I was raised on this quote – it was one of my father’s favorites and a philosophy we lived growing up:
 “The Sauce to Meat is Ceremony” by William Shakespeare.

What does this quote mean, you might ask?  Enhance any occasion or special event  by ceremoniously celebrating it with the little extras to help set it apart.   The “enhancement” part can be a bit of a chore to materialize, but worth it in the end.  Bust out  your good china for Christmas dinner, even if it means you have to hand wash all the dishes.   You have a gorgeous dining room that you never use?   Sit in there more often.   You never wear the diamond you got from your mother because it’s too good and you are saving it to wear for a special occasion?  Don’t wait – wear it!  Do you have the usual collection of candles that you don’t burn because burning them ruins their shape?  Use these items to add the “sauce” to your traditions.   They become the building blocks of memories you build with your family and provide the moments that make life special and meaningful.

I thought about this quote as I decorated  for Christmas.   For the past couple of years, as the girls have grown older, I found myself wondering why I continued to do the traditional decorating.   I could very easily just not do any of it, but I go back to the “Sauce to Meat is ceremony” which makes me realize that my “sauce” to Christmas is all the traditional things we do to celebrate it.   So I found myself over these past weeks moving through the ritual of “what we do” in the Martin household to honor the Christmas holiday.

For starters, I made my traditional peanut blossom cookies, compliments of Hershey’s Kitchens.    These can be a pain, peeling off the Hershey Kiss wrappers and rolling the dough into little balls, but the effort is worth it in the end.   Next I nosed around in the basement and dug out one of our many puzzles – I picked a glow in the dark landscape of Manhattan.   We usually leave a puzzle up all winter and pick at it here and there.

My husband did the usual wrapping of the lights around our fresh  tree to prepare it for ornaments.  I assembled our Waterford Crystal tree.  I know – sounds decadent to have a tree decked in crystal ornaments, but my  Mother-In-Law gave and continues to give my daughters a Waterford ornament every year since they have been very little.  I always kept them in their boxes, thinking they were too good to put on the tree. I thought the crystal ornaments would look oddly formal in comparison to our  homey Christmas tree with it’s collection of mish mashed ornaments.   But then I decided to enjoy looking at them collectively so I  purchased a pre-lit tree years ago just for the Waterfords.   They really look beautiful with the tree lit up and I look forward to displaying them every year. 

Don’t forget to use and display those things that have meant something to you over the course of your life, no matter how cheesy or corny they may seem.  I made a plate when I was in girl scouts in 3rd grade, and my daughter made one as well when she was little so I display our girl scout plates together –   it just wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

Next we set up our “Candy Cane Forest”.   We ripped off the name from the movie “Elf” because it suited our plastic candy cane obsession perfectly.   They line the walk towards the front door and complete our outdoor decorations.  You can see them peaking out of the top of the snow.

Finally we decorate the tree. As with most people, we have some classic gems for Christmas ornaments, the usual ballet selection, the homemade picture ornaments of the girls and some classics we have picked up along the way (the Elvis leather jacket for starters.)

While all of this is going on, don’t forget to listen to Bing Crosby – the best crooner by far for the Christmas holiday.   “”Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas Day”