In Our Words…

“Overflowing with lush cherries, pineapple, and nuts, recreated from an old world recipe. Grandma’s Fruit Cake is blended and baked in a time-honored tradition that takes all afternoon. Made of fresh butter and egg yolks with plump cherries, candied pineapple, walnuts, almonds, pecans, and golden raisins.”

Sounds pretty appetizing when you put it like that. I love fruit and don’t get me wrong I love cake too, but when you merge the two I don’t really see it as an appetizing treat. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still have some fun with a loaf of fruitcake – in fact, the admissions staff here has somehow found a way.

The origin of the madness dates back before my time at WPI even started, but as I take it it started during the annual tacky gift swap. Someone got stuck with a packaged fruitcake for their present after the yankee swap and instead of taking the good-for-nothing loaf with them, decided to leave it in the host’s house. Well, then the games began and the fruitcake is passed on and on, each time with a bit more creativity.

Last year as I was finishing up my IQP in Australia, my boyfriend was coming over to visit and sneaky Adam Epstein, one of the Admissions Counselors, crafted my boyfriend in on the game as he had him bring the fruitcake over in his suitcase. Upon arrival, my boyfriend told me that he had something for me and I obviously thought that was quite thoughtful and sweet. Imagine my dismay when I found out it was the FRUITCAKE.

Just last week it was passed off to me via the US Postal Service from Saraan, a graduate from last year, who lives in Texas! No, we don’t mess around. I then left it in a college fair box with Jay, another one of the counselors, after we cleaned up from the Southern New Hampshire College Fair in Derry, NH. He hasn’t said anything so maybe he hasn’t unpacked his box of handouts and perhaps this blog will ruin the surprise but it’s about time! The moral of the story is never leave your purse/book bag/college fair box unattended because you just might end up with… dun dun dun… the fruitcake.