Advent Calendar ~ Holiday Foods

Advent Calendar ~ Day 2 ~ Memories of our Holiday Foods~

Some of my favorite memories are of Mom (1933~2010) baking a ton of cookies. I remember that she would start baking early in November and then store them in tin containers until the Christmas holiday.

Cookies~

My favorite were mom's Spritz cookies - they were so good! In the last few years mom had added a few variations to her traditional spritz cookie. Knowing how much I love these cookies and chocolate, mom combined the two, dipping half of the spritz cookie in chocolate. Not only does it look good, but it was to die for!

Mom also made a crescent shaped hazelnut cookie with powdered sugar on top, everyone in my family loves the hazelnut cookies. Another cookie that comes to mind are her buttery sugar cookies. All of these recipes and more are in German in her own handwriting. Slowly, mom started to translate the recipes from German to English so that not only will I have them, but our holiday food traditions would continue to be handed down. Sadly, losing my Mom and my Grandmother (1913~2010) in 2010, only a few of the family recipes were translated. I am slowly working on getting the recipes translated into English. I am attempting to learn German and my cousin, Marion in Germany, is helping me through this interesting journey.

Breads and Cakes~

Mom also made a German bread called "Stollen" which consists of: candied fruit, nuts, raisins and marzipan. Sorry, not one of my favorites but very traditional. Of course there is my most favorite, great Oma Margarete's 'German Marble Cake'.

Christmas Packages from Germany~

Once mom and I were here in the states, my Oma would send us a Christmas package every year. It was always exciting because she would send foods that mom was used to having and what I grew to love. Oma always sent the kidney shaped chocolate liquors which is a hard dark chocolate shell on the outside, filled with Brandy on the inside, these are now available at stores like "Trader Joes". You had to pop the entire candy in your mouth or Brandy would drip all over. As a child, I was only allowed one or two of these and I still remember how good they were and thinking how grown-up I got to be!

Dinners

I don't recall this dinner, however, mom said that the traditional holiday dinner that was cooked was a goose. What I recall of our holiday dinner was a roast with potato balls, smothered in her German gravy. For as far back as I can remember, mom had made the potato balls from scratch. Potato balls are very labor intensive as mom got older, she started to use a German packaged potato ball mix named "Phanni". They are still very good, but not as good as mom's homemade. The store bought mix method was much easier on mom, this allowed her to spend more time with family and I was all for that.

I truly miss mom's Christmas cookies and the wonderful dinner she would always prepare at Christmas but I have so many amazing memories to sustain me and my family ~ I thank mom and Oma for the very special and magical Christmas memories a girl could have.

                                                 

~ Happy Holidays ~ 

 This post originally created for the Holiday Food Memories on the

Advent Calendar of Memories in December 2009 ~   

             With the passing of my Mom and Grandmother in 2010, I

have made changes to the original 2009 post . 

Advent Calendar of Memories 2011

                                                                             

Advent Calendar ~ Our Christmas Trees

Each and every Christmas tree I have ever had in my life has been decorated in true German tradition and was always beautifully done by my mom!

Until mom and I came to the U.S., our tree was not put up until Christmas Eve. In true German tradition, the tree is not put up until then. The "living room" in German homes usually have doors attached and can be locked. On Christmas Eve, mom and Oma would be up late decorating our live tree so it would be ready for Christmas morning. Back then they even used real candles! Can you imagine doing that now! Once the tree was complete, the doors would be locked and not opened until Christmas morning! Sadly, I do not have any photos of those trees.

Once here in the U.S., mom became a little "Americanized". She would always put up a beautiful tall full live tree just after Thanksgiving all the way up to her passing away . . . I am attempting to continue this tradition now . Mom was a master at decorating the Christmas tree as well as the entire house, her trees are amazing! I had always said to her, you should have worked for Macy's as their Christmas window display decorator.

Until recently, we both have always had live 'Noble Fir' trees in our own homes. Both mom and I turned to artificial trees, to see them you can not even tell they are fake, especially with mom's touch.

Mom's Artificial Tree and enchanting Thomas Kinkade Village, 2008

Mom has German ornaments that are close to 50 years old. Now they have been passed down to me and they are on my tree today. I have the last of the real lead tinsel from Germany. I don't use it on my tree because of our little grand kids, but the individual strands are very heavy! Each tree would have over 2000 lights with angel hair in-between the branches.

My tree in 2011 . . .  This is my late mother's tree (photo of tree in her home in first photo above) that is now proudly standing in my home with all of her ornaments.

Each year,  I learned more and more from my beautiful mom on how to decorate the tree, but I know my tree will never be as amazing as hers. Each year mom  would give me more ornaments and my tree would get prettier and prettier! Now, I will proudly be the keeper of the heirloom ornaments that has been passed down to me. I do miss a real tree smell, but mom's artificial tree is just as beautiful and I can leave it up as long as I like. I don't have as many lights on my tree as mom had on hers, but that's ok, less to take down! We are all decorated here, ready for Christmas and enjoying the beauty of my Christmas tree.

I always loved going home to mom's for Christmas . She would have two trees, one in the family room and one in the formal living room and would always be anxious to see them.  Christmas was always special at mom's and I would feel like a kid again and it's as if you were walking into a home in Germany. Now that mom has passed, I am hoping to keep her Christmas traditions and memories alive . . . she is all around us and I just sit and absorb the beauty of it all.

~ Happy Holidays ~ 

 This post originally created for the Our Christmas Tree Memories on the

Advent Calendar of Memories in December 2009 ~   

             With the passing of my Mom and Grandmother in 2010, I

have made changes to the original 2009 post . 

Advent Calendar of Memories 2011

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.

~ Lois Wyse

Twelve years ago today . . . we were blessed with the birth of our granddaughter, Emma!

She is a shining star in our lives and always full of love . . . Happy Birthday, Emmabeans!

Love and Hugs on your special day from all of us. 

With love and kisses from, Oma ~ the keeper of our memories . . . .