During the twelve days until Christmas break, the King Street Chronicle will again present staff favorites from the holiday season. This tenth edition will not include ten lords-a-leaping, but beloved Christmas songs, memories, recipes, movies, and crafts.

Song: “Do You Hear What I Hear,” performed by Whitney Houston. 

Recipe: Eggnog Mousse Snowmen

• Total time:
  • One hour and 50 minutes
• Makes:
  • Eight servings 
• Ingredients for the mousse:
  • Two and one-half cups of heavy cream, cold
  • One and one-half cinnamon sticks
  • Six cloves
  • Five gratings of whole nutmeg
  • 20 marshmallows
  • Three tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • Four ounces of white chocolate, chopped
• Ingredients for the decorations:
  • Two ounces of semisweet chocolate chips 
  • One ounce of red candy melts
  • Mini chocolate chips
  • Orange jelly beans
• Ingredients for the frosting:
  • Four large egg whites
  • One cup of granulated sugar
  • One-fourth teaspoon of cream of tartar
  • A pinch of salt
• Steps:
  • 1) In a small saucepan, heat one-half cup of cream with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg until bubbling around edges, about four minutes.  Remove from heat and let spices steep at least one hour.
  • 2) Meanwhile, microwave chocolate chips at 50 percent power in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.  Let cool slightly to thicken, then transfer to a resealable bag and cut off one corner to make a small hole. 
  • 3) Pipe arms and buttons into the insides of small glasses and let them set completely.  Repeat, using candy melts, for bow ties and scarves outside the glasses.
  • 4) Strain spiced cream into a large microwave-safe bowl.  Add marshmallows, butter, and white chocolate and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth. 
  • 5) Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
  • 6) Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining two cups of cream until stiff peaks form. 
  • 7) Stir a spoonful of whipped cream into the marshmallow mixture, then fold in the remaining whipped cream.  Transfer to prepared glasses and refrigerate while preparing the frosting.
  • 8) Place egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in a large bowl of an electric stand mixer set over a pan of barely simmering water.  Whisk the mixture until sugar dissolves and it is hot to the touch. 
  • 9) Transfer to mixer and whisk on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Spoon into a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
  • 10) Pipe snowman heads and use mini chocolate chips for eyes and jelly beans for noses.

Movie: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 

“Rarely has a series’ third installment been the equal of its two predecessors, but such is the case with this threequel involving Clark (Chevy Chase), Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), Audrey (Juliette Lewis), and Rusty Griswold’s (Johnny Galecki) mishap-besieged family get-together,” courtesy of esquire.com

Craft: Tea Light Snowman Ornaments

• Supplies:
  • Battery operated tealights
  • Black Sharpie
  • Red ribbon 
  • Red pipe cleaners
  • Red pom poms
  • Black felt
  • Orange Sharpie
  • Glue gun

• Instructions:
  • 1) Cut a piece of red pipe cleaner to approximately two and one-half inches long.
  • 2) Curve it around the tea light and then add a small line of hot glue on both ends to hold it in place.  Do not glue it the entire way in order to be able to slide the ribbon under the pipe cleaner later.
  • 3) Add a generous dab of hot glue where the ears would be and add the pom poms.
  • 4) Cut out a piece of ribbon to be approximately four and one-half inches long.  Then, cross it over itself. 
  • 5) Add a small line of glue to the back of the “scarf.”
  • 6) And then glue it to the back of the tealight.  The scarf should naturally pop back to the position shown below without adding more glue.
  • 7) Cut a piece of the thinner red ribbon to be approximately 11 inches long and then slide it under the pipe cleaner.
  • 8) Then tie a tiny knot in the ribbon to keep it together.
  • 9) As the tea light flame is white when it is turned off, color it orange with a marker to make it look like a carrot, even when the tea light is turned off.

Memory: Ana Patricio ‘24

“A Christmas memory that I have is how my family gets matching Christmas themed pajamas every year.  This adds up to a collection I have starting from when I was six to now.”

Featured Image by Charlotte Burchetta ’22