Bazaars may have been cancelled this year on account of COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean the bazaar fun has to stop. Throughout the month, I’ve been posting my best bazaar finds of all time and recipes for some bake table classics.

Sadly, this is the final week. But I’m going out with a bang – and that bang is green. This week’s recipe for Holly Cookies comes from Hearts that Care and Hands that Serve from Outlook, Saskatchewan. Never underestimate what you can make with dry cereal, marshmallows and food colouring. True story – my dad would use a mixture of Shreddies and Marshmallow Fluff to patch holes in our walls.

1/2 cup butter

1 400-gram package mini marshmallows

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Green food colouring

7 1/2 cups Corn Flakes

Melt butter and marshmallows. Add vanilla and food colouring. Pour over corn flakes. Fold to mix. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheets. Add cinnamon candies or cherries for decoration.

Not only are Holly Cookies pretty to look at, they’re also pretty to eat. They taste just like a Rice Krispies Square. Only they’re made with Corn Flakes. And, uh, they’re green. But aside from that, totally the same. The recipe calls for cinnamon candies, but I used mini red M&M’s, logo side down, of course. This means you’ll have to eat all the other colours so you’re left with just the red ones. But these are the tough sacrifices we make in the name of holiday baking.

Now onto my Best o’ Bazaar-o-Rama treasures!

1) Good Story Book Cover

Sometimes I don’t want to share with everyone on the subway car that I’m reading Petals on the Wind for the seventeenth time this year. So this book cover is a great way to add style and secrecy to your reading choices. It even came with a bonus bookmark! Go ahead and grab that copy of The Baby-Sitters Club: Mary Anne And Too Many Boys. No one will be none the wiser. I found this in 2016 and paid two dollars for it.

2) Pantyhose Head

I’m not posting this one as a treasure, but as a warning: Pantyhose heads are usually possessed. I was shocked to read a recent study out of the U.K. claiming that pantyhose heads are 86% more likely to be possessed than Holly Hobbie dolls. I bought this against my better judgment in 2013. The lady who sold it to me seemed pretty relieved, which should’ve been my first red flag. A few days later, my kitchen was swarming with fruit flies, a sour odour permeated the air (sourer than usual), and this pantyhose head was hanging upside down and vomiting cotton batten. I also developed a rash in my nether regions which I won’t go into but was obviously brought on by the pantyhose head. I promptly got Father O’Callaghan on the phone, who told me to give the head to Value Village immediately. I did and now she’s someone else’s problem. I paid one dollar for this pantyhose head, but eternal damnation costs a lot more than that, my friends.

That’s a wrap for this COVID-19 edition of Bazaar-o-Rama. I hope you enjoyed my bazaar journey, although nothing replaces actual bazaars. Fingers crossed we’re in a better place next year. Until then, stay safe, stay kind, and may your holiday bake table be filled with your favourite treats this holiday season.