Harris Family Christmas Traditions

This year instead of writing a parody of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, I thought I'd write about our family traditions. Some have been around for ages, and some are newer ones that have developed over the past few years but are sure to stick around for years to come.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Parodies

This is a Harris Family tradition that dates back to the days of yore (back to the 1900s as the boys like to say). These were originally created with good old fashioned pencil and paper while sitting at the kitchen bar on Christmas Eve night.

They DO take a little time to go over the highlights of the year, put them in some semblance of an order, AND make them rhyme. So, even though I didn't have the chance to pen a fresh one for you this year, I found a few scans of two original, hand-written ones from 1996 and 1997!

Seems like 1996 was a banner year, as Mama and Daddy apparently called the police on some suspicious looking neighborhood activity whilst wrapping presents on Christmas Eve night! Never a dull moment in the Harris household, I tell you!

The Legend of the Burn Barrel

If you were reading closely in the second parody above, you might have caught the second tradition:  the burn barrel. This is something that we Harris Sisters have always joked about, especially at Christmastime. Have an entire living room full of crumpled wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bows? Never fear! Daddy will burn it in the burn barrel! Of course, we grew up in a different era when burning trash was not discouraged like it is now.

Over the years, we have moved the actual unwrapping Christmas presents to my house instead of Daddy's house. But we have never let that interfere with the legend of the burn barrel. The grandkids are all familiar with it. Instead of feeding it with wrapping paper as we did growing up, Daddy keeps a pile of kindling and logs outside just so that they can make a fire in it when we visit at Christmastime. The legend lives on! Here are a few photos of us around the burn barrel.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

If you look closely at the t-shirts we're wearing in the photo with Daddy above, you'll see that they say "Fun, Old-Fashioned HARRIS Family Christmas" and they feature the station wagon with the infamous giant Christmas Tree from the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie.

We watched this movie every year at Christmas growing up and we still love it to this day. Misty had these t-shirts custom made for us one year and they were a big hit.

Deanna and John have a set of the Moose mugs that are featured in the movie. Perfect for drinking egg nog:

And so do we (don't hog the nog, man!)

But we also identify with the next door neighbors in the movie, Todd and Margo.

And Daddy? Well, he wears his custom Griswold 00 Blackhawks jersey at Christmastime to celebrate! In this picture he's holding his absolute favorite gift: chocolate cherries. We wrap them like Mr. Shirley's L-Shaped Christmas gifts that he receives from multiple employees. (Who the heck even knows what those gifts even were?)

But nothing tops the year we planned an entire Christmas Vacation Themed party. That was a hoot!

Eat at a Mexican Restaurant

OK so this is a newer tradition that has sprouted up over the past few years, but we are running with it! It might be one that our children continue with their own families. My boys certainly ask about it every year, so it is firmly planted in their heads already!

Every year The Harris Sisters converge on our hometown of Roxboro, NC in the days after Christmas to visit with Daddy, see the Christmas decorations downtown, visit the small shops on Main Street, and start our official Harris Family Christmas celebration.

Harris Sister Misty's daughter, Emma, has a birthday on December 27. So, we have taken to going out to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. We get to have a wonderful meal as a family and celebrate her birthday at the same time.

You might notice that we check in with you guys on Facebook in these days and post pictures of what we're doing. If it ever looks suspiciously like we've got a bar behind us in the photo, well, we do!

Feliz Navidad, Peeps!

Take a Group Family Photo

Even though some members of your family may have traveled a long way to visit, and even though not everyone may be able to stay for the same amount of time, we figured out a long time ago that there's no better time to take a family photo than when everyone is together for the holidays.

We usually choose to take our photos outside for the best lighting (and to avoid piles of presents, wrapping paper strewn about, etc., in the background). We will take them inside if there's rain or snow, but we find that with a group as large as ours, we can spread out more and just get an all-around better photo outside.

And we always take the photo with whomever was able to attend. No excuses of "so-and-so wasn't able to make it this year, so we're not taking the photo" or "I didn't know we were taking a photo, so I don't like what I'm wearing." Guess what? 10 or 20 years from now, even the most fashionable person in that photo will question his or her fashion choices/makeup/hairstyle, but everyone will be glad you were in that photo.

We use a digital camera set on a tripod to take the photo and we set it to automatically take 10 photos so that everyone who did come can be in the photo (no one is missing from the photo because they were taking it). If you have the camera, but not the tripod, you can buy one on Amazon for cheap!

And these photos make great gifts too! We usually collect the photos we take throughout the year and compile them into a calendar for Daddy as a Christmas present. If you get one great group shot, you could also frame it as a gift.

We try to make sure that if we don't get a group photo at Christmas, we get one in the fall when we visit each other. We shoot for at least one or two group photos a year. We take different combinations (whole group, Daddy with daughters, Daddy with grandkids, etc.). Here are some group shots we've taken over the years - you'll notice how our family has grown!

Hope you've enjoyed reading about some of our family's Christmas traditions! Merry Christmas from The Harris Sisters!

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Classic Cheese Ball Recipe

Our family makes this recipe every year around Christmas time. We usually make it on Goodie Baking Day (along with all of the other cookies and candies and sweets) even though it's technically a savory party appetizer.

This easy recipe makes enough for two large cheese balls or three small cheese balls, depending on how you divide and shape them. We usually make two and then put one in the refrigerator to use right away and freeze one to use later.

Classic Cheese Ball

Cheese Ball

16 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 small onion (grated fine)
1 Tbsp grated bell pepper
1 Tbsp pimento
1 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 tsp mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
pinch salt

Decorations

8 oz chopped pecans (finely chopped)
maraschino cherries
pecan halves

Serve With

assorted crackers

1. Start by combining all ingredients except shredded cheese together in a mixing bowl. Combine until the mixture is a smooth, creamy consistency without any lumps.
2. Add the shredded cheese to the mixture and stir it together. 
3. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator to cool and firm a little. This helps with the shaping process.
4. While the mixture is cooling, use a food processor to finely chop your pecans. Pour the finely chopped pecans onto a plate.
5. Once the cheese mixture has firmed up enough that you can shape it, divide the mixture into two or three even sections (depending on how many cheese balls you want to make). Shape each section into a ball with clean hands that you've sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. 
6. To coat in nuts, roll each cheese ball on the plate of pecans with one hand and use your other hand to gently scoop the chopped nuts and press them into the cheese ball.
7. Once the outside of the cheese ball is completely covered in finely chopped nuts, move it to a small plate or dish for serving. Repeat with the remaining cheeseballs until all are covered in nuts and plated.
8. If desired, decorate the top of your finished cheese balls with maraschino cherries and pecan halves.
9. Serve with an assortment of crackers. 

Notes:

You can either mix this recipe by hand or with a handheld electric mixer.

In our family, we always flatten the cheese ball after plating and before decorating, and storing in the refrigerator or freezer. This is optional, but it makes storage a little easier. (Perfectly round cheese balls take up a little more space vertically.)

To freeze a cheese ball, wrap it tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and place in the freezer. A cheese ball stays good in the freezer for about one month. Thaw the cheese ball for a full 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

Many cheese ball recipes have the ingredient of Worcestershire sauce, which is made from anchovies. But this one doesn't, so feel free to share this appetizer with your vegetarian friends.

Make sure that you include cheese spreading knives on your cheese ball platter. If your guests dip their crackers straight into the cheese ball, they might break their crackers into pieces!

The grated bell pepper and pimento not only add flavor to the recipe, but when your guests cut into the cheese ball, they'll notice the classic red and green colors of Christmas!

Enjoy!

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Mississippi Mud Cake

'Tis the season for all things sweet and sugary! If visions of sugarplums are already dancing through your head, but you'd like a new old-fashioned recipe to try, we've got one you might not have thought about in a while!

This scratch made Mississippi Mud Cake recipe is easy to make and because it's made in a 9 x 13 pan, it's also great to bring to any upcoming holiday potlucks or get togethers that might be on your radar this time of year.

Mississippi Mud Cake

Cake

1 stick butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts
1 Tbsp vanilla

Frosting

1 7 oz. container Marshmallow Creme
1 lb. confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 stick butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk, plus additional to create correct consistency, if needed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Melt 1 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of cocoa powder together. 
3. Stir in 2 cups of sugar and eggs. Mix well.
4. Add flour, salt, nuts, and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Spoon batter into baking dish and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven.
6. Spoon Marshmallow Creme onto cake as soon as it comes out of oven. Let it sit on top of cake to warm, and then spread evenly across cake.
7. Use an electric mixer to mix confectioner's sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 stick butter, and 1/4 cup milk. Beat until smooth. Add additional milk 1 Tbsp at a time, if needed, to bring frosting to a pourable consistency.
8. Pour frosting evenly over top of marshmallow creme. Swirl with the tines of a fork to create a marble effect.

Notes:

This cake is super-sweet, so a small piece will probably do the trick.

Because this version of the cake uses Marshmallow Creme instead of traditional marshmallows, it's safe for your vegetarian friends to eat too since Marshmallow Creme doesn't contain gelatin. AND you'll get to skip the step of returning the cake to the oven to melt the marshmallows. Win-win!

I chose to use walnuts in this cake, but pecans would also taste great. Use whatever you have in your pantry!

Enjoy!