Christmas Baking...

My husband has started his Christmas baking. Why does he do it? Well, it started over 37 years ago. He was in the Navy, and was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His 'duty station' there was the Base Police Force. I was able to teach at the Base school, second grade. We loved it there! No long cruises on a Navy ship, no lonely, lonely days waiting for his ship to come back to port.
Anyway, he was in charge of about a dozen young men who lived in a barracks there. They were not married, and that was NOT good duty for young men! Very lonesome.
As Christmas approached our first winter there, we came up with the idea of giving each young man a Christmas box. Dale went to the Navy Exchange (like a department store), and asked for a dozen large shoe boxes. I purchased envelopes, writing tablets, pens, gum, etc. And we started baking! We made decorated cookies, fruitcake, fudge, peanut brittle, and popcorn balls.
We wrapped everything edible in aluminum foil and Saran wrap. When the boxes were full, we then wrapped them in bright Christmas paper. The day before Christmas, Dale delivered them to the barracks, giving one to each of his men. (No women allowed in that area, so I had to stay home.) He told them all that we wanted each of them to have something 'home-made'.
When he got back, he told me that every single one of the guys actually got emotional... something he hadn't expected. That evening, a group of them showed up at our house, carrying a large box. They had all pitched in and bought us a lovely floor lamp at the Base Exchange! I couldn't believe it! Such nice young men!
Anyway, that's how the tradition began. Dale loves to make peanut brittle, popcorn balls, fudge, cookies, and his special 'blond' fruitcake. (It's a light dough, not the dark kind you normally think of with fruitcake). Recipe is from Betty Crocker.
So for over 37 years, I have done no Christmas baking. When our kids were big enough to help, they would decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles. Now Colin is learning to make all the other things, also.

Moral to this story? If your husband wants to cook and/or bake, let him!