Mainely Martha

After weeks of enduring the hussel and bussel of planning, shopping and baking, we are now ready to shift to celebrating the joy of the season. With Christmas just days away, it is time to pause to be present to enjoy the holiday with friends and family.

And with those holiday gatherings upon us, there is never a shortage of food, drink and best of all…good company! Yes, there are gifts but they really are the fluff; not the reason we all gather. There are the traditional favorite recipes that are made and shared year after year, but there is also the effort put into selecting the cup of cheer. And although my husband and brother – in-law married into our longstanding family Christmas gathering, they have truly embraced the spirit of the day and celebration and put there best foot forward in choosing the craft beer that will be shared… knowing that it is better to give than to receive.

Thus, we embarked on the journey of visiting a few of the local breweries as well as a distillery to solidify the selections of the spirits to be shared with our loved ones. Like all of the other preparations that go into the gathering we rallied; we sampled, tested and finally selected our spirits to contribute. This truly can be more of a chore than simply deciding what type of food to serve, it is the challenge of appropriately pairing.  And with so many choices, it is also a challenge cull the list down and ultimately make the final selections. But, it is that doing something extra, that adds to the spirit of Christmas. Eat, drink and be merry because it truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

“We’re going to have so much fun we’ll need plastic surgery to get the smiles off our faces” – Clark Griswold