by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 08/97) - Only 17 more days till Christmas.

That means only a couple of weeks to round up all the traditional tasty fixins' for Christmas dinner.

For those, like Wendy Joanasie of Cape Dorset, it's a 10-kilogram turkey baked to a golden brown in the oven, served with an array of vegetables such as carrots and potatoes.

"We'll be having a regular traditional turkey dinner, nothing really special," said Joanasie.

She's uncertain right now about what will be served for dessert on Christmas day. "Half the time we're so full we can't get to dessert," she said.

If they do have a sweet treat, it'll probably be pie and ice cream, she said.

In Fort Resolution, it's turkey for the King family.

Frank King said every holiday his family gets together to make turkey dinner. It's usually a small one. "There's not very much of us here," King said.

Small is by no means any way to describe Christmas dinner at Nancy Anilniliak's house in Pangnirtung.

Besides a huge turkey, Anilniliak always throws a caribou roast in the oven, garnished with potatoes and onions for flavor.

"You throw in potatoes with the roast just before you take it out. Maybe a half hour or hour before. The potatoes cook really fast," she said.

One special Christmas treat for the family is arctic char, not fried in a pan though. "I cook my char in the oven with stuffing," she said.

There are all sorts of stuffing but Anilniliak's favorite is rice.

"Just put the stuffing in the cavity and use the whole fish," she said.

For dessert, the Anilniliak family will have all kinds of treats like pies, cakes, cookies and muffins.

All three families said they will be sipping fruit juice or water with dinner. All three live in communities where alcohol is prohibited.