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Thanksgiving 2023 is in the rear view mirror. So now the rush is on for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa observances and all the frantic shopping and plans that go along with the preparations.
As I look back on my own childhood, I can't understand how my parents got us through those days leading up to Christmas. Kids didn't need any sugary treats to get wound up. All it took was the Sears and Penney's catalogs to show up in the mailbox. We called them dream books since that was mostly what we did as we dog-eared the pages for Santa.
Advent was a time of many plans and happenings from helping Dad pick out a Christmas tree or going with Mom out to Dieckmann's garden center where the simplest of holiday decor turned the place into a magic Hallmark movie set.
My Dad insisted on live pine boughs for the mantles and I have to admit the scent of pine remains a reminder of those days. He would carefully place colorful ornaments and bulbs on those pines.
We would watch as he painstakingly placed the decorations on the live Christmas tree, too. Only in later years, did the family tree come from a box in the basement for safety reasons.
But it was definitely our Mom who culled the family resources to make way for the holidays. She enlisted each of us to clean, bake cookies, shop, decorate and wrap gifts. Some of the cookies ended up in the bird feeder but it was still fun.
Yet it was one particular treat that Mom made, not just for the holidays, but when she wanted a comfort treat. She would haul out a heavy metal cooking pot and place it on the stove. In went cups of sugar, cocoa, milk and butter for her homemade fudge. Being that she was cooking for her large family, every recipe -- whether for fudge, cookies or cupcakes -- was doubled if not tripled.
Making fudge on the stove wasn't a quick process. In fact, she would tap some of us to take turns stirring the slurry of sweetness for what seemed hours. Only when it reached the proper temperature would she pour the mixture into a large pan and place it in a spot to cool. Sometimes she would add walnuts to the fudge.
I'm not sure which sibling or family member inherited the fudge pot, but I hope it is being put to good use this year.
It's funny the things that make the holidays special. And most of the time it is the simple things that make them so. Think about spending time reading to the grandkids or looking at old photo albums from years past.
Maybe you make gingerbread houses or latkes together. Or perhaps you, too, make a pan of fudge. Just remember to share with someone not so fortunate. Isn't that what the holidays are really all about?
Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.