A few good memories thru the years: Do any of you save holiday cards? The only ones in my stash were handmade and a few photos and newsy notes. Not an expensive one in the batch. Same with friends' trees and decorations I remember most: creative use of paper and glue and natural gleanings of evergreens and berries from roadside or backyard. One third-grade teacher had her students make decorations for classroom tree each year then brought them home to use...I always loved this idea! Our favorite holiday party was an annual fishfry at a friend's country cabin on a lake. No froufrou decorations or fancy fingerfoods. Everyone was encouraged to bring/play a musical instrument or sing (there were a few professionals and a LOT of wannabes!)... of course guitars and bongos galore. Original songs, skits or poems preferred but you could cheat creatively...LOL..but it was so very much fun. Went on into wee hours around campfire. Sadly this friend has since died but those who attended remember the laughter and cameraderie. No gifts, just BYOB and your imagination and have fun. All those expensively decorated, often catered affairs we attended, usually hosted by clients or professional colleagues, fade into memories of overheated rooms and small (very small! LOL) talk with acquaintances who fell most often in our category: invite to big overcrowded openhouse/cocktails and then forget them until next year. I soon let DH make these annual rounds...he's much more amenable to "duty" than I ever was...LOL I'm glad to be in the company of the other Scrooges here...Bah Humbug to you all! LOL josh

Oh my, i was thinking a few dozen in and out of the home and garden. : ) I've hosted a couple weddings for friends on my farm and did simple, as you are thinking... One was October but unseasonably warm, Hot!. I stuck with the veggie plan but had to put ice in baggies under the platters and dip stuff. (the meal and party moved on to an event place later). I hid the ice under fabric. I also was making spring rolls for every event at the time and that took way too much time the morning of. But great for the wedding party 'girls' prepping in the second floor of the barn. Healthy and fresh and the brides favorite so i made them for her and the rest went out on the table. I'm terrible with recipes because i want to fuss and take a bit from this and that and take out the sugars... And use what i have that is available without too much shopping. If i needed to make one today?...in the freezer i have pecans, dates, a big bag of raw shredded coconut and a big hunk of ginger in the fridge. And a bag of chick peas...and some wasabi in powder form. I made candied ginger last month and it was amazing but can be bought. So using a few recipe ideas, some can be combined. Like this list, i'll give the link... I have some puffed rice cereal from the health food store. Some pepitas, (hulless pumpkin seed), and if i toast the coconut, whizz some of it to coat the chopped dates...toss with roasted chick peas, (not the sweet recipe but the savory one) ...toss what seems good and back in the oven on low 200 heat for an hour... You may just invent your own mix by tasting and adding a bit more spice, etc. (a bit of warmed coconut oil, just a couple tbsp, is amazing flavor that helps give good toasted flavor and give some binder glue for any powdered spices). Of course make a mix you are comfortable with that is not a stressful new one, but my crowd likes my 'adventures', lol. -and, yeah, my amount per person is way high for a big event. And probably not much help with the mixes...but if you have time to experiment and have fun in the process...big win in the appreciation game. -if any oils or butters are in your mix, you have 4-5 days in fridge, any longer do freeze for freshness... Here is a link that might be useful: snack mixes

Terri, I *could* tell you the cupcakes were made with magic, no wheat at all! And I *could* tell you that no sugar was involved--just the sweetness of more magic! Yeah, I could tell ya that. But, hey, good for you in your efforts to avoid wheat and refined sugar! I try to avoid white rice, white bread, and potatoes, just to name a few, and I also try to not eat things with sugar in them (okay, that doesn't always work! LOLAM). Cupcakes, cookies, cake--most of the time, I don't have them in the house. Another really GOOD thing about being a retired teacher is that I don't get "exposed" to all the goodies in the faculty room, the donuts every Friday (right next door to my room!!!!!), or the special yummy things from the students! Thanks for the compliments! They encourage me to keep on trying to improve! Smiles, Sooz

I made this last night and it is really pretty and it tastes amazing! I did and would suggest people boil it longer closer to a soft boil, as mine still isn't too firm. Black Cherry Swirl Fudge 1-1/2 teaspoons plus 3/4 cup butter, divided 3 cups sugar 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chips 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme 2 envelopes unsweetened black cherry soft drink mix Directions Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cream and remaining butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla chips and marshmallow creme. Pour 1 cup into a bowl; set aside. Stir black cherry drink mix into the remaining marshmallow mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Spoon reserved marshmallow mixture over top; cut through mixture with a knife to swirl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: about 3 pounds. Here is a link that might be useful: Black Cherry Swirl Fudge Recipe