North Pole Breakfast

Every Christmas season I try to schedule a fun festive outing for our family. I feel an internal pressure to go out and do things, to give my kids memorable holiday experiences. Society and some quite effective marketing have led to the mom-guilt that if my kids aren't walking around Quebec City holding hot chocolate with pom-pom beanies, their childhood Christmases fell short. When the reality it, my boys would pick chocolate milk over hot chocolate any day, and it's a struggle to convince them to wear pants in the winter, let alone a hat.

We've done the Polar Express train twice (felt overpriced), Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem (crowded), and NYC to see the tree (which we never got close enough to actually see even from a distance because the areas were blocked off from throngs of people). While all of those experiences are always on local must-do lists, they fell short for us and didn't invoke the Christmas warmth I was hoping we'd feel. When I ask my boys what their favorite thing is we've done around the holidays, they unanimously say our family North Pole Breakfast.

It turns out the memories I was trying to create on these holiday day trips, I was unknowingly creating by what I deemed a small pre-Christmas breakfast. My kids didn't need the expensive day trips to feel the warmth and excitement of the holidays, they felt it most with a low-key breakfast at home in front of the Christmas tree.

Our first North Pole Breakfast was in 2011 when my oldest was a toddler. It was nothing more than making Santa pancakes, an image I found online over a decade ago. My son was so excited by this small gesture that he asked the following year if he was going to have Santa pancakes again.

Over the years, this holiday breakfast morphed into a family tradition. I gave it a title (North Pole Breakfast), moved the table location into the living room next to the Christmas tree, played the same nostalgic Disney Christmas sing-alongs DVD each year, and upped my food presentation game a little.

While the North Pole Breakfast has become a family tradition for my kids and something I hope they will look back on with nostalgia, it has become so much more than a meal for me. It has become another affirmation that less is more. That in a society that markets spending hundreds (and thousands!) on experiences, sometimes our greatest experiences cost next to nothing. That it's okay to follow your family's flow, without always getting caught in society's current.

This is not to say we'll never do a NYC Christmas again. At some point, I'd certainly like to give it a second try. But there is something very palpable to be gained from the "joy of missing out" movement.

Here are two of our North Pole Breakfasts from the past. I hope you can use a few of them for your family!

North Pole Breakfast #1

• Grinch Kabobs - green grapes, bananas, strawberries, mini marshmallows

  • I found rock candy sticks like these worked better than standard toothpicks

• Egg "muffins" - I used a combination of several recipes online, but this one was the closest

• Munchkin tree - I used several packages of Entenmann's donut holes for this because I could buy them in advance, and cut a star fruit for the top

• Grinch smoothie - Recipe found here

Timing:

This breakfast is less tricky with timing everything because quite a bit can be done first and sit. I first did the donut hole tree, then the egg muffins. While the egg muffins were cooking, I completed the grinch kabobs. Last was the smoothie.

Table set-up:

This was just a square card table that I moved into the living room next to the tree. Last year was the first year I decided to invest in a tablecloth that I can reuse, and wish I did that years prior. This was the one I purchased - it felt like a timeless look that I would be happy to reuse. All of the dishware I used are things I already had around the house, but if you like the items, here are some close ones I found on Amazon:

• Milk cups

• Grinch smoothie cups

Reality:

Nothing will look like or work out as smoothly as what the professional internet pictures show you! My tree had spots without munchkins, the starfruit was a pain to cut, and the grinch kabobs you have to hustle a bit with because the bananas start to brown. But your kids won't care. Add a Christmas playlist and it'll be great!

North Pole Breakfast #2

• Santa pancakes - One large pancake, whipped cream for the beard, blueberries and bananas for the eyes, bananas for the ears, strawberries and whipped cream for the mouth, beard and hat

• Reindeer fruit - Sliced oranges for the body, head, antlers, ears and feet. Red apple for the nose and mouth, mini marshmallows and blueberries for the eyes.

• Plain old bacon!

Timing:

A little trickier for this one. I did the fruit first. Bacon was in the oven while I worked on the pancakes. Allow the pancakes to cool a bit or your whipped cream will liquefy.