Now we don’t spend our summers out in the fields jumping after the little buggers to freeze and eat on Christmas, no this is a drink. Though, I think, the later would be a very interesting thing to explain to the neighbors. This is a drink that is made of different liquors and ice cream.
This drink comes two ways A.) Leaded (alcohol, though not very much alcohol at all) B.) Unleaded (no alcohol). When I was very little, my grandma only knew how to make it leaded…so that made for some VERY fun Christmas Day evenings! I was giving just the smallest amount and then I would fall asleep. Then when I reached the age of five, she learned how to make it unleaded, and that was what I was given until I reached 21.
The drink is a very dark bright green when it is Leaded and a very light bright green when it is unleaded, so no tricking anyone into thinking you had one when you really had the other.
This drink has become infamous in my family, and with some of my friends. Ryno comes over for Christmas ever year, and somehow always manages to come in the evening, just in time for a Grasshopper, or two. Da’Da’ has had one, and went back for seconds. Bebe has had one…and I don’t really know his opinion on it, at that point the was pretty full from the meal that is searved all day on Christmas day at my house, so he was probably too full to really enjoy it. My two youngest cousins, on that side, though, make the drink even more special for me ever year.
My oldest youngest cousin, Andrea I remembered drinking all of her unleaded and always asking my grandma for more. My youngest youngest cousin, Andreas sister Karney, also came to love the drink. Every Christmas Day evening the ask over and over and over again whether or not the Grasshoppers were going to be made soon. That seems to do the drink to bring my grandma into action. Once the drinks are done they sprint into the kitchen and grab there unleaded cups and head into the living room holding the cup with both hands, face beaming, teeth showing, and eyes bright and wide staring intently at the drink. The kids (and I) almost always get served first, and we almost always go back for seconds. You could be stuffed and if you ate/drank another morsel your body would combust and you would die a horrible death and I think we all would still have a Grasshopper. You just can’t turn these things down!
Karney, Andrea, and I always sit at the “kiddies” table and watch TV - usually a cartoon Christmas special - and tell stories and jokes while the “adults” are sitting in the dinning room talking about “adult” things. We laugh and talk and drink our drinks. In about the time it takes for you to get a brain freeze, are drinks are down and we are ready to go back for more.
This to me makes Christmas officially awesome. It is this truly bonding experience of us having our families traditional drink, getting a brain freeze at the exact same time together, and talking about goofy things that have no relevant meaning to life other then we think it is awesome and funny. It helps make our family stronger and brings us together every year. It makes the whole day of traveling, stressing about whether or not someone is going to like your gift that you got them, the weather conditions, etc…all fade away into things not important and puts the things that are important like family and friends totally in perspective.
I am so happy my family hasn’t gotten rid of this tradition, I know if it ever came to that, I would step in and make it…but then again that might not turn out well…we all know how well I do in the kitchen. So if it ever does come to that, I know with the love this drink has brought to my family and friends at least my cousins, and probably Ryno, would be there to help me not ruin the drink that year and still continue on with it.
