“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” as the song goes but for sure our city started looking like Christmas way before Thanksgiving.

This is early December and you can already see many outdoor Christmas homes decorated already possibly due to the nice weather we have had. Of course many retail stores have already decorated for Christmas and the Christmas music ringing throughout along with all the Halloween and Thanksgiving decor.

It is clever thinking and actions on the retailers who know and realize that if they can get the consumer in the spirit they will be tempted to start buying even if Christmas is over a month away.

Have you noticed that each year they seem to come out with new and different colors and decorations for the holidays to tempt the public. This actually happened to me this year as I saw something I didn’t think I could live without which was a “Charcuterie Board,” which is a special wooden board to display various cheeses, crackers and fruits on that have become very popular these days.

Actually I already have two but the one I saw looked much better and nicer to me but realizing my storage space was limited I convinced myself to refrain from purchasing it.

On the way home however the vision of the charcuterie board was on my mind and carried on into the evening — my temptation won out — so the next morning the very first thing I did was to rush down to TJ MAX only to my disappointment it had sold the night before. I guess who ever it was that liked it more than me did me a favor for I really did not need a third one.

Christmas is my very favorite time of the year but the way it has been commercialized it has lost its real meaning for many. The real meaning of Merry Christmas is for the birth of Jesus but it is becoming a Merry Shopping, which is very sad. People shop and shop for things that people don’t like or want or even appreciate and end up in debt for months just because it has become a tradition.

I am also guilty of this shopping but I also emphasize the importance of the religious aspect of the season and to the less fortunate. Thanks for all the groups and churches that pitch in every year to help and feed the needy ones providing children with gifts from Santa.

Every year I take my turn ringing the bells for the Salvation Army and this year I think I picked the coldest day to ring the bells with my granddaughter Eleni at Sam’s Club.

I want to thank everyone and encourage everyone to help people in need in any way they can as our families always try to do.

Till next week.

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CHRISTMAS LIZZIES

1/2 pound candied green pineapple, chopped

1 pound candied red cherries, chopped

2 (8-ounce) packages chopped dates

2 cups chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons bourbon

Combine fruit and pecans; dredge in 1 cup flour, and set aside.

Cream butter; add sugar, beating at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add eggs, and beat well. Combine remaining 1/2 cup flour, soda, and spices; add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Stir in milk and bourbon. Add fruit mixture, and mix well. Batter will be stiff. Chill dough at least 1 hour. Drop chilled dough by heaping teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Yields about 8 dozen.

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CHEWY MOLASSES COOKIES

Chewy Molasses Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup molasses

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup buttermilk

Cream shortening and sugar, beating well at medium speed of an electric mixer. Add eggs and molasses; mix well. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Yields about 8 dozen cookies.

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PARTY MIX

1 (1-ounce) envelope ranch salad dressing mix

2 tablespoons dried whole dillweed

6 cups corn-and-rice cereal

1 (l0-ounce) package oyster crackers

1 (6.5-ounce) package small pretzels

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine salad dressing mix and dillweed in a large bowl; add cereal, oyster crackers, and pretzels, tossing well. Drizzle oil over mixture; stir well. Place mixture in a large paper bag; fold bag to close, and let stand 2 hours, shaking bag occasionally. Store mixture in an airtight container. Yields 16 cups.