make sugar cookies, since those are Mr. Handsome’s favorite.)

This year, I told myself at Thanksgiving that I wasn’t going to do any holiday baking, both because I am trying to eat healthy for the baby’s sake and because I’m about ready to pop. But when I was at the store last week and walked past the molasses and mini M&M’s, I just couldn’t take it. I had to make gingerbread cookies. It was a tiring process but completely worth the effort.

For those who love gingerbread as much as I do (or maybe you haven’t ever tried it–gasp!), my gingerbread and royal icing recipes are below. What’s your favorite type of Christmas cookie?…

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Filed Under: Christmas, Desserts/Baked Goods, Holiday activities, Recipes Tagged With: Christmas, Christmas cookie, gingerbread cookies, holiday baking, M&M's, royal icing, sugar cookies

Christmas Tree Chaos

December 16, 2018 by 22 Comments

While visiting Mr. Handsome’s family for Thanksgiving, everyone met at a Christmas tree farm (which also had live reindeer–see my November 28th post) so those who live in the area could pick out Christmas trees. The tree selection wasn’t great, so we ended up stopping at a tree lot. Mr. Handsome and I were poking fun at them because it took so long for everyone to choose trees. And it wasn’t that they were walking around the lot looking at a bunch of different trees…

Within the few minutes, Mr. Handsome’s youngest brother and his wife were sure that they wanted a 10-foot tree for $125. After about 25 minutes of discussion about size and type, the other couples decided to save money and go with the $25 Scotch pine trees. Then for another 15 minutes, Mr. Handsome’s parents (and two youngest sisters) and his second oldest sister and her husband went back and forth between three Scotch pine trees before each household came to a consensus. …

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Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Black Friday, Christmas decor, Christmas tree, Hobby Lobby, Nashville, ornaments, reindeer farm, Scotch pine, The Home Depot

Christmas Music

November 30, 2018 by 35 Comments

The day after Thanksgiving, I jumped in the car at 8am to do a few hours of Black Friday shopping, and the first thing I noticed (aside from the frost on the windshield and the frigid morning air) was that quite a few radio stations had suddenly started playing Christmas music. We still had turkey and stuffing leftovers in the fridge and pie crumbs on the table, but Thanksgiving was over, and Christmas had officially begun.

Let’s get a discussion going about Christmas music. What are your favorite songs, and when do you start listening to them? My favorites are “The Little Drummer Boy,” “O Holy Night,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” I’m a traditionalist who doesn’t pull out the Christmas carols until the beginning of December.

Filed Under: Christmas, Discussion Tagged With: Black Friday, Black Friday shopping, Christmas carols, Christmas music, Do YOu Hear What I Hear, Little Drummer Boy, Thanksgiving

Gift Ideas Galore

December 7, 2017 by 35 Comments

Christmas is the most wonderful time of year, but finding gifts for all the folks on your list can be a challenge. To make it easier on myself, I keep a running list on my phone of gift ideas for family and friends. As I think of things throughout the year that a particular person would need or want, or as people mention items they would like to have, I write them down. It makes holiday gift giving so much easier! Here are a few of my best suggestions:

Something Homemade

Every year, Mr. Handsome and I make small, homemade gifts for our family members and close friends, often in addition to larger presents. Ideas that we have done in the past include: homemade BBQ sauce (from my Buffalo Wild Wings Style Wings recipe), jars of apple butter–using our recipe, homemade scarves, paintings, and Christmas wreaths (tutorial coming soon).

Something Practical

One way to come up with winning gift ideas is to think of what the people in your life really need. Maybe it’s a digital compass because they recently bought a car that doesn’t have one and have discovered they can’t live without it (my mother-in-law). Or perhaps all the fry pans in their kitchen are hand-me-downs from your husband’s bachelor days, and every time you visit their house, you feel bad for passing down peeling Teflon pans (my brother-in-law). And how about that person who is missing half their measuring cups, or doesn’t have a non-rusted cheese grater, or minces garlic by hand because they haven’t yet discovered a garlic press? The possibilities are endless, but if you can think of something that someone desperately needs, you’ll be a gift-giving hero!

Give the Gift of Safety

Last year, my brother and his wife gave everyone vehicle emergency kits. What a great idea! You can purchase them at your local auto parts store. Some of the must-have items include a first-aid kit, a tire gauge, jumper cables, a flashlight and extra batteries, and a combo seatbelt cutter and window breaker–which should be kept within reach of the driver’s seat.

Coffee

Any coffee lovers out there? Several weeks ago, I was perusing the home goods aisles at TJ Maxx and came across a section of coffee. The smell was divine! It just so happens that Mr. Handsome’s grandmother is a huge coffee drinker. Her favorite quote is, “Why drink water when you can drink coffee?” So I chose a bag of beans for her Christmas gift. One thing to remember is that some people don’t have a coffee grinder. When in doubt, err on the side of caution, and buy pre-ground coffee.

Can you think of any gift ideas that I haven’t mentioned? Go ahead and share them as a comment, as I’m sure we could all use more suggestions.

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: apple butter, BBQ sauce, Christmas, Christmas wreaths, coffee, garlic press, gift ideas, homemade gifts, TJ Maxx, vehicle emergency kit

Christmas Shoes

February 9, 2017 by 36 Comments

A few days ago, I was sitting on the bleachers watching Mr. Handsome show off his amazing basketball skills in the league he is part of. Most of the players are married, so us ladies enjoy chatting during the games.

One of the gals is a second grade teacher at a nearby school, and she told a story about a student of hers.

“One of my students has been wearing a brand new pair of tennis shoes since he came back from Christmas break,” she shared. “They are three sizes too big, so he is always asking me to tighten the laces. A few weeks ago, I struck up a conversation with him and found out he had indeed received them for Christmas.”

“‘Those are beautiful shoes!'” I told him. “‘What else did you get for Christmas?”’ With pure joy, he proceeded to list all his presents, which included that pair of shoes, two new shirts, his ‘own’ bottle of shampoo, and his ‘own’ toothbrush. He was so thrilled that I couldn’t help but smile, but when I finished talking to him, I had to turn away to compose myself.”

All of us were tearing up as she finished the story. I just couldn’t stand thinking about that sweet little boy being without a toothbrush, so Mr. Handsome and I decided to give a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste to each of her students. She said the kids were absolutely thrilled.

Thinking back to my own childhood, I can tell you I wouldn’t have been that excited about receiving hygiene items for Christmas. Sometimes I forget that there are people out there who have so little. May we all remember not to take anything for granted, even something as seemingly small and insignificant as a toothbrush.

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Christmas break, Christmas shoes, new pair of shoes

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Meet Ellie

Mr. Handsome and I married six years ago and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Between recipes, photos from our travels, money saving tips, DIY suggestions, post about our daily life with our son, and more, our lifestyle blog features a little bit of everything. Read More…

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