When Life Gives You Broken Candy Canes... PDF Print E-mail
Written by Tara Leonard   
When the Christmas tree fell over for the second time, I felt my holiday spirits waning. Yes, in hindsight I might have taken the first collapse a bit more seriously, leading to remedial action. But that first time, as I took in the crumpled tree, wet carpet and shattered ornaments, my thoughts leapt only to gift search and rescue. I scrambled to pull the wrapped presents from an ever-widening puddle of murky water and broken glass while my two eager-to-help dogs munched on broken candy canes, still in their wrappers. Let the holidays begin!
The children and I came to a tacit agreement that somehow the dogs were to blame – surely not the first time they’ve been falsely accused. We mopped, we swept, we hoisted the tree back into place and tightened the screws in the stand. Stepping back to admire our handiwork, I felt calmly efficient and proud for keeping the swearing to a minimum.
And so it goes this time of year, frantic moms doing our best to create warm holiday memories for our families while driving ourselves insane. Between the shopping, cooking, decorating and directing, it's a miracle we don't all keel over like my poor tree. As one friend said when I relayed this story to her later that day, “Presents? You already have presents?!” 
I was in the shower this morning when my 10-year-old daughter stuck her head around the door.
 “Mom, the Christmas tree fell over again.”
 “Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious.”
I took my time rinsing the shampoo out of my hair. There was no rush. Our presents were still drying on the hearth from the previous deluge. That tree wasn’t going anywhere except to exile on the back porch until we could buy a bigger stand. As for the broken candy canes, the dogs only managed to eat a few before I shooed them outside. We were half-way to Peppermint Bark, no pun intended. Like mothers everywhere, I was picking up the pieces and moving on. 
Peppermint Bark
Melt 2 pounds of white chocolate. Meanwhile, place 12 candy canes in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin into small pieces. Stir chopped candy into the melted chocolate and add ½ teaspoon peppermint extract. Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and spread evenly. Chill until firm. Break into pieces and refrigerate until ready to serve.
 
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