When the weather is so abnormally warm during the holiday season, it's really hard to catch the festive spirit.
But nothing says "happy holidays" like a mouthful of homemade eggnog. Then again, if it's more than a mouthful of eggnog, you probably won't even remember your name, let alone the season.
Really, the only thing you need to bring your Grinch heart back to normal size is a bounty of delicious holiday foods.
In the spirit of the holidays, we've put together a list of foods that make us feel like the holidays are actually upon us, regardless of El Niño.
Here are our favorite holiday foods (in no particular order) that we have to eat every December.
1. Candy canes
Though many people forget that these sweet treats were created to keep kids quiet during church christmas services while teaching them about shepherds and sins, we now associate the minty candy as a decoration for the tree.
Regardless of their confectionary history, it's not Christmas until we buy a box of these delicate canes to devour. Hopefully your box of candy canes came fully in tact, because there's nothing more disappointing than a broken stick.
2. Latkes
To celebrate the miracle of a day's worth of oil lasting eight nights (the eight nights of Hanukkah), the Jewish celebrate by eating foods fried in oil.
Latkes, a potato pancake, are a traditional food that not only serves the purpose of celebrating oil, but is absolutely delicious.
If you're looking for a place in NYC to devour some tasty fried latkes, check here.
3. Eggnog
Though originating in Europe, it only became incredibly popular when it crossed the Atlantic to the British colonies, where dairy products were much more plentiful and available to common-folk. Though, because brandy was heavily taxed, colonists made their eggnog with rum from the Caribbean.
When rum became difficult to acquire due to the Revolutionary War, Americans turned to whiskey. This may explain why that bowl of punch your mom makes from scratch every year has an unusual, and healthy mix of different alcohols.
4. Cookies
Whether your mom was a real Betty Crocker or you just pulled out the tollhouse slice and bake cookies, it's not Christmas without some of the sweet treat to leave out for Santa, a tradition that began in the early 1930s. Before that, cookies and biscuits were used to decorate the trees.
In the modern days, it's pretty common to find decorated holiday cookies throughout the city, but we're pretty partial to those aforementioned tollhouse sugar cookies with the little trees or Santas in the middle... maybe because they taste as good raw as they do baked, but we're obsessed.
5. Gin & Tonics
Ok, this may seem a bit odd, but if you really want to get into the spirit of Christmas, grab yourself a gin and tonic. Why, you may ask? Have you ever smelt gin? It smells as if you're waltzing through a forest of christmas trees as the snow lightly falls onto your face.
Plus, the fact that you're consuming a pretty hefty alcoholic cocktail, you'll definitely be feeling the spirit of giving.
,6. Doughnuts
Remember when we said that Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of lights by consuming oily foods? This one falls into that category. Doughnuts are a tasty, fried treat that you just can't help but enjoy. Especially if it's a sufganiyah.
What is a sufganiyah? It's a round, fried doughnut that is filled with jelly or custard and dusted with powdered sugar. Essentially, all of our dreams come true.
7. Fruit Cake
Fruit cake is a common holiday gift. Traditionally, fruits were an uncommon treat when not in harvest. To preserve them, people would dry them or soak them in alcohol. They would save them to bake into their holiday cakes as a celebration and as an indulgence.
Though many people today may scoff at the giving of fruit cakes, some traditional fruit cakes like German stollen are uncommon and delicious. We think that it's time for fruit cake to have another moment in the spotlight.
8. Ham/Turkey/Roast Beef
Essentially, any large portion of protein is a big culinary tradition. Even Scrooge (post-ghost encounter) purchases the prize turkey to give to the poor Cratchit family, the one with Tiny Tim. Pretty much every other holiday feast represented in holiday stories ends with a celebration around a meat.
Sure, we're not saying that you have to go out and buy a large rump roast to carve up for dinner tonight if you're feeling Grinchy, but it's something that we all have to look forward to come holiday celebrations. Family, friends, and good food.
9. Gingerbread
Let's just come out and differentiate that we're talking about the edible gingerbread cookies, rather than recommending eating those gingerbread houses your friend's kids made while licking their sticky fingers.
Lets leave those as decoration, and eat the head off the gingerbread men.
Because nothing says holiday spirit than decapitating a man-shaped, gum-dropped cookie, right?
Check out 7 Most Unique Holiday Desserts You've Never Heard Of.
[Feature Image Courtesy InspiringSavings]