It wouldn’t be the holiday season here without this ‘Nectar of the Gods’. This eggnog is the request we receive most from our friends and neighbors. Every year, we make up huge batches of this deliciousness. We fill crates with bottles of this holiday cheer – and my husband begins his annual deliveries. This beverage actually saved Christmas for us one year.
It was 1991. We were living in a trailer while building the homestead. We had stored nearly all of our earthly possessions in a storage unit – including our carefully selected Christmas gifts. On Christmas Eve day, I reminded my husband that he needed to stealthily retrieve Christmas from the Storage Unit before they closed that afternoon. Dutifully, he went to the locker and packed gifts into the trunk of the car. It wasn’t until very late on that night (Christmas Eve) – as I was wrapping packages and getting ready to put gifts under the tree that I discovered that he had only brought home the gifts for our youngest child. My state was an awful mix of being horrified, angry, and desperate! There was absolutely nothing for our oldest child – Miss Christmas herself! It was 10:30 at night. The stores were all closed. There was not one gift for Miss Christmas. . . . It took me a few minutes to collect myself. . . and then, I calmly told my husband – “I don’t care how you do it – but you will get into that storage unit. You will get her gifts. You will do it tonight. . . . and if you get arrested, you will spend the night just where you deserve to be! Do not return without those gifts!” 
I poured a quart of this magic elixir into a Mason jar, and handed it to him with the instructions not to return without Christmas. . . . I told him that I didn’t care how he used the eggnog – but suggested that it just might be the only thing that would keep him out of jail.
He was gone for a very long time. I kept expecting a call from the county jail. It was just about midnight that he pulled up. He had retrieved Christmas. This was his story:
He arrived at the storage facility – only to find it locked up tight. The only sign of life was a very large guard dog. And then he spied it. . . . a light coming from underneath a nearly closed pull-down door. He could hear someone moving around inside. With some effort, he managed to get the attention of the occupant – the manager of the facility – who was busy assembling Christmas for his children. My husband explained his plight, offered the eggnog, and gained entrance. He loaded the ‘sleigh’, thanked the manager – and returned home victorious. Christmas had been saved.
Weeks later, I was at the storage unit and the manager came to talk to me at our unit. He told me that the eggnog was the best he had ever tasted – and that I would always have entry to the facility – any time – night or day – as long as I had eggnog with me. The eggnog had saved Christmas!
This has been so coveted, that I recently found out that one of my dear friends had no idea that eggnog had been delivered to her home, year after year. It turns out that her husband had secreted the treasure away to his workout room refrigerator. She, an eggnog lover, had no idea that she had been missing out on it. Another family reported that their dad had proclaimed that the eggnog was his – allowing them only tiny sips. We solved these problems by delivering family bottles and a ‘private reserve’ for the ‘head’ of the household.
Although the containers that the eggnog is delivered in are part of the gift, one friend, in particular, would return the container – with a request for a refill in the coming years. This year, sadly, the one who religiously returned the container – and one who loved this eggnog – was taken from us very unexpectedly. This will be his family’s first Christmas without him. I pray for his family. For strength in their sadness, and joy in the ultimate gift of Christmas. . . our Savior. The oldest son of this family, who is like a second son to us, has requested that I share this recipe. . . and lovingly I do it. . . .for your enjoyment – and as a gift of love, in memory of my dear friend Pat.
I think Tiny Tim said it all: “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”
Kathy
Homestead Egg Nog
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs well beaten (see note below on using raw eggs)
- 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 quart whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped
- freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine eggs, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt.
- Gradually beat in milk.
- Gently fold in whipped cream.
- Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
- Chill several hours before serving.
