Time For Tea

Some of my family's holiday traditions have come and gone. Way, way, back my mother use to string together popcorn and cranberry garlands for every Christmas tree we had until it was discovered the dog made the tree decorations his nightly snack. My father read "The Night Before Christmas" to my sister and I on Christmas Eve until we grew older, Santa became a myth and the book just stayed on the shelf. 

No tradition is carved in stone. But that just means there is plenty of room for new ones and my family formulates new traditions all the time. 

One of these newborn traditions is the four Laskey/Hoch women drive to Albuquerque one Saturday in December to have a Nutcracker-themed tea. 

At the St. James Tearoom, "The Nutcracker Suite" is piped quietly through speakers. There is overstuffed Victorian era furniture divided into small groupings and walled off by thick drapes that the waitresses, dressed as English maids, will whip back to bring in teapots and best of all a tiered tray filled with goodies. 

There is even smaller, sub-traditions within this tradition. I buy a Christmas ornament from the gift shop for someone's present, my niece praises the cucumber sandwiches and my mother photographs the whole event. When we leave, we all proclaim we are stuffed and couldn't eat another bite. I am completely lying when I say that. I could eat those scones and clotted cream for eternity. 

In short, this a great tradition. And even though our annual tea outing, like any other tradition, probably won't last foreve  it does hold all the elements that are unmovable since they appear in every holiday tradition belonging to my family. We just need some food, some laughs and each other.