Five Fandom Friday: Holiday Recommendations or Traditions

Image courtesy Darling Stewie

So I guess 5 Fandom Friday is back? Anyway, this prompt is way more interesting than the OG Friday 5, so I'm rolling with this one: 5 Holiday Recommendations or Traditions!

1. Saffron

Image courtesy Brandon W. Mosley

This is a Very Swedish winter thing, but . . . saffron. Between Persian friends and Swedish holiday traditions, I've had more saffron in the last three years than I've had in my entire life. All during advent (but especially on St. Lucia day, December 13) there are seasonal saffron and rice pastries available in convenience stores and grocery store bakeries all over. You also have it in rice porridge for breakfast around Christmas proper. The best part, IMO, are the fresh saffron cookies our store's bakery sometimes puts out.


2. MST3K and RiffTrax

This happened. With a young Pia Zadora (not pictured). What a time to be alive, 1964.

There's Santa Claus, Santa Claus and the Ice Cream Bunny, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Santa's Village of Madness (not the original title) . . . so many bad Christmas movies to watch! And people keep making more, too. Good movies are good, but bad movies are great.


3. All the goddamn cookies

Just. All of them. Lawyer Mom makes these bomb-ass cookies stuffed with Andes mints. This isn't quite the recipe she follows, but it looks close enough. You're welcome.


4. Glögg

Image courtesy Brian Lary

Or mulled wine. Whatever you want to call it. DELISH.



5. The Big Lebowski

I don't know why, but at some point I started watching The Big Lebowski on New Year's Eve and then just . . . kept doing it. (Except the years I went to see the Guy Richie Sherlock Holmes movies in theaters.) I think there is something about The Dude's unflappable chill that helps me prepare for another year. And I'm going to need a lot of chill to make it through 2017 without having a freaking heart attack.


What holiday traditions do you follow? Let me know, and have a good one!