Okay… now it’s time to panic…
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| Clock's ticking pal. |
Hopefully, your Christmas shopping is done and you are
now enjoying family and friends, and attending Christmas parties. If you are
not in this category yet, stop reading this post right now, read last
week’s post about giving beer as a Christmas gift, go to your local beer
store (or any other store where you can buy Christmas gifts) and finish your
shopping already! This last bit was directed at my father, who has always been
notorious for shopping right up until Christmas Eve night.
If you are finished shopping for gifts, it’s time to
shift your focus to a few Christmas traditions that deserve to have some crafty spins
applied to them. These are a few fun things that we do in our house that always
make the holiday more cheerful and the time spent with loved ones a bit merrier.
All of these ideas are fairly easy to pull off, which is important, because as
I alluded to earlier in this post, we should all be in cruise mode by this
point in our Christmas preparations. Don’t let the madness of the season ruin
the fun of the season.
1) The stockings were hung
by the fireplace with beer…
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| "No Billy, that's Mommy's stocking." |
Imagine the delight on your loved one’s face upon
discovering that Santa has left a bottle of beer in his or her stocking. Ordinarily,
small gifts, gift cards, candy, and citrus are the
stocking-stuffers of choice, but there is no rule that says beer can’t be
included too. It’s small, light-weight, and most importantly, it’s awesome.
Find a bottle of the recipient’s favorite crafty brew and… well, you get the idea.
If you’re unsure of what beer to by, ask a fellow beer buyer at the store for
suggestions of good beers, or pay attention to what kind of beer your loved one
prefers. Or read last
week’s blog post for more good ideas.
LAWYER’S COMMENT:
The Sous Brewer is talking about adult stockings only. This blog does not
endorse, nor condone, putting beer bottles in kids’ stockings. If you have kids’
stockings mixed in with adult stockings, make sure to pay attention to whose
stocking you’re putting beer into.
2) Fuel for Santa…
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| You're welcome Saint Nick... you're welcome. |
Tradition dictates that the appropriate gift for Santa
Claus on Christmas Eve is milk and cookies. If I were Santa, and I assure you that I am
not, but if I were, milk and cookies would be appreciated, but they wouldn't get
me excited. Beer, on the other hand, is how you go from getting a nice present
from Old Saint Nick to getting a legendary present from Old Saint Nick. If you
think about it, it makes perfect sense – beer, particularly high alcohol
varieties, is ideal for warming a person up on a cold night. What better way
to keep the big man warm as he circumnavigates the globe?
My suggestion is barley wine. Barley wines are strong in
flavor and alcohol, and have enough bollocks to them to ensure a warm feeling
will follow. And since barley wines pair well with sweets and cheese, a cheese danish
or piece of cheese cake would be the perfect accompaniment for the brew. If you
pull this off, Santa will be sure to remember how good you were the next time
he visits for sure. Then again, maybe he won’t…
LAWYER’S COMMENT: The
Sous Brewer is not condoning drinking and sleigh driving, unless you are in
fact Santa Claus. It is the opinion of this blog, its affiliates, underwriters,
and endorsers that Santa possesses a unique set of skills that make him able to
operate a sleigh while under the influence of alcohol. If Santa is reading this
blog post, we want to remind him that under no circumstances should he allow Rudolph
or any of the other reindeer to drink any of the beer that is left out for him.
3) Christmas dinner…
Yep, you knew I wouldn't be able to get through a blog
post about holiday traditions without making a plug for beer pairing during
your Christmas dinner. I will spare you the details, as I wrote a
post on this exact topic about a month ago for Thanksgiving dinner, and the
tips and tricks are pretty much the same. The most important thing to remember
is that Belgian beer pairs perfectly with poultry, including your Christmas
goose.
4) Christmas Day beer runs…
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| On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen, and Steve, Jillian, Charlie... |
I am not talking about waiting until Christmas day to
realize that you have no beer and now you’re frantically driving around looking
for a store that’s actually open. If you've been taking my advice so far (hint,
hint), you should have plenty of supplies in the house to make your Christmas
merry. No, I am talking about literally running outside on Christmas Day and incorporating
beer into the festivities.
In my neighborhood, we have a lot of runners. We also
have a lot of beer drinkers. A few holidays ago, someone got the idea to
combine the two into an “organized” event where we all meet up, run around for a
while, and then drink beer and sit around a fire pit enjoying each other’s
company. It can literally be as easy as what I just described. Or, if you want
to make your Christmas Day beer running event more epic, there are other options
to consider.
1) Hash Run – If you’re not
familiar, hashing refers to an international running/beer drinking phenomenon known
as the Hash House Harriers. Essentially, they run through the woods, following
a trail that is left for them by the lead runner(s) and stop from time to time
at prescribed locations (pit stops) where they drink beer. After the course has
been run, the runners all huddle around in a circle and drink more beer and
enjoy each other’s company. It would require some pre-planning on your part,
but this could easily be incorporated into a Christmas Day beer run event.
2) Make it a race –
Community-wide race events are popular around holidays, and there’s no reason
why they couldn't be incorporated into a beer drinking event. It might be difficult
to get your community organizers to get behind a beer run, but that doesn't mean you can’t organize it yourself. Have prizes (beer) for the winners, but
try to make it fun as well as competitive, and of course remember to include
the post-race tailgating where you can sit around and have run.
3) Mud Run – This one might
depend on how far south you live and what the average Christmas Day temperature
is, but mud running is another growing trend that seems to revolve around beer
drinking. Organizing a Christmas Day mud run, complete with plenty of
malted-barley based beverages on hand, would make you a legend, and would
guarantee that a good time would be had by all.
LAWYER’S COMMENT: It
is important to remember that drinking in public places is not usually
considered to be legal, and running around while drinking is particularly
problematic. If you are going to engage in such activities, remember to do so
responsibly and be mindful of local laws and considerations. This blog, as well
as it’s benefactors, well-wishers, contemporaries, and silent partners, does
not endorse or condone breaking laws in the spirit of fun or seemingly
whacked-out holiday traditions.
So now you have some more ideas on how to integrate craft
beer into your Christmas activities. This has been the final post of my Crafty
Christmas series, so I would be remiss if I did not take the opportunity to
wish you all a Merry Christmas - Feliz Navidad - Frohe Weihnachten - Joyeux
Noël - Buon Natale - メリークリスマス - С Рождеством - Vrolijk kerstfeest.
Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!
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