Monthly Archives: December 2010

Is it time? Is he here yet? Even NORAD’s excited!

Track the Jolly Old Elf.

Check if you’re on the Naughty or Nice list.

We know you’ve been good. Have a safe and joyous day.

Don’t forget to leave out some cookies for Santa.

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The holidays mean family, friends, and food. So many festive traditions are centered around preparing and eating food, which makes sense – the word origin of “fest” words (festival, festive) means to feast, as opposed to fast, on a religious holiday. One whiff of molasses cookies and I’m instantly five again, impatiently waiting for them to be cool enough to frost, and doing a little quality control testing to make sure they’re good enough for Santa. Coincidence that Santa and my father liked the same cookies best? I suspect not…

There are holiday sites online galore to help you with your own feast. Here are just a few fun sites and recipes to get in you a jolly holiday mood.

PepperKnit shows you how to make the cool cake stencils pictured at the top, and provides the cake recipes, too!

Simply Recipes has been featuring festive foods lately, including spritz cookies, cinnamon snap cookies, gingerbread cake, and Swedish meatballs (heck, a girl’s gotta have a little protein with all that sugar).

Hanukkah may have already passed this year, but I’ll eat potato pancakes any day. Or macaroons. Mmmmm, macaroons.

What food do you need to make it a holiday? Would it not be Christmas without a Buche du Noel or oyster stew or fruitcake? Why do we eat gingerbread houses? And Halloween really has nothing on Christmas when it comes to candy, probably because a lot of it is homemade.

I think I need to add another pound of butter to my grocery list.

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Although you might be focused on wrapping gifts and selecting a tasty bubbly for New Year’s Eve, tax time is right around the corner. Bah, humbug!

As you may (or may not) have heard, the IRS is not mailing taxpayers tax packets anymore.

While the Library will stock the basic forms and instructions we’ve provided in the past, and we can help you with printing out online forms, you might still prefer publications or instructions to be mailed to your door. Remember, some three part forms (like 1099s) cannot be printed or copied from reproducible forms at the Library.

Call 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) and the IRS will send you forms by mail. You may request up to 10 different forms/publications per call. Call early to avoid long waits “on hold” and to ensure that you receive your forms in a timely manner. You may also order forms online.

If you prefer to get help in-person, you may pick up forms, make payments, and get basic assistance with forms at a Tax Payer Assistance Center. The closest center to us is in Downers Grove.

We’re anticipating lots of people coming to the Library for forms and instructions. Be kind to your fellow taxpayers, and the planet, and bring back unmarked instructions so that someone else may use them. You know – borrow and return. Like a library…

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