By Jim Schuh

Last year about this time, I spent a few moments recollecting my Christmases past – including fruit cake.

I don’t hear much about fruit cakes these days, and without running around to the all bakeries in town, I suspect they’re still around.  I haven’t tasted fruit cake in several years.

The late Johnny Carson made fruit cakes a perennial joke, claiming that they could last for years, and folks who presented them as gifts may have received them the year before and stored them away for re-gifting the following year.  That may have led some to turn up their noses at the weighty delicacy laden with candied pineapple, cherries, raisins and nuts (and alcohol in some), but there still may be a few who relish them.  Many young people today have never tasted fruit cake.

But I’m one who likes them.  For several years, my uncle and aunt re-gifted molasses fruitcakes to me as a joke.  What they didn’t know was that I liked them and made sure to complain about the gift every year to assure they’d give me another one the next year.

I checked online for fruit cake vendors and sure enough, plenty of firms still sell them.  I remember my mom being especially fond of Claxton fruit cakes.  They’re rectangular, although most fruit cakes are round with a hole in the center.  The Claxton Bakery in Claxton, Georgia has been selling fruitcakes for 108-years.  As you might suspect, Georgia pecans are an integral part of their fruitcakes.  They’re usually available around here.

Claxton isn’t shy about touting itself as having “a worldwide reputation for quality and value” over generations.  The company says: “Claxton Fruit Cake…Simply the Best.”  The folks at Claxton also wants you to know they’re not stingy with the ingredients – “All our cakes contain an abundance of raisins, cherries, almonds, candied pineapple, walnuts, pecans, candied orange and lemon peel, and just enough rich pound cake batter to hold it all together.”  As a matter of fact, most fruit cakes are heavy on fruit and light on cake.  How can anyone resist such a yummy snack?

Several other fruit cake bakers sell their products online, many of whom you’ve heard of.  They include Harry and David, Williams-Sonoma, the Collin Street Bakery, the Vermont Country Store, Cabela’s and Swiss Colony in Monroe, Wisconsin.  Swiss Colony also claims to produce the finest fruit cakes.

You’ll also find some baked by the Trappist Abbey monks in Oregon, by monks in Missouri and monks in Kentucky who use bourbon in their recipe.  Fruit cakes come in several varieties, some with rum as an ingredient, but they’re not inexpensive.  I found a few selling for $65 and $70, although most aren’t that high.

To save a few bucks, you can make your own.  You can find recipes online but it’s just easier to buy one.  And don’t worry about having it spoil – it’ll last a long time!

One other note – when I told a friend I was writing about fruit cake, he offered a theory that in a thousand years, when archaeologists are sifting through our landfills, they’ll come upon a fruit cake, fully intact and ready to eat!

If you enjoy alcoholic holiday beverages, indulge yourself, but with restraint.

A holiday favorite you can make at home is eggnog.  It’s a concoction I enjoy as well.

But a drink of thick, tasty eggnog can contain plenty of calories, including lots of sugar.  Consumer Reports one serving of eggnog is probably smaller than most people think – just like a serving of breakfast cereal.

You can make eggnog at home, and recipes often suggest using lower-calorie substitutes.

Another winter drink that warms you up is the Tom and Jerry.  We’ve made them with pre-made batter, rum or whiskey and hot water.  But they’re high in calories, too – so enjoy, but in moderation.

Here’s a neat story.  After learning this past week of the death of a friend he met in his youth in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis telephoned the friend’s son in New Jersey to offer his condolences and prayers.

Imagine getting a phone call from the Vatican under such circumstances.  The son said he recognized the caller and that the pope was very natural and calm.  Once he hung up, the son – a child psychiatrist – said his legs turned to rubber and he started crying.  “It was overwhelming,” he told Zenit, a Vatican news agency.

I don’t want to be Scrooge at Christmastime, but just like we, you’re probably inundated with pleas from every known charity for money these days.  More than half my mail contains requests for contributions.  The most annoying are those we’ve just donated to who are asking for money again and those that include coins in their mail piece.  That tells me they don’t need my money.

Just multiply that dime glued to a request by several thousand to see how much money these charities are wasting.  Then go to charitynavigator.org to check out the charity – you can see how much the organization is spending on its mission and how much it spends on raising money.  The results might surprise you and could cause you to redirect your giving.  Also, be sure to check out how much the charity is paying its top executives – I’ve done that, and sometimes what I’ve learned has caused me to stop giving to that group.

If you’re seeking worthy organizations to donate to, there are many here in our communities that could use your help.  The money generally stays local and may help your friends and neighbors.

I wish you a Blessed and Joyful Christmas!