Three Kings Day - A Special Day

I was four years old, I think, when this picture was taken on the morning of Three Kings Day . . . El día de los Reyes Magos . . . That's when children in Cuba, and most of Latin America, receive their presents . . .  What a magical day!

I have tried to keep the tradition alive for my own children here in the United States.  As children, Santa Claus delivered most of their gifts on Christmas morning . . . but somehow, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar managed to find their way to the American Midwest to deliver one or two small presents on the day of Epiphany . . .

This year, for our Three Kings Day Open House, I decided to place the Nativity Scene, right smack in the middle of the Dining Room table, with the savory treats placed in the perimeter . . . I used a length of burlap on top of the tablecloth, to highlight the humble surroundings at Jesus' birth . . .

We started collecting this Nativity set by Fontanini when my oldest son was born.  It has worked out splendidly.  I wanted a set that my children could touch and play with as they were growing up, so that the Nativity story would become familiar to them . . . My creative children would rearrange the figurines, and would even have Baby Jesus riding on the camels before putting him down for a nap . . .  Even after all these years, the pieces are in excellent shape.  The muted palette is lovely, I think, and each piece came with a charming little story describing its individual role . . .

 

And here are the three wise men, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, who brought gold, myrrh and frankincense to the Baby Jesus . . .

 

The desserts were displayed in the kitchen table, with the Willow Tree by Demdaco figurines acting as a centerpiece.  I placed them on a cake stand and scattered some “snow” around their feet . .

 

A 2005 Swarovski snowflake dangled from the chandelier and made a credible “star” for the Magi . . .

 

There was lots of food . . . We had ham and cheese sandwiches and cucumber sandwiches with herbed cream cheese (I never pass up a chance to make cucumber sandwiches) . . . We had an exquisite cheese tray brought by my sister-in-law, Mary Ann . . . We had potato salad and egg salad . . . This chicken salad was my mother's specialty and is now my favorite  . . . Every bite is chock full of sweet fruit, including grapes, apples, cranberries and golden raisins . . . I love the sweet-tart combination of fruit and freshly-squeezed lemon juice . . .

A bowl of berries . . . a simple but delicious indulgence . . . Who doesn't like a bowl of berries . . . ?

We had mini-scones . . . 

 

My favorite date nut bread . . . Click here if you want the recipe . . . 

My son, John, made almond bark . . .

And he baked all these chocolate chip cookies . . .  Is it any wonder I miss this kid so much when he goes back to college . . . ?

 

Turrones are candied nougats made in Spain, and these were the traditional sweets we ate at Christmas.  They'd show up in the stores in mid-December and would disappear after New Year's.  In this platter I have Fruit Nougat, Marzipan and Egg Yolk Nougat . . .

Here's the King of the Turrones . . . Turrón Jijona, a sweet bar made with ground almonds and honey . . . It is sublime . . . It comes wrapped in several layers of plastic to hold in all the natural oils from the almonds . . .  All you need is a little morsel because it's very sweet, but, oh, so satisfying . . .

Here's our version of King Cake - a spice cake that turned out as delicious as it looked sad. 

NOTE TO SELF:  DO NOT cover spice cake with plastic wrap after glazing so the cake doesn't end up looking like this . . .

 

A little plastic baby was hidden inside the spice cake . . . as tiny as an almond . . . whoever ended up with the baby in their piece of cake is declared King (or Queen) of the Day and receives a special prize (this year, it was a bottle of champagne) . . .

Each guest went home with an Epiphany kit . . .

 

A lottery ticket . . . some candy . . . and a piece of white chalk rolled up in a little scroll . . .

The scroll contains a house blessing for the new year, a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages . . .

We lined up all the little bags on top of the bookcases . . .

 And here I am, with my sweet husband, as we got ready to open our home to friends and family . . .

 

May the love of the Wise Men guide our steps so that the light of Jesus is revealed to us . . .  May we always be inspired to follow the star that is the love of God . . .

Joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Christmas Eve 2001

How quickly have these kids grown!  The crutches belonged to my nephew, Colin, who had broken his ankle just a few days earlier . . .  The boxes on the children's table contained Christmas ornaments, and Colin's was a Santa Claus figure.  We wrapped one of Santa's feet in gauze to match the cast Colin was sporting at the time . . .  He got a kick out of it!  And I just remembered how much I loved this wrapping paper!  What is it with me and wrapping paper!  I also remember that it took me a while and some experimenting to get the M&M candy on top of the boxes to stick and not fall down.

These were taken at our old house in Chicago, before we moved to the 'burbs . . .  Lots of happy memories in this house . . .

Funny, but I think I'm making the same dinner this Christmas!  Except, no baked potatoes.  Instead, I'm trying out a new idea - a mashed potato bar.

A Telepathic Connection: Little Santas Everywhere

A Christmas present arrived by mail today from Angela and Doug.  Just look at this wrapping paper.  It's got busy little Santas all over, reminding me of the wrapping paper I bought and blogged about on my last post! (Click here to read about it).

This is like cosmic confirmation that I'm on the right track with the Christmas theme this year!  Great minds do think alike, and maybe even transmit the same thought frequencies!

I HATE YOU, CONTAINER STORE!

No . . . No . . . I didn't mean it! . . . It's just a little holiday stress! . . .  Please don't banish me from your store!  I'm usually a very sane sort of human . . . perfectly rational most of the time . . . until I enter your premises . . . especially at Christmas time . . . with your wrapping papers . . . when I completely lose my head!  All those choices!  Do I want traditional?  Modern?  Crafty?  Religious?  Do I want snowflakes?  Penguins?  Owls . . . ?  How about this beautiful green . . . ?  But I did green last year . . . Didn't I already decide before I stepped in the store that I was going to go with my red tablecloth for Christmas Eve, and I came exclusively to find wrapping paper for the little favors that go on the table?  Maria, you are not doing a Woodland Christmas this year!  You did that a couple of years ago!  Get away from the owls!   I don't care how cute they are!  And, no, you are not celebrating Hannukah!  You are NOT, repeat, NOT going to get paper with Hannukah candles or menorahs . . . !  

Your store clerk was so helpful . . . I told her that my theme this year was going to be “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” . . . She showed me every Santa paper you had in stock . . . until I fell in love . . .

"Working Santa" was the name on this roll . . . right for the theme . . .

I could get matching tissue paper . . .



Perfect for a little box, and it looks nice against the red napkins . . .

But now I'm thinking that these Santas are so cute and little . . . maybe I'll change the theme to “A Merry Little Christmas” . . . And that sort of ties in to the mini desserts table that I'm planning . . .   See what you've started?

Tea Bread Tuesday: Gingerbread Cake II

I had promised my husband that I'd make last week's cake again, but without the lemon glaze.  It so happens that my wonderful sister-in-law, Barb, sent me this gingerbread mold for Christmas.  Wow!  Talk about perfect!

Those little guys are delightful!  So moist!  So cute!  So perfect for the season!

Of the six siblings, only three made it out long enough to photograph; the other three must have run away, singing "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man" . . . or something . . .

Oh, and the bread without the lemon glaze was much more to my family's liking . . . Here's the recipe again . . . Gingerbread Cake

Father Christmas . . . WAKE UP!

After laughing myself silly over Angela's and Nicki's posts of unusual Santas, I scrutinized my own collection and found this one, which was a souvenir from a friend visiting England during the holidays.  He came complete with a Harrod's toy bag.  This Santa doesn't seem to be able to keep his eyes open! 

Flying around through all those time zones must be wrecking havoc with his sleep, poor fellow . . .

December 6 - St. Nicholas Day

And, full of faith, when at last she woke,
She stole to her shoe as the morning broke;
Such sounds of gladness filled all the air,
'Twas plain St. Nicholas had been there.

In rushed Piccola sweet, half wild—
Never was seen such a joyful child—
"See what the good saint brought!" she cried,
And mother and father must peep inside.

Now such a story I never heard!
There was a little shivering bird!
A sparrow, that in at the window flew,
Had crept into Piccola's tiny shoe!

"How good Piccola must have been!"
She cried as happy as any queen,
While the starving sparrow she fed and warmed,
And danced with rapture, she was so charmed.

(Excerpted from “Piccola” by Cecilia Laighton Thaxter)