Doc Talk: Holiday Memories
by Gabrielle and Maya Ghaderi
My sister Maya and I decided we wanted to take over our dad’s article for this holiday newsletter; I think my dad will agree that we are more fun anyway :). So we would both like to share some memories that stick out to us when the holidays come along.
Maya’s Memories
Some say Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, which is true in our family because of all our wonderful traditions. We’ve been doing most of these things since my first Christmas. We have lots of traditions 
in our family, but my favorite is the gingerbread houses we make every year. We each make our own gingerbread house while sipping hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music. We also have two elves, Annabelle and Louie, that come every December and stay with us until Christmas Eve. My favorite crazy memory of Annabelle and Louie is when they took my mom’s car and drove it all the way to Krispy Krème. When we saw the car in the morning, it was parked sideways in the garage and all the windows of the car had been written on with window marker. Another part I like about Christmas is snow! Every year I hope for a white Christmas. I love being inside with my family on Christmas and looking out at the glistening white snow. I don’t think I could live in a place that didn’t have a white Christmas. On Christmas Eve, we open the gifts we have received from our parents. One gift we enjoy every year is Christmas pajamas. After we’re done opening gifts, we get ready to go to dinner and we attend Christmas Eve mass. Finally, on Christmas morning, we wake up in our Christmas pajamas and head downstairs to see if Santa has come. Of course we are always good, so Santa never disappoints :). Once we see what Santa has left, the rest of the day is filled with opening gifts, joy, and laughter.
Gabrielle’s Memories
Christmas is a time of year where many memories are made and shared. As I look back on my memories of Christmas past, one story comes to mind almost instantly. Flashback to Christmas 2011, my nine year old sister and her elf, Annabelle, had just come inside from a long day out in the snow. While outside, Annabelle had gotten a little dirty so my mom suggested she should go in the washing machine to clean up a bit. After the “bath”, she was still a bit damp and because of her rag-doll-like makeup, she would most likely take some time to dry. . . My sister decided that waiting was not an option so she thought to speed the process by drying her elf with a hairdryer. While drying Annabelle, she put the dryer up against the doll’s head and after a few seconds, smoke started to stream from her head. After realizing the elf’s head was smoldering, she removed the dryer to reveal a charred hole in the back of Annabelle’s head. This discovery caused many tears and horror considering she had just burnt a hole in the head of one of Santa’s helpers. It is times like these that make you thankful your dad is a doctor. After this whole fiasco, we informed my dad and he responded by coming home from work with a needle and thread. All three of us kids surrounded him as he performed surgery on Annabelle right there in the kitchen. Needless to say, the surgery was successful and now not only do we have a healed elf but also a great story to tell along with it.
Here are some holiday photos that I remember:
A Sweet Treat
Puppy Chow is a simple delicious treat that all can enjoy. It is made with rice Chex cereal, chocolate, & powdered sugar. It’s so easy and super delicious! Here is the recipe with a holiday twist.
Ingredients
- 5 cups Chex cereal
- 10 oz Andes Peppermint Baking Chips
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 6 large candy canes
Directions
- Melt the Andes peppermint baking chips in the microwave in a bowl for 20-30 second intervals on half power, stirring between each interval until fully melted.
- Pour the cereal into the bowl and stir and fold the cereal and melted baking chips until fully coated.
- In a large zip top baggie, pour in the powdered sugar and the crushed candy canes and shake vigorously until all the cereal is coated. Enjoy!
