Tradition

Passing through this Christmas season it got me thinking... I want an annual tradition. The main reason I started thinking about this is: every Christmas Eve my family and I go to a very good friends house and have dinner drinks, and just have fun. Part of these festivities that started more than 20 years ago was a fruit cake. 20 some odd years ago, someone brought a fruitcake to the party. The party host (being as always witty and sarcastic) "What am I supposed to do with a fruit cake. Yuck." So through the course of the party she wrote every bodies name on a slip of paper and put inside a plastic zip top bag. When the party started winding down she got one of the smaller kids to draw a name. The name drawn had to take the fruit cake home. They didn't want it either so they said "I'm bringing it back next year" and hence a tradition started. Every Christmas Eve THIS SAME fruit cake has been passed from freezer to freezer and brought back to the original house. This year...my family has it for the first time in over 20 years! For the past 3 years I have drawn the name from the bag, the same person got it for 3 years from my picking. This year she would NOT let me even near that bag.

Now to my point: I want a family/friend Christmas tradition to do every year. My friends and I have tried, for the past 3 years we have had Christmas eve breakfast at Ihop. This year, with all of us out of (or almost out of) college, married, or parents have moved not all of us were in FL for this breakfast. Same basic concept its kind of just happened that everyone comes to my house after Christmas dinner and has dessert and drinks (on the kitchen floor of course). Last year and now this year I am holding the New Years Eve party. I really hope this can continue though out the years, but I'm not sure how probable that is.

Any one have any ideas for an ANNUAL Christmas tradition that can take place when we are all gathered or even when we are in different locations. Suggestions will be great!

Leave of Absense

Not that many people read my blog(s), but just in case. There will not be any updates on my blogs for the next few days. I am leaving for St. Louis for vacation, (and although the one person that reads my blog, Twinny, already knows this). There will be no time for blogging.
Happy Holidays to all, and hopefully I can dazzle you with some new recipes when I get back, for The Irish Chef bog, and new stories and experiences for this one.

Ideas

I subscribe to a few magazines. Some of my recipes on The Irish Chef are from said magazines.
I got in the mail today a bunch of junk mail, but low-and-be-hold a magazine! That is a major highlight to the day. This day it was Family Circle. While flipping through the first few pages, which are usually the ads there was something that caught my eye. "What a card" hm... intriguing. I read on further. Basically it is a website that has cards, all kinds, birthday, anniversary etc. Its free to join, all you have to do is buy the cards you want. It has a built in calender and address book. You select a card, put the event in the calendar and address of whom it goes to, and when the time comes the site mails you the card (already addressed AND stamped) so all you have to do is write a message, sign it and mail it on its merry way! I think this is BRILLIANT!.
Whats the site you are jumping up and down asking: Jack Cards