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For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa.

The tradition began after a Colorado Springs, Colorado based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special "hotline" included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations "hotline."

The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first "Santa" call on Christmas Eve 1955. Realizing what had happened, Colonel Shoup had his staff check radar data to see if there was any indication of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Indeed there were signs of Santa and children who called were given an update on Santa’s position. Thus, the tradition was born.

NORAD carried out its first Santa tracking in 1958 after inheriting the tradition from CONAD. Since that time, Canadian and American men and women who work at NORAD have responded to phone calls from children personally. Last year the NORAD Santa tracking website was visited by millions of people who wanted to know Santa’s whereabouts.

Checking NORADSanta.org has become a family tradition for us. The kids love it, and each year they add more features to the sight including printables, puzzles, celebrity interviews, and facts about Santa.

A new tradition I’d like to introduce this year is the one of the small, white envelope. This has been going around the internet and you may have had it emailed to you. I learned about it in my women’s networking group, but it originally appeared in Woman’s Day magazine in the 12/14/82 issue.

I’m doing it to show the kids Christmas is about GIVING and not receiving. This year, Nathan and Lucie are obsessed with what they going to get, and have be oblivious to what they have given (basically nothing, since we do all their shopping for them).

I plan to list all the ways our family has given this year, from donating used toys and clothes, to volunteering, to giving money to causes we believe it.

What are your Christmas family traditions?

Technorati tags: traditions, Christmas, NORAD, Santa, white envelope

Borders has just announced the title of the seventh - and last - Harry Potter book - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Go to the Border’s website to sign up so you can be notified when the book is ready to order online. There is no release date yet.

See the annoucement on the Scholastic website.

Technorati tags: children’s books, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling

Planning the Christmas feast has been challenging this year. I was going to make a beef tenderloin, but when I noticed the sad looking cuts at the store were $9.99 per pound, I opted for lamb. I’ll be making the Grouse Mountain Grill Salt-Crusted Leg of Lamb with Mint-Garlic Relish that was featured in The Denver Post last Easter. I’ve made it before and it’s delicious. And at $3.99 a pound, a bargain.

I’ll be serving the lamb with roasted brussel sprouts, the Jolly Green Giant’s peas with butter sauce (it’s a favorite of my husband’s), and mash potatoes with garlic.

Dessert planning has also been a challenge. First, Nana is visiting, and she has a gluten allergy. Then Lucie has her egg/soy/nut allergies. Combining them all is just impossible and I really don’t want to make two desserts, not knowing if any of the people with no allergies will eat them. So I started searching and came upon all kinds of recipes for baked apples at AllRecipes.com. I especially liked this one since it reminds me of a dish we had at a friend’s house for Thanksgiving.

Baked Apples with Sweet Potato Stuffing
Submitted by: Beverly
Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1. 6 baking apples - peeled and cored
2. 1/2 cup cinnamon red hot candies (yes, really!)
3. 1 cup water
4. 1 (29 ounce) can sweet potatoes, drained
5. 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
6. 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
7. 1/4 cup chopped pecans (I’ll skip these since Lucie can’t have tree nuts)
8. 6 large marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large pot over medium heat, combine the candies and water. Stir until candies are dissolved.
3. Add the apples and baste frequently until apples begin to soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Mix together the sweet potatoes, brown sugar, pineapple and pecans.
5. Stuff the cooled apples with the sweet potato mixture. Mound any remaining mixture on top of apples.
6. Place in 4 quart casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes; place a marshmallow on each apple, return to oven and cook until marshmallows are golden brown.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2005 Allrecipes.com. Picture courtesy of Diana’s Desserts - check out her recipe for Baked Apples Marsala.

And finally, another Christmas story I’d like to recommend, Yoon and the Christmas Mitten about a young Korean girl recently arrived in America. As Yoon’s first Christmas approaches, her teacher lends her a book about Santa Claus. Yoon can’t wait to show it to her parents. To her disappointment her mother responds, “We are not a Christmas family.”

As Christmas Eve approaches, Yoon learns more and more about this exciting holiday. But no matter how hard she tries to convince her parents to celebrate Christmas, they always say no. A determined Yoon soon realizes that she must use her own “Shining Wisdom” to persuade her parents that they can indeed be a Christmas family. For ages four to eight.

Technorati tags: children’s books, Christmas, recipes, food

Hello from Colorado. We’re in the middle of a blizzard warning, and already have 4 inches of snow with a foot or two more to come. So I hope to get this out before the power goes out. We’re staying home today, but it’s so bad that our dentist in Boulder called to cancel tomorrow’s appointment.

First a few safety tips. While it’s still light out and your power is still on, gather up your flashlights, portable radios and batteries. Charge up the portable DVD player and your iPod. Start recharging all your camera AA batteries, too. You may need them for your radio. If you have one of those gas fireplaces that are turned on by a switch on the wall, turn it on now. It won’t fire up if the electrical isn’t working. Get all the extra blankets and sleeping bags out of the basement, too, while you can still see around.

Then start cooking! Here’s what I made last night. I’m thinking of putting it back in the crock pot to heat up, otherwise we’ll be eating it cold by candlelight.

Sausage, Sauerkraut and Apple Crock Pot Meal
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 pounds kielbasa, regular or low fat turkey kielbasa, cut into 3-inch lengths
2. 2 bags (16 ounces each) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
3. 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut crosswise into rings
4. 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced and into rings
5. 1 2/3 cup chicken broth
6. 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, optional
7. 8 medium red potatoes, (about 3 lbs.), peeled and quartered

Directions:

1. Place half of the kielbasa in an electric slow cooker; top with sauerkraut, remaining sausage, apple slices, and onion rings.
2. Pour broth over mixture, and sprinkle with caraway seeds.
3. Cover with lid, and cook on high-heat setting for 4 hours or until apples and onions are tender.
4. Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Finally, some good books to read by flashlight:

Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa - I picked this up at the last Scholastic Book Fair because it’s illustrated by Betsy Lewin who also did Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. For kindergarteners through second graders, this easy chapter book is about Kate, a "cowgirl from the boots up," and Cocoa her smart alecky but adorable horse.

A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee - If your camping out in front of the fireplace, why not read a camping story about Mr. Magee and his dog Dee and their adventure with a hungry bear. For ages four to eight.

The Other Dog - By Madeleine L’Engle the author of A Wrinkle in Time. This charming book is perfect to share with your dog (I’m serious) or a sibling of a new baby. And it’s the answer to, "Mom, can you take the baby back to the hospital now?" For ages three to seven.

The Paperboy - This came with the Scholastic Story Time Collection. A paperboy and his dog enjoy the quiet of the early morning as they go about their rounds.

Technorati tags: children’s books, Christmas, recipes, crock pot, snow