The Christmas Pie tradition can probably be traced back to my grandparents, if not farther. As a little girl my mom would shop for inexpensive small gifts for each Christmas dinner guest. They could be wind up toys, cassette tapes (yes, I am that old) or other silly games. She’d wrap each one up and tie around it a piece of curling ribbon with about a 3 foot talk of ribbon hanging off of each. At the end of the ribbon she would tape on a small piece of paper with a name of the recipient. Then she would carefully stack the gifts in a big basket, set it in the middle of her formally set dining room table and spread out the long ribbons all over the table. Guest would be ask circle around the large oval table and find their name. Then you are instructed to grab hold tight to your ribbon and on the count of three you pull your ribbon to find a beautifully wrapped gift on the other end. It was exciting, and sometimes funny as the ribbon’s tangled up with other guest’s requiring you to be in a tug of war. Some years, the “pie” as we called it, was decorated elaborately with fake snow and Christmas scenes such as the nativity. Other years it was just a gorgeous basket and simple trailing ribbons. As it is, this tradition has continued as we host our family’s Christmas dinners now.
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