The Owners' Manual | Issue 14 | Fall/Winter 2018

For the past 13 years, my family has taken a trip to Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, MA. When the kids were little, this is where they would stop in to see Santa. On the way back to CT, we shop in Northampton at Thorns and pop into their vintage black and white photo booth. This has become a tradition that started by accident back when the kids were little and has stood the test of time. We had to improvise last year because the booth was “Out of Order” but that didn’t stop us from piling in and taking the photos with the iPhone photobooth app. - Heather Halotek, Meriden

When I was younger, my Oma would bake several huge “Butterstollen”, a German Christmas cake, and give one to my family at Thanksgiving. German tradition is to not eat Stollen until the 1st Sunday of Advent, so we were always eager for that Sunday to arrive After Thanksgiving. I tried Oma’s recipe (sorry, can’t share the family recipe) and it turned out great. A few years ago when my little brother and his family were visiting for Christmas, I asked my niece Ayla-Maria to help me unwrap something very special. That’s about a 5-pound cake in the photo. Ayla at first didn’t seem impressed, probably because she was expecting a toy. But then she stuck her finger in the vanilla sugar coating – after she tasted that she was all smiles! - Peter Schirmer, Meriden