For the past three weeks anytime anyone mentions the phrase “Christmas-time”, my son goes through the same line of questioning.

“Is it Christmas-time?”

“Yes”

“Tonight? It’s Christmas tonight?”

And then I launch into the same explanation, how Christmas-time is the “season” and the days and weeks leading up to and following the actual Christmas DAY are “Christmas-time”. I understand his confusion, he doesn’t go to school yet so the lapse of time on a calendar isn’t conveyed to him. He clocks his Christmas-time by watching the lights appear on neighboring houses, by the number of seasonal cartoon shows on television and by the sudden appearance of wrapping paper that has just been pulled out of its year-long hibernation (”What’s that for, Mom? Whatcha wrapping, Mom? Can I just take one teensy little peek, Mom?”). He doesn’t yet understand that all the festivities account for the time, culminating in one lovely day. But that it’s not just the singular day that creates the Christmas feeling. He is slowly starting to appreciate the joy and warmth of the season, of the “Christmas-time”, and not just the build up to that one singular day of gift giving and receiving. I try to keep things low-key and focused on the whole enjoyment of the season and all of the treats that come along with that, including seeing the lights and decorations on houses, singing along to Rudolph on TV, baking cookies, making ornaments and of course, wrapping up all the special gifts he’s made and chosen for everyone.

PECAN CRAISIN WALDORF
From Rev. Holly Whitcomb; Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Serves 6-8

This is a simple, festive and colorful salad for the holidays or just for any day.

6-8 red apples, washed, cored and chopped in small pieces
3/4 cup chopped, toasted pecans
6 oz. package of Craisins (dried cranberries)
1 8-oz carton vanilla yogurt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix together apples, pecans and Craisins. Make a dressing of vanilla yogurt and nutmeg. Pour over fruit and nut mixture and toss together.

LYNNE’S SALAD
From Pamela L. Smith; Flushing, New York

8 cups assorted greens
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
4 oz mandarin oranges — drained
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 cup candied pecans or toasted pecans

Dressing:
4 T raspberry wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 T sugar

Whisk all dressing ingredients together. Combine all other ingredients in large bowl. Pour dressing over salad just before serving.

This article comes from the book The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson.

Christmas can be especially hard for stepchildren. Not only do kids stand to lose the traditions they shared with their biological families, they may be shuffling between two households, neither of which necessarily feels like a safe, secure place they can call home. Throw in a potential income disparity between families, new stepsiblings, and possibly receiving modest gifts themselves while stepbrothers and stepsisters are showered with expensive gadgets from an absent parent-and you’ve got the makings for an emotional minefield. Blended families need new traditions to smooth the way:

• Make Christmas a season, not a day. If you focus traditions on that single twenty-four-hour period, and your children only see you every other year on Christmas Day, they’ll feel they’re missing something on the years they’re with your ex. Create new traditions that aren’t date specific such as picking out the tree, making wreaths, and shopping together.
• If you are with stepchildren on Christmas Day, don’t push all your traditions on them at once; maybe this year you shouldn’t visit your mother on Christmas morning-save that for a vacation day later in the week. Start traditions that will make new family members feel special-which may mean foregoing some favorite activities in favor of making time for new ones.
• Try not to force two celebrations on Christmas Day-”We’ll be home in the morning, at noon you’ll go to your father’s house, then we’ll pick you up at 4 P.M., with a quick stop for eggnog at Grandma Jane’s on the way to Uncle Bill and Aunt Barbara’s for their annual Christmas Day open house, then we’ll end up at your Grandpa Jack’s for supper because I know you wouldn’t want to miss that.”-unless of course you want the children’s enduring holiday memory to be that of sitting in a car, racing against the clock.
• Be flexible. Be creative. Be generous. Ask them what they want to do to celebrate. Maybe they’d like to go ice skating on Christmas Eve or watch a holiday movie in the afternoon. Choose holiday activities that everyone can do together: skating, sledding, baking cookies. But don’t be afraid to experiment with some separate activities that, while open to all the kids, don’t require everyone to participate.

From Janet Kelly at Chinaberry from our cookbook Eat, Drink & Be Chinaberry (sorry, now out-of-print):

1 package fresh cranberries
½ cup sugar
3 large oranges
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup finely chopped chives

Put ½ package cranberries in saucepan over low heat. Add sugar, cook slightly, crushing the cranberries. Let cool.

Slightly chop the remaining half package of cranberries. Add to the cooled mixture above.

Add small chunks of fresh orange (remove the pith, otherwise known as the “white stuff”). Then add cilantro and chives.

Chill, then serve with chips

When it is time for gift-giving on any occasion, consider making and giving coupons to your children. The sky is the limit. “This coupon good for one breakfast out with Dad.” “This coupon good for staying up late on one weekend night.” “This coupon good for one bike-riding afternoon with Mom.” What is so wonderful about coupons is that they can so easily translate into time spent together with loved ones, rather than just another thing to accumulate. We started this tradition early in our family and it wasn’t too long before we parents started getting lovingly scrawled coupons from the children. It is a sweet way to teach that gifts of self are often so much more meaningful and fun than gifts that originate in the wallet.

Here is a recipe for Gingerbread People from the Chinaberry book Christmas Cookies by Sharon O’Connor. This set would make a great gift (even for yourself!); it contains recipe cards and a CD with music from The Nutcracker Ballet–a perfect combination of “ingredients.”

From the author: A spicy dough that bakes into delicious, semisoft gingerbread figures. This is the cookie I most look forward to baking every December.

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses until blended.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice and stir until combined. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until blended. On a lightly floured surface, form the dough into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days before rolling out.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into gingerbread people or other fun shapes. Transfer the figures to a baking sheet, placing them about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. If you wish, drizzle or spread the cookies with powdered sugar icing. Or, use a pastry bag to pipe designs onto the cookies and make faces and buttons with raisins and cinnamon red hots. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
   Makes about 40 cookies.

Cook’s Tips: While the cookies are still hot and slightly soft, you can press raisins, cinnamon red hots, and other candy into the dough.

Powdered Sugar Icing: A shiny, easy-to-make icing.
1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, pinch of salt, drops of food coloring (optional)
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir until smooth and thick enough to spread.

The following tips for decorating cookies with kids comes from the Chinaberry book Christmas Family Gatherings by Donata Maggipinto.

Photo by France Ruffenach

• Clear a large work space for decorating, and another space for holding the finished cookies.
• Protect clothes with aprons; have plenty of clean kitchen towels on hand.
• Display the “naked” cookies on a counter and invite kids to choose the cookies they’d like to decorate.
• Divide icing, sugars, candies, confetti, and other decorations among small bowls. Depending on the number of children participating, you may want to form cookie decorating teams and fill bowls with decorations for each team to share.
• Plastic knives and spoons are helpful for spreading frosting and sprinkling sugar. Little ones will need supervision.
• Have pitchers of drinking water and bowls of apple wedges and tangerine segments on hand for snacking; decorating is hard work!
• Don’t forget to corral a few adults to assist you with the supervision.
• Let children work at their own pace and according to their skill level. Remember, it’s the process that’s fulfilling and fun.