The presents are nice, but give me something I can snack on and I’m a happy camper.  As I’ve gotten older I’ve started the tradition of scaling back my food consumption and increasing my workout schedule starting in October.  Why you may ask…so I can treat myself a little bit in December.  Notice I didn’t say in November, I save my feasting for December.  Cakes, pies, cookies, candy, haystacks and all the other holiday goodies.  Yes, I’ve adjusted my eating habits so I can fully taste the spirit of the holidays.  I decided long ago I didn’t like the New Years resolution membership to the gym, so my compromise is  to hit the workout early, push away from the table and wait for December.  In December all bets are off, if we have Christmas treats I WILL enjoy them, or at lease I’ll give them a try.

So that brings us to favorites, my tastes are simple: haystacks, stickies and warm pumpkin bread.  Ok, I’m a REALTOR not a chef and I don’t play one on TV;  I’m not going to start sending out recipes.  Haystacks are a combination of chow main noodles with butterscotch.  That’s all I know other than I’m the only one at my house that likes them.  I also enjoy warm pumpkin bread with walnuts in them, yum.  Now stickies has many, many different names that I’m not going to go into, but this treat IS my fondest Christmas memory as a child and I bet if you ask my sister she will tell you the same.  My mother would take the left over pie dough, add butter and brown sugar and bake in the oven.  At least that’s how I remember it…I could be wrong, all I know is that I really loved eating them and they were made out of the scraps.  Now don’t get me wrong if their are miniature pecan pies or big ones I’m going to have to have a slice, along with the chocolate pie and a cookie or two.  What you won’t see me sampling is the coconut or the lemon.  And during Christmas the desserts smell as good as they taste.

My REALTOR Perspective:  A fresh smelling home beats a perfumed sprayed home any day.  As a professional REALTOR I have shown many homes that have gone over the top when it comes to making their home smell good.  A little home maintenance while your living in your home will lessen the amount of smell damage control you’ll have to do later.  Here are some basics, smoking in your home may be convenient and comfortable, but a buyer my not have the same love for smoking that you do.  Smoke is difficult to remove from the carpet, wall paper, drywall and A/C ducts.  If you smoke in your home you will want to repaint with a sealant to keep the smoke smell from resurfacing and have the carpet and a/c ducts professional cleaned.  Other basics include pet.  All pets no matter how small or how cute..they all have a unique smell just like you do.  The difference is that most people are used to the smell of people, but they might not be used to the smell of ferrets, cats, birds, rabbits, dogs, etc.  A solid cleaning will also help with your furry children.  If you’ve been told that you house smells damp you need to get to the bottom of that and fast; buyers associate a damp smell with mold.  Now we all know that your home probably doesn’t have or hasn’t had a mold problem, but that doesn’t matter to a potential buyer.  You’ve seen in the movies the REALTOR telling the client to bake a batch of cookies and leave them out for the potential clients.  Here’s some do’s and don’t….don’t use anything with nuts, or peanut butter, most people don’t appreciate the smell of burnt nuts or peanut butter.  Chocolate chip is the one and only way to go.  Unless you have the time or resources to cook EVERY time you have a showing, I would reserve it for a second showing or Saturdays.   As far as leaving them out…..take them with you as you leave and enjoy while you wait for them to bring you an offer.  MMMM a fresh baked smell….smells like home, smells like Christmas and happy childhood memories…and….

What’s your favorite Christmas dessert?

Live Life to the Fullest, S.C.