'Twas the night before Christmas

The only holiday traditions I remember from my childhood are (1) my brother and I sneaking around to find our hidden presents and carefully unwrapping them just enough to know what was inside and then ever so carefully restoring the package to its originally wrapped state so no one was ever the wiser. (Of course that is just what we thought we were doing. In reality, we did a sloppy job and got busted.) My brother and I also enjoyed our pre-holiday tradition (2) of making extensively detailed wish lists from the Sears Wish Book.

Now that I am a Mommy, I try to create better traditions for my own children, such as our family tree trimming party, putting out cookies (Pepperidge Farm Milanos) & milk for Santa, and reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve.

My son is 3 years old and, if he is anything like his big sister, this will be the year that he asks, "What is a sugar plum?" Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I am ready for him. Not only with a photo...

... but also with a recipe. Oh wait a minute... the list of ingredients includes dried figs and dates. Where are the plums? Maybe I'll just stick with the visions of sugar plums and skip the sampling.

Happy holidays!