On days that my mother would make Aunt Gertie’s “Two-Hour Cinnamon Rolls” all of us kids couldn’t wait to have one as soon as they were cool enough to bite into. They smelled divine and the gooey caramel-nut topping, mixed with the yeasty cinnamon rolls, so-o-o delicious. These rolls were one of my favorite treats as a child. If there were any left the next day (a rare occurrence), they were even good cold! But usually my brother polished them off before the rest of us had a chance.

When my great niece was two years old she met Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. He actually showed up at our house! She was terrified. To her, he was not a “jolly old elf.” He was a giant and a scary dude. That was the last time he appeared at our holiday gathering!

A few Christmases ago, I bought a kit to build four small Gingerbread houses with my sister and her grandkids. Yes, I said “bought a kit!” I always make my own cookies but in this case I was not above letting someone else make the gingerbread for these houses. I was 99% certain that no one would want to eat the houses, especially after they sat around for a few weeks being admired and collecting dust. So I reasoned that I didn’t have to go to all that trouble of baking the extra-sturdy gingerbread and planning out the correct dimensions, etc.