Monday, December 14, 2009

a wassailing

Two weekends ago, Abe & I held our 3rd annual Christmas Wassail Open House. We make gallons and gallons of our secret wassail recipe, an assortment of appetizers, and fill our home with wonderful friends to share the evening.

Ideal as that may sound, every time I hear wassail, I think of a claymation Christmas program I saw when I was a kid. Until I looked it up on YouTube, I had not seen this program since I was about 11 years old. It has left me wondering why this particular scene is ingrained in my head, yet I can't remember something like the presidents of the United States. Actually, I think the reason I remember this scene is because the dinosaur-like creatures* are somewhat terrifying.

Here it is:


I also fondly remember the 3 kings camel scene:


And who doesn't like the California Raisins?


By the way, a much requested recipe at the Waffle - I mean, Wassail - party was the spinach artichoke dip. Credits go to my sister.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 c mayonnaise
1/4 c grated parmesan romano cheese
1 tsp crushed garlic, or 2 cloves fresh garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients together. Microwave or bake in oven until heated through.

Also, some photos of the party.







Our friend Evelyn brought a German Smoking Man, which is a traditional Christmas incense burner.

*Why dinosaurs, anyway?

4 comments:

amydear said...

You will be pleasantly surprised to learn that our family watches Claymation Christmas every Christmas Eve! We have the DVD now, as the video has worn out. This tradition comes from Kyle's family. I also make this spinach artichoke dip (same recipe!) and it is always a hit. I love wassail, and waffles, and waddling, and wallowing.

Rita said...

I had completely forgotten about the 3 wisemen/camels song. And that's funny because we thought you said you had a "waffle" party and we wondered how many irons you had going and what toppings you served...

Elizabeth Downie said...

A very fun party!! :) I can't watch the videos though because claymation gives me the heebie jeebies in a major way.

Chelsea said...

Claymation Christmas was part of your childhood too?? My family was particularly fond of the the Carol of the Bells.