Adding Branches to Our Family Tree

I wanted to add a quick post on Reindeer Dust, since I forgot to mention it in my last post.  On Christmas Eve Eve, December 23^rd, we had a gathering at our home for our “Air Force Family”.  Being in the military and living the transient, nomadic lifestyle that we do, we tend to form closer, quicker bonds with the people we’re assigned with.  Not everyone can go home to be with family at Christmas, but that’s not an excuse not to celebrate.  So, on December 23^rd, we had 18 of our nearest and dearest over for dinner.  Naturally, I did not cook for everyone.  Yes, I have an amazing kitchen and mad, mad cooking skills, but I did not cook for 21 people.  It was sort of a potluck…with a lot of alcohol.  But anyway, as us ladies were going back and forth on which family would bring what, my dear friend Becky said that she would bring “stuff to make Reindeer Dust”.  My thought was “what the heck is that”, but I let it go.  A few weeks earlier, we had gathered at Becky’s house to have “Junkyard Cake”, which was what I’d always known as “Dump Cake”.  Yeah, Junkyard does sound more appetizing…weird as that is.  So, I thought Reindeer Dust was just her different name for something.  I did not put a lot of thought in to it, but I remember imagining this as Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow.  We all have our different traditions growing up, and this was just not one of them for us – but it is now.  You make up a baggie of dry oatmeal and different colors of glitter.  You sprinkle it on the lawn or in your driveway so that Santa can see where to land his sleigh…since the glitter is…well, glittery.  I guess the Reindeer eat the oats as a treat for finding the house.  Apartment dwellers…sorry…not sure what your alternative is.  I’m sure there is one.  We left out the traditional milk and cookies (although interestingly enough, around here, Santa is rumoured to get fruitcake and whisky) and we did the reindeer dust.  With Laura, I sometimes left a “thanks for the cookies, your mom rocks” kind of note or made a bootprint, but I didn’t with Zack…he would not have understood that this year.  So…I thought that was a really cool thing to do and wanted to share our new Christmas tradition. 

Zack after putting Reindeer Dust on our front step.  We put some in the back garden just in case. 

The grownups...after dinner and before the Reindeer Dust making.  Becky and I are wearing the purple crowns.