Countdown to Christmas Day Two - Where are the Nutcrackers

Not a Pantry Preserve today, but still indirectly to do with food.

One of the things I like to do at this time of year is to start to search out those items that I need for entertaining ready and easily accessible from the beginning of November.  If you have not managed to achieve this, then now is the time to start assembling those items you want to use. One of the ways of getting ahead and getting things done when you have a few minutes here and there even if it is only a few tasks a day.  

If you are having a house-full over the Christmas period you want to be prepared right?  No last minute trying to find this and that, now is the time to get those items together and easily accessible, and washed if necessary instead of putting yourself under unnecessary stress at the last moment.  We have enough stress in any event then, so why overload the Camel's back, get what you can done in the quieter moments before the Mayhem starts.

Primarily for this post I am talking about the dining room if you have one to get its best party frock on, dress her up to the nines so that you can all celebrate together in a lovely atmosphere and also allow your inner child to escape too.  Time to bring the Decanters and the best glasses out, get them all washed up and polished for the main event itself.

One of the things that I tend to forget every year is the Nutcrackers, despite having at least a couple.  Somehow they always slip my mind.

Despite Nutcracker wooden figurines being very much part of our Christmas decorating these days, in this instance I am talking about proper Nutcrackers the tool for opening your nuts.  We have a long family tradition of having a big bowl of mixed whole nuts on the table in the front room at this time of year.  Sometimes there is quite a mixture of nuts, sometimes just a few varieties depends on harvests and availability.  Small oranges whether they are Clementines, Tangerines etc, are also next to the nuts so people can help themselves if they want a few here and there.  Some of which always found their way into our Christmas stockings!

At one time I had quite a lot of stuff packed up elsewhere and not in the house and when it came ready to relax and enjoy the nibbley bits more often than not I had forgotten the Nutcrackers. Extreme solutions were then employed to extract the nuts (think hammers here)! I have therefore taken to keeping these in the dining room dresser drawer as I had forgotten them that many times in the past it was getting past a joke.

There are different types of Nutcrackers.  Some of the ones I have are extremely vintage where others are more up to date. Does not matter as long as they work. I even have a couple of metal hearts somewhere that are used for opening up Walnuts.  Equally I also have some Nut Bowls somewhere as well.

On a lighter note, it is also time to get the "Decorative" Nutcrackers out too.  I think they are charming.  This one is a music box one - have a couple of more somewhere.  He is over 20 years old and feeling a bit worse the wear with wear and tear and I think his Music Box needs some attention.  It is a German make.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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