The Annual Family Christmas Snack Table

I promise that this season isn't my favorite simply because of the Annual Family Christmas Snack Table. Though I am sure it goes without saying, this is a pretty impressive event that stays at the top of my list when thinking of reasons to love the Christmas season. An incredible food display? Nothing "healthy?" Family gathered to eat and visit and then eat some more? Honestly, what's not to love?

For this year's main event, we were to contribute one savory dish and one sweet dish to The Snack Table. We all know it was humanly impossible for me to make just one treat. I ended up making three and also brought homemade chips and salsa for my savory dish. My sweets included Oreo Truffles, Lemon Poppers, and Peanut Butter Drop Cookies with mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups on top. T'liese made her husband's favorite, Pecan Bars. Perhaps being from the South creates an obligation to eat Southern food? They were delicious! For her savory dish, T'liese made Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry Pinwheels, which were absolutely heavenly. Brought from Phoenix was my favorite dish of the night...Alton Brown's Spinach and Artichoke Dip with French Baguettes. Holy cow, it was delicious! Also present were homemade Pumpkins Swirls, which were so yummy and perfectly typified the tastes and smells of this wonderful season. The Snack Table was complete with apples and peanut butter fruit dip, which "cleansed T'liese's palette in between other food selections!" T'liese had a cider bar in the slow cooker, and we all drank a ton of water throughout the evening. It allows for more eating, after all.

The party started at 4:00 PM. John and I were a little late, since we had to stop at Food City on the way to pick up two huge bags of homemade Tortilla Chips. We arrived shortly after four to find the party in full-swing. Amazingly, they had waited for us to start eating. We all took pictures of the food before the pigs were released! T'liese and Joe hosted this year, and her layout was so beautiful! However, I am truly disappointed with the performance of some family members...there were times when I was the only one near The Snack Table, which surprises no one, I'm sure. People "rested" for several minutes before going back for another plate of goodies. John and I have been training for this night for months, so we were ready! Everything tasted incredible.

A short history of The Snack Table: when growing up, we set up a snack table every year at Christmas time. It would be up for a few days, being replenished with more and sometimes different treats as we ate. Candy, Papa's fudge, nuts, Mom's five cookies, Merrill's Ham and Pickle Rolls, Cheese Balls and Crackers, and Christmas M&Ms were just some of the things found on this wonderful card table. Sometimes meals were ignored because The Snack Table took priority! When several of us kids moved to Phoenix, we decided to keep this tradition alive and dedicate an entire family Christmas party to the consumption of food from The Snack Table. It's one of those family traditions that I am more than happy to maintain. It's rough, but we were willing to make sacrifices for our childhood memories to be honored properly.