Another thought. Check out Ina Garten's coconut cupcakes recipe on food network.com. The recipe makes about 24 and they are super delicious. Top with a cherry and they will look very Christmasy. I have made them and frozen them and they are still delicious. You could also make Hersheys Perfectly chocolate chocolate cake into cupcakes (they freeze well, also and then you would have a variety. Just be sure if you make the coconut cupcakes, to make only half a recipe of the frosting, trust me it's plenty. I once brought some of the coconut cupcakes to the cart attendants at our golf club and the one attendant about 60 years old said to me when I got back in from golfing. "Mrs. T. those cupcakes were so delicious, you want to know how delicious they were?" How delicious were they Dave......"They were so delicious, I wanted a cigarette afterwards!" LOL

Several years ago I had planned a traditional Christmas dinner... turkey and all the trimmings. We had just had a new kitchen sink installed. I started my preparations early and unfortunately discovered the sink connections had failed. I informed Mr Wonderful I would not be able to prepare dinner. After checking restaurants available I found out we had three choices.... A Japanese restaurant, a seafood restaurant at 10 PM or Denney's. We went to Denney's along with many others traveling. It wasn't a traditional dinner but the service was excellent and me met lots if people. This year we will have authentic Cornish pasties and a pumpkin cheesecake dessert. Merry Christmas to all. s

Here is my Texas Sheet Cake recipe. Mine calls for a 15.5 x 10.5” pan. Preheat oven to 350. Bring to a boil: 2 sticks butter 1 cup water 4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa Remove from heat and add to mixture of: 2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 tsp cinnamon beat in 2 eggs and 1\2 cup sour cream Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until toothpick is clean. Cool 10 minutes and then add frosting Frosting: Bring to boil: 4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa 6 Tbsp milk 1 stick butter Remove from heat and add to: 1 box confectioner’s sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts) - optional pour over cake Annie, if you go with carrot cake, I use the Southern Living recipe, omitting the coconut. No one but me likes coconut and it is not missed in the recipe. It is very moist and absolutely delicious. I have also made it as a 9x13 sheet cake. If I have a little batter left over I make a small round layer. Easier than assembling a 3-layer cake.

We like a horseradish sauce with our prime rib (which is a once a year indulgence for Christmas). I buy bottled horseradish from the refrigerated section of our grocery store. I mix it with sour cream and add some coarse grain Maille Dijon mustard. The mustard seeds add a nice "pop" to the sauce. No proportions, really, I just taste as I go.