Tis the season

This year I am feeling extra nostalgic as the Christmas season approaches. I don't know if  it because every commercial is telling me to spend time with the family or can't beat home sweet home. For me, my home is in Canada but I was originally from a small Caribbean island, Trinidad.

Last year I took my boys for an extended stay in Trinidad to experience what it like to be a kid in a tropical country celebrating the Christmas SEASON. It is definitely a season because it lasts from the start of December till the first week of January.


So many people in North America say that Christmas is for the kids but no place says it more than Trinidad. Every weekend there was a FREE Christmas party for kids. Although the gifts Santa gave were not the best or the biggest, my kids didn't care. They were so excited to get something and was happy to play with it. Isn't that what it is all about? Not what the gift is but the joy it brings?

I must mention that the highlight of Christmas, is the presents delivered by the local Santa via truck and loud speakers. My kids would run out of the house the minute they heard the big trucks passing by.

For the adults there is Parang which are songs that are sung in Spanish/English with a soca flair. The food is in abundance especially fruits that you don't get year round in Trinidad like apples, grapes and pears. The "island life" is definitely apparent during the Christmas season. My friends and family that still live there post pictures and talk about the fetes that are going to and it is enough to make me buy a plane ticket right now.

Even as I prepare for Christmas here with the boys I (which is magical in itself), I am looking for recipes that bring home the "Trini" holiday spirit. My favorite tradition is getting up early (before the kids) and baking fresh bread for breakfast. For the adults I am going to have a "Trini" eggnog with the in-laws.

I think that I will have to save up my pennies and take the boys again before they get too old. As the saying goes,Trini Christmas is the best. Do you have something that brings back great memories during the holiday season?