Monday, December 19, 2016

Christmas Eve Simmering Potpourri and Other Traditions

Jan here, with a post full of Christmas traditions, because what is Christmas without traditions? 

When my husband and I celebrated our first Christmas together thirty-four years ago, we had to merge strong traditions from both sides of extended family.



We inherited his family's creche, and stuck with my family's tradition of opening presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve.

And we started a few of our own traditions that we're handing down to our children. 

Of course, as our children form their own homes with loved ones, they'll sort through the family traditions and start their own. That's the way it's supposed to work, right?



One tradition we started several years ago is a Christmas Tea on Christmas Eve. After church, whoever wants to meets at our house for spiced cider, little sandwiches with meat or cheese spreads, spanokopita (recipe here), Black Forest Ham pinwheels (recipe here), and other Christmas goodies.




We chat a little bit, but the main event of the evening is a game. It was dominoes one year, Carcassonne another. Sometimes it's Settlers of Cataan. It's always a fun (and highly competitive!) time!

Wynter is waiting for her share!


And in the background is the heavenly scent of spices and fruit in a simmering potpourri.

Simmering Potpourri

Ingredients:

1/2 bag fresh cranberries
1 apple
1/2 orange
3 or 4 cinnamon sticks
1 Tablespoon whole cloves



Cut up the apple and orange (go ahead and eat the second half!)...


...and put everything in a pot with a couple quarts of water. I like to use my little one gallon crockpot, but you can use a pot on the stove, too.


Heat, covered, until the water gets steamy and the cranberries get soft. Then reduce the temperature, remove the lid, and let the Christmas scent make its way through your home.


I hope you enjoy your Christmas Eve as much as we do! What are your plans for the festive night?

And it wouldn't be the Twelve Days of Christmas Treats without a giveaway, would it?

Comment today for an opportunity to win a signed copy of "Mattie's Pledge"!


Here's a little bit about the story: 

Mattie Schrock is no stranger to uprooting her life. Even as her father relocated her family from one Amish community to the next, she always managed to find a footing in their new homes. Now as the Schrock family plans to move west from Somerset County to a fledgling Amish settlement in Indiana, she looks forward to connecting with old friends who will be joining them from another Pennsylvania community—friends like Jacob Yoder, who has always held a special place in her heart.

Since Mattie last saw Jacob, they’ve both grown into different people with different dreams. Jacob yearns to settle down, but Mattie can’t help but dream of what may lie over the western horizon. When a handsome Englisher tempts her to leave the Amish behind to search for adventure in the West, will her pledge to Jacob be the anchor that holds her secure?

Tender, poignant, and gentle, Mattie’s Pledge offers readers a glimpse into Amish life in the 1840s—and into the yearning heart of a character they’ll not soon forget.


27 comments:

  1. My family always had a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. This year I will be having Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with my parents, brother, sister in law and niece. Depending on what time I get back home and whether it is done while at my parents, I am wanting to have the birthday party for Jesus even if it is just me. We would quote Luke 2 and sing Happy birthday to Jesus and then eat angel food cake and eggnog. I hope you will have a wonderful Christmas.

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    1. Birthday cake for Jesus is a wonderful thing, Wilani!!!!

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    2. That's a wonderful tradition, Wilani! It's fun to see how different families celebrate His birth. :)

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  2. I love that tradition! We usually have out get together once before Christmas and another in the New Year.

    Can you eat the potpourri blend or is it just for smelling? It looks tasty to me! (But then, almost everything does.)

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    1. It isn't sweetened at all, so if you wanted to eat it (or drink the juice), you'd want to add some sugar or other sweetener. But all of the ingredients are edible!

      I keep this blend just for smelling. The great thing is that you can just keep adding water and keep it going for a couple days. :)

      We started our Christmas Tea when we moved so far away from our extended family that getting together for Christmas is too hard (miles and weather are the culprits). So this get together is just our little family...that's growing larger every year. :)

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  3. P.S. I love Wynter's name. Is there a story behind it and the spelling?

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    1. We got Wynter almost twelve years ago, in February 2005, from a shelter in Cynthiana, Kentucky. Because we knew she was between 6 and 8 weeks old, we chose December 21 as her birthday - the first day of winter.

      Around that same time, one of the TV weathermen had a daughter that they named Wynter - and being the fan-girl that she was, our daughter latched onto it. (She wasn't a fan of the weatherman, she was a fan of the weather. Still is. She briefly considered becoming a meteorologist.)

      So the name (and spelling) stuck!

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    2. That's such a neat story! Thanks for sharing that.

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  4. I need to do the simmering potpourri for Christmas Eve this year... we have the Blodgett family (Dave's side) in on Christmas Eve. Some have gone to an evening Mass, others wait until Christmas day, but we tuck in a few hours of food, small children racing around, one Bumble (Our youngest son Luke will be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and he's our resident "Bumble", the big abominable snowman from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer)... and one Great-grandma... A lovely mixed bag of family. But I think the potpourri is a must, darling Jan!!!!

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    1. Your Christmas Eve plans sound wonderful and chaotic! And how wonderful that your Bumble will be home!

      One thing I like about a potpourri like this is that the scent permeates everything without being too noticeable, lending a gentle touch to the festivities. :)

      Have a wonderful time with the family!

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  5. Family traditions are special with children developing their own. I treausre family tradition from my childhood. I will have to try your potpourri. This recipe is a new one for me in regards to potpourri. I've made several through the years. Have a merry and joyous Christmas filled with God's gifts of love, joy, peace, and hope.

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    1. Thank you, Marilyn!

      And it is fun to watch our daughter and new son-in-law develop their own Christmas traditions.

      Alas! We may never see them on Christmas Eve, though. Last year, he proposed on Christmas Eve, so they're planning to celebrate in some romantic way that evening. If they make that a yearly tradition, we'll just have to be content with seeing them at church. :)

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    2. I remember that Christmas Eve proposal! :) So romantic!!!!

      We've let our traditions evolve as our family has grown. I remember how hard it was to try and make so many people happy as a young bride and then a young mother... someone always felt slighted... so for our kids we swapped the holiday dates to a nearby weekend so they're not tugged in multiple directions because that's not fun with kids....

      And we do my family party on a weekend before Christmas and Dave's family on Christmas Eve.... And then whoever is on their own on Christmas is welcome to join us!

      And then our Christmas with kids and grandkids will be next Wednesday on the 28th... Luke and Zach will miss being home together by a day, but they see each other in NYC weekly so that's all right....

      It's a balancing act, this evolution thing... but it's also fun to stretch the season out a little rather than have everything in one weekend....

      We have snow today, just sifting down.... and cold but not bitter... and no bear tracks, LOL!

      :)

      Life is good!

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  6. wow. that's a cool idea. my husband loves to buy the smell goody Christmas scents for around the house. this sounds perhaps a bit more long lasting.

    our family tradition is opening gifts on Christmas Eve, but only after we go around the room and thank God for our favorite blessing of the past year and then read the Christmas story in Luke 2. My brother, who is severely dyslexic, wanted to read it every year because he used Christmas as a gauge of how much better he was getting at reading. (He called me the day he finished reading his first book all by himself @ the age of 40: proud day. he's since read several more)
    Now with my family we still do the thanking and reading of the Christmas story on Christmas eve, go to midnight mass and little man sets out cookies for Santa and open gifts in the morning.
    I think I'm going to go for this potpourri. We love the smells of Christmas.

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    1. What a great triumph for your brother! Dyslexia is such a hard thing to overcome. Congratulations to him for working so hard!

      We always read from Luke on Christmas morning. Of course, this year it will be Christmas afternoon. Those of us still living at home will have a quiet morning, then church, then the others will be here for Christmas dinner and presents in the afternoon.

      Can you tell we're in that stage between having little ones around???

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  7. Thanks for sharing your traditions. How lovely. Aren't traditions marvelous?

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    1. Traditions are the glue that hold families together. :)

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  8. I'm definitely making that potpourri. I've done it with just cinnamon sticks but this looks so much better. And it will add much needed humidity to my wee little house. :-)

    Christmas Eve traditions...a breakfast supper. I started that when money was so tight I needed to cut corners wherever I could. So we'd get into our jammies (new Christmas ones) early and have a simple supper in memory of Jesus' humble birth. My daughter still has porridge on Christmas Eve so that's one tradition that stuck.

    And in the afternoon we would make treats for the birds and squirrels and then take a nice hike around our neighbourhood park and decorate the trees. When my daughter was little I felt like the pied piper because all the neighbourhood kids would join in and I always had two dogs in tow and some of the babies I cared for. Great chaotic fun.

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    1. A simple Christmas Eve supper. That sounds perfect.

      And your tradition of decorating the trees at the park sounds like so much fun! What memories you made for yourself and those children! I wonder if any of them still do it?

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  9. Love reading about others traditions. My mom would play Christmas music while we decorated the tree. I continued that tradition when my children lived at home. We can sing just about every Christmas Carol there is!

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    1. We love playing Christmas music, too! Thanks for stopping by. :)

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  10. It's funny you would share this, Jan! I plan to make a pot of spiced cider with fruit to help the house smell good for the holidays. :) Oh, and also for drinking.

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    1. Isn't that fruity/spicy scent perfect for Christmas? I think I'm going to have to start mine early...like Saturday morning!

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  11. Ack! I can't believe this is the first chance I've had to check in. Mmmmmm. I love the idea of your potpourri. I love to simmer orange peels to scent the house. This sounds wonderful.

    As for Christmas Eve, ever since my daughter began singing in the choir at Midnight Mass, that has pretty much taken over. Such a beautiful, peaceful service.

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  12. I'm going to have to try making this potpourri. I can almost smell it by looking at the pictures.

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  13. I'm going to have to try making this potpourri. I can almost smell it by looking at the pictures.

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