Are you ready for Christmas? You had better be, because we are on the final countdown to the big day. In fact, many of us already have met with our families and had a gift exchange.

If you, like we, celebrate Christ-mas on the very day, you are in last minute preparations. It is a little too late to shop, although some say they get their best bargains on Christmas Eve. I usually start right after Christmas, thinking about the next year. We know we will get an angel for our sister-in-law. We know Linda will get a music box. We know Frank will get a necktie because he wears them every day. Some people are easy to shop for; others not so easy.

As always, I have made many of our Christmas gifts. I truly enjoy quilting, sewing, painting and cross stitching, so it is a joy to prepare for Christmas giving. I hope those who receive the gifts experience as much joy as I do making them.

There always will be a few presents we have to wrap at the last minute ... or those gifts we hid so carefully we have to find. I have worked St. Anthony overtime this year finding our great-granddaughter’s special gift, which we purchased last fall and hid. It finally turned up. We are all ready for the final wrap.

Twelve of us friends met for lunch and to celebrate Christmas. Our table discussions centered on our favorite Christmas present, custom or story. In almost every case, the stories of Christmas were of a simpler time with few presents. One lady told us she was about 12 years old and all she received was a pair of house shoes and how grateful and appreciative she was. Another told of putting their shoes out for Santa to fill. She had to wear high-topped utility shoes like her brother did. Santa got hers and her brother’s shoes mixed up. He got a doll and she got a wagon.

Jim told of his first Christmas when he was in the Marines and how the sailors pitched in to make it a memorable day for them since they had just completed a battle in Guadalcanal. Jim said it was very touching and generous and reflected the real meaning of Christmas. I told the story I tell every year about Margaret, my flour sack doll Mother made for me.

Many told of their meager Christmas trees and how they im-provised with branches from neighbor’s cedar trees. Decorations were scraps of anything around the house. Those trees sparkled with the brightness of any fancy tree we could purchase today with less fuss and more love.

Those years during the Depression and the war were hard times. Presents were not the focus of Christmas. We celebrated by making candy and having a special meal with family. We made almost all of our gifts. It was a special time of sharing and thinking of others.

We discussed no one had money back in those days but none of us considered ourselves poor, hard up or deprived. We had a house to live in, food to eat and warmth. It might not always have been to our liking, but in many ways we were richer than we are today. We didn’t expect so much back then, so we never were disappointed. We were all in the same situation, and money was not discussed or whined about. Everyone stayed busy and concentrated on self-survival and thinking of others. We found joy in simple pleasures.

When we make lists to see no one gets more than another, I feel we are missing the true meaning of Christmas. We are so afraid we will slight someone or our gift will not equal theirs we are missing what brings real joy.

On the countdown to Christmas, we may have only enough time to melt some chocolate in the microwave, stir in some roasted nuts, drop them by spoonful on parchment paper and have a last- minute gift. If you have more time, and the gifts are wrapped and everything in readiness, then make this rich cake.



Black Russian Cake

1 package yellow cake mix

1 package instant chocolate pudding

4 eggs

1⁄2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1⁄4 cup vodka

1⁄4 cup coffee flavored liqueur

3⁄4 cup water



Combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sugar, oil, vodka, coffee liqueur and water. Beat four minutes. Pour batter in well greased bundt pan or smaller loaf pans (filling 2⁄3 full). Bake about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Adjust time, if baking in loaf pans. Cool. Remove from pans. Make a glaze by combining 1⁄4 cup coffee liqueur and 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar. Poke holes in cake several times. Slowly spoon glaze onto cake.

May you have wonderful Christmas filled with love and memories to last a life time.



Send your comments to: Peggy Goodrich, Food For Thought, P.O. Box 1192, Enid, OK 73702.