We’ve never been the “typical” American family in any respect. My upbringing was hybrid to say the least, as I was raised with a somewhat contradictory set of viewpoints that were, nonetheless, extremely open-minded.
By the time I was 15, I was growing accustomed to traveling abroad on my own – first living with two French families, and a year later, trekking across Eastern Europe with a rag-tag crew of students, as we camped our way through the Soviet Union.
It’s only in adulthood that I came to understand how exceptional these experiences were.
As for my higher education, it also included adventures overseas, a mix of perspectives, and a happy jumble of languages. I have raised my sons in a similar fashion when it comes to travel, exposure to other cultures, and embracing their own diversity, as they’re half European. There’s been a bit of this, a bit of that – a mélange of Europe and America, North and South, and two religious traditions.
So why not a hybrid home for the holidays? After all, it’s “normal” to us.
Holiday Decorating vs Work, Work, Work
As I studied my rather lengthy “to do” list for the day, after a very long (but colorful) Saturday… another story entirely… I was daunted by what amounted to the following decision: Tend to holiday decorating and related activities or work, work, work – as usual.
I chose the latter. (I was proud of myself, though no doubt it will be a verrrrrrry late night as a result.)
The fact is – I couldn’t neglect the naked tree in my den another minute – despite the Sunday New York Times (I’ve yet to open), the items on my list (including bills), and a desire to organize for the week – which will also have to keep until later.
Thus, my day has been dedicated to a traditional task – decorating the tree – in a fashion I haven’t undertaken in years. By that I mean that my younger son was happy to lend a hand, which in itself was a real treat.
Adding to the fun? I came across a small bag of ornaments I haven’t seen in close to ten years, including a few toys that made my kiddo grin when he saw them – space shuttles, bi-planes, and a small mountain of dinosaurs!
So rather than turn to the “norm” I’ve adopted since my sons went off to college – a variation on simple vintage balls, cones, and stars – I mixed some old favorites with my favorite footwear.
Exactly. A shoe tree!
Tree, Glee, and Me
My house is still messy. My baking isn’t done. I’ve got emails to deal with and a newspaper to (eventually) read, but I’m glad I gave the tree my time. It was fun! And if you look closely… very closely… you’ll see little shoes, the occasional stegosaurus, teradactyl, a T-Rex or two and some very flirty footwear.
It’s a hybrid, hapless, happy, slightly leaning tree. I think it suits us perfectly.
I might add that for several years, I adopted the European habit of decorating the tree extremely sparsely. A few red or gold ribbons, some hand-sewn wreath and star ornaments, a little baby’s breath – and that was it. (I loved the simplicity, and undressing the tree ten days later was so incredibly quick.)
Incidentally, while sorting through ornaments, I got it into my head to concoct some sort of do-it-yourself eggnog. I doubted I had the ingredients, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Homemade Eggnog Recipe!
What do you need for homemade eggnog? Here are the basic ingredients:
- whole milk
- cream
- egg yolks, egg whites
- sugar
- rum, bourbon, or other alcohol
- nutmeg and/or cinnamon
For an excellent homemade eggnog recipe, you might peek here on Food Network. This, no doubt, is what I ought to have followed precisely, but I had no cream (and no patience) so I tweaked, I managed just fine, I used 2% milk (and it still turned out scrumptiously), and I found spiced rum behind my bottles of wine.
My experimental eggnog is surprisingly tasty, and like everything else around ye olde homestead, “hybrid.”
And may I add that I poured it into a pretty little vintage apéritif glass, and dressed it up with a stick of cinnamon? I felt very girly – and I enjoyed every moment of it.
But someone, please… Tell me you’re still behind with everything you’re trying to get done – even if you’ve simplified! (Surely I’m not alone in this…)
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Our holidays are verrrry low key. This year, Paul and I went into the woods behind our house and “foraged” our own Christmas tree — a long-needled pine. It’s pretty. We have some simple white lights on it and maybe an ornament or two. I baked some cookies, gave a few away and most of the rest have been consumed by older son and his girlfriend who arrived on Sunday. We planned out a couple of meals and assumed (rightly as it turns out) that the kids would want to do some cooking of their own. To insure a resentment-free holiday, my philosophy is to only do what the spirit -Xmas or otherwise- moves me to do.