Shiney, Shiney

  Shiney, Shiney 
  Originally uploaded by Jodi3425.

I've put off blogging my Christmas dilemmas, but, well, the time for procrastination is over. Every year I go through the same dilemma of wanting to create an incredibly over the top Christmas thrill of the kids. And, at the same time, I don't want them to be materialistic.

There were problems with this last year. I don't know if I mentioned it, but when she first saw the presents following Santa's visit, my 7 year old daughter, said, 'Is that all?' I think she said this for several reasons. First, I've created this incredibly over the top expectation that nothing can ever reach. Second, there weren't any really huge presents (the year before I had wrapped a large table/bench for Paul) that dominated the room. Third, she's 7 and is moving from being a little kid into being a regular kid.

This year, my dilemma has had 2 moments. In a spur of the moment purchase, I got my daughter a life-size stuffed pug. It's pretty big, but not as big as, say, those arm-chair sized gorillas and bears. Then, Paul and I saw The Pursuit of Happyness. Before we saw it, we both kept calling it the movie that proves that any black homeless man can be a millionaire if he just has the will to work. It wasn't really like that (and so we say it was like that all the more). What the film did well was show how much time it takes being poor, how fragile the ties between having a place to stay and being on the street, how contingent things are. As I integrated the film into the my Christmas guilt, I got into quite a funk.

The counter moment shouldn't have been counter. I don't quite understand it. I was at the mothership (the most elaborate grocery store around, kinda like Marks and Spencer or Whole Foods or the two combined) getting some of the provisions for Christmas dinner. I'm not a foodie or a particularly good cook--but I can read and follow a recipe so things usually turn out okay. At any rate, I ended up buying a prime rib roast for 10 people. This is the most expensive piece of meat I've ever purchased. Weirdly, the shock put me in a cheerful mood.

Comments

[Patrick J. Mullins]

Pah-don me f'livin', but I have to praise this purchase. Try to get it almost well-done, but a little pink, because kids don't usually like that. Make SURE you don't ruin it now that you've got it--there is NOTHING better than a superb prime rib.

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/holidays/christmas/recipes/marchesi-pan.htm

Take a look at this for another time. I'm making it for Christmas and, although these are usually popular just bought as commercial gifts from Italian stores, they are much too dry. Plus, this is covered with Marzipan--one of the gifts of the gods.

Go ahead and have an untidy sublime Xmas no matter what anybody tells you. It's much better than my neighbour upstairs who feels she must call me to tell me how much she hates 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

[Jodi]

Thanks, Patrick. What a perfect response. Did I understand that you are making your own panettone cake? I thought one could only purchase them.

My father and my aunt have always seen Christmas as sublime--and celebrated it that way. I'll do my best not to ruin the meat. I got a meat thermometer and put all the pans in the oven to make sure that the other dishes would come out on time (spinach souffle and a potato dish; appetizers will be Southern and kid friendly--cheese straws and sausage-cheese balls--with a few things thrown in for the adults). I also like fruit with meat, so there will be a fruit salad, too.

[pebird]

In memory of my golden retriever of 13 years who passed away 2 months ago...

One Christmas I got her one of those huge furry bones - shaped like a ridiculous cartoon bone, I wrapped it just like it was shaped and put it under the tree.

On Xmas morning, as soon as everyone started unwrapping presents, she went straight for the bone, picked it up, wrapping and all, and went off to the corner to lie on it.

Christmas magic.

[Patrick J. Mullins]

Yes, I am making it, and if you look at it, it's not really much more difficult than the usual kinds of heavy fruit cakes. I bought all the ingredients months ago, because I can't stand lines around Xmas. But mainly, I always thought the Panettone idea was really nice, but the commercially sold ones are always too dry, so I found this recipe by googling.

A prime rib I would probably make for adults medium rare according to how they like it. But I think children usually don't care to see it too red-looking, and if it's just done even without pink-look to it, it's still really flavourful. The best one I ever had was in Iowa, but I'm told you can get really fab Flame-Broiled ones in Las Vegas!!!! Tee hee, I'm so horrible... You can make a cut in it to be sure instead of trusting meat thermometer completely--because you can then turn the whole thing over and one little cut wouldn't deface it anyway.

I didn't like Xmas MY WHOLE LIFE till about last year! I've always been the worst imaginable curmudgeon about it, making everybody as miserable as possible. I have no idea what happened, but I even went to see the Nutcracker for the first time in my life yesterday, and they are now mad at me at the Ballet Forum because I said that the Waltz of the Flowers made the exquisite Ms. Mearns have to dance Dewdrop in frantic, automaton style. But they'd been complaining about the speedy conductors too, so it may be that I said I left after the first curtain to try to get the quickest subway train, because the mood of the subway went along with the overly efficient music! Sugar Plum was just perfect though, and the Snowflake ballerinas that come out for the little Marie and her prince at the end of Act I made me go back to childhood too.

[McKenzie Wark]

Christmas can be teh closest thing to socialism you can actually achieve. "Socialism in one family", as it were. The hard part is twisting the commodity back towards the gift. Its especially hard with children, but kinda fun if you experiment with it.

[phillwv]

Just be careful not to cook the pug by mistake. Though that could be fun.