Courtesy of Monika & Manfred via Flickr
The holidays are gone. The tree is down and almost all of the decorations are packed away. The next task is to clean out the refrigerator and pantry. It usually has bits and pieces of meals and desserts which were too good to throw out but didn’t get eaten. It’s like souvenirs of good times past. There just wasn’t enough time to consume it all. So now they go out. It’s the season of excess. I feel some guilt about that.
Why do I bake holiday treats when my beloved husband doesn’t eat sweets and most of our friends are watching their waistlines? I have no idea except it was an important part of the holidays growing up. I really need to change that. For next year, I will not bake excessively. Maybe that goal isn’t enough. Perhaps I should not bake at all.
I have always wished there was a way to spread out the cheer and goodies for that cold day in February when you would kill for a good cookie and some friendly congeniality. Yes, I know you can freeze cookies but it’s not the same. People are friendly but not like at the holidays.
Courtesy of LauraFries via Flickr
So, out they go along with holiday greens, wilty poinsettias and coagulated eggnog. Christmas carols are replaced by Jimmy Buffett (there is nothing like Margaritaville to get you ready for spring!)
Next year I will take the money I normally spend on excessive holiday treats and donate them to our local humane shelter for the poor critters who spend the holiday in cages. Maybe…
Views and Mews by Coffee Kat 
I just hid all the leftover candy from Christmas in the back of a kitchen cabinet–where I hope to forget about it until I need it for some mid-winter chocolate craving emergency.
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That works well with candy. I have been known to freeze Halloween candy and bring it out the next spring-summer. The only drawback is that it has witches and pumpkins on it.
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An excess of sweets! What a way to go. Here’s how my daughter handled the holidays without baking. She makes a trail mix of: Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Cheerios, roasted peanuts, pretzels, M&Ms, and bits of chocolate (I used Ghiradelli (white chocolates and chocolate). Then, she put it in a Mason canning jar with a festive patch of cloth on the lid and a little ribbon — voila. (This is what I made for friends who provided me with one too-many delicious goodies over the holidays. They were delighted.)
Enjoyed your blog.
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Sounds like a great idea! Easy, holds well and yummy too. Thanks.
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Giving the money to the humane shelter is a good idea. This year I didn’t bake a single cookie. I considered making them with the grandchild, but we ate chocolate instead.
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That would work for me. I am not a big cookie fan but I also make some old Austrian pastries that I only get once a year. I may try to knock the recipe back to a dozen. Or I may eat chocolate instead!
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My cooking/baking friends don’t have to throw anything away. I live on other peoples left-overs!
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Too bad you don’t live near me! I could feed you for a month.
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I do the same thing. Holiday treats galore. And I don’t really eat them. My husband jokes that Christmas dinner has a veritable dessert buffet. Good luck with the downsizing!
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I hear you … my sister made FOUR POUNDS of fudge this year, and now we have entirely too much fudge sitting on the counter calling out to us every time we pass the kitchen. She makes it to give away as gifts, but always keeps some in the house for us to nibble on during the holidays. For some reason, this year we ended up with entirely tooooo much fudge.
About that idea of giving to your local animal shelter …. one time when I was moving, I was really downsizing my household, (from 4800 sq ft to 980 sq ft), so I filled up my car trunk with old blankets and quilts and took them to the humane society … you would have thought I was bringing them bags of sparkling diamonds … they were so appreciative, and it really made me realize that sometimes what we are not using is desperately needed by someone else. A good reminder when thinking about the whole idea of “out with the old” …
great post … thanks for the reminder that less is more, and sharing is always a good thing
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I hate throwing anything out so I make my friends crazy trying to find homes for old appliances and other things. It is rewarding when you find people who can use something you have. It’s harder to do these days as most people want “new” stuff but I work until I find them.
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