A pro wrestler receving his Christmas present:
a cheese grater to the face.

Mother, daughter find tradition to be grating

Sandy Chinn and her mother, Re Hardy, both of rural Marine, have a cheesy Christmas tradition that goes back a quarter of a century.

And rather than it grating on their nerves, the mother-daughter duo take special delight in their own unique brand of holiday gift-giving.

It all centers on an old, beat-up cheese grater — and is easily the most anticipated part of their entire family’s Christmas celebration. The pair has passed the grater back and forth over the years, camouflaging it in a multitude of wacky ways.

“It is so ugly. I don’t know where Sandy got it,” said Hardy, glancing at the shabby metal kitchen utensil, which long ago lost its handle and bears signs of rust.

One year it was inside a sealed glass whiskey bottle. Another time it was a no-show until dessert, when it was discovered baked inside a cheesecake.

The grater also has shown up in a floral arrangement, wrapped alongside chocolates in a box of candy and inside a variety of other items, from a collectible Spanish figurine to a coffee maker, apple peeler and a bag a grated carrots.