Santa Claus Archives - grace grits and gardening

Chocolate Crinkles: the most magical cookie of all!

December 23, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 2 Comments

Chocolate Crinkles are everyone’s favorite, especially at Christmastime. This throwback recipe is from Betty Crocker herself. I haven’t changed a thing because why trifle with chocolate perfection? My mother made these when I was a kid, and I remember thinking they were magical because in the end, there’s a powdered sugar design on top. Like a snowflake, no two are alike.

These were Santa’s favorite, too. We always left a few on a plate near the fireplace, with a glass of milk. Santa needed lots of strength for traveling around the globe on Christmas Eve.

And the reindeer always got carrots.Continue Reading

The Scary Side of Christmas

December 21, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

As a child, Christmas was my favorite time of the year. Homemade stockings hung by the chimney with extra-care. Daddy was in a semi-decent mood. Yummy food spread on the kitchen countertop morning, noon and night. School was out for weeks. Sometimes knee high snow fell while I slept. Plus, Christmas was Jesus’ birthday which included certain church perks like singing Christmas hymns instead of regular hymns and receiving tangerines at the end of the Christmas program.

Brinkley Chapel Choir. (l-r Monica, Staci, Lesa, Mitzi, Me, Kim, Karen, Jamie)

But.

In my young mind, there was a scary side of Christmas, too. A dark side that adults glossed over or ignored altogether. Two worrisome things in particular kept me awake at night during the most wonderful time of the year.

Number 1 Scary Christmas Thing: Jesus was born to a very young virgin mother. Although the specific details of being an unspoiled virgin versus “one of those girls” were fuzzy, I had a vague idea of what it meant.

WHAT IF THAT HAPPENED TO ME?

I wanted no part of it.

When the angel Gabriel said, fear not for behold I bring you tidings of great joy, Mary and her whole family went right along with everything. Mary was so wonderful and worthy she even sang a song about it.

If Gabriel visited me in the night, such tidings would not be well received by Thomas Tate.

Daddy (Thomas Tate)

Not at all.

I also believed the more I stewed on something, the more likely a self-fulfilling prophecy would occur. So I tried to focus on other things—anything other than being a pregnant virgin child like Mary. Like trying to be extra good and not pouting because Santa Claus watched my every move.

Number 2 Scary Christmas Thing. The Naughty or Nice List that controlled Christmas. I knew Santa made a list and checked it twice, but that’s all I knew about his curious list.

When did he make the list?

What were the list guidelines?

Exactly how bad did I have to be to find myself knocked off the good list and onto the bad list?

I had lots and lots of questions that no one seemed qualified to answer.

Each year, I felt certain I had NOT been good enough. All throughout Christmas Eve night, I worried that I would wake on Christmas morning to no toys, no new Barbies, no clothes even. Nothing at all. After all, I wasn’t nearly as agreeable as Mary (see Number 1 Scary Thing above).

Worry-wart much?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]The scary side of #Christmas…Yikes! #VirginMary #BetterNotPout[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Mindy Gledhill – Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Those Barbie Dream House Years

December 19, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 9 Comments

Vintage Barbie Dream House - Christmas Memories

Those Barbie Dream House years were melt-in-your-mouth easy. Santa didn’t have to spend one moment pondering what to get my sister and me for Christmas. As long as he dropped Barbie and a few of her latest accouterments down our chimney—a shimmery ball gown, a groovy convertible or a hip Malibu Ken to ride along on her adventures—we were set for the year, and Santa was free to fly to someone else’s rooftop.

A few days after Christmas when Momma began to count the seconds until school started back, we loaded up our new Barbie things and headed over to Little River to visit our cousin Lesa and her new Christmas Barbies.

Yes, our Barbies were cousins too…

For hours we played in the living room around Lesa’s Christmas tree while Momma and Aunt Lavern camped out in the kitchen guzzling Folgers and inhaling banana pudding or whatever pie still sat on the countertop after all the Johnsons had feasted. (Aunt Lavern made the BEST banana pudding, the best everything for that matter…)Do you girls want some pie? Aunt Lavern called out.

No, we’re too busy, Barbie’s getting married!

December was always the month for Barbie weddings (mainly because Lesa hadn’t yet chopped off all her new Barbie’s hair…)

As Barbie walked down the aisle with a Ken she barely knew, Momma and Aunt Lavern lamented the details of their next diet which would start January 2, right after black-eyed pea and cornbread day.January was always the month for dieting.

6 more sleeps…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Fred Astaire

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.