During the 12 days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will again present staff favorites from the holiday season. This second edition will not include two turtle doves, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and activities.
Song: “Silver Bells” performed by Mr. Dean Martin.
Recipe: Peppermint Oreo Truffles
Total Time: One hour
Quantity: 20-30 truffles
Ingredients:
- 16-ounce package of regular Oreo cookies
- Eight-ounce package of cream cheese
- One and one-half teaspoons of peppermint extract
- Eight ounces of melting chocolate, candy coat, or melted almond bark
Steps:
- Crush the whole Oreos into fine crumbs, and then place in a medium bowl. Add cream cheese and peppermint extract to the cookie mixture. Mix until well blended.
- Refrigerate the mixture until firm, about one hour. Roll it into balls about an inch in diameter. Dip the balls in chocolate, candy melt, or almond bark and place them on wax paper. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes immediately.
- Refrigerate for one hour until firm. Store the truffles, covered, in the refrigerator before serving.
Movie: The Santa Clause
“Divorced dad Scott (Tim Allen) has custody of his son (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve. After he accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa’s place before the next Christmas arrives. Scott thinks he’s dreaming, but over the next several months, he gains weight and grows an inexplicably white beard. Maybe that night at the North Pole wasn’t a dream after all — and maybe Scott has a lot of work to do,” courtesy of rottentomatoes.com.
Activity: Painted Santa Stones
Supplies:
- Smooth beach stones
- Gesso or another similar primer
- Acrylic craft paint (red, skin tone, white, and black)
- Paint brushes
- Satin craft varnish
Instructions:
- Scrub the stones to remove any grit and debris and let them dry. The stones will dry quickly in a warm and sunny spot, but to speed up the drying process, use a hairdryer.
- Paint the stones with a coat of Gesso or a similar craft primer.
- Paint bands of red, skin tone, and white on the stone: red for the hat, white for the trim of the hat, skin tone for the face, and white for the beard.
- For the back of the stone, leave the back of the Santa stones unpainted, or paint them in a solid color or with a second Santa face.
- Give each band of color a second coat of paint and allow it to dry.
- Dip the handle of a paintbrush into the paint to dot on Santa’s pom pom, eyes, and nose.
- Once the Santa stones are completely dry, brush them with a coat of satin craft varnish to protect the paint, intensify the colors, and add sheen.
Memory: Caroline O’Leary ’25
“Every year near Christmas, my family and I pick out our tree and decorate it. For as long as I can remember, this has been a Christmas tradition in my family. My grandparents come up from Long Island every year and look forward to this tradition. While we all decorate the tree, my mother prepares hors d’oeuvres and plays Christmas music. When my siblings and I grow older, we hope to carry on this tradition.”
Featured Image by Caitlin Leahy ’25
