There are Fifteen Boxes of Chex in My House, and I'm Not Even Sorry

                 I finished the pinbacks on the advent calendar ornaments yesterday, and we have the tree quilt in the hallway.  This morning, the girls hung the very first ornament, and they'll do another tonight before bedtime.  Like it or not, it's December.  Today, I'll sit down and create the master list for everything I still need to get done before various deadlines.  I'm hopeful I can get the packages for my family out long before the deadline, and that they will get there on time.  All the same, they understand when things show up late, and so I don't have to worry too much.  There will be just as much joy in a gift on December 28 as on December 25, after all.

                I needed to justify a pickup order last week, so we now have fifteen boxes of Chex in the house.  It's not hoarding if you're going to use it within the month, right?  I figure I can start batches around a week and a half before Christmas, and do a run around the Bay Area, leaving containers on front porches when Fuzzy starts his time off.  It would be a good opportunity to get through a good portion of an audiobook, and to at least wave from the car at so many people I miss so much.

                This might be the last year I do special plastic containers for the Chex Mix.  Most of the people who receive batches from me reuse the containers year round, so I'm considering just doing plain containers with red tops for next year, so they have a piece they can use year-round without being wished a festive December every single time.  I figure I can get some wired ribbon and produce fabulous bows to go on top to add to the look.

                No matter what you hear from some of my friends, no actual magic goes into the making of my Chex Mix.  I follow the recipe and replace the nuts and garlic chips with Cheese Nips.  I also use a full stick of real butter, and I bake it, rather than microwaving it.  That is all that goes into it.  When it comes time to make the mix for my own family, I do a special blend of fewer Wheat Chex and more cheese crackers, because that's what I like. We have a roasting pan that has only known the touch of meat three times.  It's perfect for making the mix, because it's huge with high sides. 

                 I made a couple batches earlier this fall to use up some odds and ends, and we've discovered that Tiny is a Chex Mix fiend.  At one point, she managed to get the container down from the counter and started hitting me with it when she couldn't figure out how to open it on her own.  It was endearing and painful at the same time.

                We'll be making cookies and such at some point, too.  With everything that's not happening this year, we have a lot of flexible time available for making stuff.  The next question is how to distribute enough of it outside of the house to insure we still fit in our clothes in January.  I'll have Fuzzy check in with his family and see if they want me to make rum balls this year, too.  The rum balls are something that his late grandmother made for festive occasions, and while everyone likes them, they don't get around to making them.  They're one of those items that make the same amount of mess whether you make five or five hundred, and they're a bit labor intensive, so I only make them once a year.  It also helps if the house is a bit cold, so the chocolate doesn't get too soft too quickly.

                'Tis the season for some festive food making, I guess.