2018 Home for the Holidays

Page 40 2018 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 21, 2018 As the years have gone on, not every family has continued this trend, thank goodness. Luckily for me, my family came to the same realization and made Christmas food relatively simpler each year. We have a rotation of sorts throughout the years between a number of homemade soups and stews, and a variety of sandwiches and assorted finger foods. While there may be a slight difference each year, at least I can choose from a small list and usually be mostly correct. But there are some people out there who decide they want to surprise their families and friends at dinner time on Christmas or Christmas Eve. I could see this being a good thing, if the surprise was something akin to, “I’m tired of being in the kitchen, let’s just get chicken or Chinese food.” That would be alright; then I don’t have to fret over choices (at least not in the same way.) A holiday menu is an entirely different problem. No, sometimes the host or a guest decides to show up with a tray of cheese cones or a Brussel sprout mold (these are actual holiday recipes - the 70s were a strange time for food). I know what they’re thinking. “I found an old recipe to try - I think I’ll make everyone else live with my decisions this year.” No thanks - I’ll just eat the summer sausage out of the holiday food assortment I get every year. It reminds me of a better season, anyway. Unexpected presents When I was younger, I came up with a list every year and gave that list to my family. This list was a list of things I wanted for Christmas. I knew I wouldn’t get everything, but it gave me an idea of what I might see. I had resigned myself to the fact that I would also get a pile of pants and socks (something I actively seek out now). There is always a gift, somewhere, from some indirect source, that I didn’t expect to get, solely because it didn’t register on my mind as something to ask for. Getting a present I forgot about is something special. That means someone was paying attention to those random thoughts I spout out every day. That’s almost a gift on its own. Continued u