One of the hard things for me about cruising is being away from extended family and friends especially at holiday times. We’re used to hordes of people at Thanksgiving, for example, and joyful laughter of seldom-seen family at Christmas. For almost the last 10 years we’ve done New Year’s Eve with our buddies from Osprey, a kid boat we met through some wonderfully serendipitously randomness when we were cruising the Bahamas with our kids from 2009-2010. They settled in Maryland after they were done cruising and we toast the New Year with them as a matter of course (except for COVID year).

Yes, our kids were with us for Christmas this year, which was awesome. But it’s a little different, for sure.

One way we find to help keep the holiday blues away is to focus on traditions - both old and new. Sure, that’s food. It’s also in rituals.

Neither Thanksgiving nor Christmas would be complete without mustard carrots. This simple side dish is made with hardy ingredients, easy enough to make sure we have on hand even if we’re a couple of weeks out from a store. This was one side dish we even had on passage, when we were far from land of any kind.

I’m the cook on board. But at holiday time? Part of the joy is that everyone takes part in the cooking. Whether it’s mashed potatoes (Bee’s specialty) or grilling the pork tenderloin (Jeremy is the BBQ guy) or handing over the mustard carrot creation to Julian (who brought a bit of French flair to the dish we’ve not had before), allowing others to add their touch makes it a true community affair.

Other food traditions?

We’ve done sticky buns on Christmas morning ever since we cruised the first time, when I pulled the recipe from a Sunset Bread cookbook that’s now falling apart from overuse. We’ve tried different versions over the years; this year, I went back to the original. It’s still the best. And though I don’t get up at 3 am to start the dough any longer, having sticky buns as a first course for a late lunch while under sail isn’t a bad new spin on the tradition.

Lights and holiday decorations are definitely part of our family tradition. We’ve got favorite ornaments that get pulled out once a year. Trimming the tree usually involves some Christmas music blasting, maybe a favorite beverage or two. There’s good natured arguing about what piece goes where on the tree. Even though our tree is tiny (it fits under the dodger), it’s got all the essentials.

When we lived in a house, with space for a larger tree, we’d string what felt like acres of lights onto the tree. A few years ago Jeremy found a deal for 300 feet of LED lights on Amazon - and he bought them. We’ve strung those lights at my parents’ house in Vermont. Around the little river house we’ve had use of the past 3 years. And finally, this year, we strung them up in exactly the way we intended when they were purchased - to outline Calypso at anchor. A glorious new tradition that made us smile each night they got plugged in.

Over the years, we’ve caroled sporadically with the kids and other family. This year, on Christmas Eve, we hopped in a dinghy to carol around the anchorage. Julian had brought a full on Santa suit with him, Bee baked a pan of brownies. And our buddies on Happiness, who had come into the anchorage earlier that afternoon and had come over for sundowners aboard, joined us (and drove - their dinghy is a lot bigger!). We hit each boat in the anchorage with heartfelt renditions of ill-remembered classics, and with only one exception all the people (most on crewed charter catamarans) came out to smile and wave and accept brownies. At the very last catamaran, right before getting back to Calypso, we were invited on board and greeted with open arms. It’s a Christmas Eve none of us will ever forget - and a tradition I’m sure we’ll repeat. Now to get my hands on a couple of Santa hats!

Recipes:

Mustard carrots: (enough for 4 with no real leftovers!

1 lb fresh carrots, peeled and cut into sticks (or coins, I suppose, or other shapes you like!)

2 TBS butter

1 TBS brown sugar

1-2 TBS yellow mustard

1. In a saucepan or a skillet, simmer carrots in water until tender but still with texture. Drain carrots (save the water if you like)

2. In same pan, on low heat or even off the heat, melt the butter and then add in the sugar, stirring to melt. Stir in mustard. Taste for sweet/sharp. Add in carrots and toss to combine to make just a glaze on them. 
   

These are easy to make ahead and reheat!

*Julian’s version has a combination of dijon and yellow mustard, plus some half and half or heavy cream and some additional liquid. The carrots are less glazed than in a sauce. It makes a delicious gravy.

Christmas morning sticky buns, a la Sunset Bread cookbook circa 1992 (the newer editions have changed the recipe and it’s not as good!)

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ c sugar

1 tsp salt

1 pkg dry yeast

3 c all purpose flour

1 c buttermilk

3 TBS veg oil

¼ c water

6 TBS butter, melted and cooled

¾ c firmly packed brown sugar

¾ c pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Mix baking soda, white sugar, salt, yeast, and 1 c flour in a large bowl.

2. Heat buttermilk and oil to 110 over med-low heat

3. Add buttermilk mix to flour mix and beat with electric mixer on high speed for 2 minutes

4. Stir in another cup of flour and beat until smooth.

5. Knead in rest of flour and knead until smooth, 8-10 minutes

6. Cover w/plastic wrap and set aside

7. Combine water, 4 TBS of butter, ½ c of brown sugar in small bowl, then distribute evenly into muffin tins. Top evenly with pecans

8. Roll dough out into a 12x15 inch rectangle. Brush with remaining butter, then mix remaining cinnamon and brown sugar together and sprinkle that evenly over the dough.

9. Roll dough up, then cut into 12 pieces.

10. Place each piece into a muffin cup, then let rise for 1.5 hours or until doubled.

11. Bake at 350 until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Invert onto a plate, catching all the luscious dribbles.

12. Will be HOT so allow to cool if you can!