December is full of different types of food to fill the days of the different types of holidays we celebrate throughout the month of December. Recently, I went to a Festival Of Learning and had Latkes with applesauce (personally I love applesauce AND sour cream with my latkes) for Chanukah and Mexican Hot Chocolate with Molasses cookies for La Posada, and tonight (if it doesn’t snow) it will be something wonderful to celebrate Kwanzaa.

Our family Christmas traditions revolve around food and my husband’s traditions. Christmas Eve is Chinese take-out for dinner and Christmas morning breakfast is Dunkin’ Donuts. For dinner, it’s his mother’s tradition of a proper British carve up: roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots & peas, plus a few of our own favorites. One year I made Yorkshire pudding which is both intimidating and easier than you think it is. She always made Trifle, which I have not even attempted.

Early in the month is my birthday. Below are some of the things I have to celebrate my birthday, although there are changes throughout the years. I used to go to Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast; now it’s Starbucks. I also usually spend my birthday (during the day when everyone is at work and school) on my own, window shopping, treating myself to a quiet morning, but when it’s on a weekend, as it was this year, I rearrange that plan to spend the day with my family.

I also take advantage of every freebie there is known. (See below).

In the above photo, going from L-R, top to bottom: #s 1, 6, 7, and 8 were all freebies! Plus a free appetizer at Texas Roadhouse. and those are just the ones I took advantage of so far. I still have a couple more weeks to use them all if I want.

Sign up for all those email lists. I’m sure there a few emails waiting in my box that I haven’t gotten to yet.