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I have been googling Christmas alternatives to tease my family.

https://www.oddee.com/item_99548.aspx

Obviously taking on another culture not my own is not a good thing.... but I could go Newtonmas with an apple on top of the Christmas Tree quite easily & I already usually give science books to my son.

Pastafarian or the Seinfield Festivus is also looking good.
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Beatty,

😂 pastafarian!
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Stacy, lol I hear you on the sweet potatoes. There has to be a lot of sweetness added, otherwise, I wouldn't like them either.

The casserole has to be made just right too. Very traditional side dish/dessert here.
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A stunt I've read about has made it to my small town, teens have been lying on the road after dark covered with blankets playing a dangerous game of chicken. Some of the local teens were caught and given a lecture about how dangerous this is. Yeah, that's gonna be a deterrent 🙄
(I'm glad I don't drive at night any more)
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Hailey,

I don’t add any sugar at all to sweet potatoes. I love a splash of maple syrup in them because I love the flavor of maple syrup.

A bit of brown sugar can be nice. If I am not making the casserole dish I have eaten a plain sweet potato.

Try baking them longer. You will taste the natural sugars. They even get syrupy when they cook longer. Hahaha, is that a word, ‘syrupy’?

What I mean is that you will see them producing syrup when they bake for a longer period of time.

You can also wrap in foil before baking if you like and they steam inside and become sweet and tender!

The trick to sweet potatoes being sweet is to bake them longer. They are naturally sweet.

You mentioned a crockpot before. I haven’t ever tried them in there. How long do you cook them for in the crock?

Roasting them in the oven gives them a lovely flavor. I love sweet potatoes but I am a southern gal! They are well loved here and very nutritious.
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I bought my Christmas cards yesterday.... wanted to get a jump on the chore before the shops close due to the uptick of the virus..... or before I would be reaching over and under customers to check out Christmas cards, thus too many hands touching the cards.

Regarding holiday postal stamps. How many actually check to see what kind of stamp is on a holiday card they receive? I am thinking I will just use up the scattering of different stamps I have instead of getting into a panic by ordering them from the United States Postal Service website. I have some really cool antique train stamps [$.55] that have gold color borders :)
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FF,

Good for you! That’s smart. Gosh, I stopped sending cards years ago! I buy cards and place special cards that I selected on gifts that I buy for people that mean the most to me.

I still get cards in the mail! I used to mail a card back to those people but I just got out of the habit of mailing out tons of cards.

I hate feeling any additional stress or pressure during holiday time. It became so commercialized!

I do love seeing decorations but my kids will tease me and call me Scrooge because after they were grown and out of the house I did minimal decorating.

I find that the older I get the less materialistic I am. Not that I ever was a very materialistic type of person. I suppose that I have always appreciated experiences much more than things.
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FF,
Bought a box of cards in September, just 10. Well, I already lost them.
The only addresses I have are people who have lived there from 20 years ago.
I gave up keeping an address book, because people communicate by email now. If I can find the addresses, I will need to remember the people who will be upset if they receive a card:
One says: "Don't send me a card, I just throw them away". OR,
"You have contributed to killing a tree". OR,
"Cards are too expensive, just send me the money!"
VS. That same person bragging to all the neighbors about the beautiful card we sent!

Isn't life strange?
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Send,

So funny! I can relate to what you wrote. I absolutely hate those Christmas letters that are in some cards! Oh my gosh! Some of those are ridiculous!

Christmastime is a beautiful season for many reasons. For me, specifically it is about the birth of Christ and what He represents.

The holidays represent different things to different people. I understand this. I love the spirit of Christmas.

I suppose many of us have favorite memories or traditions that we are fond of. I always loved Santa! So many children are afraid of Santa.

For some, Christmas is just another day.

My daddy grew up in a very poor family and did not receive lavish gifts or have a fancy meal with his family.

Daddy told us a funny story about his childhood at Christmastime. One year they got a whistle but if they blew the whistle and disturbed the adults they received a spanking for it!
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NHWM

The crockpot is for making the casserole dish.

Cut the sweet potatoes up and place into the crockpot. After you have mixed your ingredients, pour over potatoes and toss until they are all coated.

Cook on high for 4 hours. Turn on low and top with marshmallows and pecans for about 10 minutes.

Yas, I am southern too. : )
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Hailey,

Thanks for responding. Sounds easy!

Do you like sweet potato pie? Oh my gosh! So good!!!
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NHWM

Yes They have to be very moist and sweet though. delish
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I stopped sending cards a while back but may start again this year simply cause I doubt with covid that we'll be getting together this year.

I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not cause I've not really enjoyed family dynamics for a while. Too much personal drama.
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Gershun - I remember Christmas with family being a real trial for you. This may be a blessing in disguise.

Like many others, I haven't sent cards in years. I used to send ecards and have stopped doing that too. seems to be the way things are going.
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Send help.. I normally buy cards after the holiday, or at the dollar store ( hey they have Hallmark there too!) So you just put that .50 in the envelope and ... oh wait,,, then they will complain you didn;t send enough! LOL I only send to a greatly reduced list these days. elderly relatives or those we don;t see often. Special family. Mom is upset that 2 years ago she lost her address book,, swears its in the Christmas decor, but I keep the cards and things separate because I do mine right after thanksgiving. Most of the addresses she "needs" are people who have passed or whose addresses I have. We do have one family who moved far from us, and the husband does a letter every year.. but it is hysterical! I love getting it. I also hate the braggy ones...
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Pam,

Isn’t it amazing how many dollar stores are out there?

I have started seeing ‘Black Friday’ ads on television for my area for stores, appliance, furniture stores, etc.

Have you seen any? Certainly won’t be a lot of crazy crowds shopping this year!!!
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A cruise ship just returned to port because of passengers testing positive for Covid.

Who in the world would take a cruise during a pandemic?
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NHWM,
Why am I not surprise! I heard on today news that we are going into our 2nd wave of Covid all because people refuse to wear a mask and socially distance.

If we all want to get back to our normal lives then we need to wear our masks. 😷

Gershum,
You might surprise yourself, in the fact of having peace this holiday in staying home with your kitties and having no family drama. 😸
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Freqflyer....I think it's a great idea to use up the stamps you already have.They sound neat!
Your'e right too.I don't think many people take the time to see the special efforts on the cards we send.
They're in to big a hurry,racing through the holidays~
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Yes Shell & Golden, this might turn out to be the most peaceful Christmas of all.
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In case some of you missed it, Margaret is on a plane on the way to Adelaide--she needs surgery for a detached retina. It was on the Paul Foel thread.
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Barb,

Did miss it. Thanks. Will say a prayer for her.
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I did miss it, too. I have not seen Paul's thread in a while. Prayers to Margaret. I'll be down myself for eye surgery next week.
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Llama,

Hope all goes well. 💗
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NHWM: Thank you so much.
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Anyone know what Paul's thread is called? Subject line?
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Barb: Thank you for your well wishes for my surgery and also for the thread link of Paul's.
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Llama, very best of luck for your surgery next week 💖
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Who has Netflix: I was out of stuff and found, under BBC dramas "Dr Foster". Thought it would be minimally interesting "chick-flick" so watched. WOW!!!!!! What fun! Cheating husband (or is he), VENGEFUL wife! And lots of other twists and turns. AND I BINGED the whole first season in two days, now on Season II
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