It’s the 15th day of December, and your entire family has gathered on a snowy night to celebrate the holidays. Many winter desserts are heaped upon the oaken dining room table for everyone to enjoy as you catch up with your siblings. You enter the kitchen adjoining the dining room to refill your glass of eggnog. Soft Christmas music is being played in the background in the candlelit room. The flickering of the individual points of light soothes you. Glancing out the window above the sink, you can see huge flakes of snow fall quietly as they gather in an ever increasing pile upon the ground. Returning to the dining room, you begin to more closely examine the winter desserts.
The first of the gathered winter desserts that catches your eye is the peppermint bark. They are arranged on a glass Christmas plate in a snowflake pattern, with a circle of bark in the center and individual spear points branching outward. It’d be a shame to ruin such an intricate design, so you take a piece from the middle, judging the image of the snowflake would not be harmed. The bark is hard, of course, when you first bite into it, but not so hard that you hurt your teeth upon it.
You spend a good amount of your time hanging around the winter desserts and chatting with your siblings, whom you have not seen in quite a while. Your youngest sister, who has just arrived, has only now finished taking off her snow boots. You both chat on the stairs for a while and, eventually, the topic of winter desserts comes up. Your sister is eager to see the ‘tasty desserts’ as you’ve called them, so you walk with her into the dining room. A slice of cheesecake is already pre-cut and waiting for someone to eat it, so you take the plate and offer it to her.
Earlier in the day, when many of the winter desserts were still being prepared, you sat by the fireplace in the living room and watched the chestnuts cook. As the chestnuts became an even darker shade of brown, you couldn’t help but recall the famous Christmas song which mentioned the activity you, at that moment, were undertaking. Bending forward to make sure the chestnuts were progressing smoothly, you again reclined in the armchair set before the fire, sipping your glass of bourbon.
It appears that no one has touched the chocolate cake yet, but you’re sure that will change as more people arrive (only yourself and two of your siblings have come so far). Sure enough, the doorbell rings again. Your mother calls from the kitchen to see if someone can answer the door, and so you exit the dining room with the winter desserts. Opening the door reveals your brother, who has wrapped a black scarf many times around his neck to protect against the cold.
Giving your brother a warm welcome, you offer to take his suitcase and coat for him. He gladly accepts your offer and hands you both. Setting them on a nearby chair for the moment, you close the door behind him. There’s no need to tell your brother about the winter desserts, because the first thing he does is sniff the air and heads into the dining room. You follow after him and, by the time you enter the room, he already has a couple gingerbread cookies in his hand.
While all of the winter desserts are great, there’s one in particular that you’ve been waiting to try: the bourbon cookie butter cups. Your mother finally announces that they’re done, so you head into the kitchen to grab them from the stovetop. Reaching for the plate, you quickly pull your hand back. In your eagerness, you had forgotten that the plate was hot! Opening the drawer, you take out an oven mitt shaped like a Christmas tree, as well as a hot pad, and bring the plate of cookies into the dining room.
You ask if one of your siblings could move some of the winter desserts around so that room can be made on the table. This is quickly done, and you set the hot butter cups down next to a plate of sugar cookies. It’s probably wise to wait until the bourbon cups have cooled before eating them, so you decide to take a sugar cookie instead. There are a few different ones to choose from. Reaching down, you take one shaped like a snowman. Your sister, seeing how good the cookie looks, asks if you can hand her one.
More time passes as you and your siblings sit amongst the winter desserts arrayed upon the dining room table. A slight chill is in the air, so you decided to go grab a blanket from the living room. This is just what you needed, and you’re now extremely comfortable at the table. The chairs themselves are padded, so there is absolutely no discomfort. Taking a snowball cookie in your hand, you’re reminded of a time, many years ago, when you built a magnificent snowman right outside the front door.
By this time, you’re starting to become slightly full due to all the winter desserts you’ve been consuming. Telling yourself that you have to at least eat one bit of everything, you cut a small slice of pecan pie. You’re about to eat the pie when you become distracted by your father, who has just entered the room with a board game under his arms. You have a pleasant time playing this game, and your pie is forgotten, at least for the moment. When the fun eventually ends, you feel a little less full and quickly eat your delicious piece of pie.
Desiring some peace and quiet, you head into the darkened living room where you collapse in the corner of the couch (which is the comfiest part). Your heavy lidded eyes wander the room, first settling on the dancing Santa in the corner, and then drifting upward to the window, where the snow has finally ceased falling. Your brother walks over to you and, bending down, offers you a piece of the Yule Log. You thank him for giving you the dessert. Smiling, he places his hand upon your shoulder briefly, then goes to rejoin the others.
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