Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/421959
8 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 12.14 Inter-office MEMO Several years ago, my husband and I stole (rescued?) a giant purple Christmas tree from a depart- ment store's dumpster. Combine the adrenaline from our fnd with booze and a Prince album and we concocted a new holiday — Prince- mas. Basically it entails a gaudy tree, a dance party, Prince music, banana daiquiris (fact: there's a Prince song about being so depressed on the holidays that "every Christmas night for seven years now I drink banana daiquiris till I'm blind") and a viewing of Purple Rain, Graffti Bridge or Un- der the Cherry Moon — the entire catalog of Prince movies, at least as far as I know. Sadly, that giant purple tree shed its plastic needles, and we had to bid it farewell. But come December we always fnd time for Princemas. I'm still hoping the little man in leather chaps comes shimmying down the chimney one of these years. Anne Marshall Senior writer My extended family does a very weird thing when we sit around to- gether to open Christmas gifts: We smell them! Whether the unwrapped gift is a new cooking pan or a pair of socks, the person deeply inhales the aroma and lets out a loud and appre- ciative, "Mmmmmmm!" sound and everybody cracks up laughing. I have no explanation for this behavior. Carrie Neumayer Contributing artist What's one of your memorable holiday traditions? Every year we go to my grand- mother's house in Mount Vernon, Illinois, for Christmas dinner, and she makes a homemade Italian cream cake for dessert. Every year my father raves about his mom's cake as the best part of Christmas, and every year when I help my grandmother clean up in the kitchen, I turn my head to the empty Kroger cake box in the trashcan. No one in the family has the heart to tell Dad. Jaren Cooley Editorial intern Every year my family gathers in our country cabin in Michigan, which is surrounded by felds of glisten- ing white snow. We harness the Clydesdales to the sleigh and take rides through the woods while the horses gallop merrily to the sound of jingle bells. Then we huddle around the piano and sing Christmas carols, all the while enjoying hot cocoa and indulging on every favor of pie you can think of. At sunset, Grandpa recites "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from his rocking chair. At least that's what happens in the Nor- man Rockwell Christmas fantasy I've harbored since childhood. In reality, everyone drinks way too much and a fght between my uncles and cousins usually ensues in the front yard. Mandy Wood Advertising account executive Usually I'm never in Kentucky for New Year's. This year, I'll be in Philly. Last year was NOLA to visit some friends. My mom went with me. She's recently 21 again and obsessed with Screwdrivers. One night I lost her to Bourbon Street and thought for sure she was dead. Turns out she was just down at the Sing Sing, being sere- naded by a big blues singer named Rooster. Cock a doodle doo.... Arielle Christian Contributing writer We pick an evening and my dad reads the family A Christmas Carol out loud. Crackling fre, caramel popcorn — the whole shebang. Also, on Christmas Eve we take a trip to Schimpff's Con- fectionary in Jeffersonville and buy some red hots. Elizabeth Myers Editor, Louisville.com My brother John was born on Dec. 27, 1969. When he died in 1990, Christmas became a diffcult time because it reminded us of how much we missed him. The parents and I decided to create a new tradition of going to a different city every Christmas. We traveled to St. Paul, Toronto, Savannah. One year we had a potluck Christmas dinner in a dingy bar in New Orleans with one of John's old friends and several new ones. Not much is open during the holidays, so we would often end up staying in hotel rooms celebrating by reading David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice, drinking bourbon and playing card games. I think John would approve, although I certainly wish he could have been there. Suki Anderson Art director On Christmas morning when my wife was a kid, her parents would hide a green, pickle-shaped ornament on their tree. Extra gift for the daughter who found it. Now I get to participate. Couple years ago, I won. Got a Rubik's Cube. Unsolvable hunk of junk has been pissing me off ever since. Makes me want to scream like the dad in A Christmas Story when the Bumpus hounds from next door stampede into his kitchen: "Sons of bitches! Bumpuses!" Josh Moss Editor Cooking fried oysters on Thanks- giving Day is my favorite holiday tradi- tion. Each year at my grandma's, they were always prepared early in the day and dropped into the deep fryer so that there would be plenty of time to snack on them while dinner was being prepared. And the best thing ever is having them with a bottle of Asti. (Note I said bottle, not glass. And yes, I said Asti. Fried oysters and Asti pair beautifully.) Since I moved away from home, and don't get back for Thanksgiving much, I have adopted this tradition in my own house. So frst thing on my shopping list at Thanksgiving time is oysters and Asti. Who knows: I may get crazy this year and enjoy them at Christmas- time too. Nom nom. Emily Douglas Advertising account executive My aunt has had some kind of Happy Birthday Jesus celebration the past three or four years on Christmas Eve when all of my family goes to her house. I think the frst year we all held candles while one of my cousin's kids read either scripture or a story about Jesus, which ended up being so lengthy a couple of the candles started to drip down and burn hands. I believe the following year we had a Jesus birthday cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. The part of my family that isn't particularly religious found it odd. My aunt has since toned down the celebration. Lindsay Flint Advertising production coordinator For more than two decades, the women in my family have gotten together at my aunt's house to make Christmas cookies. It used to be that we only decorated sugar cookies. In recent years, though, most of us started avoiding gluten like the roads on Black Friday. We've had to get creative, beyond "What color icing should I use for this reindeer?" This means mouthwatering toffee. Buckeyes — chocolate-covered balls of peanut butter. Jam thumbprint cookies — made with almond four, of course. Not even gluten intolerance can mess with tradition. Mary Chellis Austin Associate editor My boyfriend Jeremy has a large extended family. On Christmas Day, they rent the Beechmont Women's Club building and have a potluck. To pay for rental costs, they auction off items that everybody brings. One of Jeremy's relatives is a professional auctioneer, so it's pretty serious. There's a lot of absolute junk and stuff that nobody wants, but in the past three years I've gone home with a huge set of dishes, a nice coat with tags still on and a bunch of fancy coat hooks. I think it all cost like $10. Amy Talbott Contributing Writer