Scrabble (aka Chex Party Mix)

For me, the holidays are about traditions. This year, decorating is not going to happen. Just too much lifting and I’m not healed or cleared yet. So, the only decorations will be Tony’s Mom’s crocheted snow people, Trudy’s Christmas Santa from Connecticut, a wreath for the front door, and my collection of Christmas books. All live in our guest room closet. And now are out for the holiday. And this year, a box of Christmas bears is coming out (but haven’t figured out where to keep them after the unfortunate “Abby-Destroying-Childhood Teddy Bear-Incident” of 2021).

Christmas book collection, including the Cajun Night Before Christmas

Trudy's Connecticut Santa

Bears -- will they last, or succumb to teddy bear's fate?

Classic Night Before Christmas

Tony's Mom crocheted these snow people and tree.

Macrame tree from Puerto Rico

That’s it for Christmas decorations. A little bit of a bummer because I like putting on all of the Christmas ornaments from my childhood. Oh, wait. I bought Abby a Christmas dog cookie advent calendar. Yes, I'm a "sucker."

 But, still planning on food traditions, including: Chex Party Mix (recipe below), Stollen (Allison sent me Cathy’s recipe). I may even add Pork Posole to my list. Still not doing a lot in public, so not sure if we’re going to do our annual Christmas tradition (Chinese food and a movie -- lately it’s been at LaChine: http://www.lachinetx.com/#hours ). Maybe we’ll do the tradition, just at home. Also not sure if I’ll do prime rib this year (we did last year in lieu of Chinese food and a movie). But for now, put all of the ingredients together for Chex Party Mix (my favorite bites are the Wheat Chex). Chex Party Mix Ingredients • 4 cups Rice Chex • 2 cups Wheat Chex • 2 cups Cheerios • 2 cups mini pretzels • 2 cups mixed nuts • 1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp.) salted butter, melted • 3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce • 1 1/2 tsp. ground paprika • 3/4 tsp. garlic powder • 1/2 tsp. onion powder Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 250°F. 2. In a large bowl, mix the cereals, nuts and pretzels. 3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stovetop. Then mix in the Worcestershire sauce and other seasonings. Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture. Stir together until all is well-coated. 4. Spread mix evenly over cookie sheets (or use a baking dish). 5. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. 6. Cool. 7. Pour into an airtight container.