Fa-la-la-la Fixit: Something smells fishy, Ole!

Editor's note: With the holidays come glad tidings, good cheer and lots of questions. Starting today and for the next four Saturdays, Fixit will entertain your holiday-related queries.

Q I love to serve lutefisk, but that odor lingers for days. Help!

A Lutefisk, for those who might not know, is dried cod that has been soaked in lye. When cooked, it can put forth an "enduring aroma that melds the rankness of overripe fish with the industrial-strength stench of a soap factory," writes Blaine Harden in the the New York Times.

Some folks -- especially those of Scandinavian ancestry -- welcome the aroma of lutefisk. But many -- including those of Scandinavian ancestry -- do not.

Chris Dorff of the Olsen Fish Co. in Minneapolis, the world's largest supplier of the delicacy, recommends baking rather than boiling the fish to reduce the odor.

In addition:

• Ventilate prodigiously with exhaust fans or open windows.

• If you have a HEPA air purifier, use it.

• TrueAir Plug-mount Air Cleaner works for fried fish ($15 on Amazon and other places that sell Hamilton Beach products).

• Use a fragrance-free odor remover spray available at many hardware stores and food co-ops. Be sure it has no fragrance or you'll be mixing lutefisk with perfume, adding insult to injury.

• Eat out. Restaurants such as Pearson's Edina Restaurant (3808 W. 50th St., Minneapolis; 612-927-4464) and Jax Cafe (1928 University Av. NE., Minneapolis; 612-789-7297) have lutefisk on the menu.

Lutheran churches often hold special lutefisk dinners this time of year. Call the Lutefisk Lovers Lifeline at 612-803-5530 for a listing or go to www.lutefiskloverslifeline.com.

Q My granddaughter asked if Santa's reindeer are boys or girls. I didn't have an answer. Do you?

A Santa's reindeer -- Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen -- could be either gender (although Vixen sounds rather female and Cupid male). Of course, Rudolph, the bad-weather backup deer, is male.

If you're looking for a scientifically accurate answer, however, consider the fact that male reindeer start losing their antlers in December. That would mean many, if not all, of Santa's reindeer are female. On the other hand, castrated reindeer keep their antlers past Christmas, can carry heavy loads and are trained as draft animals. It might be that neutered males are pulling Santa's sleigh. Good luck explaining this to your granddaughter.

Q Can you even buy American-made Christmas lights anymore? They're all made in China.

A When it comes to Christmas lights, China rules the shelves. That's what I found at stores such as Home Depot and a neighborhood hardware store. Costco sells China-made lights, and an online search uncovered permanent trees made in the United States, but no light strings.

If you stretch the meaning of American, however, you might have some luck. I found lights at Target that were made in the Philippines, a former U.S. protectorate. However, they were a tiny part of a large display. Most of the lights were made in China.

Your best bet for American-made Christmas lights is garage sales or secondhand stores that sell light sets made before 1968. That's when the NOMA Electric Co., once the world's largest maker of Christmas lights, stopped manufacturing in this country.

Q My dad used to give our mail carrier a bottle of whiskey every year at Christmas. I'd like to do the same, but was told that it's not allowed.

A You can give it, but letter carriers can't accept it. They're not allowed to carry alcohol in their postal vehicles, said Pete Nowacki, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service. Postal employees can't accept gifts of cash, gift cards or any other gift with a value of $20 or more. Generally, items of nominal value such as cookies, candies, pens or cards are acceptable.

Q How do we decide which side of the family we spend the holiday with?

A This can be tricky, but plan ahead, strive for fairness, keep communication open and be ready to evolve.

Find out which are the most important holidays in each family and proceed from there, suggested Joshua Coleman, a San Francisco psychologist and senior fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families. Then, alternate years. One year, it's Thanksgiving with the husband's family and Christmas with the wife's. Next year, it's the other way around.

Minnell Tralle, family relations program leader at the University of Minnesota Extension, has a four-point plan:

• Communicate. Couples tell each other what's really important to them for the holidays. Let family members know that as much as you'd like to be there all the time, you have to share.

• Negotiate and compromise. Split the holiday: Christmas Eve with one family, Christmas Day with another. If distances prohibit that, consider the every-other year-approach, or celebrate Christmas with one family and New Year's with the other.

• Extend the holidays. The holidays are now a mini-season stretching from Thanksgiving to New Year's, creating lots of opportunities to spend time with family members. This is a boon for families that have undergone divorce and remarriage and have multiple families to visit.

• Stay at home. Families grow and change, and traditions need to adapt. At some point, you may decide to have your own traditions and spend that time with your own family.

Q I pulled out my holiday decorations and noticed that the water in my snow globe is half gone. Can I just add more? How?

A You can experiment with adding tap water, but it might just evaporate again or turn green from algae growth.

Your best bet is to contact the snow-globe repairman to the world, Dick Heibel of Northfield, Minn. He's an expert at fixing snow globes: water issues, missing snow, broken characters, broken globes, even the music boxes. Call him at 1-507-645-4571.

Q Sears used to sell a really good fruitcake, but no longer. Do you know where we can find it?

A Yes. Order it directly from Beatrice Bakery, the company that once supplied Sears stores. The Nebraska bakery sells a variety of fruitcakes, including rings in decorated tins, at www.beatricebakery.com, or call 1-800-228-4030. If you happen to be traveling north, Sears in Canada still sells fruitcakes.

Q How do I remove wax from a tablecloth and a menorah?

A Remove as much hardened wax from the tablecloth as possible by hand or with a dull knife. Place paper towels on top and beneath the waxy area and move a warm iron over the spot. As the wax melts, greasy spots will appear on the paper -- wax is moving from the tablecloth to the paper towel. Move the towel so clean paper covers the spot and repeat until grease no longer appears. Wash or dry-clean the tablecloth as directed. If a colored stain is left on washable tablecloths, treat with a laundry spot remover. If it's a tablecloth that needs to be dry-cleaned, alert your cleaner to the stain.

For the menorah, you can try the cold or hot method, depending on what best suits the material. Place the menorah in a freezer for about an hour. Once you take it out, the wax should peel or fall off easily. Use a toothpick to remove wax wedged in small holes and crevices. Or put it on a sheet of aluminum foil in a warm (not hot) oven. When the wax melts and runs off, remove the menorah and wipe clean.