In a family of thirteen youngsters, money is an uncommon commodity at Christmastime. There is a friend who tells the story this way….
Fulfillment
We got bunches of presents, most of them really little. Regardless how little, they were all wrapped up. Even the sundries in our stockings were wrapped up. You see, each of us purchased presents for everybody. Generally all we had to spend was the buck in dimes that our Aunt Lisa in Cali sent in cards. We enjoyed those cards, the dimes all neatly fixed up in slots. We’d take whatever money we had (occasionally we had money from trading in soda bottles) and go to the five and dime store to browse.
That was the only place in town you could get a heap of stuff for a bit of money. There was a one year, I was walking around checking out all the cool stuff and I discovered a beautiful green glass pitcher, the big one, round and ribbed and beautiful. I viewed the price–only 57 cents! I wanted to purchase that for my mom so severely. She’d been utilizing the same old white pitcher to make kool-aid for a long time. This one was refined, classy, and new. But 57 cents would only leave me 63 cents to shop (I had a bit of soda bottle money to add to my hoard). How may I buy eleven presents with 63 cents?
The challenge was on, and I was off to search. I discovered a pack of 5 erasers for a cent each. That attended to 3 of my sisters and 2 brothers. A pack of pencils (four for 10 cents) attended to the other 3 sisters and 2 brothers. A nineteen-cent hanky for my Dad, a rattle for the baby, and I was finished, with a few cents leftover! I purchased a piece of penny candy to add to the gift for each brother and sister–not for the baby, who was too little to eat it.
When we came home from shopping, we all wrapped up our gifts, each discovering a corner to do this so no one else would watch.
Mother put out cookies and eggnog, our traditional food for present – wrapping night. When we were finished wrapping, we’d all gather in the front room, consuming cookies and lapping the froth of eggnog from our lips. That night I felt so fulfilled. I’d gotten my mom the best present I’d ever given her, and I could not wait to see her open it. That night remains in my friends mind as a time of true gratification and happiness, and annually when she makes eggnog with her mother’s recipe it brings around that warm, Christmas-y feeling.
Mom’s Eggnog
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 quarts whole milk
4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
4 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 cup whipped cream, garnish
Directions
In a large saucepan, stir together sugar and flour. Gradually stir in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Ladle a small amount of the hot milk into the yolks and quickly whisk in. Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the hot milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a medium glass or metal bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 4 teaspoons sugar, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into eggnog and refrigerate until chilled. Serve garnished with a dollop of whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg.
