Oh my Darling Clementine!

Who doesn't like a Christmas Stocking? Finding small, individual treats to pop inside is the essence of giving. Waking up and groping for the lumpy bumpy stocking at the end of the bed is the joy of receiving. I'm in my fifties and my husband and I still do stockings for one another. My grown up children say it's still the most exciting part of Christmas Day. The anticipation and the pure selfish decadence is a wonderful start to the day.

One item guaranteed to be there is an orange (tangerine, clementine or satsuma). St. Nicholas allegedly threw gold into the homes of poor girls who had no dowry and some of it landed in the stockings hanging to dry. We now put oranges in Christmas stockings to represent that gold. Another story is that during the depression when toys and sweets were unavailable, an orange would provide a sweet, healthy treat.

Either way, we all love a form of orange in our Christmas stockings. It can be a nutritious start to the day, be saved or returned to the fruit bowl, or, made into a festive drink such as a Ginger St. Clement's along with squeezed juice from fresh root ginger, red grapefruit and lemon juice.