Christmas Freak

The merriest corner of the Internet

Ersatz Nog

IMG_3955

The problem with egg nog is that I want to drink it all time. I tried to do this a few years ago when I realized, to my dismay, that grocery stores only carry it in December (the audacity!). So on a dark day in February I decided to make my own. Big mistake. Did you know that egg nog primarily consists of–well, I won’t tell you. You don’t want to know how the sausage gets made. Then you’ll end up at the grocery store at seven in the morning on a Saturday in December, staring wistfully at the shelves of thick, hearty, sunshine-in-a-carton Egg Nog, before bending down and comparing the gellan and locust bean gums in Almond Milk Nog to the carrageenan and caramel coloring in Soy Nog, and wondering which is “healthier.”

The soy nog has this chemical nutmeg twinge that tastes like Christmas in a uniquely American way, sort of like how cheese dogs taste like Independence, and waxy candy corn tastes like Halloween. The almond nog is a little better. It actually has brown specks in it, which I’m assuming are bits of nutmeg, though it has this tongue-coating effect that I find distressing. Verdict: soy milk and almond milk to do not taste like egg yolks mixed with heavy cream. The search continues.

The Crappy Part of the Nutcracker

IMG_3929-1

Blasphemy! I know, I know. I adore the Nutcracker so much that I always forget how much of a snoozer most of the first act is. Let’s pause for a moment, clear the marzipan from our heads, and think back to that nice nap we took during scenes one through six, you know–the scenes with all the lovely orchestra music playing in the background?

Somewhere in between the trumpet and the horn, I vaguely remember a long, uneventful Christmas party: 20 minutes of adults greeting each other and passing around hors d’oeuvres. I’m pretty sure one of the scenes is called “Dance of the Parents,” and another “Departure of the Guests,” two of the least exciting things to happen dramatically ever, and during which time most of the dancing consists of adults shaking hands and bowing to each other. Which, I’ll give them credit, is exactly how I imagine parents dancing. I know, they have to introduce the magical toymaker who gives Clara the nutcracker, etc, etc, but really–and maybe this is the New Yorker in me speaking–I would have been just as pleased to have rushed through that bit, and filled the following five scenes with the dancing rats. Who doesn’t like festive rodents?

Striped Pajamas

I need some. Red. A two piece set. None of that onesie back-flap business. This is a progressive blog, okay?

For the love of Silver Bells

I’ve been testing the patience of my apparently very patient fiance, who is a NCF (Non-ChristmasFreak), by playing Stevie Wonder’s Christmas album on repeat for the past few days. The entire album is basically a musical version of stuffing as many marshmallows as possible into a mug of hot cocoa, though in my humble opinion, the best song is Silver Bells. Can you please just go listen to it right now? It’s like a puff of warmth from the speakers. I’m listening to it as I write this, and it’s taking a lot of will power not to just fill this entire post with HAPPY WARM FUZZ FUZZ FUZZ. Oh, and as an added plus, it’s one of the more “secular” Christmas songs, omitting all the Jesus/manger stuff, which makes it a lot more palatable to NCFs. Dare them not to like it!

Christmas Freaks unite

Welcome fellow Christmas Freak,

ImageI have learned that it is not socially acceptable to constantly display my extreme love for Christmas while interacting with other adults, and have thus been suppressing my cheer, indulging it for only four measly weeks a year, at which point it has accumulated for so long without relief that it bursts from me in the most dense and flamboyant tribute of affection that it alienates my friends, family, neighbors, pets, mailman, pharmacist, grocery clerk, primary care physician, etc, etc.

I’m creating this blog as an outlet for my Christmas obsession. I hope to post as much as I can, and with shameless sincerity, about treacle and tinsel and carols and trees, and all of the decorated storefronts and christmas day movies that make me want to put on an elf costume and and run down the snowy streets, throwing iced cookies and sugar plums into the air, and howling the entirety of Mariah’s “Merry Christmas” album until my voice grows hoarse . . .

Err–right, so welcome.