It was the late 1970s or early 1980s. I really can’t pin down a year. I was becoming aware of how important it was to pay attention to the TV commercials starting in mid-November, waiting for the first appearance of the BC Clark ad. That ad, with that world-class jingle, heralds the start of the Christmas season in Oklahoma. To this day, if anyone tells you they lived in Oklahoma and they can’t drop everything and sing the song on the spot, they are lying to you about their past. Don’t trust them.
There was a new ad for a certain brand of soda that year. It showed cheerful family gatherings, in rooms full of Christmas decorations, with tons of food and drink on display. In my memory, the color palette was a mix of warm golds, greens, and browns that I will forever associate with late 70s/early 80s holidays. I don’t think there was an explicit suggestion to combine that brand of soda—Sprite—with the other holiday beverage—eggnog, but in my adolescent head, that ad planted the idea to try it. Now, before you immediately turn away, trying not to gag, hear me out. At that time in history, or more specifically in pop culture, it wasn’t unheard of to mix dairy beverages and soda. Did we not watch Shirley of Laverne and Shirley mix milk and Pepsi frequently on prime time TV? And who among us (other than the severely lactose intolerant) hasn’t had a root beer float? These things work, people!
So I’m approaching forty years of mixing eggnog and Sprite during the holidays. That weird concoction that I created after misinterpreting a schmaltzy Sprite ad turned out to be so good it became the first Christmas tradition I invented for myself. I convinced my husband and kids to try it, and while they aren’t as into it as I am, they didn’t hate it. At least they didn’t admit it to my face if they did, and they sure don’t groan and make faces when I consume it in front of them. My younger daughter even reminded me to pick up Sprite last week when we got eggnog for the last game night. I didn’t get it until tonight when she and I went shopping together.
I don’t usually add booze to my eggnog. I just don’t like it that way. I either thin it 50/50 with regular milk and top it with squirty whipped cream and nutmeg, or I do this Sprite thing. Tonight, after walking too much with the kiddo and inflaming all my soft tissues, I took it with something to make the pain go away so I can sleep. The tramadol might stop my legs from burning and stinging (hopefully soon), but the first dose of nostalgia packs a stronger punch. I’m feeling awfully good tonight in the ways that count.
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