Dino Drac’s Countdown to Xmas!
Welcome to Dino Drac’s Countdown to Christmas! This feature will be updated daily (or close to daily) through December 25th, with some kind of holiday-related thingamajig. You never know what might turn up!
This one’s really for the old schoolers who prefer blogs to algorithmic timelines full of ads for dicey hair products. I won’t be plugging it often off-site. If this is up your alley, remember to check back often! (And visit After Dark and the Xmas Jukebox, too!)
12/24: Merry Christmas Eve!
Okay, so obviously I’ve missed a bunch of days on this Countdown to Christmas feature, which is what happens when you totally underestimate how FRANTICALLY BUSY the last half of December can get. It’s not like I’ve been staring at a blank page, unable to come up with a couple of paragraphs about holiday bric-a-brac. I just haven’t had time!
I’d intended to drop a giant batch of makeup entries today, but given that it’s already around 3PM on Christmas Eve, you’re going to have to settle for a photo of me in my brand new Grimace holiday sweater.
Today was just the latest in a series of whirlwinds. Did I wait until Christmas Eve to wrap all of my gifts? You bet I did. Did I wait until Christmas Eve to go food shopping for everything I’ll need between now and 12/26? Yep. Did I at least get the laundry done before this morning, so I wouldn’t have to add that to the list? No, no I did not.
I think my breaking point was remembering that I was also in charge of bringing 40 egg rolls from a local Chinese takeout joint to the party. I’m not sure where I thought “three or four hours of blogging” was supposed to fit in.
Eventually, I decided that the most important thing was to just come on here and say “Merry Christmas Eve.” So that’s what I’m doing. If you’re a Christmas person, I hope you have a wonderful day, and if you’re not a Christmas person, I still hope for the same, in whatever way it takes shape. Have a blast!
12/19: Italian Christmas Cookies!
I may not be eating them at the moment, but the holidays ain’t the holidays until I buy a box of Italian Christmas cookies. During December, they’re all over the salumerias where I live, ready to thrill and delight with sprinkles in every color and a snowy dusting of powdered sugar.
These have been part of literally every Christmas season that I can remember. These exact cookies, in these exact shapes and colors. In particular, they remind me of my late grandparents’ house in Brooklyn, where they’d be spread across a dinner plate and served with espresso. I’d grab my share, and then sneak back to the basement to watch the three channels they got on that terrible ten-inch TV.
As a kid, I always rushed for the “normal” chocolate chip cookie (top-middle), on the basis of it being the closest to Chips Ahoy. Nowadays, I plainly recognize that the Rainbow Cookies – which basically taste like a sugary almond cake – are the ones to aim for. Everyone else knows that, too. They’re always the first to go, and there are never enough of them! Read More…