The most wonderful time of year!

I don’t know what happens each year as we exit the season of Thanksgiving and enter into the season of Christmas, but something truly magical, if you will, takes over. There’s this sense of awe and wonder as our homes and storefronts turn into a Christmas wonderland of trees and lights, and the sound of Christmas music fills the air. I find that I become more childlike in my perspective and get excited to see all the lights, and hear the Christmas music and just enjoy the simple things again. 

And then out of nowhere, I’m quickly brought back to the reality of being an adult, with all the responsibilities of making Christmas happen for my family. Oh how we took for granted our moms or grandmas who made all the magic happen! As a mom of an ever growing family, I can sometimes put too much pressure on myself to make it all perfect– make sure the gifts are equal and fair, that the stockings have just the right little things, that all the food comes together just perfectly (maybe that’s just me), and making sure everybody is comfortable and enjoying themselves. But just in case nobody has told you yet, your kids and grands would much rather have YOU present than all the presents you could buy, than all the treats and the perfect social media Christmas. Presence. I’ll admit it’s a hard one for me sometimes. So much so that it usually takes one of my kids coming into the kitchen and making me stop to give a long, tight hug. It brings me back to the reality of why we’re together and what we’re celebrating.

As I was reading and thinking over the Christmas story, I was reminded that the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem was due to His heritage, His family you could say. Everyone had to go to their hometown to register for this census. And it just so happened to be the time for Mary to give birth. So although Jesus wasn’t born in the limelight, he was surrounded by family. And maybe that’s why being surrounded by family and loved ones at Christmas time feels more special. 

Maybe you have the traditional family unit or maybe yours is slightly dysfunctional, maybe big pieces of your heart are missing this year, maybe you don’t have “blood” family but you have “love” family–whatever your family looks like this year, I encourage you to make the most of it and celebrate with them. It doesn’t have to look any certain way, or even have any gifts, just enjoy the togetherness--presence.

I personally love these times together because there are traditions and stories told that you won’t get anywhere else. One of my favorite traditions, passed on to me by my sweet mother-in-law, Delo, was wassail. I had never heard of it til my first Christmas with the family, but I LOVED it. What is wassail you might ask? Well according to Delo, who we affectionately called Nana, it’s a drink that “warms the cockles of your heart”. It was a warm drink the English made from hot mulled cider, ale or wine, and spices. Nana’s recipe was pretty simple so I’ve kept it that way through the years. Every year when the kids were growing up and the first really cold snap would happen here, I’d put my ingredients in the crockpot before bed and the next morning, we’d have the loveliest smell of fruit and spices wafting through the house. It was the beginning to the Christmas season for us. Wassail was integrated into almost all of our holiday events, and rightfully so. We’ve always put our Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving eve listening to classic Christmas music and drinking wassail. Our Christmas cookie night always involves wassail. And any and all Christmas parties involve this warm, spiced drink. And what’s more fun, is that I’ve got to pass this tradition on to so many others who love to “warm the cockles of their heart”. (And yes, cockles are a real thing, an expression from the Latin name for the heart’s ventricles, cochleae cordis.) 

Here’s the recipe Nana passed along–

Wassail

½ gallon apple juice

6 oz orange juice

6 oz water

3 cinnamon sticks

10-12 whole cloves

½ c sugar (I don't add the sugar as the juices are sweet enough for us) 

Add all ingredients to crock pot and simmer on high for 4-5 hours, or place on low if you’re putting it on before bed–this is my favorite because we wake up to this amazing smell. Or you can place in large pot on stove top to simmer for 2-3 hours. If you're feeling fancy, we like to garnish with a cinnamon stick and fresh cranberries.

I hope you try it out and enjoy it!

Merry Christmas and all my love,

Angie