# ♫ Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, mincemeat cooking on the stove ♫ **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762 "2013-12-07T18:09:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/1 "2013-12-07T18:09:35Z")
Right, it’s December, and now is the time to start Christmas stuff, not early October when the “holiday eggnog” first appeared on the shelves, just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving. Vince Guaraldi’s “Charlie Brown Christmas” playing on the CD, the Cub is snoozing upstairs, Mrs Piper out shopping, and I’m just starting the Piper mincemeat: ground beef and suet cooking, and apples soon to follow. Bright sunshine in the kitchen, belying the frigid -40 that lurks outside. Cozy and relaxing. Share your Christmas prep! (not the rushed, stress-inducing prep, but the things that you look forward to doing at this time of year.) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/2 "2013-12-07T19:00:23Z")
Having done the bulk of the decorating, I’m looking forward to putting up the additional finishing touches: an garland here, something on a door, and this will probably be the last year elves leave little presents for my grandson (he’s 12 now) up to Christmas day. And now my family will let me play my holiday music where they can hear it, and not just on my MP3 player. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/3 "2013-12-08T05:55:54Z")
Almost finished with the cleaning needed before decorating can commence. My mother used to plunk beautiful decorations down onto an inch of dust. For years I thought glass stunk in the wintertime until I realized I was pressing my nose against dirty windows while waiting for the snow. :eek: We start off small, and then that looks so good we pull out another box. Then another one. Pretty soon the homemade Christmas Village greets you when you open the front door. You have to pass the nativity set with its yarn-hung hovering angel to get to the giant gingerbread man sitting in the side chair with Santa and elf hats hanging off the knobs, to be donned whenever you go out in December. I pull my red suede shoes out of the closet. I pull my hair back with a red scrunchie. And that’s just for starters. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/4 "2013-12-08T16:03:36Z")
I prefer [chipmunks.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrO42SnYAvs) ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/5 "2013-12-08T20:18:28Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > I prefer [chipmunks.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrO42SnYAvs) Thank You. I needed that. Cheers **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/6 "2013-12-09T01:15:32Z")
I went to the local annual sing-in today. It was great! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire-mincemeat-cooking-on-the-stove/675762/7 "2013-12-09T05:42:06Z")
Today I baked 6 dozen cookies to share with my friends tomorrow (after exercise) Oatmeal, oatmeal with cranberries, and oatmeal with chocolate and mint mini bits…good thing I only do this once a year! After baking, MrsStone and I went to a musical presentation by the barbershop singers; nice christmas songs in typical barbershop harmonies. Now that I’ve hauled out the 4 storage containers of Christmas decorations, I can relax as my wife makes our home into a visual delight.