Well, this little meme is making the rounds, and for good reason.
I finally dug myself out from under a pile of work Friday and got to the supermarket Saturday. No, they were not playing carols over the PA system yet -- I seem to get there during Greatest Hits of the '80s Hour most of the time -- but the dairy aisle was a different story. Put on your crash helmet, kiddo, 'cause this will shake your noggin:
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| Wall of Mandatory Cheer |
Half a cooler full of egg nog, on October 14.
I have nothing against egg nog. I like it. I used to buy a quart every yuletide for olde tyme's sayke, but then I looked at the calorie count. I don't like it enough to undo months of avoiding sugar for one glass of egg nog. Eight ounces has about 340 calories. That's about the same as a vanilla milkshake, and I'd much rather have the milkshake if I'm going to splurge.
I'm quite impressed, though, at the choices. Some have booze, some don't, but just the fact that there are ten choices in this photo alone boggles my mind. When I was a kid there'd be one choice -- your local dairy would put out an egg nog, plus maybe a larger dairy like Borden, and you wouldn't see it until a week before Thanksgiving. It'd be gone by January 5. If you wanted liquor, you had to add it yourself.
Anyway, it's just another sign that the Xmas Blob as we celebrate it is creeping up over Halloween, having completely swallowed Thanksgiving. It's one thing to live like the reformed Scrooge, to "honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." It's another to whip out the egg nog halfway through October.
But all is not lost! We certainly still have displays with SPOOKtacular Halloween deals, and things like this:
Yes, Campbell's Pepperidge Farm label made a deal with Dunkin' Donuts to make pumpkin-spice-doughnut-flavored graham-cracker Goldfish. My wife wanted to try them, so I had to relax the standards a little for the duration. Besides, graham crackers are health food, right?
Verdict: Really good. Sweet but not too sweet, like Dunkin's non-iced doughnuts. And very fall-forward.
Back off, egg nog! There are still leaves on the trees!
So many choices, all of them mediocre. Why, in my day, we had to go out and catch the cow that we got eggnog from...
ReplyDeleteI never developed a taste for eggnog. Especially after discovering Scotch! And after going to Scotland, I like about 73 varieties.
ReplyDeleteChristmas music. "Silent Night" - say no more!
I love eggnog, but like you, won't buy more than maybe one quart a year because it's just so full of sugar. Homemade is slightly more healthy, but I don't drink much of that either mostly because of the uncooked egg aspect.
ReplyDelete