Sisters making fruitcakes

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Nancy B.
My sisters and I—and now our daughters—gather each year two or three weeks before Christmas for what we call fruitcake night! This is not the dreaded fruitcake! It is wonderful. People who laugh at our love for it taste it and want it! My mother made it each year to give out, and we especially remember the bus driver who drove all five kids growing up and always looked forward to it. We still give him a fruitcake each year! This is really as exciting as Christmas Day to us.

We gather first to cut all the fruit, which takes quite a long time. Then, we mix it up, line the pans and carefully/artfully to make the design on top of each—it is quite a process. And we always pick a different Christmas song each year. Each person has to submit her favorite version of that song, and we all vote after the fruitcakes are done (which is sometimes 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning because we've had so much fun during the process. And, no, there is no liquor in our fruitcakes!) Our mother's favorite saying was "nutty as a fruitcake"—now we know why! It is the best! We laugh and eat and sometimes even sing karaoke while the fruitcakes are in the oven! We usually exchange gifts at some point during the evening too because we can't all be together on Christmas Day. This is by far our most anticipated tradition. Who would think fruitcake could bring such joy, but it does.

Do you bake anything special for the holidays? Let us know!