a few of my favourite things

When I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favourite things, and then I don't feel so bad. - “My Favourite Things”

Long before I knew “Black Friday” existed with its over-hyped deals and rabid shoppers, I looked forward to the day after Thanksgiving with an inordinate amount of excitement for one reason: all things Christmas were officially allowed. House rules declared that nothing Christmas-related could be displayed or indulged until “after Thanksgiving,” and given my penchant for technicalities, I lay in wait for 12 am Friday to strike just so I could listen to Mannheim Steamroller.
Over the years, a certain tradition developed, which naturally involved food:

• Egg nog
• Pillsbury shape cookies
• King's Hawaiian sweet bread
• Smoked oysters
• Port wine cheese
• Townhouse crackers
• Tim Tams

The majority of these items are inextricably tied to the years my family lived in Virginia. I have very distinct memories of drinking egg nog in Glen Allen, eating Hawaiian bread in Virginia Beach, buying cans of smoked oysters and port wine cheese balls at the Little Creek commissary.

For some reason, the cookies didn't enter the picture until a few years later, when we had moved back to Iowa. I still miss the old cookie dough logs that you had to slice carefully so the Christmas tree image wouldn't be lop-sided or squished, and so the cookies would bake evenly. Silly Pillsbury, making life “easier” by pre-slicing the cookies for “perfect” results every time!

Tim Tams are the most recent addition to the line-up, as of two or three years ago. But Tim Tams deserve their own post at a later date, and besides... I've got some serious chowing down and Christmas festivities to attend to!!

Cheers!