My Christmas Tradition ~ The Christmas "Pie" (she: Wendy)

I am Wendy over at Recipe Cut Outs. I love my family first and for them I love to cook, bake, sew, and create. I am learning how to include my children in the process of the things I love.

 I just did my own self created blog challenge of making 30 Days of Pie. I posted a pie a day. My family sampled each pie and gave a yeah or nay judgment.

Some of the pies were devoured and some were shared with neighbors and friends. The recipe I want to share is fun and will involve the whole group.

Do you like nursery rhymes that include presents? We have a family Christmas tradition that includes both. Little Jack Horner and presents make up our Christmas pie!

The nursery rhyme is:

The Christmas tradition started over 70 years ago. I remember doing the “pie” as a little child with my great-Grandpa Christensen making all the preparations.

The “pie” consists of small and simple presents. The presents are tied to a string with one end tied to the present and the other end labeled with the recipient’s name. The string is poked through the “crust,” and the “crust” is taped down. When it is time to open the pie, each person holds their own string, and everyone recites the poem as a practice. The practice is essential because everyone needs to know to put their thumb down to the pie when saying, “he stuck in his thumb” and then tugging slightly when saying “and pulled out a plum.” There is always a joker in the group that reminds everyone this is the rehearsal and another person tugs on their string hard. The second time is the real pull. The presents are pulled through the “crust” and enjoyed. The strings are usually pretty tangled too (it causes for some Boy Scout knot untying skills.) Grandpa Christensen kept the strings from year to year. You knew when a new person entered the family by the newer twine.

Here is the assembly and follow through of the “Christmas pie.” This can be done with any group of people: family, adults, little children, or as the beginning to a white elephant party.

Ingredients:

1 Basket or bin

1 small present per person participating

Twine

Butcher Paper (or the like)

Tape (Duct tape or masking tape works best.)

Pen

Scissors

1. Wrap the package and tie the twine around the package. Write the person’s name on the package as well as on the end of the string. 

2. Poke holes in the crust and thread the strings through the top.

3. Pass out the labeled pieces of twine. 

4. Grab your twine and place thumb down. Recite the rhyme for the practice round.

 5. Recite the poem the 2nd time and pull when the rhyme says “pull.”

6. Untangle the presents.

7. Open to see the surprise!

We usually end the evening with the pie!

I hope that your Christmas will be full of wonder, safety, and excitement!

~ Wendy

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