The Quails' Gate Sugar Plum Fair

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads

That's always the point that throws me. I've never known a single child who fell asleep on Christmas Eve with a vision of a sugar-plum in their head. In fact, I don't even know what a sugar-plum is. I like sugar, but I'm not a big fan of plums. How do you know if combining the two is a good idea? Googling doesn't seem to help, as a search for images of "sugar plum" brings results ranging from dusted up flowers to a picture of a naked man on a couch.

...I'm pausing for a minute while half my readers finish Googling "sugar plum".

Last weekend though, I had the chance to figure out once and for all just what a sugar-plum is. One of our local wineries was hosting a "Sugar Plum Fair", and although I don't spend a lot of time at wineries, this became a must-do event in our day. In fact, we decided that it should be a family outing, although we did give the kids an out. Anyone who could convince me that they already knew what a sugar-plum was, didn't have to come.

Now while in the past we may have been guilty of taking our kids places we shouldn't have, I would like it on the record that this was their first visit to a winery. As such they were warned that, since wineries were places for grown-ups, they were expected to be on their best behavior. They would not be allowed to conduct the carol singers...

  

...They had to keep their hands to themselves...

...There was to be no running....

...and under no circumstances was anybody to take over the live radio broadcast...

If everybody just sat quietly and didn't make fun of Daddy...

...then we'd each be allowed to choose one small thing to take home with us...

Sadly though, even though everyone earned a souvenir, the one thing we couldn't find, was a sugar-plum. We found gingerbread, candy canes, apple cider, and a whole lot of these hanging around...

...but not a single sugar-plum anywhere we looked. While it was a little disappointing to be going home without having a clear answer as to what a sugar-plum was, the day itself had to be considered a great success. We spent the day in a beautiful vineyard, had free food and drink all day long, and the scenery....I mean, there couldn't possibly be anything more compelling than the views from this vineyard could there?

Stupid Angry Birds

Written by Steve Pratt