That’s right – it’s time to dim the lights and curl up by the fireplace, with the calm snowfall of another winter’s night gently cascading across the view of the nearby picture window while all remain cozy and warm from the glow of the crackling fire.  Twinkling Christmas lights illuminate the room in a myriad of festive colors as they surround the tree covered with ornaments highlighting memories of yesterday and beyond.  As Johnny Mathis drifts into another enchanting harmony of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, it becomes apparent that this peaceful holiday moment needs but one final touch to be absolutely perfect.

Snacks.

And of course, when it comes to holiday snacking there’s really only one option worthy of such classic Christmastime consumption.  No, I’m not talking about Grandma’s famous Whiskey Snaps or those Holiday Peeps that are kinda neat on account of being shaped like snowmen and gingerbread men and Christmas trees, but still not nearly neat enough to actually ingest.  I’m talking about a treat so grand that it takes not one, not two, BUT THREE different cereal components to create!  That’s right, what we’re talking about here is the Voltron of the snack food industry, and it all starts with three simple boxes of Chex cereal…

Rice, wheat, and corn varieties … just toss ‘em together with a liberal dose of worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powders, some seasoned salt, and plenty of melted butter, and before you know it your entire holiday abode will be inundated with the pure essence of awesomeness … and it gets even better after you bake it!  Sure, you could just buy a bag from the potato chip aisle of your local grocery store, but honestly, those bags should really only be relied upon during road trips or when emergency snacking situations present themselves.  We’re talking Christmas here, so if you’ve got time to hang mistletoe and string up popcorn to decorate the tree, you’ve most certainly got time to crank out a batch or two of Chex Mix the way it was originally intended to be enjoyed!

* Well, originally intended minus those boring peanuts and pretzels and bagel chips, if you’re anything like me!  Call me a purist, but as far as I’m concerned all of that additional miscellaneous nonsense just gets in the way of what Chex Mix is really all about – the cereal.

Give it as a gift to one particularly lucky individual on your list, bring it into the office to make your workday infinitely more jolly, or even just hoard it all for yourself and couple it with eggnog and gingerbread to sustain yourself through the entire holiday season altogether – while its uses are seemingly endless, its flavor always rings nothing short of delicious. It truly is the perfect holiday snack, even though it certainly didn’t set out to be anything of the sort.  I think the fine folks at the General Mills Research and Development Snackatorium just wanted to create a nice, quality snack that people could enjoy with their families during reruns of A Charlie Brown Christmas.  They never intended to change the world by introducing us to the last snack food we would ever need, but of course, that – my friends – is how legends are born…

From my serenely-scented kitchen to yours, I sincerely hope you take this week’s column to heart as you go about your holiday happenings and keep a fresh bowl of Chex Mix handy during all of your celebrations.  May your days be merry and bright, and may all of your snacking opportunities this holiday season be awesome.