https://preview.redd.it/qovahclvmt8g1.jpeg?width=920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e570f7604e58daaf1a7dcebc873cd5c25f45c5aa
I bought a guy just like this at a thrift store for just such an occasion!
Our oldest got my spouse a vintage set with a bowl, nutcracker, and those little picks for getting stubborn bits of nuts out of their shells. I was with when they spotted it at an antique store and we started joking that it wasn’t Christmas until dad put his nuts out as a snack. It’s a prized possession now and sits out on our bar year round.
OMG my grandma, too!!! She would take SUCH delight in saying it. Glad to know our family isn't the only one confronted with gleeful, unabashed racism on Christmas.
There was a line of books called “Truly Tasteless Jokes” back in the 80’s. The chapters were sectioned out to blocks like blonde, Mexican, black, polish etc, and most of them were pretty crass. “What’s the first thing a blonde does when she wakes up on the morning? Goes home.” Those types. That book was a constant “get out of jail free” card for my mom using slurs. I was 9, so the only jokes she told out that book were the ones that didn’t have swear words, but lots of them were just racial jokes. I think those types of whispered jokes and the Brazil nuts are perfect examples of how genx through millennials needed to evolve with the times. Both were completely normalized at the time.
I love mine :) Apparently it’s a Scandinavian thing, my grandmother always had one and I remember the first time I saw one in a “old timey” Christmas shop and I got hit w such nostalgia!
Also…
Oh, Mrs. Gellar…*why you cry?*
I just picked up the spiced gumdrops at the hardware store today but I forgot about the tree. THAT'S why we bought em! My family was just like these are the grossest things lol. I couldn't remember why I'm the world this seemed like a holiday specialty, thank you!
Those were my favourite! (Though I didn’t enjoy the part where my grandmother would ask for them, loudly, at the grocery store.) Are they really no longer included in the mix?
Several years ago, I heard an older guy at the store talking about Brazil nuts and commented, "Back in my day, we called them.......... toes." Lol I was proud of him for catching himself before saying the full old name for them 😂
As soon as I saw this I wondered how widespread that was. I’m so glad my parents told my grandparents in no uncertain terms that if they used such words - in any context - around us they wouldn’t be seeing us, and my grandparents loved us more than using slurs.
My grandma was from the South and couldn't wait to break out the Brazil Nuts at Christmas so that she could tell us what they called them "back home". 😒
I was at a Christmas party and a young girl who learned the names of nuts from her grandfather asked an older black grandmother for one. Using the slang name.
She got so embarrassed, and was apologizing profusely. When the grandmother handed her some, she said "don't worry child, I call them the same thing. Just don't crack the ones on the floor."
The entire room burst out laughing.
We kept the nuts in this. As soon as this came down from the attic it was Christmas time.
https://preview.redd.it/z89c7fdclt8g1.png?width=810&format=png&auto=webp&s=6e6d5c06b44f5f6283ee80662febefb27e61124c
Oh damn, I forgot all about this thing! My grandparents had one back in the early 80s they’d bring out for Christmas. Along with the ceramic tree. That tree is one of the things I wish my mom had kept, but most of my grandparents cool old stuff, including a bunch of mid century furniture and mercury glass, got sold for practically nothing in a yard sale after my grandpa died.
https://preview.redd.it/nw5br3huiu8g1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed8dd2da1c59287b0a789a07c9e3302d267105fd
yep my mum and her useless brother have talked my grandad into "everything gets sold and the proceeds divided between them and their other dead brother's kids" vs leaving someone the house, I know this has happened as my gran dropped way too many hints before the dementia hit. I was asked to be the executor of the will but I demurred for time to think and reset relations between him and my mum (big mistake) - like a week later I call him to say "ok I can do this executor thing" and get the reply "Your mum and uncle are sorting it, the lawyer said its the law that it has to be them" (the lawyer you got from the back of the newspaper??? - ugh)
Recently "well I have 14 grandkids and if I make provision for one I'd have to do it for everyone of them" - which very much sounds like my mum's way of thinking.
(I did a fuck ton for my grandparents over the decades, never ever took anything **willingly** in return (my gran was adamant I would take something as "I'd have to pay someone to do it and it might as well be you" and then telling my grandad to make sure I take something and to let the moths out of his wallet), yet my mum was ALWAYS "Don't you dare take advantage of them, they're just poor pensioners" - like I ever did or would?? To the point my grandad said "Its not like any of the rest of them have ever done anything for me and your gran willingly or otherwise" and my gran even after the dementia hit "you'll get what's rightfully yours one day" - So I'm kinda pissed as I KNOW my mum, her golddigger brother and my Xtian fundy cult member cousin have been at work playing "games")
There’s a ceramicist on Instagram that repurposes vintage molds - this was one of them for Christmas she made!
Go look up sunroom_ceramics on Instagram, maybe get yourself a Christmas present for the years to come!
Oh wow! This picture unlocked a memory for me and I messaged it to my mom to confirm that we had one. She said it was a ceramics class project she did in the late 70s! Greenware that the students sanded, painted, and kiln-fired, and then added lights to and wired up. I had no idea. Thanks for posting the picture!
Yes! I've reintroduced this tradition at my own house a few years ago too. I always kept them out on the sofa table so that we can crack nuts as we watch TV. Until this year when my dog suddenly decided to become a squirrel and cracked open 10+ hazelnuts overnight to eat them. Now I gotta keep them on the counter.
https://preview.redd.it/p57xmircot8g1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62da45356ee121245ba5557ea056b00c5d6ec28c
Yep, plus peanut brittle, and these weird green cherries, and other weird stuff my Grandma would buy for the holidays from the Hickory Farms Catalog.
SO sticky. Grandma made a spice cookie that was decorated with little pieces of red and green cherries on either side of a quarter of pecan. Guess who spent hours with sticky fingers putting the finishing touches on those suckers?
I still like a fiddly bake.
That was a completely useless instrument for a 5-year old, but was the only one we had. I held the hazelnut in my left hand, nutcracker in the right and used my knees to apply force. Still remember how it felt.
Yep, and so much so that I go hunting early in supermarkets to try and find bags of pecans and walnuts in the shell.
I usually do find them (seperate bags for each type ) because usually the bags that are variety mix are all filler and no killer (short on walnuts and pecans usually and heavy on almond).
Got a kick ass nut cracker on Amazon this year too it was a few bucks and looks like that torture device that is the shape of a human and inside there's just nails.
Kinda the same thing, but for hard shell nuts. And I wish I had found it so long ago.
Makes me feel like my grandpa because he LOVED having these around during the holidays but he cracked them all just bare handed. Hed grab 2 of the same kind and squeeze and one would crack.
Pretty soon ill tell em to turn down the TV and yell at the kids on my lawn 🤣
Mum always used to get us these Darrell Lea Nougat Christmas puddings. They were amazeballs! Then she stopped getting them several years ago because they were ‘too expensive’.
https://preview.redd.it/5ea9ziyp5x8g1.jpeg?width=192&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d41e70b46c54cdd5b81c4d13dec8b5ecb1851b0
I happened to notice the pricing when looking for an image to share and they seem to be cheaper than I remember them being over the last several years. Maybe I’ll get lucky this year and Mum will buy me one. It will be even better if she also gets them for my kids and they decide they don’t like them. More for me!
https://preview.redd.it/st6bpr85aw8g1.jpeg?width=580&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b777546c4dac16102c0f15a1c957c87689a7a1c6
Always had a bowl of mints nearby too
Family is Mexican American, and we're from South Texas. I knew we were gearing up for Christmas when a pig's head appeared in the fridge so we could make tamales.
When the family got together, my aunts, mom, grandma and great aunts would spend the afternoon in the kitchen making masa and spreading it on the hojas while myself and my cousins ran around outside doing whatever stupid things kids do.
Does the family celebrate Christmas with the tradition of singing Robert Earle Keen while heading to the QuikPak store to get some tampons and Marlboro Lights?
My mom *always* put out nuts and a cracker for Thanksgiving through Nee Years. She got me a tacky but adorable mid-century nut bowl several years ago that she knew I would love. She’s gone now, so of course I think by of her when I’m buying that obligatory bag of mixed nuts.
I had to replace the cracker and pick set this year, and the classic, cheapest set on amazon fits right in my bowl ☺️
Tell me I'm not the only one who constantly (gently) squeezed their fingertips with that thing. It was an oddly pleasant sensation.
Things being actual metal and having heft to them, God I miss it...
Mt grandparents had two producing pecan trees. So did their across the street neighbors.
The thing about some types of trees is they produce more if they are fertilized by a different cultivar. Between my grandfather and Mr Red they had four varieties of pecan tree all within 200 feet of each other.
You know those brown paper lawn refuse bags? Grandaddy would fill four or five of those a year even after the squirrels ate their fill.
So our sign was when we used variety of nutcrackers to shell them, and Mimi would make fried pecans.
I was in the backyard having a toke and chucking some of last years leftover nuts to squirrels like an hour ago, highly recommend
This seasons nuts arrived yesterday, they will also be eaten by squirrels after but display season, most likely
Certain ads for me. The old Folgers ad where Peter the grown son comes home Christmas morning and surprises his family was a favorite of mine for years when I was little.
Funny, I forgot about the nut cracker and pick. As a child, I boiled a snail and used the pick to pull it out of its shell. For the life of me, I can't figure out why my parents let me to it.
He's but ours were in one of those 80's wooden salad bowls
https://preview.redd.it/j8cd0fxq6u8g1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=f5f6cdbf31074931e7f36a6f06ef16d1aed760ff
I still have those crackers in my silverware drawer 😆 they were hard to work as a kid. We also had a matching pick to scrape the stuck nuts from the shell. Almonds were my favorite to crack because of their softer shell. I love eating nuts like this. I think it's good for kids to have this tactile experience and understand more about where their food comes from.
My mom collected nutcrackers. Like the ones shaped like little men with the hinged jaw. She didn’t collect the cheap ones either, she only collected the really nice German made ones.
I was about eight or nine when I decided to try cracking an actual nut with one and promptly broke the Nutcracker. Yes, I had been told they weren’t actually supposed to be used to crack nuts
Yes, OP. This picture conjured memories.
It also made me want to ask: anybody else think pecans taste like *nothing* these days? They used to have their own flavor. "Ah, that's a pecan! I can taste it!"
Not so much these days.
These were at my grandparents’ house. I liked the process of cracking them open way more than I actually liked eating the resulting nuts (especially walnuts 🤮)
Yes. The mixed nuts bowl for sure. My great grandmother's dish of ribbon candy dish is lost to time, but Hawaiian Punch can still be conjured up if needed.
187 Comments
breakfasteveryday@reddit
Brilliant_Addendum56@reddit
Polarbearstein@reddit
theoriginalmofocus@reddit
ViewAskewRob@reddit
Alternative-Wish-441@reddit
NoMoreFilm@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
rdogg_82@reddit
portablebiscuit@reddit
theoriginalmofocus@reddit
drinkslinger1974@reddit
Top-Wolverine-8684@reddit
drinkslinger1974@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
iwantmy-2dollars@reddit
bluemitersaw@reddit
Seicair@reddit
Scrapla1@reddit
Ninja_Conspicuousi@reddit
PickledPixie83@reddit
Usual-Role-9084@reddit
MrsRossGeller@reddit
Usual-Role-9084@reddit
mmeliss39@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
jojocookiedough@reddit
Rough--Employment@reddit
Purple-Chef-5123@reddit
lobaybliss@reddit
jtmann05@reddit
sexwiththebabysitter@reddit
Secular-Flesh@reddit
bitsy88@reddit
Dizzy-Ad1673@reddit
Top-Wolverine-8684@reddit
weedtrek@reddit
unkelrara@reddit
chocki305@reddit
sexwiththebabysitter@reddit
alysli@reddit
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
justec1@reddit
Wonderful_Charity411@reddit
justec1@reddit
Liakada@reddit
Chef-Pants@reddit
Puzzleheaded7683@reddit
BaritoneFlower1949@reddit
OkCriticism9433@reddit
No_Pass8028@reddit
water_bottle1776@reddit
tml212@reddit
water_bottle1776@reddit
portablebiscuit@reddit
lifeat24fps@reddit
TheLakeWitch@reddit
HalfFrozenSpeedos@reddit
cheerful_cynic@reddit
unelune@reddit
BiteyKittenRawwwr@reddit
caramelpupcorn@reddit
impliedapathy@reddit
TinyReader@reddit
ItsDarwinMan82@reddit
Remytron83@reddit
Liakada@reddit
Appropriate-Neck-585@reddit
theladyroy@reddit
Appropriate-Neck-585@reddit
Damnation77@reddit
lirio2u@reddit
NeverEndingCoralMaze@reddit
Elethuir@reddit
freshcreator@reddit
HurriedFirmament9@reddit
KDiggity8@reddit
Chief_Chill@reddit
80cartoonyall@reddit
BrotherCool@reddit
EggsceIlent@reddit
realjimmyjuice000@reddit
Peanut083@reddit
Aggressive-Bit-2335@reddit
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
NoxKyoki@reddit
Suspicious-Refuse219@reddit
somenemophilist@reddit
butterfly_ashley@reddit
sfcameron2015@reddit
CornishShaman@reddit
moxvoxfox@reddit
cherhorowitz44@reddit
SeekingNoTruth@reddit
justec1@reddit
Simple-Pudding4376@reddit
BrewingNerd@reddit
isosparkle@reddit
bootsnfish@reddit
noonelikesyou2@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
theoriginalmofocus@reddit
Regular_Jim081@reddit
rubybean5050@reddit
Beneficial-Sky946@reddit
May_of_Teck@reddit
phuktup3@reddit
drowse@reddit
ThinkFree@reddit
esomers80@reddit
Crazy_crazy_chipmunk@reddit
OSCgal@reddit
Brandywine-Salmon@reddit
bananachow@reddit
EloquentGoose@reddit
dumbass_sempervirens@reddit
mangocalrissian@reddit
janeyschwarz@reddit
Emotional_Bonus_934@reddit
HiaQueu@reddit
FnordRanger_5@reddit
Dog_Baseball@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
Dog_Baseball@reddit
YarnBunny@reddit
Relevant_Owl_8841@reddit
exxiegreed@reddit
lechelle_t@reddit
73-68-70-78-62-73-73@reddit
EmmalouEsq@reddit
adammerkley@reddit
BondG10@reddit
Rough--Employment@reddit
96385@reddit
fyrefly_faerie@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
fyrefly_faerie@reddit
Appropriate-Neck-585@reddit
caramelpupcorn@reddit
plasticbagroadkill@reddit
Puffyfugu8@reddit
bassjam1@reddit
pink_faerie_kitten@reddit
Jadziyah@reddit
themoonhasgone@reddit
ollie81578@reddit
bananachow@reddit
Mrzillydoo@reddit
Cmdr_Monzo@reddit
Simple-Pudding4376@reddit
That1Master@reddit
LemonPartyW0rldTour@reddit
danisse76@reddit
Marsley82@reddit
AbilityDramatic5006@reddit
Bulky_Goat_9624@reddit
enters_and_leaves@reddit
ArtisanalMoonlight@reddit
meeyes77@reddit
Flimsy-Shirt9524@reddit
Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit
NachoNachoDan@reddit
Jamie-81@reddit
WestboundPachyderm@reddit
Hefty_Parsnip_4303@reddit
Ph4ntorn@reddit
PureOrange7049@reddit
Is_This_For_Realz@reddit
RetailBookworm@reddit
SaltBag666@reddit
Switchbladekitten@reddit
bigmacher1980@reddit
someguyfromsk@reddit
bigmacher1980@reddit
Persis-@reddit
pentax10@reddit
Beansie_Wish2182@reddit
ElisabetaDub@reddit
CorgiMonsoon@reddit
PhiloLibrarian@reddit
Natural-Ad-3666@reddit (OP)
InNausetWeTrust@reddit
BabySlothDrivingFast@reddit
wintor9@reddit
proxminesincomplex@reddit
ShesWrappedInPlastic@reddit