HIDE THE PICKLE IN THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Have you ever heard of The Christmas Pickle? The Christmas Pickle is a pickle ornament that gets placed somewhere on the Christmas tree. The purpose of the pickle is to try to get the children to appreciate the ornaments on the tree instead of just charging at their presents. (* Yes, yes, I can see exactly how this would work. Excellent idea.) The Christmas Pickle is a challenge in that the first child who manages to spot the pickle gets an extra present from Santa. The custom supposedly derives from Germany, where it’s called Weihnachtsgurke (which literally translates to Christmas Pickle), and yet it doesn’t seem to be particularly popular there. A 2016 poll of Germans found that 91 percent were unaware of the Christmas Pickle. Instead, the holiday tradition enjoys its greatest popularity in the American Midwest, which was initially settled largely by German immigrants.
* It’s apparently a big dill there.
* Unless whoever wrote this story is gherkin us around.
* Yet when I say I want to play hide the pickle with the kids, the relatives send me home.
* We don’t have a pickle. Would a hunk of cactus work?
* I wonder if they do this at Kellie Pickler’s house.
* You want a Christmas Pickle? Meet me under the mistletoe.
* PHONE TOPIC: Do you play Hide the Pickle?