SusieJ's Advent Calendar December 14, 2007

The recipe: Rum balls!

A party in every mouthful! Our friend Tonya swears she got drunk off the rum balls I sent in with my husband. Now I know to make three or four batches: one for Tonya, one for John (we have a venison for rum balls deal going), one for the rest of my husband's department, and one for entertaining.

The surprise: Christmas toys

I've been reading Chris's blogs In the Trenches of Motherhood and Notes from the Trenches for months, but it feels like years (because a few years of parenthood feels like decades some times). She has seven kids, up through about fourteen years of age, and when she posts a holiday gift guide for kids, smart people read and take notes. That reminds me, I still need to get my younger nephew a present.

Santa and the personal care products

In my family, Santa puts personal care products in the stockings. Sure, there are chocolates and small toys and bottles of Chanel No. 5, but for stocking stuffers, Santa really seems to like dental floss, deodorant and the odd box of Sudafed (do you think even the man with all the toys has to show ID?).

This is a tradition unlikely to be appreciated by any children.

In fact, I was so used to Santa bringing me the contents of my medicine cabinet, that I'd never had to shop for it myself until college. At the beginning of life on my own, it was easy enough: a toothbrush lasts for six months (Santa left one with my mother and one with my grandmother); I didn't floss; and my toothpaste of choice was whatever was minty, sweet and blue.

Although my toothpaste preference was clear, my deodorant preference was less so. I contentedly used whatever showed up in my stocking that year. This tranquil and pleasant-smelling state of affairs continued until I exhausted my stockpile my junior year. Sensibly, I added "deodorant" to the monthly grocery list.

In the store, I checked out the options. Whoa! It was overwhelming. What was a good brand? What was a good value? What about sweating?

I retreated to my apartment, and called my mother. "Mom! I'm out of deodorant! Which one do I buy?"

I have treasured her answer to this day: "Whatever's on sale."