One of the best things about Christmas as a kid was the candy. My dad really had a sweet tooth, so there was usually plenty around during the Holidays. We always had a 5 lb. box of chocolates. They werent Brachs or Whitmans, but some off brand. No nuts, just mostly cremes and (Yuch) jellies. There were usually about 4 caramels in the whole box, and they were everyones favorite, so they went first. Always square, usually in the corners. My sister used to push down on each piece, so she could see what was inside, and only take the ones she liked. We got one piece each night, and the box was kept up out of reach in the hall closet. Some of my favorites were sold at the local groceries, like Florence Downs store. Chocolate covered peanuts, orange slices, coconut bonbons, haystacks, and creme drops, ( which had a name that would be politically incorrect to use today). They were sold in bulk, as were nuts. English walnuts, filberts, pecans, almonds, and Brazil nuts, which werent worth the trouble in my book.we always had a big bowl of mixed nuts on the table, along with a nutcracker. Each of us also got a barber pole, which was a big peppermint stick about a foot long and an inch in diameter. Youd either break it up with a hammer, or suck on it til it came to a long sharp point. My mouth would be raw from all that peppermint. There was also lots of fruit. Oranges, tangerines, apples, and bananas were in a big bowl. It was the only time of year when we had lots of fruit around. And the king of all Christmas desserts, a big, 4 layer jam cake, my absolute favorite, with icing about an inch thick. Mom would keep an apple in the cake container to keep it moist. A big slice of that cake, with a glass of cold egg nog was as close to heaven as you could get. I almost forgot, PEANUT BRITTLE!
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 22:41:42 +0000